After yesterday's readings about those rascals – Kings Manasseh and Amon – we now come to the end of our readings in the Chronicles, and to that which, I believe, is the saddest section of the Old Testament – 2 Chronicles 36:15-21. However, before the end of the book, God blesses us with a breath of fresh air in chapters 34 and 35 by the life and ministry of King Josiah. Josiah came to the throne as “an eight-year-old boy and did what was right in the eyes of the LORD – walking in the ways of his father, David – not turning aside to the right or to the left” (verses 1-2). Josiah’s revival was thorough during his lifetime, but we know from our previous readings that his story ends with his foolish and unsuccessful warfare against Pharaoh Neco (cf., 2 Kings 23:29; 2 Chronicles 35:22-24). Josiah gave his all to the Lord and to Judah. With his reforms, he found the book of the law, purged Judah of the cult of Baal, restored the temple and temple worship, and re-instituted the celebration of the Passover – which "had not been observed like this since the days of the prophet Samuel” (cf., 35:18). But as we said earlier, it was all too little, too late (cf., July 13, Day 195 – Too Little, Too Late). For all its disobedience and by decree of God’s Word, the kingdom of Judah is headed to Babylon for exile, and nothing can stop it. That is why this is the saddest section of the Old Testament. Four more rascal kings follow Josiah, but they all “mocked God’s messengers, despised His words, and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against His people and there was no remedy.” Think of it! “No remedy.” So “God gave them all into Nebuchadnezzar’s hands” (2 Chronicles 36:16-17). This reveals that, though God is merciful, His patience has limits. If our readings about the kings of Israel and Judah teach us anything at all, the lesson is this: sin will take you farther than you want to go; it will keep you longer than you want to stay; and it will cost you more than you want to pay.
In the second section of Psalm 104, verses 19-30, we read that God establishes the seasons – which are the God-ordained divisions or boundaries that mark out all those things in our lives that regulate, dominate, manipulate, and separate them. “The moon marks off the seasons; the sun knows where it goes down; darkness becomes night; then the sun rises, and man goes out to his work … until evening” (verses 19-23). God did all this “by wisdom” (verse 24), and “these all – the earth, its creatures, the sea, living things both large and small, the ships, leviathan – they all look to the LORD” (verses 24-27). The whole creation rises up in praise of the LORD (cf., verse 1).
In 2 Corinthians 3:7-18, Paul explains how the veil that covered Moses’ face became a stumbling-block for Jewish people with regard to Christ. “What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain. God gave them a spirit of stupor – eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear to this very day” (cf., Romans 11:7-8). Although the brilliance on Moses’ face was passing away and was hidden by his veil to protect the eyes and the sight of the Jews, symbolically, that veil remains over their hearts today whenever Moses is read. “Whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” (verse 16). Only when they turn to Christ can this stumbling-block removed. Here, we see that Jesus Christ is the only Remedy for the removal of and forgiveness for our sin.
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