2 Chronicles Ch21/2 Corinthians Ch8
2 Chronicles 21: He who does evil will have great disasters
2 Chronicles 21/2 Corinthians 8
1. King Jehoram murdered his own brothers who were better than he. (v. 4 and v 13)
2. He walked in the ways of evil. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. (v. 6)
3. He also built high places so that he led Judah to commit a spiritual adultery. “High places” look like a worship of true God. But it is a worship of other gods. For example, some people do not keep God’s commands completely by faith. They add and subtract from what God has commanded us. They even mix other teachings with the Bible. High places can also mean different gospel, which is no gospel at all. For example, there are so called “Pentecost” churches. They put miracles and signs higher than Jesus Christ. Some churches depend on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. Some churches worship Mary or other saints in addition to Jesus Christ. All of these teachings are false doctrines. They do not agree to the pure doctrine of godly teaching. They lead God’s children away from the truth. In fact, they lead churches worship other gods. This is adultery in the eyes of God.
4. King Jehoram did not repent when he was rebuked by the prophet.
5. When God used disasters to attack him, King Jehoram insisted his evil ways. The disasters are: external rebellion of Edom and Libnah, attack of Philistines and of the Arabs, and loss of many goods in his palace.
6. After all this, God made him sick with an illness impossible to cure. But he had never repented during the time of sickness.
7. His ending was: He died of disaster because he did evil in the eyes of God. No one felt sad about him when he died.
2 Corinthians 8: It pleases God by giving offerings zealously.
The church of Macedonian:
1. Macedonian church had overflowing joy out of the most severe trial. (v.2)
2. They gave offering in rich generosity, even beyond their ability. (v. 2-3)
3. They gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us according to God’s will. (v. 5)
4. A love of God has actions and is in truth. (v. 8)
5. Macedonian church pleased God when they sacrificed themselves to love God and His children. They made God’s heart content when they gave offering so zealously to the needy. God then touched people’s heart to love them dearly. How they had glorified our God and helped people. They will get great and everlasting blessings from God.
Rev. 19: 12/ Proverbs. 18
Rev. 19/12: Press on toward the goal and know the Lord’s name
The Lord’s eyes are like blazing fire. He can see through our minds. There are many crowns on His head. He has a name written on Him that no one knows but Himself. His name is the Word of God. Many people believed saw the miraculous signs He was doing and believed in His name. But Jesus would not give Himself to them. He knew what was in a man. (John 2/23-24)
If we want to know the Lord and to gain Jesus Christ, we must trust in the Lord with a simple faith just as a baby. Then we must follow the examples of Elisha and Paul. They regarded the word of God as their daily goal of life and run to it. Then we can get a crown that will last forever. (1 Corinthians 9/25)
Proverbs 18: Seek no selfish goals or bad friends, but run to the name of the Lord and know Him
Verse 1: Do not seek selfish goals by going your own way. Let us not give up meeting together. Let us see no one but Jesus Christ when we meet together. We must encourage one another not to sin, and pray together to resist the devil.
Avoid bad friends because they will corrupt good quality of your life. (v. 24) Do not make friends with the world. What fellowship can light have with darkness? What do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Christians must lead a holy life, separating ourselves from the world.
Verse 2-23: Here it lists all the barriers that keep us from running toward the word of God. God’s word is the goal of our lives everyday. The barriers are: (1) like to tell his own opinions; (2) speak of evil things, foolish words, and gossip; (3) laziness and waste of God’s grace and blessing; (4) cannot be humble but proud and strong about one’s ideas; (5) a wounded spirit; (6) present one’s case first to show one is right; (7) do not forgive people; (8) plead mercy from human being; (9) unkind words.
But verse 21 tells us that the tongue has the power of life and death. Elisha was the best example. He did not talk much to anyone. When people talked to him, he just answered, “Yes, I know, but do not speak of it.” Therefore, he was not like a man running without a goal. He did not fight like a man beating the air. He fixed his eyes fully on the prophet Elijah and followed him closely. He wanted to get a double portion of the Spirit so that he could serve the Lord. Paul was another good example. He considered all things rubbish. Everyday Paul ran toward the goal pointed out by the word of God. He wanted to win Jesus Christ the greatest treasure. He determined to get a heavenly crown and big prize.