Heed the prophetic word as a light that shines in a dark place.
We finish the gospel of John and witness the birth of the church in Acts. We are spending the week in Peter’s Epistles. We enter the twilight years of Judah this week as the kings of Judah continue to follow the ways of Israel rather than seeking the Lord fervently. We will cover almost 150 years, seven kings, and two national revivals—one king tips the scales, and judgment is set in motion.
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GOSPELS / ACTS
John 20 – 21
The resurrection of Jesus is described with great emotional and devotional detail, with Mary Magdalene being the first to see Jesus and clinging to him with leaping faith. Thomas, on the other hand, will not believe unless he can see the wounds of the cross and place his fingers and hands there.
In Chapter 21, we have the record of Jesus meeting the disciples at Galilee. It appears Peter is going back into the fishing business with seven others of Jesus’ disciples with the same results. Jesus appears as at the first encounter three and half years prior and in His goodness, fills their boat with fish. There is an honest conversation with Peter after breakfast where Peter must realize that he is not the man he wants to be. Jesus sends him to feed His lambs and tend His sheep, the perfect solution to misguided greatness. His last words to Peter are the first words He had spoken, “Follow Me.”
Acts 1 – 4
This will be our last journey of the year through Acts. This week we will witness the promise of the Holy Spirit, the Ascension of Jesus, and the dedication to prayer culminating with the coming of the Holy Spirit as fire upon their heads and tongues of praise in their mouths. The church is born, and Jesus is declared risen, ascended, and seated at the right hand of God as both Lord and Christ. The path of salvation is clearly given, “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). This is again declared in Chapter 3 with the same actions but some different words, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19).
Acts 4 is the first encounter with the Sanhedrin after the miracle. With great boldness, the declaration is made that salvation is given in no other name than Jesus! They return to pray and ask for more boldness, using Psalm 2 as their scripture, and the Father responds by sending the Holy Spirit for the power needed.
EPISTLES
1 Peter 2 – 5
The mature Peter—not the Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane who took his sword and cut off the servant’s ear—calls us to lay down our lives, to suffer wrong, to bless when cursed, and to not think it strange when we endure fiery trials.
“Therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.” (1 Peter 4:19)
“But may the God of all grace who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 5:10, 11)
2 Peter 1 – 3
In Chapter 1, Peter knows his departure (death) is imminent and so gives both strong words of walking by faith and strong warnings of the false teachers that are ravaging the church and leading many into error. In Chapter 3, Peter addresses the scoffers in the last days who say everything continues as it was from the beginning. They are forgetful. They do not understand the Lord’s longsuffering that leads to salvation and His very heart in all matters. Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13).
HISTORY
2 Chronicles 22 – 29
We enter the twilight years of Judah in this week’s reading. We begin with Ahaziah being made king who reigns for one year and follows the ways of the house of Ahab (a former king of Israel) and the advice of his mother Athaliah (who was a daughter of Ahab). In following all these counselors, he goes to battle with Jehoram (the king of Israel and son of Ahab) against Assyria and is wounded. While healing from his wounds in Jezreel, Ahaziah is killed along with Jehoram in the zeal of Jehu who had taken the kingdom of Israel and brought vengeance on the house of Ahab and Jezebel. To increase the drama upon the news of Ahaziah’s death, his mother Athaliah kills all the royal heirs of the house of Judah and takes the place of Queen of Judah for six years. One heir, Joash, escapes the slaughter and is rescued by his mother Jehoshabeath who was the sister to Ahaziah and the wife of Jehoiada the priest. Together, they hid Joash, the grandson of Ahaziah, the only living heir to the throne in the temple for six years.
At age seven his father Jehoiada, the priest, brings the Levites into covenant and installs Joash as king in the Temple. This brings the Queen Mother into a rage which ends in her death. Joash reigned for 40 years in Jerusalem and did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest.
Okay. This could be a Hollywood movie, and I only share the first seven years of this drama. In our reading, we will cover seven kings and the Queen Mother’s reign up to Hezekiah’s first year as king. This covers 145 years of Judah’s history. It’s filled with these stories of atrocities and moments of sincere service. At the beginning of each king’s reign, the length of reigning will be stated and whether they did what was right in the sight of the Lord or not, after that follows details.
Everything depends on, how God sees us! May we gain a heart of wisdom and the fear of the Lord through our readings this week.
