In my church Bible reading program we are currently in 2 Kings.  While reading this part of the Bible you may have noticed that it is pretty difficult to sort out the historical flow of kings. That is partly because the narrative keeps jumping between the kings of Judah and those of Israel. Once the kingdom divided after Solomon, there are two interrelated histories, that of Israel (10 of the original tribes) in the north, and Judah (and Benjamin) in the south.

What makes it more confusing is the fact that some of the kings have very similar names, and some kings are referred to by more than one name. Some examples:

• Joash king of Judah is also called Jehoash (these are two forms of the same name). But there was also a different Jehoash who was king of Israel around that time. It is important to pay careful attention to whether is says “of Judah” or “of Israel.”
• Each kingdom had a king named Ahaziah.
• King Azariah of Judah is also called Uzziah. Since he is mentioned in Isaiah 6, we know where to place Isaiah in biblical history.
• There are two kings of Israel named Jeroboam. The first one, whom we may call Jeroboam I is called Jeroboam the son of Nebat in the Bible. He was the first king of Israel after the division between the northern and southern kingdoms, and he started Israel down the path of idolatry. Many of the later kings of Israel are condemned for not departing from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
• Several of the kings have very similar sounding names, such as: Azariah, Ahaziah, Amahziah, Athaliah (queen mother).  It is helpful to consult a chart to keep things straight.

At the right is a helpful diagram I found on Wikipedia that shows the flow of kings of Judah and Israel along with their genealogical relationships (click on the chart for a larger image). The solid lines indicate genealogical relationships, and the arrows indicate succession. The horizontal arrows indicate a change in dynasty, that is, a king succeeded by someone who is not his son.

One of the interesting things that jumps out at me in this chart is that all of the kings of Judah are David’s descendants while in Israel there is only one king who had passed the throne on to his grandson and beyond. God promised David that he would always have a son on the throne (2 Sam. 7:16). Since Jesus is descended from David, one day in God’s kingdom David will still have a son on the throne.

For those of you doing the Bible reading program, what have you been learning from 2 Kings?

Ying Yee has an challenging post about the need to rethink our life/work balance.  If we give in to the pressure in our society to make work everything, then everything else, including marriage, family, spiritual life and ministry becomes, well, nothing.  This is not the way God intended things to be.  Take a look at what he says, and then let me know what you think.

Ying is a pastor in Sydney whom I have gotten to know recently online, and his blog like mine is called “Reflections.”

Carrie Prejean, Miss California in the Miss USA contest, was considered by many to be the front runner until one of the judges asked her about gay marriage.  In answering the question, she stood her ground and said that she believed that marriage should be between a man and a women.  And it cost her the crown.

In a later interview, she said that she reflected on the answer that ended her chance to be Miss USA. Asked how she felt, she replied

Honestly, happy. This happened for a reason. By having to answer that question in front of a national audience, God was testing my character and faith. I’m glad I stayed true to myself.

Here is a young woman who had worked hard and long toward her goal, and when the prize was within reach she was forced to choose between her beliefs and the crown.  How many of us would have caved in under that kind of pressure?

In the aftermath there were of course some who publicly attacked her for her beliefs, but there was also an outpouring of support form those who were thankful to her for standing up. When asked if people had been trying to contact her, she said,

Yes, lots of phone calls. I’ve gotten over 500 facebook friend requests, hundreds of messages from people I don’t know, saying how proud of me they are that I stood my ground. That made me the real winner of the night.

We need more believers  who are willing to stand up for their faith, and not cave in to pressure to be politically correct.  Carrie Prejean, you are a winner!

Update: Today’s paper quotes her as saying “It’s not about being politically correct, for me; it’s about being biblically correct.”  Meanwhile, she is being savagely attacked by Hollywood.  We should keep her in our prayers.

An article in today’s SF Chronicle describes the plight of two students at the College of Alameda who were threatened with suspension for praying with a teacher who was ill in a faculty office. A U.S. District judge has refused the school’s efforts to have the case dismissed and said has ruled that the lawsuit filed by the students can go ahead.  The students are seeking affirmation of their rights and removal of all disciplinary actions, but no damages other than their court costs.  For more details, see this article.

I don’t have any information on this case apart from these news articles, but based on the information here this looks like an outrageous attempt to ban religion, especially Christianity, from the campus.  The teacher was sick and the two girls prayed for her, with her consent, in a faculty office.  Another faculty member walked into the shared office and insisted that they stop, which they did.  But then they were accused of “disruptive behavior” and disciplinary action was taken. Outrageous!  I’m glad that the two girls involved have legal representation and that the case is going forward.  Schools must learn that they cannot selectively discriminate against the first amendment rights of Christians.

“Despite worries among evangelicals that Americans are set against attending church, most people would attend if invited in the right manner.”  That was the finding of a recent survey conducted by the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention and Lifeway Research.  The nation wide poll of 15,000 adults last December asked people about their willingness to attend a church when approached by different methods.  For two of the methods over half of the respondents gave a positive answer.  They found that 63% were willing to receive an invitation from a family member, and 56% from a friend or neighbor.  Other approaches, including advertising or going door to door, scored lower.

This is another reminder that the best method of sharing the Gospel is and has always been personal contact with those in our social networks.  It’s the same method we see in the New Testament when Andrew went to find his brother Peter (Jn. 1:41) and Philip went to find Nathaniel (Jn. 1:45).   Jesus sent the man delivered from a legion of demons back to tell his friends and neighbors what God had done for him (Mk. 5:19). Cornelius gathered his household and close friends to hear Peter share the Gospel (Acts 10:24).  We see it again and again in the Bible and in church history.

Some time ago the Billy Graham organization did a study of the people who made decisions at their evangelistic meetings.  The vast majority of them had come because of the witness of a neighbor or friend.  So even “mass evangelism” is dependent on the witness of individual Christians.

What this means for us as individual Christians is that personally sharing our faith is essential to the fulfillment of the Great Commission.  We can’t rely on media or big meetings, and we can’t expect a few Christian leaders to carry the ball on their own.  This is a job for all of us.

Your witness matters.  Get out there and let your light shine.

Daniel Burritt owns a construction company in New York, and he uses his property in various ways to spread the Gospel. He has a trailer parked on his property, within sight of the highway, with a Gospel message on the side. The state highway department threatened to forcibly remove the trailer, even though other trailers with commercial messages on them were allowed to remain. After the Alliance Defense Fund filed a lawsuit, the trailer was allowed to remain.

I’m sure that some Christians will criticize his methods, but before your criticize him you should ask what actions you are taking to actively share your faith.  As someone who was criticized once said, “I like my way of sharing my faith better than your way of not sharing yours.”  Even though some people might dislike the message, they don’t have the right to single out Christians to suppress our freedom of speech.