Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from 2 Kings Chapter 19.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Kings+19&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“32 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, “He will not come to this city or shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield or throw up a siege ramp against it.  33 By the way that he came, by the same he will return, and he shall not come to this city,”’ declares the Lord.  34 ‘For I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’”

35 Then it happened that night that the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians;  and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead.  36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home, and lived at Nineveh.  37 It came about as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword;  and they escaped into the land of Ararat.  And Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.”   2 Kings 19:32-37.

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When the LORD stated in highlighted verse 34 that He would defend this city “for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake”, the LORD ultimately referred to Christ.

Our hope that God will save us and otherwise bless us is not based on our own righteousness or “cuteness”, so to speak.

Our hope that God will save us and otherwise bless us is based on the fact that we are in Christ:  “in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”  Galatians 3:14.  “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ.”  Galatians 3:16.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”  Ephesians 2:4-7.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,”  Ephesians 1:3.

But, some preaching and teaching figuratively tries to pick us up out of Christ in order to examine us, to instruct us on our shortcomings and what we should do, and to put us back under the Law. 

Don’t fall for it!!!

“For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”  Colossians 3:3-4.

“For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.  I have been crucified with Christ;  and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;  and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.  I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”  Galatians 2:19-21.

Today’s devotion comes from 2 Kings Chapter 18.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Kings%2018&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“1 Now it came about in the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah became king.  2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem;  and his mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah.  3 He did right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done.  4 He removed the high places and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah.  He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it;  and it was called Nehushtan.  5 He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel;  so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him.  6 For he clung to the Lord;  he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses.

7 And the Lord was with him;  wherever he went he prospered.  And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.  8 He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city.” 2 Kings Chapter 18:  Verses 1-8.

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Today’s Scripture above and the following Scriptures lead us to Christ.  Here is a summary. 

First of all, Hezekiah’s prosperity in today’s Scripture captured our attention and desire.  We learn that because Hezekiah clung to the LORD and kept His commandments, he prospered.

Second, we more generally read about the man who prospers in whatever he does, because he meditates on the law of the LORD day and night.

Third, we read about the warning of death and adversity if we do not keep God’s commandments.

Fourth, we realize that before us is put the simple choice between prosperity and death and adversity.  It makes absolutely no sense to choose death and adversity by not keeping God’s commandments.

Fifth, we begin to realize that as much sense as it is to choose prosperity over death and adversity, we need help to obey God.

Sixth, we receive the hope that the Lord will “circumcise” our heart and the heart of our descendants, to love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul, so that we may live.

Seventh, likewise, we receive the hope that the commandment is not too difficult for us, nor out of our reach, furthermore leading us to faith in God as compared to our own wisdom and willpower to obey God.

Eighth, we learn the purpose of the strict preaching of the commandments through the Heidelberg Catechism.

Ninth, we see in Romans 10:5-10 similar language as Deuteronomy 30:11-14 which emphasizes the righteousness that comes from faith in Christ as compared to the righteousness that comes from the law and our own ability to perform it.

Tenth, we finally arrive to Christ and the stunning summary of Who Christ is and what He has done for us.

So, now, after this summary, let us read these Scriptures.    

“2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.”  Psalm 1:2-3.

“So keep the words of this covenant to do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.”  Deuteronomy 29:9.

“You shall fear only the Lord your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name.  You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you, for the Lord your God in the midst of you is a jealous God;  otherwise the anger of the Lord your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.

“You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested Him at Massah.  You should diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and His testimonies and His statutes which He has commanded you.  You shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with you and that you may go in and possess the good land which the Lord swore to give your fathers, by driving out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has spoken.”  Deuteronomy 6:13-19.

“See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity;  in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it.”  Deuteronomy 30:15-16.

“Moreover the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.  The Lord your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you.  And you shall again obey the Lord, and observe all His commandments which I command you today.  Then the Lord your God will prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your cattle and in the produce of your ground, for the Lord will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers;  if you obey the Lord your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.

“For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach.  It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’  Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’  But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it.”  Deuteronomy 30:6-14.

Q. 115.  Why will God then have the ten commandments so strictly preached, since no man in this life can keep them?

 A.  First, that all our lifetime we may learn more and more to know our sinful nature, and thus become the more earnest in seeking the remission of sin and righteousness in Christ;  likewise, that we constantly endeavor, and pray to God for the grace of the Holy Spirit, that we may become more and more conformable to the image of God, till we arrive at the perfection proposed to us in a life to come.  Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 44.

“For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness.  But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”  But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;  for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.  For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”  Romans 10:5-10.

“For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;  and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;  having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.  When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us;  and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”  Colossians 2:9-14.

Today’s devotion comes from 2 Kings Chapter 17.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Kings+17&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

7 Now this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and they had feared other gods 8 and walked in the customs of the nations whom the Lord had driven out before the sons of Israel, and in the customs of the kings of Israel which they had introduced.  9 The sons of Israel did things secretly which were not right against the Lord their God.  Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city.  10 They set for themselves sacred pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, 11 and there they burned incense on all the high places as the nations did which the Lord had carried away to exile before them; and they did evil things provoking the Lord.  12 They served idols, concerning which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.”  13 Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah through all His prophets and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you through My servants the prophets.”  14 However, they did not listen, but stiffened their neck like their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God.  15 They rejected His statutes and His covenant which He made with their fathers and His warnings with which He warned them.  And they followed vanity and became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which the Lord had commanded them not to do like them.  16 They forsook all the commandments of the Lord their God and made for themselves molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal.  17 Then they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and practiced divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him.  18 So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from His sight;  none was left except the tribe of Judah.

19 Also Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the customs which Israel had introduced.  20 The Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel and afflicted them and gave them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them out of His sight.”  2 Kings 17:6-20.

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Today’s Scripture presents God’s justice in punishing Israel.  After we read all of the evil things that Israel did, particularly after all of the warnings, we can only conclude that God acted justly in His punishment of Israel.

Other doctrine is only concerned about man and what happens to man.  It looks inward at man’s predicament.  It may seek forgiveness, but it is only concerned about the effect of the sin on man, namely the pain of punishment.

But, Reformed Doctrine seeks to look upward at God and properly recognize God’s qualities and glorify God.   Reformed Doctrine also seeks forgiveness, but because it is primarily concerned about the effect of sin on God, namely that sin is a transgression against God.  Reformed Doctrine seeks to understand the justice of God in rendering the punishment.  Reformed Doctrine seeks to glorify God for His justice.

“1 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.
4 Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight,
So that You are justified when You speak
And blameless when You judge.”  Psalm 51:1-4.