After the Gospel
This should give away my position and allow someone to label me.
In regards to "high places". They were all over the land of the Bible. During the times of the divided kingdom, Judea and Israel (after David and Solomon), high places were very common. They were everywhere. They were for anyone. Anyone could put up a high place. They didn't even need a hill. The term "high place" spoke not just to elevation, but also to purpose. It was a place for a "higher purpose". Worship was conducted there.
In 1 Kings 18, Hezekiah destroyed all the high places he could find. He broke the bronze
serpent Moses had made to heal the people of snake bites. He was a real reformer, a real reformed-leader. I bet his decisions were very unpopular. I bet he was the President Bush of his day: a conservative leader making decisions because he felt they were right, no matter what people thought. And, I bet the people were very unhappy with him. There was no impeachment talk in Judea, though: a king was a king.
But the enemy used the reformations to try to turn the people against the king (in verse 22). But I get ahead of myself.
So, if we were to outline 2 Kings 18-19, we would have:
1. Hezekiah tears down high places (reforms the outer behavior) vs 4-6
2. Enemy attacks Israel (the north) , creates Samaritans of John 4 vs 9-12
3. Enemy attacks Judea (the south) and threatens Hezekiah and Jerusalem. vs 13
4. Hezekiah goofs and pays blackmail to enemy (flesh tries to appease, all outward) vs 14-15 (how devalued the things of the Lord were to him; nothing precious)
5. Enemy lies, cheats and tries to turn people away from Hezekiah (inner attack against what remains from reform; the heart has not been dealt with yet) vs 19-35
6. Hezekiah finally repents, and sees his weakness in the flesh. Goes to Isaiah for help, which is the same as going to the Lord for help. Vs 19:1-5
7. God deals in steps. First assures victory, but no inner dealings yet. Vs 6-7
8. Enemy brings letter that scares Hezekiah, who has little faith vs 10-16
9. God speaks through Isaiah (brings judgment against enemy) vs 20-28
10. Promises life, and abundant life (in stages) to His people vs 29-34
11. Deals with enemy (still outer dealings, work not fully done in people or in Hezekiah yet. More to follow.) vs. 35-37
Hezekiah still has a deep inner problem. It is not dealt with here. We have to move to another passage to see the real problem, and how God deals with it.
What happens when God deals with us? He begins on the outside, and progresses to the inside? Well, there always seems to a progression to the things God does. Why doesn’t He just deal completely with all of our problems all at once? In one sense, He did, on the cross. But, in another sense, He uses “processes” to do a complete work in each of us. I can prove that to you, over and over. There are step-by-step processes all through the Scriptures. The principle of process and progress is everywhere.
That is what I look for, and what I think comes After the Gospel.
In regards to "high places". They were all over the land of the Bible. During the times of the divided kingdom, Judea and Israel (after David and Solomon), high places were very common. They were everywhere. They were for anyone. Anyone could put up a high place. They didn't even need a hill. The term "high place" spoke not just to elevation, but also to purpose. It was a place for a "higher purpose". Worship was conducted there.
In 1 Kings 18, Hezekiah destroyed all the high places he could find. He broke the bronze
serpent Moses had made to heal the people of snake bites. He was a real reformer, a real reformed-leader. I bet his decisions were very unpopular. I bet he was the President Bush of his day: a conservative leader making decisions because he felt they were right, no matter what people thought. And, I bet the people were very unhappy with him. There was no impeachment talk in Judea, though: a king was a king.
But the enemy used the reformations to try to turn the people against the king (in verse 22). But I get ahead of myself.
So, if we were to outline 2 Kings 18-19, we would have:
1. Hezekiah tears down high places (reforms the outer behavior) vs 4-6
2. Enemy attacks Israel (the north) , creates Samaritans of John 4 vs 9-12
3. Enemy attacks Judea (the south) and threatens Hezekiah and Jerusalem. vs 13
4. Hezekiah goofs and pays blackmail to enemy (flesh tries to appease, all outward) vs 14-15 (how devalued the things of the Lord were to him; nothing precious)
5. Enemy lies, cheats and tries to turn people away from Hezekiah (inner attack against what remains from reform; the heart has not been dealt with yet) vs 19-35
6. Hezekiah finally repents, and sees his weakness in the flesh. Goes to Isaiah for help, which is the same as going to the Lord for help. Vs 19:1-5
7. God deals in steps. First assures victory, but no inner dealings yet. Vs 6-7
8. Enemy brings letter that scares Hezekiah, who has little faith vs 10-16
9. God speaks through Isaiah (brings judgment against enemy) vs 20-28
10. Promises life, and abundant life (in stages) to His people vs 29-34
11. Deals with enemy (still outer dealings, work not fully done in people or in Hezekiah yet. More to follow.) vs. 35-37
Hezekiah still has a deep inner problem. It is not dealt with here. We have to move to another passage to see the real problem, and how God deals with it.
What happens when God deals with us? He begins on the outside, and progresses to the inside? Well, there always seems to a progression to the things God does. Why doesn’t He just deal completely with all of our problems all at once? In one sense, He did, on the cross. But, in another sense, He uses “processes” to do a complete work in each of us. I can prove that to you, over and over. There are step-by-step processes all through the Scriptures. The principle of process and progress is everywhere.
That is what I look for, and what I think comes After the Gospel.
posted by Jeff at 8:29 PM
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