Generations of kings
2 Kings Chapters 14 – 15
Today’s readings cover about 75 years of kings quickly, with little to say about each other than records of minor battles. Some kings are faithless; others are faithful except for failing to remove the high places.
If you look at the chart of kings that is in the center of the booklet, you’ll be able to keep the timeline clearer than you can with the text.
Also notice the columns that list the prophets who were active at this time: Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, Jonah and Micah. We’ll be reading a lot more about this time period as we get to the stories of those prophets, but for now there’s little to see.
By coincidence the Proverbs reading for the day warns against joining in with “rebellious officials”—a sure way of getting in trouble with both God and the king.
No doubt the scheming and fighting mentioned with the kings seemed very important at the time, but has been made trivial by the lens of history. Many of today’s political machinations will have the same fate.

Monday meditation

Proverbs 24:21-22
Fear the Lord and the king, my son, and do not join with rebellious officials, for those two will send sudden destruction on them, and who knows what calamities they can bring?

Prayer focus
Lord, keep us from getting so wrapped up in the political drama of the day that we forget that, in the long run, it is faithfulness to you that has more meaning.

-Rev. Mark Fleming