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John 19
Look at the red letters (the words of Jesus) in this chapter. What do they tell you about Jesus? Other than to fulfill scripture, I wonder why Jesus said, “I am thirsty”. Moments later, He finished it, giving up His spirit. No doubt He could have lasted those few more moments without a drink. Only two things come to mind. I don’t know who lifted the soaked sponge to Jesus’ parched lips, but I wonder if He said this so He could later say to them, “I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink” (Matt. 25:35). The other thing that comes to mind is simply to stress His humanity. This was one of His final two statements, the other being, “It is finished”. To me, that statement shows His divinity. So with His final two statements, Jesus declared Himself to be fully man and fully God.
2 Chron. 11-12
Trace Rehoboam’s response to God and the results. Rehoboam must have realized he had made a mistake in his response to the people. It took some humility for him to turn back from his war plans against Israel at Shemaiah’s word from God. So, though he started off on the wrong foot, he corrected his path and returned to God’s blessing. The priests, Levites, and those who were faithful to God even abandoned what they had in Israel and joined Rehoboam in Judah. And the Chronicler notes that he acted wisely with regard to his family.
Sadly, lessons learned don’t always last. “After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel (Judah) with him abandoned the law of the LORD.” (2 Chron. 12:1). The consequences of their unfaithfulness came through Shishak king of Egypt. Once again, though, when the prophet Shemaiah confronted them, Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah humbled themselves before God. They accepted the consequences of their unfaithfulness saying, “The LORD is just.” (2 Chron. 12:6b).
Rehoboam’s life sounds much like the life of a typical Christian. None of us travels a straight line, smack in the center of God’s way. We wander, we roam, we turn, we slip, we fall. We have periods of abandoning God’s way and times of returning to it. The Chronicler tells us why this happened to Rehoboam. “He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the LORD.” (2 Chron. 12:14). Yep – that’s how it goes for us, too. That is why I am here, doing what I am doing. I am trying to be intentional about abiding in Christ and walking in God’s way every single day of my life.