READING FOR OCTOBER 10, 2025: 2 Chronicles 12, Acts 25, Psalm 106:13-31 2 Chronicles 12 This is Ezra’s retelling of 1 Kings 14 about Egypt’s attack on Judah. This occurred because once Rehoboam felt he and his nation were strong, they abandoned the Lord’s law. This is the kind of intensified history the Bible provides that is unavailable to secu- lar historians whose rules don’t allow them to consider supernatural factors. Shishak, the Egyptian Pharoah, invaded Judah with an enormous multi-national force. They easily over- whelmed all the fortified cities Rehoboam so carefully built up. Shemaiah the prophet gave Rehoboam God’s perspective on why this was happening. To their credit, Rehoboam and the leadership humbled themselves, even going as far as saying God was in the right for doing this to them. This writer doesn’t recall ever hearing anyone say God was justified in handing out discipline to oneself. Likely this is because so many Bible teachers today do not teach this as something a loving God does. Hebrews 12, however, teaches God disciplines us precisely because He is loving. Amazing.
As a result of this humbling of themselves, God saved Judah from being destroyed. In general, God promises good things will happen after we humble ourselves (James 4:10). But God still allowed them to be servants of Shihak so that they could learn how much better it was to serve only God. This is called experiential learning in the education field. Once again, the text says Rehoboam became powerful in Jerusalem (vs. 13). Yes, he had obtained a certain level of power on earth, as have many leaders up to the present time. But what does it matter if the final evaluation of a life is what we read in verse 14? “He did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.” This doesn’t need to be the final word on any of us. Certainly, it’s not God’s desire for us: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me” (Rev. 3:20). LISTEN!
Acts 25 Porcius Festus replaced Felix as governor. Historical records show that in his two years as governor, his record was noted for wisdom and honesty superior to both his predecessor, Felix, and his successor, Albinus. Immediately upon his arrival from Rome, Festus travels to Jerusalem to become familiar with the people he was sent to govern.
To show his wisdom, Festus does not fall prey to the Jewish religious leaders request to move the trial to Jerusalem. This thwarts their plan to ambush and kill Paul during the two-day journey, After ten days in Jerusalem, he returns to Caesarea to begin the trial of Paul.
After hearing both sides of the case, Festus is certain that Paul has not done anything against the Roman government. However, to try and get in good favor with the Jewish leaders, Festus tries to get Paul to go to Jerusalem and face trial in a Jerusalem court. Paul knows that this is a fool’s errand and then does something drastic. He appeals to Caesar.
READINGS FOR OCTOBER 10, 2025 CONTINUED: ACTS 25, PSALM 106:13-31
Paul was a Roman citizen. He was from the Jewish tribe of Benjamin but had been born and raised in the Roman city of Tarsus (in modern day Syria). He was trained by the renowned Rabbi Gamaliel and prior to his conversion was a Pharisee. The fact that he was a citizen of a
Roman city meant that he had all the rights of Roman citizenship. This included the right to request that your case be decided by the Emperor (or Caesar). The emperor in question is Caesar Nero. Nero’s persecution of Christians did not begin until 64 A.D. Prior to that, Nero was no worse than other Roman emperors. Paul might have a better chance of justice in Rome in front of Caesar than in Caesarea or Jerusalem.
King Agrippa II comes to pay respects to the new governor. He ruled over territory north and northeast of the Sea of Galilee and some Galilean and Perean cities. He was accompanied by his sister, Berniece. It was in the interest of both King Agrippa and Governor Festus that they get along as they administrated this region of the Roman Empire. King Agrippa is intrigued by that case and wants to hear from Paul. Festus uses the excuse of trying to figure out what to write down to send to Nero to explain the case for him.
To backtrack a little. As we will see, Paul may regret his appeal to Caesar. It will cause him to make a long dangerous trip to Rome and further house arrest until his case is heard. Sometimes when we take things into our own hands, it will make things harder. We need to be able to allow God to work in our lives and situations that are beyond our control.
Psalm 106:13-31 To remember, Psalm 106 is a salvation history hymn. Israel has a history of rebellion against God. The psalm is a prayer for God to once again save them from their enemies. This section deals with the Israelites acts of defiance against God while out in the wilderness. The people of Israel grumbled against God. They did not like the food provisions (see Exodus 16 and Numbers 11). They did not like the leadership arrangement (see Numbers 16:1-35). When Moses was up of the mountain too long, the built and worshipped a golden calf – an idol (see Exodus 32). They were afraid to enter the Promised Land and take their rightful inheritance (see Numbers 14:1-23). They turned to the false god, Baal of Peor, in the land of Moab (see Numbers 25 – and the deeper discussion of it on October 17th).
Each time the people of Israel sinned, God punished them. Each time they fail, God sent something to show them the error of their ways. Some were devastating (thousands dead), some were debilitating (plagues). God was getting their attention. And if the story ended there, it would be a tragedy. However, in each case, when the people of Israel realized their mis-step and sought forgiveness, God would end the punishment and his protection and blessing would continue. When we realize that we have sinned and we seek forgiveness, God forgives. It is that simple.
