“Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.” (Proverbs 20:19 ESV). Solomon warned that those who speak carelessly, especially those who slander or gossip, cannot be trusted with confidential or sensitive matters. The one who “reveals secrets” proves unfaithful. Likewise, the “simple babbler” (literally, “one who opens wide his
“He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.” (2 Chronicles 33:13 ESV). Manasseh’s story is one of the most shocking accounts of sin and mercy in all of Scripture. He was
“May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15:5–6 ESV). The apostle Paul closed this section of his letter with a prayerful appeal that
“And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because God had provided for the people, for the thing came about suddenly.” (2 Chronicles 29:36 ESV). When King Hezekiah began to reign in Judah, the temple had been neglected, worship had ceased, and the nation had grown spiritually cold. But in the first month of his reign,
“But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.” (2 Chronicles 26:16 ESV). Uzziah started out a great and godly king, but he didn’t finish well. Once humbly dependent
“Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.” (Psalm 22:30–31 ESV). This psalm of David began with a haunting cry of abandonment—“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”—words that
“Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Jehoram his son reigned in his place.” (2 Chronicles 21:1 ESV). Jehoshaphat was a godly king who led Judah in faithfulness to the Lord. He sought God’s guidance, removed idols, and taught the people God’s law. Yet his
“But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.” (Romans 11:6 ESV). Paul wrote to the Roman believers about God’s faithfulness to preserve a remnant of Israel, not based on merit but on grace. In this verse, Paul offered a clear, theological
“As it is written, ‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’” (Romans 9:33 ESV). The apostle Paul quoted from Isaiah to show that Christ, the promised “stone” laid by God in Zion, had become both a
“In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but sought help from physicians.” (2 Chronicles 16:12 ESV) King Asa began his reign with wholehearted trust in the Lord. In his earlier years, he cried