(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better — and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see why)
Focus Question:
How is the church today like the divided kingdom of Israel?
Intro:
<NOTE: Today is a good example of listening making a lot more sense than reading>
Today’s stories both are at turning points — the NT as Jesus ascends and the focus turns toward the birth of the church, and the OT as the unified and prosperous kingdom of David and Solomon splits. And there’s one lesson that undergirds them both.
Hey Hopeful, welcome to ForTheHope’s Daily Audio Bible and a chance to see our stories and work in light of God’s story. And Happy Friday. Sorry I’ve not been getting these done and posted by midnight…I know some of you listen while driving to work and, well, I don’t get to do this for my day job right now.
NEW TESTAMENT SEGMENT:
In our NT segment, as we drop into the Jesus story toward the end of Luke 24 we’ll hear about something that Luke also comments on at the beginning of Acts, and in rare moment here I’m bridging the two readings so that you can hear them together. It’ll be obvious, and I’ll share one brief comment before we turn back to the OT.
Passage: Luke 24:36-Acts 1
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 43
Words: ~969
The gospel isn’t good advice, it’s good news. And it’s good news about the person and work of Jesus. The Ascension of Jesus isn’t talked about as much, and I’ll leave that speculation for another day. But I want you to remember one thing. Jesus is alive and on the throne, seated at the right hand of the Father. And this’ll tie in to our bottom line segment when we get there.
ORIGINAL TESTAMENT SEGMENT:
Our OT segment today gets to the second section of what we call 2 Chronicles. And interestingly, the Chronicler recounts on historical narratives, but it’s for a spiritual purpose.
Passage: 2 Chronicles 10-12
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 58
Words: ~1748
Wisdom SEGMENT:
Passage: Proverbs 13:21-25
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 5
Words: ~80
THE BOTTOM LINE:
<NOTE: Today is a good example of listening making a lot more sense than reading>
How is the church today like the divided kingdom of Israel? And how does that bubble up in today’s readings?
As we saw the beginnings of in our OT reading, after the northern tribes revolt we begin into what will be a long stretch of alternate periods — spiritual decay and religious reform, decay, reform. But in the context of the Original Covenant, all of Israel — now split into two kingdoms — has its highest form of failure the failure of the monarch to faithfully put God first…like the first commandment. And it’s not as obvious in the Chronicler’s writings, but the parallel story in the book of 2 Ki 10 tells us where the fault was…it was with Solomon. His sin had consequences…but God' — in His mercy and in keeping with His promise to David that he’d have progeny on the throne forever — left someone in the royal lineage on the throne.
We know that this ultimately culminated with Jesus, of course, who now is, in fact, the good King on the throne forever.
But in a New Covenant sense, the church is you and me. And Jesus’ final prayer was for our loyalty and unity. And we still struggle with actually letting Him be ruler of our lives, the consequence of which is division.
So the next time you think about what, exactly, it is about the person and work of Jesus, remember that though the pinnacle is the conquering of sin and death on the cross, immediately before and after in a historical sense is his sinless life, then atoning death, bodily resurrection, and ascension to the position of King ruling on that throne right now.
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
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