O. Addison Gethers e-mail address : [email protected] or [email protected] window live messenger: [email protected] aim: durangoadd64 skype: cowboys62 yahoo messenger: OADDISONGETHERS
----- Original Message ----- From: "Donnie Parrett" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, May 08, 2009 11:52 PM Subject: Daily Bible Reading For Saturday May 9 >2 Chronicles 31-33 (The Message) > > 2 Chronicles 31 > 1After the Passover celebration, they all took off for the cities of Judah > and smashed the phallic > stone monuments, chopped down the sacred Asherah groves, and demolished > the neighborhood > sex-and-religion shrines and local god shops. They didn't stop until they > had been all through > Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh. Then they all went back home and > resumed their everyday > lives. > 2 Hezekiah organized the groups of priests and Levites for their > respective tasks, handing out job > descriptions for conducting the services of worship: making the various > offerings, and making sure > that thanks and praise took place wherever and whenever God was worshiped. > > 3 He also designated his personal contribution for the > Whole-Burnt-Offerings for the morning and > evening worship, for Sabbaths, for New Moon festivals, and for the special > worship days set down in > The Revelation of God. > > 4 In addition, he asked the people who lived in Jerusalem to be > responsible for providing for the > priests and Levites so they, without distraction or concern, could give > themselves totally to The > Revelation of God. > > 5-7 As soon as Hezekiah's orders had gone out, the Israelites responded > generously: firstfruits of > the grain harvest, new wine, oil, honey-everything they grew. They didn't > hold back, turning over a > tithe of everything. They also brought in a tithe of their cattle, sheep, > and anything else they > owned that had been dedicated to God. Everything was sorted and piled in > mounds. They started doing > this in the third month and didn't finish until the seventh month. > > 8-9 When Hezekiah and his leaders came and saw the extent of the mounds of > gifts, they praised God > and commended God's people Israel. Hezekiah then consulted the priests and > Levites on how to handle > the abundance of offerings. > > 10 Azariah, chief priest of the family of Zadok, answered, "From the > moment of this huge outpouring > of gifts to The Temple of God, there has been plenty to eat for everyone > with food left over. God > has blessed his people-just look at the evidence!" > > 11-18 Hezekiah then ordered storerooms to be prepared in The Temple of > God. When they were ready, > they brought in all the offerings of tithes and sacred gifts. They put > Conaniah the Levite in charge > with his brother Shimei as assistant. Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, > Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, > Ismakiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were project managers under the direction of > Conaniah and Shimei, > carrying out the orders of King Hezekiah and Azariah the chief priest of > The Temple of God. Kore son > of Imnah the Levite, security guard of the East Gate, was in charge of the > Freewill-Offerings of God > and responsible for distributing the offerings and sacred gifts. Faithful > support out in the > priestly cities was provided by Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, > and Shecaniah. They were > even-handed in their distributions to their coworkers (all males thirty > years and older) in each of > their respective divisions as they entered The Temple of God each day to > do their assigned work > (their work was all organized by divisions). The divisions comprised > officially registered priests > by family and Levites twenty years and older by job description. The > official family tree included > everyone in the entire congregation-their small children, wives, sons, and > daughters. The ardent > dedication they showed in bringing themselves and their gifts to worship > was total-no one was left > out. > > 19 The Aaronites, the priests who lived out on the pastures that belonged > to the priest-cities, had > reputable men on hand to distribute regular rations to every > priest-everyone listed in the official > family tree of the Levites. > > 20-21 Hezekiah carried out this work and kept it up everywhere in Judah. > He was the very best-good, > right, and true before his God. Everything he took up, whether it had to > do with worship in God's > Temple or the carrying out of God's Law and Commandments, he did well in a > spirit of prayerful > worship. He was a great success. > > 2 Chronicles 32 > 1 And then, after this exemplary track record, this: Sennacherib king of > Assyria came and attacked > Judah. He put the fortified cities under siege, determined to take them. > 2-4 When Hezekiah realized that Sennacherib's strategy was to take > Jerusalem, he talked to his > advisors and military leaders about eliminating all the water supplies > outside the city; they > thought it was a good idea. There was a great turnout of people to plug > the springs and tear down > the aqueduct. They said, "Why should the kings of Assyria march in and be > furnished with running > water?" > > 5-6 Hezekiah also went to work repairing every part of the city wall that > was damaged, built > defensive towers on it, built another wall of defense further out, and > reinforced the defensive > rampart (the Millo) of the old City of David. He also built up a large > store of armaments-spears and > shields. He then appointed military officers to be responsible for the > people and got them all > together at the public square in front of the city gate. > > 6-8 Hezekiah rallied the people, saying, "Be strong! Take courage! Don't > be intimidated by the king > of Assyria and his troops-there are more on our side than on their side. > He only has a bunch of mere > men; we have our God to help us and fight for us!" > > Morale surged. Hezekiah's words put steel in their spines. > > 9-15 Later on, Sennacherib, who had set up camp a few miles away at > Lachish, sent messengers to > Jerusalem, addressing Judah through Hezekiah: "A proclamation of > Sennacherib king of Assyria: You > poor people-do you think you're safe in that so-called fortress of > Jerusalem? You're sitting ducks. > Do you think Hezekiah will save you? Don't be stupid-Hezekiah has fed you > a pack of lies. When he > says, 'God will save us from the power of the king of Assyria,' he's > lying-you're all going to end > up dead. Wasn't it Hezekiah who cleared out all the neighborhood worship > shrines and told you, > 'There is only one legitimate place to worship'? Do you have any idea what > I and my ancestors have > done to all the countries around here? Has there been a single god > anywhere strong enough to stand > up against me? Can you name one god among all the nations that either I or > my ancestors have ravaged > that so much as lifted a finger against me? So what makes you think you'll > make out any better with > your god? Don't let Hezekiah fool you; don't let him get by with his > barefaced lies; don't trust > him. No god of any country or kingdom ever has been one bit of help > against me or my ancestors-what > kind of odds does that give your god?" > > 16 The messengers felt free to throw in their personal comments, putting > down both God and God's > servant Hezekiah. > > 17 Sennacherib continued to send letters insulting the God of Israel: "The > gods of the nations were > powerless to help their people; the god of Hezekiah is no better, probably > worse." > > 18-19 The messengers would come up to the wall of Jerusalem and shout up > to the people standing on > the wall, shouting their propaganda in Hebrew, trying to scare them into > demoralized submission. > They contemptuously lumped the God of Jerusalem in with the handmade gods > of other peoples. > > 20-21 King Hezekiah, joined by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz, responded > by praying, calling up to > heaven. God answered by sending an angel who wiped out everyone in the > Assyrian camp, both warriors > and officers. Sennacherib was forced to return home in disgrace, tail > between his legs. When he went > into the temple of his god, his own sons killed him. > > 22-23 God saved Hezekiah and the citizens of Jerusalem from Sennacherib > king of Assyria and > everyone else. And he continued to take good care of them. People streamed > into Jerusalem bringing > offerings for the worship of God and expensive presents to Hezekiah king > of Judah. All the > surrounding nations were impressed-Hezekiah's stock soared. > > > 24 Some time later Hezekiah became deathly sick. He prayed to God and was > given a reassuring sign. > > 25-26 But the sign, instead of making Hezekiah grateful, made him > arrogant. This made God angry, > and his anger spilled over on Judah and Jerusalem. But then Hezekiah, and > Jerusalem with him, > repented of his arrogance, and God withdrew his anger while Hezekiah > lived. > > 27-31 Hezekiah ended up very wealthy and much honored. He built treasuries > for all his silver, > gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and valuables, barns for the > grain, new wine, and olive oil, > stalls for his various breeds of cattle, and pens for his flocks. He > founded royal cities for > himself and built up huge stocks of sheep and cattle. God saw to it that > he was extravagantly rich. > Hezekiah was also responsible for diverting the upper outlet of the Gihon > spring and rerouting the > water to the west side of the City of David. Hezekiah succeeded in > everything he did. But when the > rulers of Babylon sent emissaries to find out about the sign from God that > had taken place earlier, > God left him on his own to see what he would do; he wanted to test his > heart. > > > 32-33 The rest of the history of Hezekiah and his life of loyal service, > you can read for > yourself-it's written in the vision of the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz in > the Royal Annals of the > Kings of Judah and Israel. When Hezekiah died, they buried him in the > upper part of the King David > cemetery. Everyone in Judah and Jerusalem came to the funeral. He was > buried in great honor. > > Manasseh his son was the next king. > > 2 Chronicles 33 > King Manasseh > 1-6Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king. He ruled for > fifty-five years in Jerusalem. > In God's opinion he was a bad king-an evil king. He reintroduced all the > moral rot and spiritual > corruption that had been scoured from the country when God dispossessed > the pagan nations in favor > of the children of Israel. He rebuilt the sex-and-religion shrines that > his father Hezekiah had torn > down, he built altars and phallic images for the sex god Baal and the sex > goddess Asherah and > worshiped the cosmic powers, taking orders from the constellations. He > built shrines to the cosmic > powers and placed them in both courtyards of The Temple of God, the very > Jerusalem Temple dedicated > exclusively by God's decree to God's Name ("in Jerusalem I place my > Name"). He burned his own sons > in a sacrificial rite in the Valley of Ben Hinnom. He practiced witchcraft > and fortunetelling. He > held seances and consulted spirits from the underworld. Much evil-in God's > view a career in evil. > And God was angry. > 7-8 As a last straw he placed a carved image of the sex goddess Asherah > that he had commissioned in > The Temple of God, a flagrant and provocative violation of God's > well-known command to both David > and Solomon, "In this Temple and in this city Jerusalem, my choice out of > all the tribes of Israel, > I place my Name-exclusively and forever." He had promised, "Never again > will I let my people Israel > wander off from this land I've given to their ancestors. But on this > condition, that they keep > everything I've commanded in the instructions my servant Moses passed on > to them." > > 9-10 But Manasseh led Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem off the beaten > path into practices of > evil exceeding even the evil of the pagan nations that God had earlier > destroyed. When God spoke to > Manasseh and his people about this, they ignored him. > > 11-13 Then God directed the leaders of the troops of the king of Assyria > to come after Manasseh. > They put a hook in his nose, shackles on his feet, and took him off to > Babylon. Now that he was in > trouble, he went to his knees in prayer asking for help-total repentance > before the God of his > ancestors. As he prayed, God was touched; God listened and brought him > back to Jerusalem as king. > That convinced Manasseh that God was in control. > > 14-17 After that Manasseh rebuilt the outside defensive wall of the City > of David to the west of > the Gihon spring in the valley. It went from the Fish Gate and around the > hill of Ophel. He also > increased its height. He tightened up the defense system by posting army > captains in all the > fortress cities of Judah. He also did a good spring cleaning on The > Temple, carting out the pagan > idols and the goddess statue. He took all the altars he had set up on The > Temple hill and throughout > Jerusalem and dumped them outside the city. He put the Altar of God back > in working order and > restored worship, sacrificing Peace-Offerings and Thank-Offerings. He > issued orders to the people: > "You shall serve and worship God, the God of Israel." But the people > didn't take him seriously-they > used the name "God" but kept on going to the old pagan neighborhood > shrines and doing the same old > things. > > 18-19 The rest of the history of Manasseh-his prayer to his God, and the > sermons the prophets > personally delivered by authority of God, the God of Israel-this is all > written in The Chronicles of > the Kings of Israel. His prayer and how God was touched by his prayer, a > list of all his sins and > the things he did wrong, the actual places where he built the pagan > shrines, the installation of the > sex-goddess Asherah sites, and the idolatrous images that he worshiped > previous to his > conversion-this is all described in the records of the prophets. > > 20 When Manasseh died, they buried him in the palace garden. His son Amon > was the next king. > > King Amon > 21-23 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king. He was king for > two years in Jerusalem. In > God's opinion he lived an evil life, just like his father Manasseh, but he > never did repent to God > as Manasseh repented. He just kept at it, going from one thing to another. > 24-25 In the end Amon's servants revolted and assassinated him-killed the > king right in his own > palace. The citizens in their turn then killed the king's assassins. The > citizens then crowned > Josiah, Amon's son, as king. > > > > > > > Please join us on Skype Monday thru Friday at 8:00 EST for our Morning > Skype Prayer Time. > > > Contact Me At: > Donnie Parrett > 1956 Asa Flat Road > Annville, Kentucky 40402 > Home Phone: 606-364-3321 > Church Phone: 606-364-PRAY > Skype Name: Donnie1261 > Email: [email protected] > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/DBILG?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
