June 12

OT -- 1st Kings 9:1-10:29
As we start in on the many, many kings listed in 1st and 2nd Kings, it will be helpful to know the chronology of the kings. Here is a great website that will give you that chronology. Please bookmark the page and refer to it as needed. If there is a prophet associated with a king, I will try and point that out. It will be helpful to read that prophet.

The Kings of Israel and Judah

How interesting that the Queen of Sheba should show up in the OT scriptures and the Ethiopian official should be in our NT. Although archeologists are not certain where Sheba actually was, it was most probably in Ethiopia. This is why there are colonies of Jews in Ethiopia that trace their ancestry all the way back to this time. It is also postulated that this is where the Ark of the Covenant was sent in order to be preserved from the rampages of the Babylonians. Read this fascinating article in the Smithsonian regarding the Ark, its keeper, and the many claims they have on Judaism and Christianity.

It would seem, from the author of Acts, that clearly in Jesus' time, high court officials from Ethiopia were coming to worship, validating the above claims. See what you think.

Psalm 130

Check out The Message version of psalm 130!

Psalm 130

The Message (MSG)
Psalm 130
A Pilgrim Song
1-2 Help, God—the bottom has fallen out of my life! Master, hear my cry for help!
Listen hard! Open your ears!
Listen to my cries for mercy.

3-4 If you, God, kept records on wrongdoings,
who would stand a chance?
As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit,
and that's why you're worshiped.

5-6 I pray to God—my life a prayer—
and wait for what he'll say and do.
My life's on the line before God, my Lord,
waiting and watching till morning,
waiting and watching till morning.

7-8 O Israel, wait and watch for God—
with God's arrival comes love,
with God's arrival comes generous redemption.
No doubt about it—he'll redeem Israel,
buy back Israel from captivity to sin.

I love this psalm. I have marked it for the hard times and times when I am guilt ridden. For me, guilt is quite a burden. I am not sure if it is because I am a mother or if it is because I am a Protestant, but I haul around a big ole' sack of guilt. Actually, I was guilt-ridden even before I had kids, now I just have more of it.
But look at that lovely line "forgiveness is your habit". A habit. What if I made a habit of dropping my guilt off? Doing what I can to fix whatever and then asking for forgiveness and then moving on? You have to practice that one. It is far, far easier to wallow in your guilt. At least it is for me. It is an act of pure will for me to move on. So for now, I am going to practice the habit of accepting God's forgiveness. Come join me and lay your burdens down on the One who gives 'generous redemption'.

Peace to you.