Hi all, sorry for the delay in posting. Maybe this gave you an opportunity to catch up on readings or maybe it's just built up some excitement for what comes next in the story. Regardless, I appreciate your patience with me as I navigated the balance between work and family this holiday season. I hope that you all had a special holiday season, even if it had to be different this year. What follows is a lengthy list of what kings ruled when and whether or not they were bad. Again, I fully recommend that you physically map this out with lines and such like a little detective because it can be confusing which king is a southern king and which is a northern king, which is bad/good, and which side God is on in all of this. With that said, let's catch up :)
Scripture to Read
Day 102 (12/24/2020)
Day 103 (12/25/2020)
Day 104 (12/26/2020)
Day 105 (12/27/2020)
Day 106 (12/28/2020)
Audio Bible
Day 102
Day 103
Day 104
Day 105
Day 106 Forgive my voice and energy for this one. It was the 4th video I had recorded and it was near 2am at the time. I'm usually asleep by 10pm haha.
Questions to Consider
God is relatively silent in this, yet active - what does this reveal to me about God?
What does this reveal to me about humanity?
What is the role of the prophet? Has my view changed since the last time I considered this question?
What role does legacy play in good and bad relationships?
- My Thoughts -
I'll keep this relatively short as you already have so much to catch up on and I don't want to overwhelm you, but the part that sticks out to me the most about each of these kings is how a bad legacy from their parents seems to be a major influence on escaping the cycle of pain and bad habits. For example, if a king did not follow the Lord's wishes and did evil in the Lord's sight by allowing idol worship or whatever else it was extremely likely the next 3-4 decedents would also fall into this pit of despair. You can see that the side that God favors the king would reign for the same length of time as 3-5 kings from the north. It's not that I felt bad necessarily, but I couldn't help but think of those in extreme poverty. How many generations pass by unnoticed before even one can escape to middle class or any lick of prosperity vs those that come from families that can provide their children with stable housing and ample opportunities. I'm not a parent so I can't judge or tell those of you that are what to do, but scriptures like this make me take moments of prayer for all the parents of the world hoping they pass down strong virtues to their children. What legacy did your parents leave you? What legacy do you hope to leave your kids?
On the same kind of note if you want to read more on this I recommend the book "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell. Very interesting book on the significance of opportunity for successful people.
Prayer:
God we give thanks for this Christmas season and we praise your name in unending hallelujah's as we celebrate your birth once again. Be born in us anew giving us your spirit. A spirit of love, of faithfulness, of deep commitment, and of undying hope. Pour out Christmas blessings on our families, friends, and community. In these things we pray. Amen.
My siblings and I have talked a bit about this, and as a millenial its especially interesting/disheartening that we are the first generation that won't surpass our parent's, at least money wise. Good thing it isn't all about money! My parents have passed on the ideals of helping others, and desiring shared experiences as gifts. I remember from a young age (maybe 4?) sitting down with my dad and looking at a list of charities he thought I'd like to support. At the end of every summer through at least elementary school, my parents would set aside $100 for each of us to donate, and it was always our choice in how much money went to each charity. If we…