By the grace of God, Hezekiah not only did not emulate his father, but did the complete opposite of his father. Perhaps nowhere in Scripture is there such a marked contrast between father and son as with Hezekiah and his father. King Ahaz, the father of Hezekiah, excelled in all things evil, even to the point of sacrificing one of his children (II Kings 16:3). The abominations of the surrounding kingdoms set the tone for his reign.

That Hezekiah should follow in his father’s footsteps might seem likely, but God had other plans for this king of Judah. He lived up to his name, which means "God is might," for by the help of the Lord he removed pagan worship from the land of Judah. The people had not only picked up the idolatrous practices of the nations, they even offered incense to the Bronze Serpent that Moses had made. Hezekiah saw to it that this idol was destroyed.

This good king even went farther than the other good kings before him: he abolished the unlawful high places of Jehovah-worship, and restored true, lawful worship in the Temple, which had been neglected (see II Chronicles 29 - 31).

So, how might we answer the question "like father, like son?" No and yes! Hezekiah was surely not like his father Ahaz, but he was very much like his father David, who trusted in the Lord. He is honored with these words: "he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done" (II Kings 18:3). May God bless His people with sons like Hezekiah in the coming generations.

As we read I Chronicles 15 and 16 our hearts truly rejoice in God our Savior who does great things. King David prepared a place in Jerusalem for the ark of God and then He commanded the Levites to carry the ark of God and to minister before Him - for God had chosen the tribe of Levi for Himself (Deuteronomy 10:8).

When the ark was placed in the tent, burnt offerings and peace offerings were offered to God.

Let us meditate upon King David’s song of Thanksgiving for it has all the elements of true worship "to commemorate, to thank, and to praise the Lord God." (I Chronicles 16:4)

Just as King David was an earthly king who led his people in the worship of the one true God, we look unto Christ Jesus, our eternal heavenly King, Who has made His own special people, a royal priesthood, that we may proclaim the praises of Him Who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light (I Peter 2:9). Jesus taught that God the Father desires His people to worship (thank, praise and commemorate) in spirit and in truth. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth (John 4:23,24).

So let us meditate upon this song of Thanksgiving (I Chronicles 16:8-36), for it is spirit and it is truth, in order that we may worship the only God, maker of heaven and earth, His only begotten Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The psalmist said, "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised" and "…You who have done great things; O God, who is like You?"

What makes God great in the eyes of His creation? God is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. He is beyond the limits of time and space, because He is the Creator of both. God alone makes things that are seen from things that are not seen (ex nihilo). The attributes that give us some idea of His greatness seem to be too numerous to count, yet they are clearly defined in His Word. We do not need to try to define the greatness of God; He has done that for us.

Rather, God would limit our definition of "The Greatness of God" to keep us from going beyond that which is acceptable to Him. Creating an image of God that is not Biblical could be harmful to us, leading us into error or even heresy. A present-time example would be the term we often hear, "God is love." God’s ability to love a lost and dying world by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay for our sins, seems beyond our reasoning, but that is part of the greatness of God. Our problem is, we have carried the "God is love" phrase to the extreme so that we have forgotten that He is also a God of holiness, righteousness and judgment. He alone is the Law-giver and the Judge.

In I Chronicles, Chapter 29, King David anoints his son Solomon to be king over Israel, and blesses the Lord with the following words, "Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all." We should never forget that our purpose for reading and studying Scripture is to praise God. Our truest form of worship is to praise our God, who is greater than we can know.

We hear a lot today about the need for reform, especially in reference to government. The list seems endless: welfare reform, campaign finance reform, health care reform, and the latest politically correct notion, child-care reform. But, where in the discussion of reforms, do we hear reference to God or God’s Word?

In 2nd Chronicles, we read about one of Israel’s better kings, King Asa, a king who implemented national reform. God’s law provided the basis for King Asa’s reform (2 Chronicles 15).

In II Kings 22:8, we learn that Hilkiah the high priest "found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord" (God’s Law had disappeared from society). Asa didn’t have to invent the laws that would bring about reform, he merely had to go to God’s holy law to see what it was that God required of His people. That Asa’s reforms would be successful were confirmed by these prophetic words from Azariah:

Click the image below and download this daily reading guide to keep track.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

May

We can learn much from the contrasts of Scripture. Jesus Christ perfectly emulated his perfect Father – "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30).

Some use Sunday to catch up on Bible reading missed during the week. Others prefer to double up on their reading on Saturday in order to set aside the Sabbath for church and fellowship. Either way, if you consistently read Scripture in the 15 or 20 minute increments shown above for an entire year, you will read all of Scripture in just one year.

"let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:1-2).

"The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you" (2 Chron. 15:2).

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Reading all of Scripture, even in 15 minute daily installments is more like a marathon than a sprint. But, be encouraged, with God all things are possible.

While King Asa experienced the comfort of the first part of Azariah’s exhortation, he also lived to experience the distress of the flip-side of this exhortation. Asa displeased God when he made a treaty with the Syrian king (demonstrating that he was not fully relying on the Lord God). The rebuke which follows is one of the most often quoted verses of Scripture. "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him" (2 Chron. 16:9).

King Asa started his race towards reform by trusting entirely in the Lord. But, he did not finish the race as he started. We should learn from King Asa’s success and failure.