The Bible by David Alley

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 34, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 33, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 32, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 31, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 30, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 29, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 28, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 27, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 2 Chronicles 27 we have a very short chapter about King Jotham. Its says very little other than that he followed in the ways of the Lord and did a few things. One question remains, If Jotham followed in the ways of the Lord, why did he only reign sixteen years? This means he died at 41. We don’t know the answer to this..The Chronicler seems only to care about what mattered to the Lord, so nothing much about this king is said at all. This reminds us of a famous poem by CT STudd, and here is the first section.“Two little lines I heard one day,Travelling along life’s busy way;Bringing conviction to my heart,And from my mind would not depart;Only one life, ’twill soon be past,Only what’s done for Christ will last.All that is recorded about Jotham is effectively his relationship to the Lord. All that matters is what he did for Christ so to speak. And the same is all that matters for us.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 26, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 2 Chronicles 26 we meed Uzziah, who was one of the good kings. Uzziah has increasing success, and gradually he starts to regain the land that was originally thiers, and surrounding nations begin to pay tribute as during the time of David. Because he puts the Lord first things begin to work out. Sadly, success changes people, and it changed Uzziah.He became proud and began to think he could do whatever he wanted. If you dream about doing better in life, you will often seek the Lord to bring you there, but the same thing can take you away from the Lord when you get it. This is undoubtedly why the Lord sometimes doesn’t answer prayers. He is thinking of your eternal welfare.The Lord disciplines Uzziah with leprosy. Today, leprosy is what we call Hansen’s disease, a flesh rotting disease which we can now treat with medicine. But leprosy in biblical times could have been that, or other skin diseases also. So there is now a co-regency with Uzziah and his son Jotham.So the son and the father reign at the same time. This is actually supposed to be how the kingdom of God works. We are called to rule and reign with Christ, in a co-regency. Except that is it us who are the diseased and leprous ones, depending on the mercy of God all the while.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 25, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 2 Chronicles 25 Amaziah followed the Lord, but Not with a perfect heart - That’s pretty much summarizes most believers. It is worth nothing that there is a difference between having a perfect heart, and perfect deeds. You can have a heart after the Lord, but not do things perfectly as David did, or have a heart that is not perfect. A mixed up heart follows many other things too.One of Amaziah’s lunatic actions was after defeating the Edomites, to take their gods and worship them. This brought the Lord’s rebuke.It was lunacy to think you could worship the gods of people you have conquered. They were not able to save their own people, so why would you worship them. The logic here is that they apparently turned on their own people and handed them over. There is a precedent for this when Yahweh handed the Israelites over to the Philistines and didn't fight for them. However the Philistines didn’t worship Yahweh but took the ark away as a trophy, not for adoration. But here Amaziah worships it… so he seems to have stopped thinking logically.Amaziah felt proud that he had won a victory and must have thought he could now conquer the northern nation. Pride comes before a fall.Amaziah is the second of the kings to be killed by others. In the northern nation we saw kings regularly killed, and they were succeeded by a new dynasty. In the south, there are several times the kings are killed, but their own children succeed them. The line of David, leading to Jesus continues. It's remarkable that this line seems so tentative and yet it succeeds in lasting. The Lord’s promises can seem so tentative too, and yet miraculously can survive.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 24, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In 2 Chronicles 24 we discuss King Joash and consider what he did in repairing the temple, and the Jehoash tablet. The big influence on Joash’s life is Jehoiada. Jehoiada lives twice as long as most people at his own time. David lived 70, Solomon maybe from 56 to 60, Others like Rehoboam 59 etc. When he died scripture says he was buried among the kings, but later when Joash dies, he isn’t buried among the kings. Effectively the good rule of Joash, is the rule of Jehoiada and Jehoida is honoured because of this. Later when Jehoiada is dead, Joash changes. He ends up killing the son of the the man who raised him and gave him his wives, putting him on the throne. This is a shocking turn of events. Then the Chronicler describes how Joash is himself killed in turn. Finally, we note that Joash is also one of 4 kings omitted by Matthew in the genealogy of Christ. All 4 of them were not good kings.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 23, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 2 Chronicles 23 Jehoida initiates a coup to put Joash on the throne. Usually a coup is to take power, but in this case it was to re-establish the rightful power. This was a brave move for a priest. Scripture says he “strengthened himself” and in other versions “showed his strength,” or “took courage.” Either way, he did a brave thing in organising a coup.It could well have resulted in the loss of his life, but the Lord was with him. It’s time to take courage, show your strength and in doing so strengthen yourself. Notably under Athaliah, prior to the coup, there was a house of Baal in Jerusalem. Can you believe a temple to Baal was built in Jerusalem? Under Joash with Jehoiada’s guidance this is removed. In Judah at the time, one of the struggles was polytheism of a type.It wasn’t that people didn’t believe in Yahweh, but that they believed in both Baal and Yahweh. This type of thing happens in India when Jesus is preached, because he is simply added to the collection of gods that Hindu people believe in. When I was in India, we visited the Mt of St Thomas, and also the Cathedral of St Thomas in Santhome, Chennai, where people were worshipping the statue of Thomas.They saw him as a saint, like a kind of god to be worshipped alongside other Indian Hindu gods. But this displeases the Lord. He becomes jealous of this type of thing. So when something stands in the place of God, and we remove it, this represents real progress. What stands in the place of God in your life?It is worth noting, that with every king of Judah there is a designated set of things they say about them, such as their age when they reigned, for how long, who their mother was etc. The standard things are not said about Athaliah, giving us the clear idea that she was not considered a real ruler.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 22, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 2 Chronicles 22 we find in the World English Bible translation an interesting numerical quirk. It seems Ahaziah’s father Jehoram died at 40 years of age, so how could Ahaziah be 42 when he became king? The answer is that this is a textual variation incorrectly translated. Many other translations say he was 22 when he became king, not 42.In this chapter Jehu arises in the north, zealous for the Lord, and kills a number of people including Jezebel in Samaria, and Ahaziah here too. Athaliah responds by killing all remaining members of the royal family. At first thought it seems like she is killing her own children. In reality, she was probably killing her son's half brothers. They were probably not her own children.There is thus a threat to the line of David, which was to lead to Christ, but the Lord preserves his line by rescuing Joash in miraculous circumstances. He grows up in the temple, in the Lord’s house. Here is a young boy whose father, and grandparents were evil, and his great granddad was Ahab, yet this event ended up turning him around so that he becomes good, under the influence of Jehoiada.What do you surround yourself with? Do you let your children grow up in the house of the Lord? Do you make sure they are always there in the services?

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 20, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In 2 Chronicles 20 Judah is attacked by an army coming from the desert, the area near the dead sea and south and west of there. Jehoshaphat calls the nation to prayer. It’s not often that a political leader calls a nation to prayer. This is what the King of England during the Dunkirk excavations in 1940. The series of events that saved the preserved 300,000 soldiers is nothing short of miraculous. The outcome here in this chapter was also miraculous. The battle was the Lord’s, and they were commanded not to fight. The enemy ended up turning on themselves and slaughtering each other. But if the Israelites had fought, the Lord would not have fought. There are situations like this in our lives, where was take on things that the Lord is willing to carry for us. Walking with Christ helps us to know the difference. This is a story of how the Lord defeated the enemies of Israel, and the people of God praised him. This is an incredible story, but is a lesson about the nature of spiritual warfare. So much of what comes against us today is defeated by thanksgiving and praise. Merlin Carothers wrote a book “From Prison to Praise” about this topic. When depression, or a lack of motivation, or bitterness or other forces are against you, thanksgiving is a key weapon given by Christ. The evil one cannot handle the praise of Christ, and lifting up the Lord causes these other things to flee from him.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 19, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In 2 Chronicles 19 we cover Jehoshaphat, one of the good kings. And yet his life is a mixture. This mixture of serving God and also serving self is common, and hardly anyone in scripture is exceptionally one-eye for the Lord. Perhaps Daniel, or maybe Mary & Joseph. But it is rare. We too are a mixture. So what we see is that Christ’s discipline is at work in us because of this, but his love is also permanent and guaranteed because we strive to serve him too. Is there anything that you love, that Christ does not love?

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 18, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 2 Chronicles 18 the nation of Israel and Judah start to cooperate, but the Chronicler is down on this point, that the two nations worked together. IN the NT we are encouraged to work together, so why is it a big issue here? First, in gospel times, we are all serving Christ, nowhere are we encouraged to work together with pagans. Rather a house divided against itself cannot stand, says Christ.Here we have Ahab, a chief proponent of Baal, and Jehoshaphat for the Lord. This is a practical political alliance, but it would be like a church and a witches coven working together. Its not right. Sometimes we use the analogy that the tribes of Israel are like the denominations and together we are the people of God. That’s certainly fine as far as analogies go, but it has limitations, and we can see one of those limitations in a chapter like this.Jehoshaphat actually lets his son marry one of Ahab’s daughters - Athaliah, and that comes back to bite Judah later. Imagine letting your children marry into an evil family. The problem was that Jehosphabhat, and many of us today, do not recognise evil and sin for the seriousness that it is.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 17, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 2 Chronicles 17 During the reign of Asa, and Jehoshaphat, a huge number of kings were turned over in the Northern nation of Israel. There were about seven kings while only 2 reigned in the south. But eventually Ahab comes to be king up north bringing some stability there, and for the first time, the two nations begin to cooperate, Ahab with Jehoshaphat. This turns out to be bad in the chapters ahead according to the Chronicler.But meanwhile, Jehosphaphat sends preachers throughout the land. Now it is national policy to teach people about the Lord. Imagine that, a country that raises up specific people to go throughout the land and make sure everyone knows how to follow Christ. Do you know any nation like this? After this the Lord rewards Judah with incoming tribute from the Philistines and Arabia.So the message seems to be that if you put the Lord first, he strengthens your hands. In the NT this is the message of Christ in the sermon on the Mount - seek first the kingdom, and all these things will be added unto you. Jehoshaphat is an example. His father tore down idols, but Jehoshaphat teaches the Lord's way - he gives understanding.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 16, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 2 Chronicles 16 it says that Baasha attacks in the 36th year of Asa. But, according to 1 Kings 15 - Baasha rules from the 3rd to the 25th year of Asa, so he was dead 11 years by this point. The conclusion that seems most sensible and which historic church commentators like James Ussher and many others have concluded is that this is the 36th year after the divide of north and south, not the 36th year of Asa.These number differences can cause people of weak faith to struggle, but what is not wrong is the strength of the Biblical accounts. These stories have been so remarkably preserved for thousands of years, and old documents freshly discovered always concur and match. There is such a rock we can lean on in scripture. Two chapters ago, Asa cried out to the Lord when a million strong army came and they were victorious.But now the northern nation of Israel - the ten tribes - attacks one city of Ramah and they put their trust in the Syrians to sace them instead of the Lord. It works politically, but where is his trust in the Lord as before? When the Lord sends a messenger to confront Asa, He gets angry at the messenger. This happens regularly to us all the time too. We get angry at preachers because we don’t like what they say. Or people get angry at those who share the gospel because it seems like a personal attack.What is the Lord supposed to do? How old was Asa when he died? We don’t know. Some of these details are not clearly explained in the Bible. Some are suggesting he began to reign about 18-22 and therefore died around about 56-60.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 15, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 2 Chronicles 15 King Asa gets a warning from the Lord’s prophet. The warning and encouragement for Asa comes on the tail of the great victory over Zerah the Cushite (Possibly Pharaoh Osorkon II). It is often after great victories and advances that we fall back. This happens from low level things such as dieting where after being good for a while, it's easy to reward yourself with a relapse, right through to national level things. Asa isn’t warned in the midst of failure, but at the peak of victory.The word of the prophet spurs them onto action - doing greater things than before. What things should we be spurred on to do by the Lord?He took the warning to heart, and obeyed, and even went so far as to depose the Queen Mother, which often had great influence over affairs. This was presumably a big deal, otherwise it wouldn't have been recorded. In recent times (Feb 2022) we saw the Queen of England strip her son Andrew of his titles and honours over criminal actions. This would have been hard to do for her, but was the right thing to do. What Asa did was more significant.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 14, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 2 Chronicles 14 Asa becomes king and begins to put back in place things which have slipped in Judah. We know that if we stop having our prayer times it's hard to restart them, but easy to stop them. Or it's easy to slip into being on your phone all day, but hard to discipline yourself. And so here the king makes an effort to clean up a nation from false gods.He is rewarded for doing so with a great victory against Zerah the Cushite This is apparently the biggest army assembled in the bible, which has caused commentators to question the figure. And yet other ancient armies were assembled with similar numbers. For example, while the figure is in question, King Xerxes of the Persian empire also assembled a huge army to attack Greece.It was reported by Herotodus to have 2.5 million people. Another writer, Simonides wrote that he sent 4 million soldiers and a third Ctesias said it was only 800,000 soldiers. Even the minimum estimate by a somewhat contemporary writer was still a huge number. The only reason the number is questioned is because people lean towards disbelief.This battle is not recounted in the book of 1 Kings, so we have a story here of how the Lord hear the cry of one who called out to Him. If a giant army of a million soldiers approaches, would you cry out to the Lord? A number of experts think that Zerah the Cushite might be Osorkon II the 5th pharaoh of the 22nd dynasty. There are some things that don’t nearly fit, but future archaeological discoveries might make it clear if this is true.Either way, the point remains true, a victory over an insurmountable force is possible for weak or strong only with the Lord’s help. What insurmountable problem do you have right now? Time to seek the Lord.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 13, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 2 Chronicles 13 we discuss King Abijah, a short lived king of Judah. It says that Abijah followed the ways of Rehoboam and was not fully devoted to the Lord. Despite the fact that Abijah may have been half hearted in his personal walk with the Lord, he knows that Judah has the true way of worship, and he clearly points out the northern faults to them. The result is a huge slaughter against Israel losing half a million soldiers.The Lord’s nature is such that he listens to the prayers of weak believers too. It’s not only those of strength he hears. God is mindful of our weaknesses and if we needed to be righteous to have our prayers answered, no one would. Here the people of Judah cried out to the Lord in the middle of an ambush and the Lord delivered. Firstly, this is a huge battle with over half a million deaths. To put that in perspective, It is equivalent to the battle of Stalingrad where the German forces lost 500,000 men, including 91000 captured during the 6 months offensive.For an event spoken of so briefly, this was a major moment between the two nations. Perhaps at some future moment, archaeology from this battle will be discovered at Mt Zemaraim. Battles of this type don't tend to cause people to warm up to each other, but rather to increase suspicions. So the tribes are not brought together through this.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 12, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 2 Chronicles 12 we are talking about someone who follows God, but acts without wisdom, and now he abandons the Lord. This is what a lack of wisdom will do to you, and in fact the essence of the foolishness is to abandon the Lord. We are talking about King Rehoboam There are many who grow up in church, or a christian home, so they have the tradition of Christianity, but not the heart.This is a battle each generation has to win for themselves, which means that you cannot rest on what your parents have given you. Nor can you expect your children will automatically pick up what you give to them. Your prayers for them give them the best chance of picking it up. So Shishak of Egypt is sent by the Lord to punish Judah, except he didn’t know that the Lord was punishing Rehoboam because of his sin against the Lord.The Lord can use people even without their knowledge. The temple at Karnak records the details and names 150 towns that Shishak attacked, but Jerusalem is not on the list. It seems Rehoboam bought him off with gold from the temple and spared Jerusalem. It would seem that Shishak is Pharaoh Shoshenq I of the 22nd Dynasty of Egypt. There is archaeology supporting this Pharaoh and the invasion of Judah. He is the first Pharaoh that is named in the Bible, because the previous Pharaoh’s are not named.This dynasty was from Libya. Chronicles notes that it wasn’t the king who humbled himself, but the princes of Israel. These are typically the rulers of the tribes of Israel - there were 12 of them in the days of the wilderness wandering. This makes sense given that the 150 towns listed in Egypt were mostly in Israel. Rehoboam became king at 41, reigned for 17 years, and died at 58.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 11, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 2 Chronicles 11 we find out why Jews come from all the tribes, not just the tribe of Judah. The northern nation of Israel had decided to replace temple worship with golden calf worship to try to keep people from going to Jerusalem. It was a political decision, but got not only the Lord angry, but the Levites here deserted en mass, plus others. So from this point on the “Jews'' are actually people from a number of tribes, not just those from Judah.This might be why today we think of Jews as being everyone descended from Abraham. Some of the Levites actually moved to Jerusalem and Judah, but others moved their hearts but remained in the place they were. They were in very much the type of position most of us are in today, where politically we are under the jurisdiction of whatever nation and state, but our hearts belong to the Lord.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 10, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 2 Chronicles 10 Rehoboam becomes King of Judah. For someone who had for a father the wisest man on Earth, it seemed to do him no good. Rehoboam’s shocking lack of wisdom destroys a kingdom in three days, which has been preserved for 40 years by wisdom.Solomon’s wisdom of course came from the Lord, but Rehoboam didn’t seek wisdom as his father did. Secondly, Rehoboam listened to the voice of inexperience. He didn’t value wisdom, and it didn’t value him in return. Rehoboam was 41 years old when he became king according to the 1Kings 12 account and was thus born when his Dad was possibly 13 years of age.This makes sense if Solomon became co-regent king at 11, and married at 13 when he was considered a man. His mother was not Pharaoh’s daughter, but Naamah an Ammonitess - probably one of Solomon’s first wives, but not his famous wife. According to Josephus, Solomon then became king at 14. Rehoboam didn’t seem to appreciate what he had, and didn’t value it.This is often the dilemma of billionaire’s when raising their children. Rehoboam may have struggled with an entitlement mentality. James 1:5 says “if you lack wisdom, ask…” Rehoboam didn’t ask as far as we know.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 9, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 8, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 7, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 6, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 5, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 4, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 3, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 2, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.

In this video listen to 2 Chronicles Chapter 1, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.

In this video listen to 1 Chronicles Chapter 29, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 1 Chronicles 29 the public speech to all Israel continues from the previous chapter. This is the second time Solomon is declared king. The first time was in a rush in response to Adonijah’s rebellion. But now done properly at length, with full state endorsement, and the approval of his father, Solomon is becoming king.In verse 10 David starts a prayer, a kind of “ordination prayer” for Solomon. Part of it is used in modern day liturgies. In his prayer, David says the following, “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from you, and we have given you of your own.”Here we see a little bit of David’s theology. We are only giving back to God what he already gave us first. These things are discussed in this video. The book of 1 Chronicles is finished for us, but Chronicles is really one account from the original author's perspective in two scrolls. And so the story continues. The breakup here is probably a natural place to break a scroll for readability. Big scrolls are harder to handle.

In this video listen to 1 Chronicles Chapter 28, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 1 Chronicles 28 we have David conducting a final handing over to Solomon speech. In 1 Chronicles 22 we had a private speech from David to Solomon, but now we have a public speech in front of the entire nation. This makes everything said official, but it also makes what is commanded a requirement of the new leader, which everyone knows. So the legitimacy of Solomon’s reign is connected to doing the things David says here.This is in a type of way, an ordination process.Here we learn that the plans for the temple were given to David by the Spirit, so in a similar way that Moses got the plans for the tabernacle from God, these plans come from God too.The pattern here is the same pattern as the tabernacle, a series of three rooms teaching us about increasing intimacy with God.The three rooms asThe outer courtsThe Holy PlaceThe Most Holy PlaceWe are brought into the Most Holy place by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we can have intimacy with God… what a remarkable thing? And yet, most believers remain in the outer courts, never seeking to know God.

In this video listen to 1 Chronicles Chapter 27, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 1 Chronicles 27 we see that David not only ordered the temple, its priests, musicians and guards, but also ordered the military. When people know what to expect, they organise their lives around it and feel safe. Davids sets up 12 military divisions, under 12 leaders, some names we already know such as Benaiah, son of Jehoida.Each division is on duty one month of the year, and has 24,000 soldiers. In total 288,000 men are involved in active military duty each year. But the rest of the nation, more than 1 million men, are reservists. One of the division leaders, was Asahel, killed by Abner when the two nations were merging in 2 Samuel 2:18-32. But this occurred before David was king of all Israel, he was king of Judah only at that point. How is this possible?He would have been dead long before this point right? The answer is that David instituted this system that grew to become what is described here…. Zebadiah, his son after him, ran this division, as this chapter explains. So there was not only priestly systems in place, but military systems too. In the same way, each of us are in Christ’s standing army.We fight the enemies of the cross, which are not people, but are things of the worlds which hinder the gospel. We fight principalities with prayer and righteousness. We are all called to this high responsibility.

In this video listen to 1 Chronicles Chapter 26, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 1 Chronicles 26 we discuss doorkeepers. In some bible translations, the doorkeepers are called the porters. Regardless, they have the task of guarding the ports, of being security for the temple and have some basic level of logistical responsibility. Of great interest here is the inclusion of Obed-Edom in the list of doorkeepers.This man was a Gittite, (a Philistine from Gath) who had the ark in his home for three months and was blessed as a result. (2 Sam 6:11) Now, he and his family are to be in the Lord’s home, just as the Lord was in his home. This is how it works … if you make a place for God, the Lord makes a place for you. And of course he is the only non Levite in all of the lists of rosters, and a non Israelite. Because he opened his home to God, he was included in Israel.Many people make the mistake that God has to accept them first, but he has already done that… he has. To have God’s presence in your life, you must accept him and then experience what comes as a result. The breakup for gatekeepers is different because it reflects rostered locations - the gates. It seems that rather than having 24 courses as for the priests and the musicians, they obtained a location to guard. Obed-Edom and his 62 sons were to guard the south gate and the storehouse in turn.This section reminds me of Psalm 84:10. “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” It is better to be at the door of the temple for a small time, than outside for any amount of time. In a sense, we are all called to be doorkeepers and guardians of the Lord’s treasures.We are not supposed to watch them be eroded around us by culture, but to guard them in our hearts, and guard them for our children, and guard them for society and culture. We can guard them through our prayers, and our moral upright stance, and our resistance to cultural drift.

In this video listen to 1 Chronicles Chapter 25, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 1 Chronicles 25 lots were also cast for musicians as they were for priests. And there were also 24 groups of musicians rostered on at the temple.All the musicians were descendants of three men, Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman. Of the 24 groups, 4 came from Asaph, 6 from Jeduthun and 14 from Heman. Asaph is the same as the Asaph of the psalms.This chapter says they were rostered on to “prophesy” with stringed instruments, but how? Matthew Henry says it is because they were singing the words of prophecies written by the prophets. This is true in the same way that when a preacher speaks of Christ’s return he is prophesying, but he didn’t invent the prophecy. However, some musicians, notably Asaph wrote psalms too, so they may be prophets in the more usual sense.David is also considered a prophets, and Peter said so in his day of Pentecost sermon in Acts 2-3 In the NT, not only are we all priests, but we are all worshippers, and while not all of us may be musicians, we are to sing and prophesy the wonders of Christ. Between us all Christ is never failed to be worshipped.

n this video listen to Nehemiah chapter 5, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In Nehemiah 5 we have A different type of problem arise than that which arose previously from outside. This is an internal issue in how the society of the Israelites was working. There was lending to fellow Israelites and the charging of interest, something which was prohibited in Exodus 22. This was problematic on several levels.Firstly it was against the command of the LordIt was taking advantage of those who had given their time to help build the walls keeping the others who didn’t contribute safe.The wall should have been the responsibility of all, not of some, so lending with no interest could have been a way of contributing to the wall’s construction, rather than hindering it.This situation reminds us of the Corinthians who ate their love feasts with differences between them, without regard for one another.After Nehemiah becomes the governor of Judea, whereas before it was under the governorship of Samaria, likely ruled by Sanballat.Nehemiah is a fair governor and doesn't take advantage of his position. His prayer to remember me is one we can all emulate. One the one hand, the thief on the cross prayed this prayer when he had deserved nothing, pleading for mercy. But on this hand, Nehemiah has been righteous, and pleads for the Lord to notice and reward him. Whichever the case, we can ask the Lord to remember us.

In this video listen to 1 Chronicles Chapter 24, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 1 Chronicles 24 lots are cast to work out the twenty-four group roster of priests who were to serve and in what order. Of Aaron’s four sons, two died and their descendants are not a part of this, and of the other two, two thirds are from Eleazar. But the jobs given out, and the order of them is by lot, so is fairly distributed as God decided. The casting of lots was a way of deciding, kind of like rolling a dice. Because God was able to determine the outcome, it was a way of giving him the choice.This was done in Acts 1 when they decided which of the two were to be the apostle to replace Judas. Today we might decide a matter by a coin toss, such as to start a football game, but this is merely practical, but these decisions were thoughtful, and the outcome considered genuinely God given.According to Matthew Henry - this verse explains they put the 16 names of the families for Eleazar in one jar, and the eight for Ithamar in the other. They then cast lots for one jar or the other, and then pulled out a name to create the order of 24. These are the twenty-four courses of priests who were rostered on, a practice which continued in various forms through to the time of Christ and beyond until the ending of the temple.In Luke 1 as an example, John the Baptist's father, of the eighth course here, the group of Abijah, was rostered on. Each course was rostered on for one week only… 8 days, with the Sabbath’s overlapping. In the NT, we are all priests, and these passages show us that we are all to give of our time and contribution towards the work of the Lord. Between us all, the work is done.

In this video listen to 1 Chronicles Chapter 23, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 1 Chronicles 23 begins a four chapter discussion on the preparations for temple worship. David is not just focussed on building a building, but on building an entire system of worship for God. THe building was magnificent, but it is what happens there that is the most important, so we have four chapters to that, whereas we only had one chapter on the building.We know the church is people, and not physical things. You can have a church without physical structures, but you cannot have a church without people. This is why the church thrives and grows in places where it isn’t allowed to exist. Even in the Maldives, believers go fishing so as to have church in a boat, because they have no legal right to exist. So the intangibles, the worship, the people, these are the things of most significance.Here there is a census of Levites. In Numbers 4, there were 8,580 Levites… and now 38,000. It has grown by almost five times. Also in the catastrophic census of Israel that David took, the Levites and Benjamites were skipped, but now we have this number, but he only counts the over thirties, and doesn’t anger the Lord. David sets up 6000 officers and judges, 4000 doorkeepers and a praise and worship team of another 4000.These were all on a roster as we shall see. And of course churches still have rosters today. The rest of them, 24000 assisted in the temple - helping the priests with sacrifices etc. The next three chapters will go through the dividing up of the jobs of these groups. The first of these was the priestly division. The next three chapters will discuss how these groups were divided up for their tasks and what it means for us today.

In this video listen to 1 Chronicles Chapter 22, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 1 Chronicles 22 we cover David’s extensive preparations to build a temple for God. And this is why it should be known as David’s temple. David is a figure of Christ, and the temple is a symbol of Christ who said he would “tear down this temple and rebuild it in three days.” But interestingly, Solomon’s name is a representation of peace (Shalom) and through Christ we have peace. Solomon would probably not have thought to have built a temple except he was instructed to do so.And undoubtedly no-one else may have either. David’s inquiring mind, and heart filled with spirit-led initiative is unique in the history of Israel. Also we attempt some type of estimate at the value of the preparations, which seems to be on the high side, to be in the trillions of dollars. Is that right? The question to us is, like David, are we willing to build God’s house.Is our heart and soul set to follow God, and arise to build the sanctuary, and bring the ark there. This speaks not of physical buildings, but of the people of God, the body of Christ, which together is a temple. The true glory of God cannot be revealed to the world until it inhabits God’s house, his church, his people.We see that David was the true driving force behind the temple, with his ideas, his preparations and his verbal encouragements and commands.

In this video listen to 1 Chronicles Chapter 21, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 1 Chronicles 21 we have the other census account, the first coming from 2 Samuel 24. There seems to be conflicting information between them, but by proper scrutiny of them both, we can harmonize and gain additional perspectives. This video will talk about the two accounts, and their harmonization, plus what lessons we might learn for today.Isaac Marshmallow has written a comprehensive explanation about the discrepancies over the two different tallies. In 2 Samuel 24 it numbers all Israel at 1.3 million people. The account here numbered them at 1.1 million, a difference of 200,000 people. Also, This account says David paid 600 shekels for the site of Arunah the JEbusite.The 2 Samuel passage says that he paid 50 shekels, but it was for the cattle. There isn’t a discrepancy here, because there are two different things being paid for, the total of them being 650 shekels. According to the rules for Census taking, those under 20 were not to be counted, but David did such a thing, so the differing totals were including the under 20’s in the Samuel account and without the under 20’s in the Chronicles account.Isaac’s full explanation is at https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.co... The king is now counting all Israel, including the under 20’s, which he was not supposed to do according to the rules of Exodus 30:11-16. If this was done wrongly, the risk was a plague as Exodus 30:12 points out. This site - the threshing floor of Aruna (or Ornan) the Jebusite is the site of Mt Moriah, where Abraham sacrificed the lamb on behalf of Isaac.This ties into the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf that stopped the plague of sin for all humanity. …. Also the site of the temple.

In this video listen to 1 Chronicles Chapter 20, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 1 Chronicles 20 we have the shortest chapter in the book, only 8 verses - but there are many shorter chapters than this, especially in the Psalms. It is during this chapter, but never mentioned by the Chronicler, that the Bathsheba/Uriah incident happens. Instead an account of victory is recorded. This is the truth for all who are in Christ Jesus - our sins are removed and all we have left is victory in Jesus.We know that back in 1 Samuel 17, a young David killed the giant Goliath, but now we have here the records of other giants being killed by his followers. This is spiritual inheritance at work. The heart of David, his courage and his example and now being replicated in those after him. Ultimately Christ is the giant killer - the one who killed Satan at the cross, but now we must take on, and will overcome giants too, following his example.One particularly notable giant that has been trampled is Communism in Eastern Europe, which was prayed away by the saints. It was a drawn out battle over several decades, and significant believers like Brother Andrew encouraged people to engage the battle everywhere he went. But what a great victory!! There are more giants waiting to fall.

In this video listen to 1 Chronicles Chapter 19, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 1 Chronicles 19 it is about this time, that David stays home from battle in the spring and the affair with Uriah the HIttite causes him huge problems. But the Chronicler never mentions it. What we have here is an example of true forgiveness in the mind of God. It is as if it never happened. Everyone of course knew what David did, but as God is teaching us about the true king of Israel, this isn’t required for that purpose.In this chapter David sends Joab, who is defeating the Ammonites, and this chapter outlines a great victory. Keep in mind that this victory was right after the Bath-sheba incident. God is still here helping David have a victory. God is not vindictive. He doesn't snub us because of sin, but continues with us in great patience. If God does at some point turn his back on someone, as he did with Saul, it is after a lengthy period of patience and striving with them, and even then, his patience remains for a heart that turns back.Out of the Bath-sheba incident was to come the future Christ. The Lord also redeems not only us, but our mistakes. It is one of the incredible miracles of God that his redemption goes beyond just forgiveness, but it rectifies that which was done wrong to bring out a better good. This video discusses redemption - not just of sin, but of circumstances. One incredible modern day example is the wrong done to people taken from their homeland of Africa as slaves to work on the plantations of America.Out of that terrible evil, the Lord brought gospel music, the pentecostal movement, and revived the entire church in the world with worship and a move of the spirit. We can’t rejoice for the evil that happened, but how can we not rejoice at how God turned it into good.

In this video listen to 1 Chronicles Chapter 18, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 1 Chronicles 18 you get the impression here, that it is after David sorts out the rightful place of the Lord, he then defeats all his enemies. (see verse 1) The book of Chronicles isn’t just history, but also explanation. It teaches us something of why as well as what and who like Kings & Samuel do. However, while the explanation is correct, we learn in Samuel 7:1 that Daivd actually defeats his enemies first and then makes a place for the Lord.Why is the timing switched around in this chapter? Both of these things actually go together. David was planning on making a place for the Lord all along, and the defeat of the enemies was actually a part of serving God. If we go back to the time of Joshua, when they were to drive out the inhabitants of the land, that IS what God instructed. So David Is doing exactly what he knows God wants, and then after this, he turns to the temple.The account seems back to front here, because it is applying a theological and personal meaning. When we get the place of the Lord sorted out properly, we have victory over our enemies, but part of the process of making a place for the Lord IS removing the things which compete with him in our affections.

In this video listen to 1 Chronicles Chapter 17, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 1 Chronicles 17 David decides that God should have a house and as a result God blesses David much much much more that he expected. This video talks about David’s initiative, and how unique that was for the time, and even for now.We talk about the idea of spirit-led initiative.This video also talks about why the temple that Solomon built, should have been called David’s temple and not Soloomon’s temple. It also discusses why Christ was the son of David who built the true temple.

In this video listen to 1 Chronicles Chapter 16, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 1 Chronicles 16 when David brought up the ark, he made a LOT of sacrifices, including burnt offerings and peace offerings. This video will discuss those.In addition, David setup 24/7 worship in Jerusalem…. 3000 years before they did it in iHOP, and 2800 years beefore the Moravians famous non-stop prayer meeting.In this chapter we meet a Psalm sung for the special occasion of the ark arriving in Jerusalem. We analyse the psalm and find it is a composite song coming from three Psalms in the book of Psalms. And we consider a few of the verses it contains.

In this video listen to 1 Chronicles Chapter 15, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 1 Chronicles 15 David finally brings up the ark to Jerusalem, and we find out he “prepared a place for it.” David is courting God, like a man courts a young lady.We also learn that David setup 24/7 worship, and also used 6 different Levite family groups to serve God. We know who three of these Levite families are, but who are the other three?To carry the ark the priests had to sanctify themselves. But we too are priests, and we are also to carry the glory of God. This video explains this from a New Testament perspective and how we go about doing that.

In this video listen to 1 Chronicles Chapter 14, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In 1 Chronicles 14 we see an example of the theology of grace. This chapter follows right after David’s failure to bring up the ark, and outlines all his successes with God’s help. God is with David, despite his weakness and assumptions. We discuss the meaning of this, especially given that the stories were told out of chronological order, it seems with this theology in mind.This chapter will also discuss David’s sons, and why Solomon is listed down so far. And we will also discuss the attack of the Philistines against David. Why did they wait so long to attack him? Why didn’t htye attack when he was king of Judah only, and his army was much smaller?We will explain how even in this chapter we see an image of Christ.