Scotland

We spent a most enjoyable weekend in Scotland visiting the Found Church in Larbert, Falkirk. We flew up on Saturday afternoon from Southampton to Edinburgh and in the evening were taken out for a lovely meal by the senior pastor Stephen Maguire and retiring pastor Michael Rollo. Then yesterday morning we spoke at the church in what was a lovely service. We were then taken out for a most enjoyable lunch by Pastor Stephen, his wife Elizabeth and their daughter Charlotte. Today we were taken for a tasty Scottish breakfast complete with haggis by Pastor Michael Rollo and his wife Diane before flying back down to Southampton from where we caught a train to Basingstoke. Thank you for your prayers. I should just add that today's flight was again in a small Brazilian-made jet (Embraer 145) seating 50 people and it gives a very smooth flight without a bump!

QPR drew 1 x 1 away to Sheffield Wednesday and continue in 9th position in the Championship.

I have just heard about a tragedy in São Paulo with a 9-year-old boy stabbing to death his 36-year-old mother. How awful! 

2 people have also died in São Paulo as a result of drinking alcoholic beverages contaminated with methanol. 

Paul

Sir Paul McCartney, aged 83, is on a tour of concerts in the USA at the moment and this weekend is in California. Well done Paul! I'll be in Scotland preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ which, with all due respect, is far more important! 🙏

We have received sad news from northeast Brazil about a shooting in a school in the state of Ceará where we have a church. The shooting was carried out by 2 men on a motorbike who killed 2 teenagers and injured 3 more. The police say the killings were infighting between rival drug gangs.

For this Christmas EAB will be running its Christmas Gift List Scheme digitally. For many years Marian Rashleigh ran the scheme manually for which we are very grateful, but she doesn't feel like she can carry it on any longer as it involves a lot of work. Hence we will now be running the scheme digitally with ecards. Watch this space for more information on this new way of making someone's Christmas happier in northeast Brazil! 

The on-going family chess tournament continues with me beating Philip twice and me beating grandson Lucas once. Then Philip beat his son Lucas. ♙

2 Chronicles 11 (résumé): Rehoboam fortifies Judah

 Rehoboam mustered 180,000 young men from Judah and Benjamin to go to war against Israel, but the man of God Shemaiah spoke against this so they turned back from marching against Jeroboam. Rehoboam however built up towns for defence in Judah such as Bethlehem and Hebron. He strengthened their defenses and put commanders in them, and the priests and Levites in Israel sided with Rehoboam because Jeroboam had rejected them as priests appointing his own priests for the high places and for the goat and calf idols he had made. Those that set their hearts on serving the Lord followed the Levites to Jerusalem where they supported Rehoboam for 3 years.

Rehoboam married Mahalath, then married Maakah who was his favourite out of his 18 wives and 60 concubines! (like father like son!) He had 28 sons and 60 daughters. He appointed Abijah as crown prince among his brothers and he dispersed some of his sons throughout Judah and Benjamin giving them abundant provisions and many wives.

2 Chronicles 10 (résumé): Division in Israel

When Rehoboam became king the people asked for a reduction in taxes and the work load, so he made consultations over a 3-day period about the matter. The older experienced counsellors proposed that he should grant the people their request, but a younger contemporary group of counsellors rejected the people's request and even proposed a tax/workload increase! Rehoboam opted for his peers' response causing a disastrous political rift, with Israel rebelling against Rehoboam. They stoned the man in charge of forced labour to death but Rehoboam escaped. Thus Israel in the north has been in rebellion against Judah and the house of David since then.

2 Chronicles 9 (résumé): Queen of Sheba visits Solomon

Here is another Chronicles re-run of a previously told story. In this case the story of the Queen of Sheba visiting King Solomon was previously told in 1 King 10. The Queen had heard of Solomon's fame and came bringing gifts to see how much was true for herself. He answered all her questions and she was overwhelmed by all she heard and saw. She admitted that Solomon's wisdom was twice as great as she had been told and she praised God for having placed Solomon on Israel's throne to maintain justice and righteousness. She then gave Solomon 4 tons of gold plus precious stones and extraordinary spices, and he gave the Queen of Sheba gifts of even greater value in return before she returned to her own country.

Solomon used to receive 23 tons of gold per annum not including merchant and trader revenue. What is more all the kings of Arabia brought gold and silver to Solomon. Thus the King made hundreds of golden shields which he put in the Palace. Then he made a glorious throne covered with ivory and pure gold. The throne had 6 steps with a lion standing beside each of them on either side. All the goblets and household articles were made of gold with nothing made of silver. King Solomon was greater in wealth and wisdom than any other king on earth. He had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots and 12,000 horses imported from Egypt and other countries. Solomon reigned over all Israel for 40 years and when he died he was buried in Jerusalem, and his son Rehoboam succeeded him.

2 Chronicles 8 (résumé): Solomon's other activities

At the end of 20 years Solomon rebuilt the villages given to him by Hiram and settled Israelites in them. He rebuilt Upper and Lower Beth Horon as fortified cities. Solomon conscripted the descendants of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites as slave labour, but he did not make slaves of the Israelites who were fighting men. Solomon built a palace for his wife, who was Pharoah's daughter, because he didn't want her in holy places where the ark had been. On the altar Solomon maintained the regular sacrifices according to the law of Moses and he appointed the priests, Levites and gatekeepers according to the ordinance of his father David. Then Solomon sent out sailors and ships and they sailed to Ophir bringing Solomon 15 tons of gold. 

2 Chronicles 7 (résumé): The dedication of the Temple

 When Solomon finished praying the fire fell and the priests couldn't work inside the temple because the glory of the Lord had filled it. Then the people knelt before God on the pavement saying God is good, his love endures forever. Then King Solomon sacrificed 22,000 head of cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats as they dedicated the temple! The priests and Levites took up their positions, musical instruments were played and the priests blew their trumpets. The festival lasted for 7 days, then there was a vast assembly on the 8th day, prior to 7 more days of festival. Then the people went home.

Then the Lord appeared to Solomon, after he had completed the temple and the palace, and said to him: I have heard your prayer and chosen the temple for myself. When I send drought, locusts or plague if my people will humble themselves and pray turning from their wicked ways then I will forgive their sin and heal their land. I have consecrated this temple so that my name might be there forever. If you walk faithfully in obedience then I will establish your throne, but if you do not then I will uproot Israel from my land and reject this temple and it will become a heap of rubble. 

2 Chronicles 6 (résumé): Solomon's prayer of dedication

King Solomon said: Praise be to the Lord that I have built a magnificent temple for God which was something in my father's heart but which was left for me to do. Just as the Lord had promised I have built the temple for the name of the Lord. The Lord has kept the promise he made. Then Solomon stood on the bronze platform in the outer court, he then knelt down, spread out his hands towards heaven and said: Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you... you have kept your promise to David my father... But will God dwell on earth with humans?... May your eyes be open to this temple day and night... Hear from heaven and forgive... hear from heaven and act condemning the guilty and vindicating the innocent... when Israel is defeated because of sin or there is drought because of sin then forgive your repentant people... hear the foreigner so that all peoples may know your name... uphold the cause of your people... hear the prayers of your repentant people... may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in the temple... now arise Lord God... may your priests be clothed with salvation... remember the great love promised to David!

Classical Music

 On Tuesday night we (Liz, me, Philip, Gyl, Lucas, and my sisters Jean, Joy) had a wonderful evening at the Anvil Theatre in Basingstoke at a concert of classical music by the Philharmonia Orchestra celebrating their 80th year with 80 musicians. First of all they played Finlandia by Sibelius which was outstanding under the leadership of the conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali. Next they presented Beethoven's 3rd Piano Concerto with the brilliant Víkingur Ólafsson playing the piano. Finally came the Firebird Suite by Stravinsky. It was a great concert! What culture! What live music!

Yesterday afternoon we enjoyed a lovely long chat, over fruit juice and biscuits, with renowned author Mike Hollow who writes the Blitz Detective Series which I love reading. I have read all the books in his series. Mike is a Christian whom we have known since he visited us in Brazil in the 90s as a writer with Tearfund. 

Last night I ate fish (huss) and chips for the 3rd time since being in the UK! I also lost a game of chess to Philip.

2 Chronicles 5 (résumé): The Ark brought to the Temple

When Solomon finished building the temple he placed in it all the gold, silver and furnishings left by his father. Then Solomon called all Israel's leaders to bring up the ark, and the Levites took the ark and all the sacred furnishings, and they sacrificed an enormous number of cattle and sheep. Then the priests put the ark in the most holy place of the temple beneath the wings of the cherubim, and in the ark were the 2 tablets that Moses placed in it at Horeb. Then the priests withdrew from the holy place and the Levite musicians Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun and families played cymbals, harps and lyres and 120 priests played trumpets giving praise and thanks to God saying, "He is good; his love endures forever". Then the cloud of God's glory filled the temple.

2 Chronicles 4 (résumé): The Temple's furnishings

Solomon made a bronze altar 9 metres long and 4.5 metres high. Below the rim figures of bulls encircled it. The Sea stood on 12 bulls with 3 facing north, 3 south, 3 east and 3 west. He then made 10 basins for washing the things to be used in the burnt offerings, but the Sea was for the cleansing of the priests. He also made 10 gold lampstands and 10 tables, and he also made 100 gold sprinkling bowls. Huram made the pots, shovels and sprinkling bowls and thus finished his work for King Solomon. Huram-Abi made a great deal for Solomon of polished bronze. Then Solomon made all the furnishings such as the golden altar, tables, lampstands, gold floral work, pure gold wick trimmers and gold doors.

2 Chronicles 3 (résumé): Solomon builds the Temple

Then Solomon began to build the temple on Mount Moriah on the land that his father David had bought on the the threshing floor of Araunah. He began on the 2nd day of the 2nd month of the 4th year of his reign. He built the temple twice as big as the tabernacle with the foundation measuring 27 metres long and 9 metres wide. He overlaid the inside with gold including the ceiling beams, door frames, walls and doors. He built the Most Holy Place and overlaid the inside with gold. For the Most Holy Place Solomon made a pair of sculptured cherubim and the total wingspan of the cherubim was over 9 metres. He then made the curtain of blue, purple and crimson yarn and fine linen with cherubim worked into it. For the front of the temple he made 2 pillars and he made interwoven chains which he put on top of the pillars and he made 100 pomegranates which were attached to the chains. The northern pillar he named Boaz and the southern pillar he named Jakin. 

2 Chronicles 2 (résumé): Preparations for building the Temple

Solomon announced the building of the temple and palace so he conscripted 70,000 men as carriers and 80,000 men stonecutters with 3,600 men as foremen. 

Then Solomon requested cedar logs from Hiram king of Tyre. He said that this was for the temple which was to be great because our God is greater than all other gods. He also requested a skilled worker in gold, silver, bronze and iron to work with his men. He proposed that their men should work together so as to provide plenty of timber, and he said he would in exchange support them with wheat, barley, wine and olive oil.

Hiram replied positively and told David he was sending skilled craftsman Huram-Abi to work with Israel's skilled men. Huram-Abi was a specialist with gold, silver, bronze and iron. 

2 Chronicles 1 (résumé): Solomon asks for Wisdom

This chapter re-tells the story of when Solomon asked for wisdom as was told in 1 Kings 3. King Solomon offered 1,000 burnt offerings at Gibeon where the tent of meeting was. Then God appeared to Solomon telling him he could ask whatever he wanted. And Solomon asked for wisdom and knowledge so as to govern well. God was pleased with Solomon's request so granted him what he asked for plus wealth, possessions and honour which he had not asked for. 

Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses, and he made gold and silver more common in Jerusalem than stones! Solomon traded in horses and chariots importing from Egypt and Cilicia and exporting to the Hittites and the Arameans. 

Colder weather

We are enjoying a bright sunny week in Basingstoke, England but is is colder with a low of 4 degrees and a high of 15 degrees. We will be travelling to Scotland for ministry at the Found Church in Larbert at the weekend where it will be a bit colder still.

Yesterday my sister Jean called in for lunch with us which was nice.

A good devotional option for you to have at breakfast time each day is www.ucb.co.uk/word-for-today. You can read it or listen to it in 2 minutes. I broadcast from this Christian radio at Stoke-on-Trent many years ago.

We have now been on our Euro travels for just over a month so have about a month and a half to go before returning to Brazil. We are enjoying our stay which God is blessing. Thank you for your prayers. In Patos on Sunday our daughter Sacha both led and preached. The church was full and the Lord blessed mightily.

Ethel Caterham is an English woman who at the age of 116 is the oldest woman in the world. If you reach 100+ in England you receive a birthday card from King Charles III so Ethel has just received card number 16 plus a personal visit from the King!

Please pray for one of our workers at Imaculada called Antonio Gelshleuchter who had a heart attack yesterday. He is in hospital awaiting surgery.

It is one year today that I started writing a résumé or summary of the Bible and to date I have completed the first 13 books covering 367 chapters. This means I am averaging one chapter a day which keeps me on target for completing the whole Bible by 2028. To date I have completed 31% of the chapters of the Bible and about 40% of the Old Testament.

1 Chronicles 29 (résumé): Gifts for building the temple + David's death

With his death imminent David shows how he had provided gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood etc. for the building of the temple including donations from his own personal wealth. Following David's example the leaders, commanders and officials gave generously too. They gave freely and wholeheartedly which made David greatly rejoice saying: "Praise be to you, Lord... Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power... Yours, Lord, is the kingdom... Wealth and honour come from you... praise your glorious name"! David was thrilled because the people gave willingly and with honest intent from all that had come from God. And all the people bowed down before the Lord.

Then Solomon was acknowledged as king and was anointed as king with Zadok as priest. They sacrificed 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams and 1,000 male lambs and they ate and drank with great joy. And everyone pledged their submission to King Solomon.

Having reigned for 40 years David died at a good old age.

1 Chronicles 28 (résumé): David's plans for the Temple

 King David assembled all the segments of Israel society and told them that he had had it in his heart to build the temple, but that God told him not to do it because he was a warrior who had shed a lot of blood. Instead the task would fall to his son Solomon within the eternal dynasty that God had established with the tribe of Judah. David stressed that Solomon, for this to occur, would need to be faithful to God, serving God whole heartedly and with a willing mind. David said that if Solomon sought God he would find him, but if he forsook God he would be rejected. Then David gave Solomon the plans for the temple which were the result of all that the Spirit had put in his heart for the temple of the Lord and all the surrounding rooms. He also instructed him about the divisions of the priests, Levites and servants, and determined the quantities of gold and silver to be used. Every detail of the temple was given by David to Solomon in writing as a result of the Lord's hand upon him. David encouraged Solomon to be strong and courageous because God was with him.

1 Chronicles 27 (résumé): Army divisions, tribal leaders & king's overseers

 Now David defined the organization of Israel's army with Joab as army commander, and the army had 12 divisions with 24,000 men in each division, and each division was responsible for a month of the year. 

Next came the definition of the tribal leaders with an aborted counting of the people being mentioned. Then too a variety of administrative roles were given to the king's overseers with responsibilities for the royal storehouses, the storehouses of outlying districts, farm workers, vineyards, produce of the wine vats, olive and fig trees, olive oil, herds, camels, donkeys, flocks and King David's property. Then David's uncle Jonathan was a counsellor, Jehiel took care of the king's sons, Ahithophel was the king's counsellor, and Hushai was the king's confidant.

1 Chronicles 26 (résumé): The Temple gatekeepers, treasurers & officials

These chapters of 1 Chronicles show David's great interest and planning for the efficient functioning of the temple which his son Solomon was to build. After the careful planning of the temple worship in the previous chapter, David now goes on to first of all organize the temple gatekeepers. There were 62 descendants of Obed-Edom, 18 sons and relatives of Meshelemiah and 13 sons and relatives of Hosah. Lots were cast to define which gates would be cared for by whom and there were 6 guards a day on the east side of the temple, 4 a day on the north, 4 a day on the south plus 2 at a time at the storehouse, and 4 on the west at the road and 2 at the court itself. So these were the divisions of the gatekeepers who were descendants of Korah and Merari.

Next David appointed the treasurers of the temple and other officials. The treasurers were responsible for the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries of the dedicated things. A variety of Levites were nominated for these roles. From the Izharites, Kenaniah and his sons were given duties away from the temple as officials and judges. Others were commissioned to care for the land east of the Jordan.

1 Chronicles 25 (résumé): The Musicians

King David set apart Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun for the ministry of prophesying accompanied by music in the temple. These 3 leaders each led their sons in musical prophesy and praise to the Lord. Clearly music in the temple was to be seen as a spiritual gift which communicates spiritual messages. The 3 leaders also included their relatives in a total of 288 skilled and trained musicians who cast lots for their order of duties in the temple. Thus temple worship was well organized and of a high standard. The temple music was to be provided by harps, lyres and cymbals.

Electric Fences

One thing that impresses me about Switzerland is that all the fields are fenced off with electric fencing. I never saw barbed wire anywhere. This is a much cheaper way of fencing. Forestry too is very well managed with all trees that are felled for timber being immediately replaced with seedlings. Abundant water is also a blessing in the Swiss Alps. There is running water, rivers, streams and waterfalls everywhere. On Friday we went for a beautiful walk to a waterfall through dense forest and our hosts Sam (Liz's brother) and Gerti picked wild mushrooms along the way. A herd of Brown Swiss cattle passed us along the way. I love this breed of cattle.

I just mention for Brazilian readers that the electricity plugs in Switzerland are the same as in Brazil, eliminating the need for adapters as are necessary in the UK. Our flight back from Switzerland to England yesterday was delayed an hour, and then we had a 20 minute halt on the M25 owing to an accident, but we eventually made it back to Basingstoke safe and sound.

The mighty QPR won yet again yesterday 1 x 0 at home to Stoke!

Today I preached at the Millbrook Christian Centre in Southampton and it was a lovely service. This is the church where Liz and I were married in 1969 and it is the church of our dear friend Marian Rashleigh. After the service Marian took us out to a lovely Beefeaters roast beef lunch. We then went to visit the grave of Marian's brother Ken in a beautiful woodland burial ground near New Milton. Then we had a nice walk at Barton on Sea and we have just got back to Basingstoke after a wonderful day.

1 Chronicles 24 (résumé): The divisions of the Priests

These were the divisions of the priests descendants of Aaron. Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests as did Zadok descendant of Eleazar and Ahimelek descendant of Ithamar. Then David separated 24 priests (16 descendants of Eleazar and 8 descendants of Ithamar) giving them the order of ministering in the temple by casting lots. Then the non-priestly Levites were also divided according to their families and their relative duties were also distributed by casting lots. Thus God made it clear that worship in his house would need to be well organized, whilst also being ethically transparent as to the distribution of everyone's tasks and duties.

1 Chronicles 23 (résumé): The reorganization of the Levites

When David was very old he made his son Solomon King. Then he set about reorganizing the Levites from their mobile duties with the tabernacle to their fixed duties with the future temple. He counted all the Levites who were 38,000. Of these David determined that 24,000 would be responsible for temple duties, 6,000 were to be officials and judges, 4,000 were to be gatekeepers and 4,000 were to be responsible for the praise in the temple playing musical instruments.

Then David separated the Levites into 3 divisions: Gershonites, Kohathites and Merarites according to the sons of Levi. Then the duties of the Levites were listed in more detail: be in charge of the courtyards; the purifying of sacred things; care for the bread on the table; care for the flour for the grain offering; the baking and mixing of loaves; to stand every morning to praise the Lord and in the evening too.

1 Chronicles 22 (résumé): Preparations for the Temple

Nearing the end of his life David's principal focus was not wars but worship. That is he concentrated on accumulating vast amounts of materials for the building of the temple which his succeeding son Solomon would build. King David appointed stonecutters, made iron nails for the doors, accumulated more bronze than could be weighed and obtained large quantities of cedar from the Sidonians and Tyrians. Thus David made great preparations for his son to build the temple before his death. David summoned his son and gave him this task as he said he had shed much too much blood in wars to build the temple, whereas Solomon's reign would be of peace and quiet. David encouraged Solomon to be a man of discretion and understanding keeping the law of the Lord, being strong and courageous. David told Solomon of his great preparations for the building of the temple accumulating no less than 3,400 tons of gold, 34,000 tons of silver and quantities of bronze and iron to much to be weighed. He also had many stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and metal craftsmen. David ordered all Israel's leaders to help Solomon so that the temple could be built on the land that David had bought.

Last days in Switzerland

On Wednesday afternoon we attended a lovely time with the visit of Hans, who is a retired local carpenter here, and Liane, who cares for 54 one-year-old head of cattle. It was a fascinating time around a table full of delicious food.

Yesterday we met up with our niece Linda who is a Physiotherapist in a Zurich hospital. She took us to a lovely lunch in Chur first, and then on a beautiful walk at Flims round a lake after going down to it in a cable car. One thing which impresses you in Europe is the care for its trees. They are majestic, very tall, giving wonderful shade as yesterday was quite warm in Switzerland with 25 degrees.

Another impressive thing in Switzerland is that I have not seen one single speed bump since I arrived here. They do not exist! The speed limit inside towns and villages is 30 kph and people obey the speed limit without the existence of speed cameras or speed bumps. It is an example for us in Brazil where streets have enormous speed bumps every few metres! 

I have seen further foxes in Tschiertschen and always at very close quarters. The species observed is the European Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) which is a totally different species to the fox we regularly see at Green Pastures which is the Cerdocyon thous. Yesterday Francisco sent me a video from Green Pastures of a 6-banded Armadillo (Euphractus sexcinctus). This species of Armadillo is the third largest in the world.

Congratulations to a couple from our Patos church for the birth of Milena yesterday weighing 4.55 kg and measuring 51 cm. The parents' names are Wellington and Ivete, and Milena's 7-year-old brother is Danilo.

We will be flying from Zurich to London Heathrow tomorrow in an A320 British Airways Airbus which seats 180 passengers. We will be ministering at Millbrook Christian Centre, Southampton, this Sunday, September 21st, at 11 am. Please be there if you can!

1 Chronicles 21 (résumé): David counts the fighting men

David decided to carry out a census of Israel's fighting men which was a satanic idea certainly not pleasing to God. His commander perceived the error in this and tried to dissuade David, but he remained resolute.  So Joab went ahead with the count and reported back to David 1,100,000 fighting men. This count was evil in the sight of God so he punished Israel. Then David asked forgiveness of God, and God gave him 3 options of punishment. 3 years of famine, 3 months of being swept away by your enemies or 3 days of plague in the land. God sent a plague which killed 70,000 men. David told God that the fault was his and not the people's, so asked for him and his family to be punished and not the people. So God ordered David to build an altar in order to offer sacrifices to halt the plague. David sought to buy some land to build the altar but the owner insisted in donating it. But David refused the offer and bought it for 6.9 kg of gold. He built the altar on which he made burnt and fellowship offerings. 

1 Chronicles 20 (résumé): The capture of Rabbah and the war with the Philistines

Israel's army commander Joab defeated the Ammonites and captured Rabbah. David took the crown of their king, which weighed 34 kg in gold, and it was put on David's head. 

Then war broke out with the Philistines and David's army had repeated victories including the killing of giants at Gath. These killings included that of Goliath's brother and another giant with 12 fingers and 12 toes.

1 Chronicles 19 (résumé): David defeats the Ammonites

This story was previously told in 2 Samuel 10. It tells the story of how David sent a delegation to the Ammonites to express sympathy for the death of their king, but that this kind gesture was misinterpreted as in fact being a spying mission. So the Ammonites humiliated the delegation by shaving their beards, cutting their clothes so as to reveal their buttocks, and sent them away, meaning David soon heard about this humiliation. So the Ammonites together with their Syrian allies prepared for battle with the Israelites and David sent Joab to face them together with his brother Abishai. Israel was victorious with the enemy fleeing. In the battles David killed 7,000 Aramean charioteers and 40,000 foot soldiers as well as Shophak who was the Aramean commander. Thus the Arameans were no longer willing to help the Ammonites.

Switzerland

 Our arrival in Switzerland was greeted by a sunny warm day, but now we are surrounded my low clouds here up in the Alps. I have already seen 2 beautiful foxes really close by the house and seen 2 Red Squirrels. I have also seen lots of Great Tits, Coal Tits, Crested Tits and Nuthatches. Everything is very green here - greener than England - and we see and hear the Brown Swiss cows in the fields around us with their cow bells clanging.

The population of the little village called Tschiertschen where we are in Switzerland has a population of 200. Yesterday we had a nice hilly walk around the area which we really enjoyed. What a beautiful country this is! Liz is enjoying being here with her brother and chatting about their parents, Brazil, England etc.

I have just seen a red squirrel really close up eating from the squirrel-feeder Sam made. The squirrel-feeder only allows squirrels to eat from it as they have to lift a lid, which of course is something the birds can't do. The bird-feeders are inaccessible to the squirrels. Sam is a very clever man who made all the little EAB gifts we are  distributing when ministering in churches around the UK.

1 Chronicles 18 (résumé): David's victories

2 Samuel 8 is the earlier parallel to this chapter. Here the power of David's reign is highlighted and a list of his mighty victories are related. David defeated and subdued the Philistines, defeated the Moabites and defeated King Hadadezer of Zobah capturing 1,000 chariots, 7,000 charioteers and 20,000 foot soldiers. He hamstrung most of their chariot horses. David also defeated the Arameans when they tried to help Hadadezer. David obtained much gold and bronze plunder from Hadadezer and when king Tou of Hamath heard about it he paid homage to David and gave him a lot of gold, silver and bronze articles. The Lord gave victory to David wherever he went. 

David reigned over all Israel with Joab as army commander, Jehoshaphat was recorder, Zadok and Abiathar were priests and Shavsha was secretary. 

1 Chronicles 17 (résumé): God's promise to David

The parallel to this chapter is 2 Samuel 7.  David started feeling bad because he had a luxurious palace but the things of God dwelt in a tent, so he started thinking about building a temple. God however spoke to David through the prophet Nathan telling him that rather than David building him a house, he would build for David a house and dynasty and establish his throne forever. David thus replied to the Lord in prayer:

Who am I to deserve this was the reaction of David. Hence David launches into a prayer of thanksgiving. David is so overjoyed and grateful that he exclaims: "There is no one like you Lord, and there is no God but you"! David then prayed that the promise of God would indeed be confirmed and that his house would be established forever. 

1 Chronicles 16 (résumé): Ministering before the Ark

The ark was placed inside the tent prepared for it, and burnt and fellowship offerings were made before God. Then David gave each person a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins. After this David appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord and some had to play musical instruments. Then David told Asaph and his associates to sing a Psalm of praise to the Lord, and much of this is also found in the Book of Psalms as for example Psalm 105. The Psalm of praise is as follows:

Give praise to the Lord... sing to him... glory in his holy name... look to the Lord and his strength... remember the wonders he has done... he is the Lord our God... he remembers his covenant forever... sing to the Lord all the earth... for great is the Lord... splendour and majesty are before him... ascribe to the Lord the glory due to his name... worship the Lord in the splendour of his holiness... give thanks to the Lord for he is good... praise be to the Lord the God of Israel! And all the people said amen and praise the Lord.

Then David left Asaph and his associates to minister regularly, and left Zadok and the priests to serve before the tabernacle. Then all the people went home and David returned home and blessed his family.

Mighty QPR

The mighty QPR won away on Saturday beating Wrexham 3 x 1. With this second win of the season QPR has now soared up the Championship to the half-way mark in 12th position! 💪😃

Liz went to Andover with Philip and Gyl to have a little spin out and for Luis and Philip to get their hair cut. Andover is a town of a little over 50,000 population about a 30 minute drive from Basingstoke. 

Yesterday we spoke at 2 churches. In the morning we had an excellent service at Cadnam Methodist Church and in the evening we had a lovely service at the West Wellow Gospel Hall from where EAB founder Albert Mundy originated. 

Today we were up at 5 am for Philip to take us to London Heathrow Airport to catch a flight to Zurich, Switzerland. There we were met by Liz's brother Samuel who was born in Princesa Isabel. He drove us 2 hours east to the beautiful village of Tschiertschen up 1,530 metres in the Swiss Alps where he and his wife Gerti have a beautiful log cabin home which is absolutely outstanding. We have now just eaten a delicious wild mushroom lasagna picked and cooked by Gerti.

1 Chronicles 15 (résumé): The Ark brought to Jerusalem

David prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. Then he said that the bringing of the ark to Jerusalem had to be done by the Levites as this was the will of God, and that the reason for the sad incident with Uzziah was because he wasn't a Levite. So David assembled all the people and summoned Zadok and Abiathar the priests to bring the ark to Jerusalem, and he instructed all the Levites to consecrate themselves for this. Some of the Levites would also be musicians for the procession sounding bronze cymbals, lyres and harps. Doorkeepers were appointed for the ark and the priests were to blow trumpets. Then they sacrificed 7 bulls and 7 rams. David was dressed in fine linen as were the Levites and the musicians and the one in charge of the singing. So all Israel finally brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem with the sound of rams horns, trumpets, cymbals and music. But as the ark entered the city of David Michal, David's wife and daughter of Saul, despised David's dancing in her heart.

1 Chronicles 14 (résumé): David defeats the Philistines

King Hiram of Tyre cent cedar logs, stonemasons and carpenters to build a palace for King David. David took more wives and became the father of another 13 children including one called Solomon.

When the Philistines heard that David was king over all Israel they searched for him, but David heard about it and went out to meet them. David enquired of God as to whether he should attack them, and upon receiving an affirmative he defeated them at Baal Perazim. David saw this victory as a watershed moment and he burnt the Philistine gods. Then the Philistines again confronted Israel and God told David to circle round and attack them in front of the Poplar trees, and again David was victorious with his fame becoming international! 

Whiter & Brighter

My hair might be whiter, but my heart is even brighter with the joy of the Lord! My back could be straighter, but my commitment could not be greater to God's wonderful word! My devotion to preaching and teaching the Bible and summarizing its content for modern man is immovable! My dedication to caring for creation is steadfast, and my love for ministering God's care for the poor grows every day! "Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!" (1 Corinthians 9:16)

Brazil's ex-president Jair Bolsonaro has been condemned to 27 years and 3 months prison for planning a coup so as to remain in power after his defeat in the last election. Whether he will actually serve this sentence remains to be seen. He will doubtless appeal against the conviction.

I have just received the lovely news from Brazil that Caetano and Rebeca, who are a lovely couple in our Patos church, together with their little boy Moises, are expecting a further addition to the family. 

Yesterday our 9-year-old grandson Luis went to Stagecoach which is a performing arts school for children which teaches acting, singing and dancing. Luis loves it and goes every Friday for 3 hour sessions. 

Last night we had a lovely meal at my sister Jean's house where we also saw her children Lisa and David and her granddaughter Isla. It was a very pleasant evening. 

1 Chronicles 13 (résumé): Bringing back the Ark

During Saul's reign the ark of the covenant was put aside and largely forgotten, but when David came to the throne he called all the people from far a wide to unite in bringing back the ark. Then they went to Kiriath Jearim to bring up the ark of God the Lord. They put the ark on a new cart with Uzza and Ahio guiding it whilst David and all the Israelites celebrated with songs, harps, lyres, tambourines, cymbals and trumpets. However the oxen stumbled and Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, but this angered God who eliminated him! This really subdued the festivities and David was angry as it seemed impossible to bring the ark back to Jerusalem, and he ended up leaving the ark with the family of Obed-Edom at Gittite for 3 months where God blessed abundantly.

1 Chronicles 12 (résumé): Warriors join David

This chapter lists the warriors who adhered to David's cause at Ziklag when he was still persecuted by Saul, and the warriors that joined David to crown him King at Hebron.

Firstly there were warriors who were relatives of Saul from the tribe of Benjamin. Then there were Gadites who defected to David at his stronghold in the wilderness. Their faces were the faces of lions and they were as swift as Gazelles. Other Benjamites and some from Judah also joined David in the stronghold. Some too of the tribe of Manasseh defected to David when he went with the Philistines to fight Saul. 

Secondly a great number of warriors united with David at Hebron to anoint him King. From Judah there were 6,800; from Simeon 7,100; from Levi 4,600; from Benjamin 3,000; from Ephraim 20,800; from half the tribe of Manasseh 18,000; from Issachar 200 chiefs; from Zebulun 50,000; from Naphtali 1,000 officers plus 37,000 men; from Dan 28,600; from Asher 40,000; and from east of the Jordan from Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh 120,000 men.

1 Chronicles 11 (résumé): David becomes King of Israel

1 Chronicles now continues telling stories already told in previous books of the Bible as happened in the previous chapter. 

All Israel now acclaimed David as King and anointed him at Hebron. Then David marched to Jerusalem with all the Israelites and conquered the Jebusites that lived there capturing the fortress of Zion which became the City of David. Joab led this conquest and became Israel's army commander. David became more and more powerful because the Lord was with him. David had 3 ultra-elite warriors and 30 semi-elite warriors. Jashobeam killed 300 men with his spear. Then came Eleazar who was another of the ultra-elite triad. The third was Abishai. Then another great warrior was Benaiah who struck down the 2 mightiest warriors of Moab and he killed a lion in a snowy pit. He also killed an Egyptian who was 2.3 metres tall even though he wasn't one of the 3 ultra-elite warriors. The chapter ends with a list of semi-elite warriors.

1 Chronicles 10 (résumé): Saul takes his Life

This chapter is a parallel to 1 Samuel 31 with much of the 2 chapters identical word for word. It tells the story of a battle between the Philistines and the Israelites when first of all the Philistines kill King Saul's sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. Then they pursued Saul and the archers wounded him. Saul ordered his armour-bearer to finish him off, but he couldn't bring himself to do it, so Saul fell on his own sword and killed himself. The Philistines came and stripped him and cut off his head and hung it in the temple of their pagan god Dagon. Saul suffered this tragic demise because he was unfaithful to God to the extent of even consulting a medium rather than the Lord. So the Lord put him to death and gave the kingdom to David.

1 Chronicles 9 (résumé): The return of the Israelites from exile in Babylon

This chapter summarizes the return of the Israelites from their exile in Babylon focusing on the tribes of Benjamin, Judah and Levi. The 1,760 priests are mentioned and the Levites. A lot of emphasis is placed on the role of 212 gatekeepers responsible for guarding the thresholds of the tents. They were also in charge of guarding the gates of the house of the Lord. 4 principal gatekeepers were also responsible for the rooms and treasuries in the house of the Lord. The gatekeepers spent the night stationed round the house of God and were responsible for opening it each morning. They were also responsible for the utensils, articles and furnishings of the temple. The chapter concludes with a repeat of the genealogy of Saul to serve as a literary bridge between the long genealogies of the opening 9 chapters of first Chronicles and the text about Saul's suicide in chapter 10.

1 Chronicles 8 (résumé): Genealogy of Saul the Benjaminite

This chapter gives a detailed genealogy of the tribe of Benjamin focusing especially on Saul who was Israel's first king. Jonathan, David's great friend and Saul's son, is also mentioned, though he did not become king after his father's death because God eliminated Saul's dynasty owing to his disobedience. The families of Benjamin living in Jerusalem are also mentioned. This detailed genealogy sets the scene for the following chapters of this book which cover the history of the tribe of Benjamin including the reign and death of King Saul.

Chess

Philip and I are spending some enjoyable evenings playing chess together. Philip is still a beginner, but he is learning fast and nearly beat me last night.

I have just eaten Weetabix for breakfast which is 95% wholegrain wheat and very nice too. For British people this is very common, but for us from Brazil it's a lovely change and a lovely taste. 😋

Here's some news from the EAB 4-Legs Project! Have you 'herd' about the 8 sheep that walked into a 'baa' in Brazil? 😂

Pastor Rafael informs me of a good street service in São Mamede on Tuesday led by him and the Patos men's fellowship. He says that a good crowd gathered to hear the Gospel blocking off the street. 

Today in Basingstoke, England there is a light drizzle on and off with a low temperature of 13 degrees and a high of 17.

1 Chronicles 7 (résumé): 6 northern tribes of Israel

 Now the genealogies of 6 northern tribes of Israel are presented: Issachar, Benjamin, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim and Asher with the focus being on the fighting preparedness of some of these tribes and their lineage. 

First of all comes Issachar which had a total fighting force of 87,000. Next came Benjamin with a total of 59,434. This was followed a brief list of the sons of Naphtali. Then the genealogy switches to Manasseh with the emphasis on the descendants of his son Gilead. Then comes something of the tribe of Ephraim's lineage with a snapshot of tribal incidents involving Ezer and Elead being killed by men of Gath. Ephraim sorely mourned these deaths before having a new son with his wife. Finally came Asher whose descendants were said to be choice men, brave warriors and outstanding leaders amounting to 26,000 men.

1 Chronicles 6 (résumé): Levi

This chapter details the genealogical information of the tribe of Levi which was the tribe set aside by God for his exclusive service, priesthood, tabernacle (then temple) worship and ministry. The genealogical focus is on the descendants of Levi's 3 sons Gershon, Kohath and Merari. 

Details are given of the tabernacle/temple musicians. From the Kohathites of special note are Herman, to whom Psalm 88 is attributed, and Asaph to which about a dozen Psalms are attributed. 

Of course the first high priest Aaron and his sons are listed in this chapter. Then in the final section of the chapter the cities and respective pasture lands of the Levites are listed. The list is divided up by families with Kohath first, Gershon second and Merari last.  

1 Chronicles 5 (résumé): Reuben, Gad & Manasseh

This chapter relates the genealogies of the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh which lived east of the River Jordan. Reuben was Jacob's firstborn but he lost his birthright because he defiled his father's marriage bed which is probably a reference to him having had sex with one of his father's concubines. The text also tells about Reuben's descendants up to their Assyrian exile in about 733 BC.

Next come the descendants of Gad who lived north of the Reubenites east of the Jordan. The tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh summed 44,760 men fit for military service and they battled with the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. God was with them and they seized 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep, 2,000 donkeys and 100,000 people. They killed many people too and occupied the land until the Assyrian exile. 

Finally in this chapter are listed the heads of Manasseh's families. Sadly Reuban, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh turned away from God and returned to pagan idolatry which resulted in the eventual exile in Assyria of Israel as punishment from God.

1 Chronicles 4 (résumé): Clans of Judah & Simeon

The list of genealogies continue in this chapter focusing on the main clans of Judah and Simeon. Initial emphasis was on the descendants of Judah whose prominent descendant was David. Of special note is the honourable Jabez who sought from God his blessing, freedom from harm and pain and increased territory, and God granted his request. The second section of the chapter highlights the descendants of Simeon and their territory in south Canaan within Judah. 

Bible

Yesterday we returned from the north-east of England to the south after a lovely weekend of ministry and services. We walked from the Premier Inn Hotel to Newcastle Airport and a strange thing happened when we went through security. For I was pulled aside and I was asked to open my laptop back. I presumed that they wanted to check my laptop, but no, they in fact wanted to check my Bible! They put a machine all over it repeatedly and went through its pages with a fine-toothed comb, before finally giving me the all clear! Anyway we had an excellent flight on a 50-seater Brazilian-built Embraer 145 jet which again gave us an impeccably smooth trip. Philip met us at the airport with a bunch of 15 red roses for Liz on her birthday.

When we got home a surprise birthday celebration for Liz awaited us! As Liz opened the door crackers went off, balloons were everywhere and they all shouted happy birthday to Liz around a birthday cake, cards and presents. It was absolutely beautiful.

This morning my music teacher sister Jean came round with Liz's birthday card to have lunch with us. It is so nice to have these happy family moments.

New Well

Our projects team has been working hard setting up well number 343 at Água Grande Community in the municipality of Santana de Mangueira. The well we drilled produces 1.050 litres per hour and will supply water for 34 extremely needy families in a sprawled out rural community where we have a little church led by Sister Sandra Nogueira.

Yesterday Philip took us to Southampton airport a little after 9 am and we caught the Loganair flight to Newcastle which took about 50 minutes on an Embraer 145 Brazilian made jet. The flight was very smooth drinking tea and eating shortbread biscuits! We were met by my cousin Philip Robinson who took us by train to Sunderland where he had parked his car. From there he drove us to our hotel prior to us going to minister at a church in Sunderland.

Today I preached 3 times. First in the morning at Bishop Auckland where we had an excellent service. The pastor is Kenyan and a convert from Islam. Then I preached at Great Lumley, first in the family service with a good crowd of children present, and then in the main service. Both services were lovely. Tomorrow we head south to Basingstoke.

1 Chronicles 3 (résumé): David's sons and further descendants

This chapter starts by listing the 6 sons born to David in Hebron in the 7 and a half years he was king of Judah. It then lists his next 13 sons born to him in Jerusalem when he was also king of Israel for a further 33 years. He also had sons with his concubines but these are not listed.

Then the genealogy continues with a record of Solomon's sons who assumed David's throne as his father was David and his mother was Bathsheba. Then the last part of the chapter traces the royal line of Solomon after the exile in Babylon. 

1 Chronicles 2 (résumé): Jacob's (Israel) sons

This chapter starts by presenting the sons of Israel (Jacob): Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad and Asher.

Then the focus is on Judah and the genealogical tree that leads to King David. God's historical plan is traced through the tribe of Judah showing the faithfulness of God to his people. Caleb is emphasized too. 

1 Chronicles 1 (résumé): Historical records from Adam to Abraham

The 2 books of Chronicles tell the story of Israel from Adam to the post-exile period in Babylon with much use of genealogies and records. Much focus is on King David, God's covenant with Israel, the building of the temple by King Solomon and thus covers much history covered previously in the books of Samuel and Kings.

Chapter 1 starts with genealogical records starting with Adam then Noah and his sons. It mentions Enoch who never died and Methuselah who was the man who lived the longest of all. It then traces people to Abraham and his descendants, Isaac, Esau and Jacob (Israel) etc. These records helped post-exilic Israelites to trace their origins.

2 Kings 25 (résumé): The fall of Jerusalem

 In Zedekiah's 9th year as king he rebelled against Babylon provoking a siege of Jerusalem which lasted 2 years causing great famine. Then a group of soldiers with the king broke out of the siege, but King Zedekiah was captured. They killed his sons in front of him, put out his eyes, put him in bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. Then the commander of Nebuchadnezzar's imperial guard went to Jerusalem and set fire to the temple, palace and all important buildings, breaking down the walls of the city. He plundered all the utensils of the temple and the heavy bronze pillars. He captured the chief priest, the officer in charge of fighting men, 5 royal advisors and the chief officer in charge of conscriptions and executed them all in Babylon. Judah therefore was firmly in captivity in Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah to govern the remaining people left in Judah, but he was soon assassinated. In the 37th year of the exile King Jehoiachin was released from prison and was given a seat of honour by the new king of Babylon, eating regularly at the king's table.

2 Kings 24 (résumé): Exile of Judah to Babylon

During Jehoiakim's reign in Judah King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded Judah and Jehoiakim became his vassal during 3 years. Then Jehoiakim rebelled and suffered severe reprisals from Babylonian, Aramean, Moabite and Ammonite raiders which was in fact judgement from God for all that Manasseh had done. Jehoiakim died and was replaced by his son Jehoiachin, aged 18, who reigned for just 3 months. At that time Babylon laid siege on Jerusalem and Nebuchadnezzar came in person leading to the surrender of Jehoiachin and all around him. Jehoiachin was taken prisoner, all the treasures of the temple and palace were plundered and 10,000 officers, fighting men, skilled workers and artisans were taken in exile to Babylon leaving only the poor behind. Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin captive to Babylon, plus his mother and wives, and he replaced him as king with his uncle Mattaniah whom he renamed Zedekiah. Zedekiah was made king at 21 years of age and reigned for 11 years doing evil before God.

News from Brazil

Good news from Brazil is that a 7-year-old girl called Isabela, who is part of our Action School at Ibiara, has made a serious commitment of her life to Christ. The local pastor Naldinho and his wife Vera visited her parents telling them of her decision, and they have respected it and said they will take her to the services at church from now on. Please pray for Isabela and her parents.

A team from the Patos church went on Wednesday night to hold the first service at new convert Glória's house near Green Pastures. She was converted recently at one of the weekly services we hold at Green Pastures.

Please pray for Jakeline from the Patos church who had a nasty fall in her home and broke an arm with a complete break. I have seen the X-ray and I would think it will need surgery. 

It is lovely to hear from our projects team of the uncontainable joy of the family at Tamandua Community in the municipality of Diamante who are in the process of having the first toilet/shower of their lives. The father José says: "Having a toilet for our family is a dream that God is fulfilling for us"!

I have just read the little book: 'The Prayers of Jane Austen'. What a joy to feel the faith of such an extraordinary author and realize that she was such a sincere Christian, daughter of a pastor.

I have just eaten my second lot of fish and chips since being in the UK. This time it was cod whereas the first time it was huss.

We will be travelling up to the north-east of England tomorrow speaking at Hylton Castle Mission, Sunderland tomorrow evening. Then we will be speaking at Weir Valley Christian Centre on Sunday morning and at Great Lumley Evangelical Church on Sunday afternoon. We will return to Basingstoke on Monday, September 8th, which is Liz's birthday.

2 Kings 23 (résumé): Josiah renews the Covenant

King Josiah led the people to renew the covenant with the Lord following his rediscovery of the Book of the Covenant in the temple. He then ordered the removal of all items allusive to Baal, Asherah and star, sun and moon worship, and burned them all outside Jerusalem. He also did away with all the pagan priests and tore down the quarters of the male shrine-prostitutes. He desecrated the place where child sacrifice was practiced so as to impede this and he removed the horses that had been dedicated to the sun. Josiah then commanded the celebration of the Passover which had long been forgotten. Josiah also got rid of all the spiritists and mediums, and the household gods and idols. Neither before or after was there king like Josiah who turned to the Lord with all his heart, soul and strength. Nevertheless God remained angry with Judah because of all that Manasseh and others had done. Josiah went out to battle with Egypt and Assyria united and he was killed. His son Jehoahaz replaced him as king. 

Jehoahaz came to the throne of Judah aged 23 and he only reigned for 3 months. The king of Egypt carried him off to Egypt where he died and Jehoiakim his brother took his place. Judah was now totally under the thumb of Egypt and Jehoiakim taxed the people in order to pay a large levy in silver and gold to Egypt. His reign started when he was 25 and he reigned for 11 years, but as mostly happened he did evil before God.  

2 Kings 22 (résumé): The Book of the Law found

Josiah was 8-years-old when he became king, he ruled for 31 years and he did what was right before God. In the 18th year of his reign he focused on repairing the temple and paying the workers. During this work Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law and this was reported to King Josiah. When he heard the words of the Book of the Law he tore his robes as the people had lived far from its standards. The word came from God through the priestess Huldah which was a message of judgement in the light of the sin of the people forecasting disaster for the place. However such judgement would not come in Josiah's lifetime.

2 Kings 21 (résumé): King Manasseh of Judah

 Manasseh came to the throne of Judah at the age of 12 and he reigned for 55 years. It was a long reign but a bad reign standing in stark contrast to that of his father. Manasseh took Judah back to square one spiritually re-erecting altars to Baal, erecting Asherah poles, worshipping the stars, moon and sun, practicing infant sacrifice, consulting mediums and spiritists etc. He even put the Asherah pole in the temple and built altars to the stars, making him worse than some pagan kings! So God said that he would judge Judah and wipe out Jerusalem. When Manasseh died he was succeeded by his son Amon.

Amon was 22-years-old when he came to the throne and he reigned for 2 years. Amon was like his father and did not walk in obedience to God, and he ended up being assassinated in his palace. Josiah his son succeeded him as King.

2 Kings 20 (résumé): Hezekiah's illness

 Hezekiah became seriously ill and Isaiah told him to put his house in order because he would not recover. Hezekiah wept in prayer to God reminding God of his faithfulness and wholehearted devotion to the Lord. So God sent Isaiah back to tell Hezekiah that he had heard his prayers and seen his tears and that he would heal him and add 15 years to his life. God gave a sign that all this would come to pass by moving the shadow backwards on the sundial!

At that time the son of the King of Babylon sent envoys with get-well wishes to Hezekiah and Hezekiah unwisely showed off all the vast wealth of his palace and kingdom to the envoys. Isaiah rebuked Hezekiah for this telling him that there would come a day when all this wealth would be carried off to Babylon as well as some of his descendants who would become eunuchs there. Finally then Hezekiah's life came to an end and he was succeeded by his son Manasseh as king of Judah.

2 Kings 19 (résumé): Jerusalem's deliverance foretold

King Hezekiah was most distraught by King Sennacherib of Assyria's ridiculing of the living God and he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth. He then sent his palace administrator, his secretary and his leading priests to consult the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah sent word to Hezekiah for him not to be afraid of Sennacherib's threatening words or the fact that he had surrounded Jerusalem. When Hezekiah received the message he prayed to God asking for his intervention on Judah's behalf.

Then Isaiah sent another message to King Hezekiah communicating  God's answer to his prayers. God rejected Sennacherib's blasphemy and ridicule saying he will put his hook in his nose and his bit in his mouth making him return the way he came, not entering Jerusalem. God guarantees that he will defend the city. And that night the angel of the Lord put 185,000 Assyrians to death making Sennacherib withdraw and return to Nineveh. Then 2 of his sons killed Sennacherib and his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.

2 Kings 18 (résumé): King Hezekiah of Judah

When Hosea was in his 3rd year as king of Israel Hezekiah became king of Judah at the age of 25, and he reigned for 29 years. Hezekiah was an exception in that he lived correctly before God and he removed the pagan high places, smashed the pagan sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He also destroyed the bronze snake that Moses had made because it had become a focal point of idolatry. 

King Hezekiah trusted the Lord and was a supreme example of kingship in Judah. He remained faithful to God at all times and never gave up. So God was with Hezekiah at all times and his administration was completely successful. He resisted Assyria and defeated the Philistines in many places. In Hezekiah's 4th year was when the Israelites were deported to Assyria. However 10 years later Sennacherib king of Assyria captured all the fortified cities of Judah, so Hezekiah paid him in silver and gold to withdraw. 

The paid deal between Hezekiah and Sennacherib didn't last long because soon Assyria's commanders were in Jerusalem pressurizing Judah into submission and ridiculing the power of God to be able to withstand the Assyrian army and ridiculing their pact with Egypt. The Assyrian commanders used a wide range of arguments to scare Hezekiah into surrender.

2 Kings 17 (résumé): Israel exiled in Assyria

Hoshea became the last king of Israel and reigned for 9 years doing evil in the eyes of the Lord. He had been the vassal of Assyria but he rebelled and entered into an alliance with Egypt. Faced by this situation the King of Assyria besieged Israel's capital city of Samaria for 3 years! Therefore King Shalmaneser of Assyria imprisoned Hoshea and in the 9th year of Hoshea's reign, in approximately 722 BC, Samaria was captured and the Israelites were deported to exile in Assyria.

The text goes on to say that all this happened as punishment for Israel's idolatry, paganism, child sacrifice and stiff-neckedness leaving God's warning messages through the prophets unheeded.

Then the King of Assyria replaced the Israelites bringing people from Babylon, Kuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim and settled them in the towns of Samaria. These immigrants took over Samaria and lived in its towns. The immigrants did not worship the Lord so God sent lions to kill them. Thus the King of Assyria sent for an Israelite priest to teach the settlers the ways of the Lord. Nevertheless this was only partially successful and a syncretistic mixture ensued including polytheistic paganism and child sacrifice which implanted a Samaritan sub-culture which long remained at loggerheads with orthodox Judaism.  

Month's readers

This blog had 12,888 readers or visits in the month of August. Thanks to everyone.

Speaking at the Lighthouse Community Church, Hardley 

at the weekend

This week we are having a nice time of rest in which I am enjoying reading and summarizing the second book of Kings. The text is frequently gory and gruesome reflecting the violent culture of that primitive period millenniums ago. So often kings were replaced by assassination with the assassin replacing them as king of Israel or Judah.

It is fascinating observing our grandsons here Lucas (aged 18) and Luiz (aged 9). Both are totally fluent in English and Portuguese and switch and interchange the languages naturally without batting an eyelid. 

Liz spent yesterday afternoon going round the Basingstoke Shopping Centre with Gylmara whilst I pressed on in the Old Testament with King Ahaz leading Judah into total apostasy ending up with them going into exile in Assyria!

2 Kings 16 (résumé): King Ahaz of Judah

Ahaz, son of Jotham, assumed the throne of Judah aged 20 where he reigned for 16 years in a perverse sinful regime. He introduced child sacrifices and even sacrificed one of his own sons! Then King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah of Israel besieged Jerusalem but Ahaz managed to resist. So Ahaz sought out an alliance with King Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria to resist the pressure from Syria and Israel, paid him with all the silver and gold of the royal palace and temple, and the alliance was formed. This alliance became totally syncretistic when Ahaz went to Damascus now captured by Syria. He was impressed by a pagan altar there and had it copied to replace the Lord's altar in Judah! Ahaz then offered every sort of sacrifice on this pagan altar in the temple! In deference to the King of Assyria Ahaz told Uriah the priest to make multiple alterations to the temple. Ahaz died leaving Judah in total apostasy and his son Hezekiah succeeded him to throne.

2 Kings 15 (résumé): Various Kings of Israel & Judah

 Azariah became king of Judah when he was 16-years-old and he reigned for 52 years. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord yet he allowed pagan rituals in the high places to continue. He lived in a separate house owing to his skin disease so his son Jotham took charge of the palace and government and then officially succeeded him when he died.

Zechariah assumed the throne of Israel during the 38th year of Azariah's reign in Judah but he only reigned for 6 months when he was assassinated and replaced by Shallum. Further violence saw Shallum replaced even quicker after a month! He was assassinated and replaced by Menahem, and when Menahem was refused entry to Tiphsah he sacked the city and ripped open all its pregnant women! Menahem reigned in Israel for 10 years and did evil before God. When the king of Assyria invaded Israel Menahem bribed him with silver to withdraw, and when he died his son Pekahiah replaced him and reigned in Israel for 2 years. Pekahiah again sinned against God like his predecessors until he too was assassinated and replaced by Pekah. Pekah was king of Israel for 20 years and also practiced evil. At this time the king of Assyria came and conquered various parts of the land and deported people to Assyria. Then Hoshea assassinated Pekah and replaced him. 

Meanwhile Jotham came to power in Judah whilst Pekah was in his second year in Israel.  Jotham came to the throne aged 25 and he reigned for 16 years doing better before God without however eliminating the pagan high places. He did rebuild the upper gate of the temple, and when he died his son Ahaz replaced him as king.

2 Kings 14 (résumé): Amaziah king of Judah

 In the second year of Jehoash's reign as king of Israel Amaziah became king of Judah at the age of 25, and he reigned for 29 years. He was a partial improvement in terms of religion although pagan worship in the high places continued. Once his reign was firmly established he proceeded to execute the officials who had murdered his father. Then Amaziah defeated 10,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. This victory inflated Amaziah's self confidence so he challenged king Jehoash to battle. Jehoash told him to calm down, but when he insisted Israel attacked Judah and won and Amaziah was taken captive. Jehoash then plundered all the gold and silver from Jerusalem. Then Jehoash died and was succeeded by his son Jeroboam, but Amaziah lived on another 15 years before he was killed at Lachish, being replaced by his 16-yer-old son Azariah.

In the 15th year of Amaziah's reign Jeroboam II came to power in Israel where he reigned for 41 years. He did evil in the sight of the Lord but he did restore some of Israel's boundaries including the capture of Damascus and Hamath. When he died his son Zechariah succeeded him as king.

2 Kings 13 (résumé): Jehoahaz & Jehoash - Kings of Israel

In the 23rd year of Joash, Jehoahaz became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned for 17 years. He was an evil king which angered God and meant Israel was for a long time under the power of King Hazael of Syria. But then Jehoahaz turned to the Lord who delivered Israel from the Syrians, but paganism still persisted in Israel. After the death of Jehoahaz his son Jehoash succeeded him as king.

Jehoash came to power and reigned for 16 years doing evil before God maintaining similar patterns of paganism as was with his father. Jehoash went to visit Elisha who was ill. Elisha told the king to fire some arrows out of the window which symbolized the arrow of victory over the Arameans. He then told King Jehoash to strike the ground and the 3 times he struck represented the number of victories he would have over Aram. Then Elisha died and was buried, and one day a dead body was thrown into the tomb, touched Elisha's bones and came back to life and stood up!

Then the Syrian king Hazael died and was succeeded by his son Ben-Hadad. Jehoash recaptured the towns that had been taken by the Syrians.

2 Kings 12 (résumé): Joash repairs the Temple

This chapter summarizes Joash's 40 year reign under the mentorship of the priest Jehoiada. In general Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but he did not remove the pagan high places where the people still offered pagan sacrifices. 

Joash's principal concern seems to have been the repair of the temple. He organized a collection box or chest to collect money for this at the entrance to the temple, and the money collected was used to buy timber and blocks of dressed stone, and to pay the carpenters, builders, masons and stonecutters. They did not use the money to purchase expensive items of gold and silver. 

Then Hazael king of Aram turned to attack Jerusalem after having captured Gath, but Joash appeased Hazael by giving him the gold and silver from the temple and the palace so that Hazael went away. Later Joash's officials betrayed him and murdered him and his son Amaziah succeeded him as king.

2 Kings 11 (résumé): Athaliah & Joash

When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son had been killed by Jehu she proceeded to kill all the remaining members of the royal family in order to make herself queen. However what she didn't realize was that one baby son of Ahaziah by the name of Joash was hidden away with his nurse during the 6-year reign of Queen Athaliah. In the 7th year of her reign Priest Jehoiada organized the revealing of Joash's existence, with strong security measures, so as to dethrone Athaliah. So it was that at 7-years-of-age Joash was crowned king and Athaliah was executed. Then they tore down the temple of Baal, smashed the pagan altars and idols and killed Mattan the priest of Baal.

2 Kings 10 (résumé): Ahab's family and Servants of Baal killed

These chapters of 2 Kings are particularly gory with large numbers of people reaching gruesome deaths. I understand this to be God revealing himself within primitive aggressive cultures of millenniums ago. 

Jehu challenged Ahab's children's guardians to place the best that they had on the throne and fight for it. However in fear and trembling of Jehu they refused to do this. So Jehu took the opportunity to request the heads of all 70 of Ahab's sons and they were all slaughtered accordingly and 2 piles of heads were placed at the entrance to the city gate. Jehu then proceeded to slaughter too 42 relatives of Ahaziah and he also killed all remaining members of Ahab's family.

Next Jehu contrived a plan to annihilate the servants of Baal from the land. For Jehu pretended that he was to be a Baal worshipper and he summoned all Baal's servants and priests to come to a great sacrifice making absence punishable by death. They all crowded into the temple from far and wide and Jehu posted 80 men outside to allow nobody to escape. The guards then attacked all the Baal priests and servants and killed them all, and they turned Baal's temple into a public toilet. 

God rewarded Jehu's ruthless action with the promise of a 4 generation dynasty, but he was not totally faithful because he adhered to the worship of golden calves. Because of this God began to reduce the size of Israel, and Jehu died after a reign of 28 years, with his son Jehoahaz succeeding him as king.