Gary Gleans

God is not only concerned with what we do, but He is concerned with how and why we do the things that we do.  The Lord was pleased that David and the congregation had decided to bring the ark of the Lord to Jerusalem.  They seem to be doing this for all of the right reasons and seem to have an excellent spirit of praise and worship as they transport the ark on a cart that they prepared for this purpose.  However, the party is cut short when the ox that was pulling the cart stumbled and Uzzah who was directing the ox put his hand out to steady the ark from falling.  Uzzah is killed by the Lord on the spot and the party is over.  Just because we have good intentions does not mean that the Lord will overlook our disobedience. GOD REQUIRES COMPLETE OBEDIENCE: I believe that God was pleased with David’s decision to bring the ark to Jerusalem.  I believe that God was pleased with the joy and praise that they group was offering as they moved the ark.  However God was infuriated with thei

Transition in leadership is generally a very hard thing for a nation to face especially in the midst of war when the king is taken in battle.  However, in this case the transition seems to happen with very little difficulty.  The truth is that Saul’s leadership was so distracted by his quest to kill David that he became ineffective as a leader.  David was beloved by all of Israel and yet their king was trying to kill him.  This distraction and seeming insanity along with Samuel having anointed David as king caused many mighty men to defect from Saul and join forces with David.  By the time that Saul was killed David already had a huge army that was following him so when Saul died there was already a big jump on the transition.  God was obviously orchestrating these events and bringing about His will in this course of action. MANY MEN FORTIFIED DAVID’S LEADERSHIP: When David had to flee from the presence of Saul; he was by himself and alone; a fugitive in the wilderness.  However,

David had been a valiant warrior in Saul’s army, but had to flee from him because of Saul’s extreme jealousy and distrust.  Samuel had already anointed David as the next king but David would not be disloyal to Saul despite Saul’s harsh treatment.  Now that Saul is dead, David takes his rightful place as King and the people recognize him as such.  Even before he was king, David was a powerful and influential man with a significant following.  He was surrounded by men who were loyal to him and were willing to make great sacrifices and take great risks to their own personal safety in order to protect and serve David.  It is important for us to recognize that David was really never alone in his struggles against Saul or in His taking over of the kingdom.  God was always with him, but besides the Lord, David was surrounded by a dedicated group of men.  We must never take on the “Lone Ranger” mentality in our service to the Lord.  God designed for us to function as a body in cooperation wit

The entire reign of Saul is summed up in this one chapter.  This period of history was covered in much greater detail in the books of Samuel and Kings.  At this point we only see the very end of Saul’s life, how he died and why the Lord allowed him to suffer such a tragic and violent death.  Saul could have been a great man, but disobedience and pride caused him to be weak and one of the most tragic characters in Scripture.  His sin not only cut his life short but the lives of his children as well and many of the soldiers who fought by his side.  When leaders fail the ramifications are always much larger than we would ever imagine.  Unfortunately temptation always looks so nice at first, but that is because we are blinded to the consequences of sin by our desire to sin.  We must learn to count the cost. SAUL HAD A HORRIFYING DEATH: Saul was killed on the battlefield, but he was only wounded by the enemy but was not dead.  He asked his armor bearer to finish him off so he did not h

This is the last chapter dedicated to the genealogies in this book.  Interestingly the chapter begins with a list of the people who returned from the captivity to begin the rebuilding process of the nation and then it ends with a repetition of the genealogy of Saul.  So before the author of Chronicles starts to repeat the history of the kings of Israel he takes us forward to the return from captivity.  We know that Israel will be unfaithful and that the story of the kings will lead the people into captivity but we also know that there is hope in that the nation will not be lost through the captivity.  The Lord is faithful to His promise and He will bring His people back. GOD IS A RESTORER: If there is one thing that we can certainly say about our Lord; it is that He is a restorer.  He does not take sin lightly and He is more than willing to discipline, but He will also be faithful to restore His people to Himself.  This is what the message of the Gospel is all about.  In Christ we

It is hard to say why we have a second genealogy for Benjamin instead of just covering the full family of Saul in just one genealogy.  Perhaps it is because the author is beginning to go into the history of the kings so he wanted to give a special place to Saul’s lineage as the first king of Israel.  One thing that is important to remember when comparing the genealogies in Scripture is that there are very often people missing from the lists, also there are often men that are listed with more than one name and there are several alternate spellings for the same name at times.  These facts make the family lines hard to trace at times and can create confusion when trying to compare the genealogy.  I am not going to bother doing an outline of this chapter, but would just like to note once again how this tribe could have been much more prominent had Saul not been such a failure as a king.  However, I think it is also worthy to note that Benjamin and Judah made up the majority of the norther

We continue to look at the descendants of the various tribes of Israel.  We can see that the children of Israel were very concerned about keeping the records of their history and the identity of their tribes.  We have very specific details of who was born into what tribe.  These genealogies were recorded in Scripture and will be preserved for all of eternity.  God is obviously interested in recording the genealogies of His people.  He obviously knows the family history of every man woman and child ever born of the face of the earth.  I imagine that once we arrive in heaven we will be able to trace our family history all the way back to Adam through Noah.  If that that is true, we will have a great time getting to know our ancestors from so many generations back. THE DESCENDANTS OF ISSACHAR: This tribe is not one of the more prominent or well-known tribes of Israel.  What is brought into focus in this chapter is the fact that they had many wives who gave birth to many valiant warri

The Levites were a special people within Israel.  God chose them to be the ministers in the temple and the leaders of worship before the people.  We have an extensive list of all of the descendants of Levi and we recognize many of these names from the history of Israel.  By far the most significant name from Levi is Moses whom God used to liberate the people from slavery in Egypt as well as write the Law and establish the nation and the system of worship that God revealed to him.  Aaron and the rest of the priests throughout the history of Israel all came from the tribe of Levi. THE LEVITES LED THE PEOPLE IN WORSHIP: The main job that the tribe of Levi had was to lead the people of Israel in worship.  They were the priests who represented the people before the Lord in offering sacrifices and represented the Lord before the people by proclaiming the Law of the Lord.  Originally Israel was founded as the theocracy where God was the king and so the Levites were also as close as the n

This chapter continues to list the descendants of the children on Israel according to their various tribes.  We see some distinctive characteristics about the three tribes described in today’s text.  These were the tribes that preferred to stay on the other side of the Jordan because they had large numbers of flocks and the land on the east side of the Jordan was, in their estimation, more suitable to the raising of these flocks.  These three tribes are together geographically, but there are contrasts that we can see between them and from which we would do well to learn. THE DESCENDANTS OF RUBEN: We are reminded in the text of the fact that Ruben was the first of the sons born to Jacob.  As the first born son, he had the right to a double portion of the inheritance.  However, Ruben had been unfaithful and he slept with one of his father’s concubines and so his birthright was taken from him and given to Joseph.  Ruben is cursed by Jacob and there are no significant leaders who come

We now go back and start looking at the genealogy of all of the descendants of Jacob through each of his sons.  Today’s chapter looks at the descendants of Judah and the descendants of Simeon.  There is a long list of people that we have a hard time recognizing but they are all know to God and recorded in the Scripture as well as in eternity.  However, besides the names of people every now and then the list of names is interrupted to give us an insight into the one of the people or groups of people who are listed here. THE DESCENDANTS OF JUDAH: The list of names from the tribe of Judah is interrupted when we get to a man named Jabez.  We know very little about him other than what we learn in this passage.  The Scripture tells us that he was more honorable than his brothers and that he called on the name of the Lord.  His name means pain but he did not want the meaning of his name to be the experience of his life.  He trusted the Lord and believed in the power of prayer so he asked

Today we look at the direct descendants of David and then the descendants of David through Solomon.  This is a quick look at all of the kings of Judah up to and through the captivity.  We recognize a great number of these names from the books of Kings.  There are two things that I would like to consider from this chapter today. DAVID HAD A VARIOUS WIVES: As we look at the sons that David had, we can see that he was very far from being a “one woman man.”  He had sons from several different women but none from his first wife, Michal the daughter of Saul.  It is true that his first marriage was a complicated one in which his wife was taken from him by Saul and actually given to another man but she was later restored to David.  I cannot help but wonder how the history of Israel might have been different had David been faithful to just one wife.  Certainly, David’s life would have had far less heartache and would have been much more pleasing to the Lord.  This passage lists seven women

God chose to preserve in Scripture the family tree of David and in great detail the entire family of David’s brothers.  As we read through the long lists of names there are only a few that we recognize.  We may consider these details as unimportant, but each name represents a life lived or for the glory of God or in rebellion against God.  These were the brothers, uncles, nephews and extended family of David and had an influence in some way on his life and the circumstances during their point in history.  The truth is that most of us are relatively unknown to the world community at large.  In all likelihood we will be even less known to the generations that follow.  However, each of us is fully known by and important to the Lord.  Here are a couple of thoughts that came to my mind as I reflected on this list of names. OUR FAMILIES ARE IMPORTANT: Each of us was born into a family that has an impact on who we are and what we do.  We are not determined by our family structure, but we

The importance of history in the Bible is amazing as we consider the records of the people on the Earth.  God knows every name of every person who has ever lived on this planet.  He also knows how every single one of us fit into His plan for redeeming the people who have fallen into sin.  As we look at the genealogies leading up to and following the flood we see how the nations were formed and how God is aware of every man’s actions as well as the children that these men produced.  He has, throughout history, raised up leaders who have been used as a part of His sovereign plan of redemption.  As we look at these genealogies, two clear thoughts come to mind. GOD’S CONTROL: There are never any surprises to the Lord.  He is aware of every person and He has never lost control over the event of the Earth.  There are many people that are listed in this chapter who were very evil in the actions and they became the founders of nations that rebelled against God, but even in the face of reb

God had promised through Moses that if the people did not obey the Lord and began to worship idols that He would send the children of Israel into captivity and that they would be dispersed amongst the nations.  Despite this clear warning, generation after generation rejected God and walked deeper and deeper into sin and idolatry.  Just as God had promised the Lord brought the nation of Babylon against Israel and practically the entire nation was taken into captivity or fled to live in another land.  The people only had themselves to blame as they had been clearly and repeatedly warned.  We must constantly pay close attention to the warnings of the Lord. THE PEOPLE OF JUDAH ARE TAKEN AS PRISONERS: When the people of Judah and their king decided to rebel, Nebuchadnezzar came with his entire army and surrounded Jerusalem.  The majority of the men had already been taken captive and what was left was powerless to stand against such a powerful army.  The ironic thing is that they could

I am sorry that I was not able to inform you that I was traveling this week.  I have been able to write but not post, so the last four posts in 2 Kings are all available now.

Judah was already living as functional slaves of the nation of Egypt as they were forced to pay heavy taxes, but things were about to go from bad to worse.  People often live under the impression that sin is a sign of liberty or freedom. The truth is that sin left unchecked from which we do not repent always leads to captivity and slavery.  Freedom to sin leads us to captivity in sin. BABYLON TAKES CONTROL OVER JUDAH: Nebuchadnezzar has been moving across the world dominating nation after nation and eventually took over all that Egypt had been controlling which included Israel and Judah.  So the taxes that had been going to Egypt are now being paid to Babylon and the people are no longer free to work and prosper as they please since all to their profits are being sent off to Babylon.  This is certainly no way to live and was not how God intended for His people to live.  This condition was the result of sin and rebellion in the lives of the children of Israel for generation after g

Josiah was a great king in Judah.  He served the Lord with all of his heart and led the people in the purifying of the land as well as in worship of the Lord.  However, the wrath of God over the sins of the people and the previous kings for generation after generation was still very abundant.  God had already determined that He would punish the nation and send it into captivity.  God knew that the revival under Josiah would be short lived and that the following generation would be unfaithful just like the previous generation had been.  Josiah gave hope to the current generation and God withheld His wrath during Josiah’s life.  This gave an ample opportunity for the people to truly repent and turn to the Lord.  Many did; but unfortunately, many did not.  Even though Josiah’s obedience could not undo the consequences of all the disobedience from the previous generations; Josiah is a great example of leadership. JOSIAH LEADS THE PEOPLE BY REVEALING THE WORD OF GOD TO THEM: The Word o

Josiah was eight years old when he became king.  His father and grandfather had been wicked and idolatrous kings but his heart was tender before the Lord and he did what was right before the Lord.  God always has a remnant that He preserves within His people that will serve Him with faithfulness and holiness.  God is able to protect the hearts and minds of His children despite the evil influence in which they are being raised.  Josiah is a great example of this truth as he rejects the examples of his father and grandfather and chooses to follow the Lord.  We must all recognize that each generation is responsible for the choices that it makes.  We are influenced by our parents but our parents can never determine our walk before the Lord.  Each of us can and must chose to follow Him or are free to choose to disobey Him; but each of us will give an account before Him as to what we choose. JOSIAH REPAIRS THE TEMPLE AND DISCOVERS THE WORD OF GOD: The temple of God had fallen into disre

There is clearly a battle that rages for the hearts and souls of men.  This is a fallen planet and Satan has great power and influence over the inhabitants of the Earth.  Hezekiah had just finished tearing down all of the high places in Israel.  This was obviously not something that Satan was pleased with and he would not stand by and just let this happen without any response.  Manasseh, Hezekiah’s son is an instrument in Satan’s hands and he goes out a rebuilds all of the idols that his father had torn down.  We must be careful to not relax after a great spiritual victory or ever consider any area of sin in our lives to be “conquered.”  We must be constantly vigilant knowing that we are vulnerable to temptation and failure no matter how victorious we have been in the past. MANASSEH CONTRADICTS ALL THE GOOD HEZEKIAH HAD DONE: Hezekiah had a difficult but productive reign.  He was obedient to the Lord and cleaned up the idol worship in Israel better than any king ever had.  Despite