Martin

I am a church leader at St Leonards Baptist Church - I have set up this blog to explore the theme of Jesus in the Old Testament - a subject that has been recurring in my sermon preparation.

1 Chronicles - Chapter 5

The chronicler continues to list the family trees of the various sons of Israel.  We are now in Chapter 5 and we reach two of the tribes which would have been expected to have been listed sooner.  Reuben was the first born son, but he is not listed first.  It

1 Chronicles - Chapter 4

It is easy to read through this chapter and miss any reference to Jesus.  It is yet another genealogy, but does not link to the line of Jesus. However, hidden in verse 4 is the start of the Christmas nativity story.  There is a prophecy in Micah 5: “But you,

1 Chronicles - Chapter 3

In this chapter we see the descendants of King David, with the royal line set out both as kings in Judah and as the royal line after the exile. The list follows David's son, Solomon, and through him the kings of Israel and the royal line after the

1 Chronicles - Chapter 2

In this chapter the genealogy of God's chosen people continues, with the descendants of Israel.  These are the 12 sons, from whom the tribes of Israel take their name.  The first of the son's mentioned is Judah, with his descendants Perez Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Hashon and

1 Chronicles - Chapter 1

In this we will read details of stories which have already been covered - particularly with regard to the Kingdom of Judah.  In the first chapter the writer goes right back to the start of the story of God's people - beginning with Adam. There is a genealogy

2 Kings - Chapter 25

In this final chapter of 2 Kings we read of the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple.  This looks like the end of God's special people.  However, as the chapter ends the final verses give hope, showing that the story is not over.   In the

2 Kings - Chapter 24

We now reach a major event in the history of God's people.  The northern house of Israel has already been removed from the land.  And now the southern house of Judah is conquered by Babylon and the people are exiled. The final kings are mentioned in this chapter

2 Kings - Chapter 23

In this chapter we see Josiah reading the word of God; renewing the Covenant with God; cleansing the Temple; and celebrating the Passover in Jerusalem. The exile is approaching and Josiah is the last "good King" of Judah - the next good King to come will be Jesus.

2 Kings - Chapter 22

In this chapter we read about King Josiah, who became King at the age of eight, and who did do what was right in the eyes of the Lord.  the High Priest found a long lost copy of the Book of the Law, and Josiah read it.  He recognised that

2 Kings - Chapter 21

In this chapter we meet another King of Judah that "did evil in the eyes of the Lord. This is described using the symbol of a journey, where life is seen as an opportunity to walk with the Lord.  This opportunity was missed by King Amon: "he walked

2 Kings - Chapter 20

In this chapter we come to the end of Hezekiah's long and successful reign, and the chapter ends with these comments: "The rest of the events in Hezekiah’s reign, including the extent of his power and how he built a pool and dug a tunnel to

2 Kings - Chapter 19

In this chapter God protects Jerusalem from an attack by the Assyrians, who have already conquered Israel.  He does it in a miraculous way: "That night the angel of the Lord went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrians woke up

2 Kings - Chapter 18

After reading of the fall of the Kingdom of Israel in the previous chapter we might expect the same fate for the Kingdom of Judah.  But there is hope at the start of chapter 18 with a new King, who is faithful to God: "Hezekiah son of Ahaz began

2 Kings - Chapter 17

In this chapter we see the conquest of the land of Israel: "Then the king of Assyria invaded the entire land, and for three years he besieged the city of Samaria. Finally, in the ninth year of King Hoshea’s reign, Samaria fell, and the people of Israel were

2 Kings - Chapter 16

In 2 Samuel 7 God had made a promise to David: “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name,

2 Kings - Chapter 15

We now come to King Azariah (also called Uzziah) who was listed in the genealogy of Jesus, after several Kings had been omitted. Azariah did what was good in the sight of the Lord, except for two major failings.  He did not remove the “High Places” – places set up for

2 Kings - Chapter 14

We now read about Amaziah - King of Judah. Now it happened, as soon as the kingdom was established in his hand, that he executed his servants who had murdered his father the king. But the children of the murderers he did not execute, according to what is written in

2 Kings - Chapter 13

Elisha has now died and in this chapter there is a very strange incident following his death: "Groups of Moabite raiders used to invade the land each spring. Once when some Israelites were burying a man, they spied a band of these raiders. So they hastily threw the corpse

2 Kings - Chapter 12

In this chapter we read of the life of Joash, the child king who was saved to continue the line of David. It is interesting to look at the genealogy in Matthew 1 to note what is omitted as well as what is included: "Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

2 Kings - Chapter 11

The Bible story is all about the conflict between the serpent (mentioned in Genesis 3) and the descendant of the Eve, who will restore mankind. There are repeated attempts to stop the plan by killing the descendants of the woman - Pharaoh in Exodus 1; Haman in Esther 3-5; Herod

2 Kings - Chapter 10

In this chapter God's judgement falls on Ahab's family and on the worshipers of Baal.  It is bloodthirsty, and is not pleasant reading.  However, the judgement for sin is not pleasant, as was demonstrated by the death of Jesus on the cross in our place -

2 Kings - Chapter 9

In this chapter the descendants of King Ahab receive judgement from God, and the kings of Israel and Judah are both killed. King Joram is told: “How can there be peace ... as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?" This judgement on the two

2 Kings - Chapter 8

In Matthew 1 we see the genealogy of Jesus, following the line from King David and his son Solomon: "Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah," Jehoshaphat and his son Jehoram and grandson Uzziah are all Kings in Judah, and all three feature in this

2 Kings - Chapter 7

Samaria is under siege and the people have no food; they are literally starving.  Elisha gives a prophecy that in one day there will be food for the people: Elisha replied, “Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of

2 Kings - Chapter 6

The prophet who has healed a man with leprosy; fed the hungry and cared for the poor is now under attack by those who want to kill him.  But Elisha knows that with God on his side the opposition is always outnumbered: "And when the servant of the man