[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR FRIDAY MAY 6

Fri May 6 00:54:09 UTC 2022

DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR FRIDAY MAY 6

WORD OF WISDOM

I cannot do everything, but I can do something.

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DAILY DEVOTION

The God Who Provides

And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge
of the wilderness. And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a
cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them
light; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the cloud by
day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
Exodus 13:20-22

When the Children of Israel left Egypt, they knew where they were going, but
they didn't know how to get there. There were no marked roads or maps
available. They didn't have GPS, Alexa, Siri, or anything else to help guide
them. But they had God, and that was all that they needed. The Lord led them
through the deserts of the region with an unmistakable sign of His presence.
God was providing not only reassurance and guidance, but their physical
needs as well. When the daytime sun blazed down on the desert, God was a
cloud to provide shelter and shade. When the nighttime chill quickly cooled
the desert sands, God was a fire to provide warmth. In every situation, in
every need, in every circumstance that we face in life, God is there for us.
When Abraham was ready to offer his promised son Isaac, God provided a ram
as a substitute as a beautiful picture of what Jesus would do for us on the
cross. In response, Abraham gave that place a new name. "And Abraham called
the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount
of the LORD it shall be seen" (Genesis 22:14). This special name of God
(which is used nowhere else in Scripture) has a double meaning. It means
that God provides for our needs, and it means that God Himself is the
provision for our needs. This is particularly true in our salvation-Jesus
provided the payment for our sin through becoming the payment for our sin (2
Corinthians 5:21). And it is also true throughout our Christian life. In
Jesus, we have all that we need. "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the
Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all
principality and power" (Colossians 2:9-10).
Regardless of our need, Jesus is our provision.

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DAILY BIBLE READING

2 Chronicles 22-24 New King James Version
Ahaziah Reigns in Judah
22 Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in
his place, for the raiders who came with the Arabians into the camp had
killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah,
reigned. 2 Ahaziah was [a]forty-two years old when he became king, and he
reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah the
[b]granddaughter of Omri. 3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab,
for his mother advised him to do wickedly. 4 Therefore he did evil in the
sight of the Lord, like the house of Ahab; for they were his counselors
after the death of his father, to his destruction. 5 He also followed their
advice, and went with [c]Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war
against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead; and the Syrians wounded
Joram. 6 Then he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which he had
received at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And
[d]Azariah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram the
son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

7 His going to Joram was God's occasion for Ahaziah's [e]downfall; for when
he arrived, he went out with [f]Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom
the Lord had anointed to [g]cut off the house of Ahab. 8 And it happened,
when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, and found the princes
of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah's brothers who served Ahaziah, that he
killed them. 9 Then he searched for Ahaziah; and they caught him (he was
hiding in Samaria), and brought him to Jehu. When they had killed him, they
buried him, "because," they said, "he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought
the Lord with all his heart."

So the house of Ahaziah had no one to assume power over the kingdom.

Athaliah Reigns in Judah
10 Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she
arose and destroyed all the royal heirs of the house of Judah. 11 But
[h]Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah,
and stole him away from among the king's sons who were being murdered, and
put him and his nurse in a bedroom. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King
Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the sister of
Ahaziah), hid him from Athaliah so that she did not kill him. 12 And he was
hidden with them in the house of God for six years, while Athaliah reigned
over the land.

Joash Crowned King of Judah
23 In the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and made a covenant
with the captains of hundreds: Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son
of Jehohanan, Azariah the son of Obed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and
Elishaphat the son of Zichri. 2 And they went throughout Judah and gathered
the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the chief fathers of Israel,
and they came to Jerusalem.

3 Then all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God.
And he said to them, "Behold, the king's son shall reign, as the Lord has
said of the sons of David. 4 This is what you shall do: One-third of you
entering on the Sabbath, of the priests and the Levites, shall be keeping
watch over the doors; 5 one-third shall be at the king's house; and
one-third at the Gate of the Foundation. All the people shall be in the
courts of the house of the Lord. 6 But let no one come into the house of the
Lord except the priests and those of the Levites who serve. They may go in,
for they are holy; but all the people shall keep the watch of the Lord. 7
And the Levites shall surround the king on all sides, every man with his
weapons in his hand; and whoever comes into the house, let him be put to
death. You are to be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out."

8 So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest
commanded. And each man took his men who were to be on duty on the Sabbath,
with those who were going off duty on the Sabbath; for Jehoiada the priest
had not dismissed the divisions. 9 And Jehoiada the priest gave to the
captains of hundreds the spears and the large and small shields which had
belonged to King David, that were in the temple of God. 10 Then he set all
the people, every man with his weapon in his hand, from the right side of
the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and by the
temple, all around the king. 11 And they brought out the king's son, put the
crown on him, gave him the [i]Testimony, and made him king. Then Jehoiada
and his sons anointed him, and said, "Long live the king!"

Death of Athaliah
12 Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the
king, she came to the people in the temple of the Lord. 13 When she looked,
there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance; and the leaders
and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were
rejoicing and blowing trumpets, also the singers with musical instruments,
and those who led in praise. So Athaliah tore her clothes and said,
"Treason! Treason!"

14 And Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds who were set
over the army, and said to them, "Take her outside under guard, and slay
with the sword whoever follows her." For the priest had said, "Do not kill
her in the house of the Lord."

15 So they seized her; and she went by way of the entrance of the Horse Gate
into the king's house, and they killed her there.

16 Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself, the people, and the king,
that they should be the Lord's people. 17 And all the people went to the
[j]temple of Baal, and tore it down. They broke in pieces its altars and
images, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. 18 Also
Jehoiada appointed the oversight of the house of the Lord to the hand of the
priests, the Levites, whom David had assigned in the house of the Lord, to
offer the burnt offerings of the Lord, as it is written in the Law of Moses,
with rejoicing and with singing, as it was established by David. 19 And he
set the gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the Lord, so that no one
who was in any way unclean should enter.

20 Then he took the captains of hundreds, the nobles, the governors of the
people, and all the people of the land, and brought the king down from the
house of the Lord; and they went through the Upper Gate to the king's house,
and set the king on the throne of the kingdom. 21 So all the people of the
land rejoiced; and the city was quiet, for they had slain Athaliah with the
sword.

Joash Repairs the Temple
24 Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years
in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2 Joash did what
was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. 3
And Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he had sons and daughters.

4 Now it happened after this that Joash set his heart on repairing the house
of the Lord. 5 Then he gathered the priests and the Levites, and said to
them, "Go out to the cities of Judah, and gather from all Israel money to
repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that you do it
quickly."

However the Levites did not do it quickly. 6 So the king called Jehoiada the
chief priest, and said to him, "Why have you not required the Levites to
bring in from Judah and from Jerusalem the collection, according to the
commandment of Moses the servant of the Lord and of the assembly of Israel,
for the tabernacle of witness?" 7 For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked
woman, had broken into the house of God, and had also presented all the
dedicated things of the house of the Lord to the Baals.

8 Then at the king's command they made a chest, and set it outside at the
gate of the house of the Lord. 9 And they made a proclamation throughout
Judah and Jerusalem to bring to the Lord the collection that Moses the
servant of God had imposed on Israel in the wilderness. 10 Then all the
leaders and all the people rejoiced, brought their contributions, and put
them into the chest until all had given. 11 So it was, at that time, when
the chest was brought to the king's official by the hand of the Levites, and
when they saw that there was much money, that the king's scribe and the high
priest's officer came and emptied the chest, and took it and returned it to
its place. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance.

12 The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the service of
the house of the Lord; and they hired masons and carpenters to repair the
house of the Lord, and also those who worked in iron and bronze to restore
the house of the Lord. 13 So the workmen labored, and the work was completed
by them; they restored the house of God to its original condition and
reinforced it. 14 When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money
before the king and Jehoiada; they made from it articles for the house of
the Lord, articles for serving and offering, spoons and vessels of gold and
silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord
continually all the days of Jehoiada.

Apostasy of Joash
15 But Jehoiada grew old and was full of days, and he died; he was one
hundred and thirty years old when he died. 16 And they buried him in the
City of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both
toward God and His house.

17 Now after the death of Jehoiada the leaders of Judah came and bowed down
to the king. And the king listened to them. 18 Therefore they left the house
of the Lord God of their fathers, and served wooden images and idols; and
wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass. 19 Yet He
sent prophets to them, to bring them back to the Lord; and they testified
against them, but they would not listen.

20 Then the Spirit of God [k]came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the
priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, "Thus says God: 'Why
do you transgress the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper?
Because you have forsaken the Lord, He also has forsaken you.' " 21 So they
conspired against him, and at the command of the king they stoned him with
stones in the court of the house of the Lord. 22 Thus Joash the king did not
remember the kindness which Jehoiada his [l]father had done to him, but
killed his son; and as he died, he said, "The Lord look on it, and repay!"

Death of Joash
23 So it happened in the spring of the year that the army of Syria came up
against him; and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the
leaders of the people from among the people, and sent all their [m]spoil to
the king of Damascus. 24 For the army of the Syrians came with a small
company of men; but the Lord delivered a very great army into their hand,
because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. So they executed
judgment against Joash. 25 And when they had withdrawn from him (for they
left him severely wounded), his own servants conspired against him because
of the blood of the [n]sons of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his
bed. So he died. And they buried him in the City of David, but they did not
bury him in the tombs of the kings.

26 These are the ones who conspired against him: [o]Zabad the son of
Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of [p]Shimrith the Moabitess.
27 Now concerning his sons, and the many oracles about him, and the
repairing of the house of God, indeed they are written in the [q]annals of
the book of the kings. Then Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

Footnotes
2 Chronicles 22:2 twenty-two, 2 Kin. 8:26
2 Chronicles 22:2 Lit. daughter
2 Chronicles 22:5 Joram, v. 7; 2 Kin. 8:28
2 Chronicles 22:6 Heb. mss., LXX, Syr., Vg. Ahaziah and 2 Kin. 8:29
2 Chronicles 22:7 Lit. crushing
2 Chronicles 22:7 Joram, vv. 5, 7; 2 Kin. 8:28
2 Chronicles 22:7 destroy
2 Chronicles 22:11 Jehosheba, 2 Kin. 11:2
2 Chronicles 23:11 Law, Ex. 25:16, 21; 31:18
2 Chronicles 23:17 Lit. house
2 Chronicles 24:20 Lit. clothed
2 Chronicles 24:22 Foster father
2 Chronicles 24:23 plunder
2 Chronicles 24:25 LXX, Vg. son and vv. 20-22
2 Chronicles 24:26 Jozachar, 2 Kin. 12:21
2 Chronicles 24:26 Shomer, 2 Kin. 12:21
2 Chronicles 24:27 Or commentary, Heb. midrash