Author: Rick Henderson

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 9:13-31 (day seven)

“The king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the lowland. ” Vs 27

Solomon became the richest king in all of the land and likely one of the richest in the world at the time. If David put Israel on the map militaristically, then Solomon solidified it as a power financially. Israel reached the peak of its power within three generations of kings. What went wrong? How did things get so bad so fast? The writer of Ecclesiastes (presumed to be Solomon) gives us a glimpse of this in 2:9-11,

“Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem […] behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun.”

Solomon at the end of his life looked back at what could have been. He realized that wealth was not what made Israel great. Women and power could not bring him happiness. All was vanity. The only thing that holds worth is God.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.”

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 9:1-12 (day seven)

“Happy are your wives! Happy are these your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!” Vs 7 ESV

The Queen of Sheba came because she had heard how wise this King of Israel was, but what she saw was beyond belief. Not only was the Kingdom impressive and his wisdom insightful, but even his slaves, servants, and concubines (that’s another blog for another day) were happy. In a time where rulers led with an iron thumb and flaunted their sovereignty on those lesser than them, it had to be intriguing to see a king whom everyone loved and respected.  It had to be refreshing to walk into an organization where everyone from the top down was genuinely happy. The tone of the entire kingdom was different because the leader walked with God.

Whether it’s a job, school, family, or friends, we all have a place where God has entrusted us to be the leader. Is your area of influence different from those on the outside? Can people feel the difference when they walk in? Have you set a tone of happiness?

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 7:11-22 (day seven) 

What do you do when it feels like God isn’t hearing your prayers? What do you do when He feels far away? You may internally struggle with thoughts like, “I go to church. I go to Sunday School. I pray but nothing changes. I still don’t feel near to God. He isn’t hearing me.” Our passage of scripture helps answers that question directly: “Seek My face […] then I will hear” vs 14.

Jeremiah 29:12-14 (just after the heavily quoted verse 11) unpacks this thought more, “Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you.”

What are you seeking with all your heart? What is the one thing that you just can’t seem to get your mind off of? If that answer is anything but God, it is going to make finding Him very difficult. God always hears us, but we often do not hear Him because we are seeking other things. Seek His face.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 7:1-10 (day  seven)

“So Solomon observed the feast at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him.” Vs 8

We baptists can get on board with this! In order to complete the dedication of the temple, the whole nation threw a feast! Sounds like a potluck of grandiose proportions!

Outside of backing up our doctrine of casseroles, this passage shows us the importance of celebrating what God has done for us. We are great at celebrating big occasions, but what would it look like if we began celebrating with each other on a regular basis? What if we began every Bible study by celebrating the good that God had done in our life that week? What if we began celebrating with our family before dinner how God worked in our life that day? We have a tendency to focus on the negatives that are in our life, but when we look for the good as a community, we will begin to see his daily mercies and gifts much more clearly. It sounds so simple, but our community will grow together when we celebrate together!

P.S. Celebrate the gift of our Moms today! Happy Mother’s Day!

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 6:12-42 (day seven)

“When […] there is no rain because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin […] send rain on Your land.” 26-27

There must have been a lot of repenting this week, because we had not gotten rain like that in a very long time! For clarity, I do not know if God continues to use weather patterns as a punishment for sin, but let me ask you a few questions:

Did you go outside after the rain let up? What did you see? Were the colors of the land brighter? Had there been new growth? How was nature reacting?

The rain was a cleansing for the land. Confession and repentance does the same thing for our soul. Every thing is brighter. We are seeing the world without a layer grime blocking our vision. New growth begins to come up in the form of relationships. Our relationship with others is restored. Our relationship with God flourishes. The storms that roll through can be dark and frightening, as can confession, but the healing that comes as a result makes the storm worth enduring.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 6:1-11 (day seven)

“He said, ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to my father David and has fulfilled it with His hands.'” vs 4

Read that last part again “fulfilled it with His hands.” God is not some clockmaker who created the world, wound it up, and set it in motion to function on its own. God has always been and always will be hands on with His creation. He is personal. Paul tells us in Romans 8:28 that “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God.” Then again in Philippians 2:13 “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” God is at work in the life of every believer. Even if you feel abandoned or that God is not near, one day you will look back and see how God connected all the dots along the way. He fulfills it with His hands!

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 5:1-14 (day seven)

I’m normally a silver-linings type of guy, but there is something dark in this passage that caught my eye.

“And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him before the ark, were sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered.” Vs 6

Animals lined up to be slaughtered, a massacre in the midst of a celebration. One can only imagine the amount of sacrificial blood that was shed on this day. It seems unnecessary. You are having this grand celebration and decide to have this ritual in the middle of it all? It sounds out of place… until we take into consideration the Presence of the Lord. A Devine encounter will always result in genuine repentance. As the people came into the temple they were overwhelmed by the Spirit of the Lord, which up against Perfection highlighted their imperfections and need for forgiveness.

Christ took on the massacre so blood is no longer on our hands; He only asks that we continue to draw near to His presence. Our encounters with Him will always result in genuine repentance.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 3:1-17 (day seven)

On this day last week, our church gathered in worship to celebrate our Savior defeating the grave, but the celebration didn’t end at 11:59pm April 4th…

Matthew 27:51 tells us that the veil was torn from top to bottom, a symbol that the holy of holies was now open. If we read the footnotes in our re:verse  passage this week, verse 8 could literally read, “Now he made the [house] of the holy of holies.” The purpose of this room was to be a house for the presence of the Lord, so where does God move to in Matthew 27?  His new “home” is you. His new “home” is me. His new “home” is inside of all who call upon His name.

1 Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

Not only are you the new temple, you are the most holy place where God will make His “home.” We have seen Solomon going to extraordinary lengths to build a home for the Lord. To what lengths are you going to prepare your home for the Lord?

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 2:1-12 (day seven)

“Because the Lord loves His people, He has made you king over them.” vs 11

The Lord loves His people and He gave them a king that would rule with wisdom. He gave them a king that would bring glory to Himself.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—” Ephesians 2:4-5

The Lord loves His people. He loves them so much He gave them a King that would conquer the enemy for good. He gave them a King that would rule with wisdom from above. He gave them a King that would sit eternally on the Throne. He gave them Himself!

The King is Risen Indeed!