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.
Christ’s passionate love for the world is evident in His statements from the cross on that Good Friday afternoon almost 2000 years ago. We...
Today we continue our series: “Ten Lessons for Today from the Christmas Story” with Episode 38. Can there be peace on earth? What is...
Moved by the authority he sensed in Jesus’s teaching, Longinus faces a personal crisis when his beloved servant and friend, Tobias, falls terminally ill....
