Reading for Today:

• 2 Chronicles 19:1 Chapter 19 1 And Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem. –20:37
• Psalms 82:1-8 Chapter 82 1 God standeth in the congregation of God; He judgeth among the gods. 2 How long will ye judge unjustly, And respect the persons of the wicked? Selah 3 Judge the poor and fatherless: Do justice to the afflicted and destitute. 4 Rescue the poor and needy: Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked. 5 They know not, neither do they understand; They walk to and fro in darkness: All the foundations of the earth are shaken. 6 I said, Ye are gods, And all of you sons of the Most High. 7 Nevertheless ye shall die like men, And fall like one of the princes. 8 Arise, O God, judge the earth; For thou shalt inherit all the nations. Psalm 83 A song. A Psalm of Asaph.
• Proverbs 20:29-30 29 The glory of young men is their strength; And the beauty of old men is the hoary head. 30 Stripes that wound cleanse away evil; And strokes `reach' the innermost parts.
• Acts 17:1-15 Chapter 17 1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: 2 and Paul, as his custom was, went in unto them, and for three sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 opening and alleging that it behooved the Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom, `said he,' I proclaim unto you, is the Christ. 4 And some of them were persuaded, and consorted with Paul and Silas, and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. 5 But the Jews, being moved with jealousy, took unto them certain vile fellows of the rabble, and gathering a crowd, set the city on an uproar; and assaulting the house of Jason, they sought to bring them forth to the people. 6 And when they found them not, they dragged Jason and certain brethren before the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; 7 whom Jason hath received: and these all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, `one' Jesus. 8 And they troubled the multitude and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things. 9 And when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. 10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Beroea: who when they were come thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of the mind, examining the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so. 12 Many of them therefore believed; also of the Greek women of honorable estate, and of men, not a few. 13 But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was proclaimed of Paul at Beroea also, they came thither likewise, stirring up and troubling the multitudes. 14 And then immediately the brethren sent forth Paul to go as far as to the sea: and Silas and Timothy abode there still. 15 But they that conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timothy that they should come to him with all speed, they departed.

Notes:

2 Chronicles 19:1 Chapter 19 1 And Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem. –3 Having faced possible death that was diverted by God (18:31), Jehoshaphat was rebuked because of his alliances. The prophet condemned the king’s alliance with God’s enemy, Ahab (1 Kin. 22:2), yet there was mercy mingled with wrath because of the king’s concern personally and nationally for the true worship of God.

Psalms 82:1 Chapter 82 1 God standeth in the congregation of God; He judgeth among the gods. congregation of the mighty. The scene opens with God having called the world leaders together. among the gods. Some have taken this psalm to be about demons or false pagan gods. The best interpretation is that these “gods” are human leaders, such as judges, kings, legislators, and presidents (Ex. 22:8, 9, 28; Judg. 5:8, 9).God the Great Judge presides over these lesser judges.

Psalms 82:6 6 I said, Ye are gods, And all of you sons of the Most High. I said. Kings and judges are set up ultimately by the decree of God (Ps. 2:6). God, in effect, invests His authority in human leaders for the stability of the universe (Rom. 13:1–7). But God may revoke this authority (v. 7). “You are gods.” Jesus, in quoting this phrase in John 10:34 34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, ye are gods? , supported the interpretation that the “gods” were human beings. In a play on words, He claims that if human leaders can be called “gods,” certainly the Messiah can be called God.

Psalms 82:8 8 Arise, O God, judge the earth; For thou shalt inherit all the nations. Psalm 83 A song. A Psalm of Asaph. You shall inherit all nations. The psalmist prayerfully anticipates the future when God will set up His kingdom and restore order and perfect justice to a sin-cursed world (Pss.96; 97; Is.11:1–5).

Acts 17:7 7 whom Jason hath received: and these all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, `one' Jesus. contrary to the decrees of Caesar. One of the most serious crimes in the Roman Empire was to acknowledge allegiance to any king but Caesar ( John 19:15 15 They therefore cried out, Away with `him', away with `him', crucify him! Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. ).

Acts 17:15 15 But they that conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timothy that they should come to him with all speed, they departed. Athens. The cultural center of Greece. At its zenith, Athens was home to the most renowned philosophers in history, including Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, who was arguably the most influential philosopher of all. Two other significant philosophers taught there: Epicurus, founder of Epicureanism, and Zeno, founder of Stoicism—two of the dominant philosophies in that day (v. 18).

DAY 12: How did Jehoshaphat express his faith in the face of adversity?

Second Chronicles 20:1–30 is one of the great stories of faith in the Old Testament. Attacked by a great multitude from Moab and Ammon, Jehoshaphat made the appropriate spiritual response, i.e., the king and the nation appealed to God in prayer and fasting. The fast was national, including even the children (v. 13). Jehoshaphat stood in the redecorated center court praying for the nation, appealing to the promises, the glory, and the reputation of God which were at stake since He was identified with Judah (vv. 5–12). In his prayer he acknowledged God’s sovereignty (v. 6), God’s covenant (v. 7), God’s presence (vv. 8, 9), God’s goodness (v. 10), God’s possession (v. 11), and their utter dependence on Him (v. 12).

The Lord responded immediately, sending a message of confidence through the prophet Jahaziel. “Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow go down against them…. You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD” (v. 15–17).

Here was the praise of faith (vv. 18–21). They were confident enough in God’s promise of victory to begin the praise before the battle was won. So great was their trust that the choir marched in front of the army, singing psalms. People were appointed who should “praise the beauty of holiness” (v. 21). The Lord is beautiful in holiness (Ex. 15:11; Ps. 27:4), but the text here would better be translated “in holy attire,” which was referring to the manner in which the Levite singers were clothed in symbolic sacred clothing (1 Chr. 16:29) in honor of the Lord’s holiness.

Similar to God’s intervention in Gideon’s day (Judg. 7:15–23), God caused confusion among the enemy, who mistakenly turned upon themselves and slaughtered each other (vv. 22–24). Some think this may have been done by angels who appeared and set off this uncontrolled and deadly panic. The destruction was complete before Jehoshaphat and his army ever met the enemy (v. 24).

From The MacArthur Daily Bible Copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson Bibles, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc, Nashville, TN 37214, www.thomasnelson.com.

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