Solomon builds a temple to honor the Lord. In the prayer of dedication, he anticipates a time when foreign peoples will journey to the temple in Jerusalem because the God of Israel is famous for answering the prayers of all people. Yet the final chapter of 2 Kings describes a foreign nation coming to Jerusalem, not to worship there but to destroy the temple and take the people of God into exile. The tragic history that unfolds between the dedication and destruction of the temple shows how God’s people and God’s kings fail in their commission to reflect his character among the nations. Scriptures referenced include 1 Kings 8:23 ; 2 Kings 25:8–21; 2 Kings 10:12-14; Proverbs 14:12; 2 Kings 11:1–3; 1 Kings 19:17-21.
Part 15 opens with the deeply human struggle of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. After the Last Supper, Jesus leads His disciples to...
What kind of Christians ought we to be? While salvation is by God’s grace through faith, the Christian life is to be a growing...
King Ahasuerus promotes the wicked Haman to a position of great authority, demanding that all his servants bow down and pay homage to him....
