This week, we had a speaker, James Skinner, come in and talk to us about the Kingdom Era in the Bible. It’s a whole lot of content – all of the first and seconds in the Old Testament: 1&2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings, 1&2 Chronicles. He broke them down for us and helped us understand the stories throughout these books. It’s so awesome to see God’s heart for His people by reading the records of the Kings of Israel.

Throughout the stories of the kingdom era, it’s evident that God accomplishes His sovereign will regardless of who is in power and within His timing. Saul was the first king to lead the Israelites and he had no heart for the Lord. God told His people that they did not need a king but they were stubborn and God eventually allowed them to have their way – Saul. The people looked at the outward appearance when appointing their king. Saul was just what they wanted and thought they needed, a strong, haughty and proud warrior. He was in deed all of those things but he did not seek the Lord’s counsel in what he did.

Eventually, God called Samuel, a prophet, to go to the house of Jesse where he would meet the man who was to be the next king of Israel. Jesse had many sons, all of which were good-looking, strong men who seemed to be what the people would want in a king. But, the Lord does not look at outward appearance; He looks at the heart. It was His will that David, the youngest son of Jesse, the little shepherd boy, would be chosen as the next king of Israel. So Samuel anointed him as the Lord commanded him.

We know so much about David. David would defeat Goliath when no one else would even dare to face him. While the bigger, stronger soldiers were covered head to toe in armor standing on the sidelines cowering in fear, David had the courage and unwavering faith in God to step onto the battlefield without any armor to protect Him and only a slingshot and a few stones in hand. He was confident in the Lord and sure that God would be faithful to deliver the Israelites from the hands of the Philistines. He defeated Goliath and celebrated the Lord’s victory, bringing glory to His name and not taking the credit for himself. In this story, we see David’s faith, his humility, his willingness to be obedient to God in the face of fear and not depend on anything but His strength (no armor or other people).

David also would have to flee from Saul for years as Saul tried time and time again to kill him. But David cried out to God every time he found himself persecuted and finding refuge in the cave. He didn’t give up on the Lord, remembering His promise to make him king of His people. Though he experienced fear and utter discouragement time and time again, he persevered by God’s grace and was faithful to the Lord.

David was loyal to his dearest friend and the son of Saul, Jonathan. He loved him well. And from Jonathan, we see a Christ-like love for David – “laying one’s life down for his friend.” For David to become king, Jonathan had to die because he would be next in line for the throne as Saul’s son. But he knew that God intended for David to be king and he was supportive of David even though he knew the result would be his own death. David and Jonathan made sacrifices for each other and exemplified godly friendship. After Jonathan’s death, David would keep his promise to take care of his family by bringing Jonathan’s lame son Mephibosheth into his kingdom, giving him a place at his table forever and taking care of him all the days of his life. This was Saul’s grandson – he restored unto him all the land that was once Saul’s and got his servants to take care of the land to provide for Mephibosheth. David let go of any bitterness he had toward Saul and not only forgave him but chose to bless his family to the fullest.

We all know that though David was such an incredible man of God, actually what the Bible calls “a man after God’s own heart,” he was very sinful, too. He committed the notorious sins of adultery and murder. He saw Bathsheba bathing on the roof and slept with her. When she became pregnant, he then put her husband Uriah on the front lines so he would die in an effort to hide his sin with Bathsheba. Wow. Horrific sin. Murder to cover up adultery. And this was a man after God’s own heart?? I think that’s the coolest part. This broken and messed up sinner was a man after God’s own heart. You see, he got consequences for his sin. His son from Bathsheba died and there was utter chaos and violence in his household following. But, David cried out to the Lord and mourned his sin. He absolutely grieved over his sin, not just over the consequences. He understood the depths of his sin and how it grieved the heart of God and he wanted nothing more than for God to redeem him. Throughout the Psalms we see and hear the heart of David, the broken, imperfect heart of David that breaks for the sin of his own heart and rejoices in the God of his salvation. God was at the center of his life and the sum of the life of David was to glory in God and make much of Him.

Just with the life of David, there is so much to be learned. In his triumph and in his iniquity, we see a humble man that just wants the heart of God. He is so real and raw. The Psalms were his prayers, his confessions, his worship. He didn’t just talk to God; he meditated on His Word and sat in His presence. He had a habit of pouring out his heart to the King of Kings and allowing the King of Kings to cleanse his heart, mold it, make it a heart after His own. To have a heart like David’s is to have a heart that wants what God wants. It’s not perfect but it’s the most beautiful picture of God’s grace and mercy alive in the heart of man.

David’s son Solomon would rule after him, then the kingdom would divide with Solomon’s son Rehoboam. After 120 years of a united kingdom with Saul, David, and Solomon, the kingdom would be divided for 400 years. Throughout all the kingdom era, the theme is that God is sovereign. He is in control. He is not surprised by anything; nothing takes Him off guard. God’s will will be accomplished. His plan will prevail. His timing is perfect. We don’t always get it. A lot of times I find myself wanting God to speed things up or get me out of a season of life into the next one. But He wants me to just be still, have patience and trust Him. Like not the whole, “Yeah, God is in control.” Duh, we all know that. But do we really believe it? Does our life follow that statement? If I believe in God and fully trust in His timing, what is my life gonna look like? Pretty sure it wouldn’t look quite like it does now. I wouldn’t be so worried about the things I can’t control. I’d be focused on how I can walk with the Lord today rather than how I can try to change my situation. Rest in the Lord’s timing and just rest in Him. If we don’t do that, we’re missing out on so much joy and peace that Christ sacrificed Himself for us to live in.

This week at the Institute, we had a speaker, Blake Holmes, come in and give us a detailed overview of all the prophetical books of the Old Testament. He took us through the prophets, from Isaiah to Malachi, in chronological order. It was incredible to get a quick but in-depth overview of each book, looking at the author and what his name meant, the audience and time, the purpose of the prophet’s message, the images used to convey the message, key verses and phrases, and the overall outline of the book. All of those things together gave me so much insight into books of the Bible that I otherwise have never really studied in much detail.

Let’s be real. When I’m having a quiet time or studying my Bible, the prophetical books are never really the ones I go for. If we’re honest, I’d say most of us tend to stick with the New Testament or the poetical books of the Old Testament. But, there’s so much more to the Bible than just those books. The prophets didn’t just prophesy about future things, although God did use them for that very purpose from time to time and often used them to warn of His impending judgment. However, a lot of the time God chose to use prophets primarily to communicate truth, the unpopular truth of God that the people rejected 9 times out of 10. The prophets had the toughest job in their day – they had to go to wicked people who were rebelling and wallowing in their sin to preach the truth of God’s Word that they knew would most likely be ignored or rejected.

It’s so frustrating to see how God chose prophet after prophet to go to the pagans and offer them the opportunity for repentance and forgiveness yet see how they rejected it over and over. Like what was wrong with these people? How could they be so set in their ways to reject so much fair warning and continue to mock God without proper fear of His judgment and wrath? Y’all, the same is true today. America is in the place that many of these pagan nations were. Our nation as a whole is living in wickedness and rebellion against the truth of God’s Word without fear of judgment. Our God is a God of unfailing love and mercy, but that does not undermine the fact that He is also holy and just.

It’s depressing to think about the state of our nation and world today honestly, but there is so much comfort we can find as believers. First of all, no matter what the state of our nation is and what’s going on in the world, God is sovereign over all and He is returning one day to build His new kingdom and reign forever. Along that same thought, we can find comfort in the fact that Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, which really puts “President of the United States of America” into perspective. When we go to vote in November and find that our only two options are a reality and not just our worst nightmare, we can rest in knowing that God is not surprised and His will is done regardless of who’s in the White House.

What else can I learn from the prophets? How can I inform my actions in view of what I’ve studied this week? I can be encouraged to be willing to be used by God to communicate Truth in a society that wants to reject it and run in the opposite direction. God doesn’t call us to change people; He just calls us to be obedient. When we are obedient to fulfill our role in proclaiming the gospel and well-representing Christ, the Holy Spirit will do His role to compel, convict, and change hearts.

Lastly, if you feel like reading on, I’ll share a quick list of take-aways from each of the prophets:

Obadiah – I am my brother’s keeper – I’m not called to be indifferent to the suffering of others; I’m called to stand up against injustice.

Joel – God disciplines His children. When I disobey my Heavenly Father, I can expect Him to discipline me.

Jonah – God wants us to have the same heart for the lost that He does – to show compassion, mercy, and patience, and to take every opportunity to preach the gospel.

Amos – Don’t be consumed with materialism and miss out on the needs of others – seek out ways to minister to the least of these.

Hosea – We are an unfaithful bride to Christ over and over again but He never fails to pursue us. None of us can be the exception to God’s grace; from that grace we experience, we should extend grace to others.

Isaiah – God accomplishes His purposes no matter what control man thinks he has.

Micah – Humility is so important. God is not most interested in what we can do and what people think of us; He is all about the heart.

Nahum – God, in His justice and holiness, cannot turn a blind eye to sin; however, He warns us of judgment and offers us the chance for repentance and forgiveness. The Lord’s justice doesn’t undermine His love, and vice versa.

Zephaniah – We cannot get away with sin and rebellion; rather, we must have humility in understanding the sovereignty of God. We must not belittle the judgment of God.

Jeremiah – In ministry, we must not fail to recognize the distinction between our role and God’s – God asks us to be faithful to Him and He is the One who touches hearts and transforms lives. Our success is in our faithfulness and obedience, not in numbers; we don’t always get to see the fruit. The goal in ministry is not to be big, but to be biblical.

Habakkuk – We cannot allow our circumstances to determine our theology.

Ezekiel – It’s up to us, the church, to be watchmen and communicate the gospel.

Haggai – We shouldn’t allow our priorities to get jumbled and forget God as our first and foremost priority in life.

Zechariah – We don’t have to have the task of doing everything in our own strength – the Lord asks us to depend upon Him in all things.

Malachi – We are to be good stewards of all God entrusts to us – our time, money, and resources.

 

This study has been so exciting for me and has really helped me to further dive into the Old Testament prophets with a much better understanding of how to properly interpret them. I hope this similarly encourages you and gets you pumped about Scripture, because God’s got a whole lotta good stuff in there for us to read and apply to our lives! Habakkuk is just as relevant as Romans – both are equally God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). We just have to know the context so we can understand it and correctly discern what God’s saying. But that only comes through reading and studying. So, let’s get to it.