Secret Things

Glad you stopped by today--whether this is your first time or if you are a regular visitor. I hope that the Q&As and reflections are helpful with your journey through the Bible in 2009. Can you believe we're almost halfway done?! Kudos to you for continuing to read--even if you're a little behind, just stick with it!

Here's the question and answer from Tuesday:
There is one LOOOONG sentence in 2 Corinthians 6. How many verses long is it?
7 verses: 2 Corinthians 6:4-10

And here's the question and answer of the day for Wednesday:
Who succeeded Ahaz as king? (2 Kings 16)
2 Kings 16:20 20 Ahaz rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David. And Hezekiah his son succeeded him as king.

And here's the question of the day:
Who is Paul especially delighted to see happy because his spirit has been refreshed by the Corinthians? (2 Cor 7)

And here's the reflection of the day:
Reading 2 Kings is like watching a tennis match. Back and forth Israel and Judah go, from one king to another. We see Assyria and Samaria going through the same thing. One after another a new king takes the throne, does "what is evil in the sight of the Lord," and is dethroned.

Imagine having such a terrible succession of kings. I know there's probably be one or two presidents in a row that you've probably not cared for, but that's nothing compared to this parade of (evil) kings.

You'd think they would have learned their lesson after the first couple of incidents. It seems that if God is not pleased with you, you shouldn't expect to last long on the throne. So why the kings continue to emulate evil kings--and NOT David--is beyond me.

There is one verse that seems to encapsulate exactly what their problem is: "The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right" (2 Kings 17:9). More than just doing things 'against the Lord their God'--which is terrible in and of itself--but they did them SECRETLY! Or, so they thought.

Nothing is really secret from God, though we would like to think so. We may be able to (and probably do) keep secrets from friends and family, but we are unable to keep secrets from the all-knowing and all-seeing God. And it is utter foolishness to think that we can hide from God.

I know that when I consider the eternal question "to sin or not to sin," more often than not, I consider whether I might get caught in the act of sinning by someone from the church or a friend or a family member. I never consider whether or not I might get caught by God; that is a foregone conclusion for me. OF COURSE God is going to catch me in the act of sinning. What idiot would think you could hide something like sin from God??

Well, the nation of Israel in 2 Kings, for one. Their concept and picture of God is still not yet fully developed. They do not yet understand the immanence of God--the "accompanying us through the every day"-ness of God. Nothing can be kept a secret from God because God is present in our every day lives, seeing our every day actions and hearing our every day words.

Have a splendid day!
Allison