Tag Archives: Ambition

Paying Temple Tax

202 – Paying Temple Tax

Matthew 17:24-27 Mark 9:33-41 Luke 9:49-50 17:1-2

Jesus headed back to Capernaum with his disciples. Along the way he said, “They’ll give the Son of Man to people who will kill him. But in three days, he’ll rise from the dead.”

The disciples were confused about what he was talking about. Still, they didn’t ask him about it because they were in the middle of their own discussion. They were arguing about which one of them was the greatest.

When they got to the house in Capernaum, Jesus had all twelve men gather around. He then motioned for a child to come stand next to him. He said, “If you want to be the greatest of everyone, you must become the servant of everyone.”

He then put his arm around the child. “When you welcome a little child like this in my name, you are welcoming me. But it’s much more than that. You’re welcoming God.”

John spoke up. “Lord, we found a man casting out demons in your name. But he wasn’t a part of our group. So we told him to stop.”

“No, no! Don’t stop him. A man isn’t working against me if he’s doing miracles in my name. If he’s not against us, he’s for us. Listen, if a man gives even a cup of water in my name, that man will be rewarded.”

He once again put his arm around the child. “Listen very carefully to me. If one of these little ones believes in me, and someone causes him to sin, it would be better if that man were tied to a large rock and thrown into the sea.”

The next day, a man who collects temple tax walked up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher pay the temple tax?”

“Uh, yes, he does.” But Peter wasn’t sure.

Back in Capernaum, Jesus saw him deep in thought. He said, “Simon, give me your opinion. When a king issues a tax, does he make his family pay it?”

“Oh no. Others have to pay, but not his family.”

Jesus said, “That’s true. The sons of the king don’t have to pay. But we don’t want to offend others on this issue. So go to the sea and catch a fish. When you have it, open its mouth. There you’ll find a coin. It’ll be enough for you to pay the tax—for you and me.”

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Esther Saves Her People

176 – Esther Saves Her People

Esther 5:9 – 10:3

Continued from the previous story

The king and Haman attended Queen Esther’s banquet. Afterwards the king said, “Now tell me your request so I can give it to you.”

“Oh king, if it’s true you want to grant my request, please bring Haman and come to another banquet tomorrow. I’ll tell you my request at that time.” 

Haman was proud as he left the court that day. He had been invited to the queen’s banquet two days in a row! Suddenly his joy turned to anger as he noticed Mordecai once again not bowing before him. He was with friends that evening and told them how this Jew had ruined his joy.

They said, “Build a 75-foot gallows. Go to the king early in the morning and ask him to order Mordecai’s death. Hang him on the gallows right away so you can enjoy the queen’s banquet.” Haman sent for a servant and ordered the gallows to be built.

The king couldn’t sleep that night. So he had someone come to his bedroom and read official records. The servant read how Mordecai had saved the king’s life by revealing a plot to kill him. The king said, “How was this man rewarded?”

The servant looked back at the records, then said, “He wasn’t, my king.”

“Nothing was done to reward this man?! Go into the court and see if anyone is there.”

The servant found Haman waiting to see the king. The king said, “Bring him in.” Before Haman could talk, the king said, “What should I do for a man I want to honor in a special way?”

Haman immediately thought of himself. He said, “Oh, my king. You should honor this man by putting your royal robe and crown on him. Place him on your horse and have your most noble official lead him through the streets yelling, ‘This is what the king does for a man he wants to honor!’”

The king was pleased. “Excellent. Go and find Mordecai and do everything you’ve said. Be careful not to leave anything out.”

Haman stood there in shock, but he had to fulfill everything he had suggested to the king. He put the royal robe and crown on Mordecai, placed him on the royal horse, and led him through the city yelling, “This is what the king does for a man he wants to honor.”

When it was all over, Haman went home in humiliation, but his summons to the queen’s banquet was waiting for him. So he had to rush to get there.

After they had eaten, the king asked Esther, “Tell me what you want so I can give it to you.”

“Oh king, if it pleases you to grant my request, spare my life and the lives of my people. A man has plotted to have my entire race destroyed.”

The king was shocked, “Who is this man and where is he?”

Esther pointed at Haman. “Our enemy is this wicked man.”

Haman was terrified. He couldn’t even speak. The king looked at him and became angry. He got up and walked into the garden so he could think.

Haman ran over and fell down next to Esther to beg for his life. The king walked back into the room and saw Haman lying next to the queen. He said, “Are you going to rape the queen with me standing right here?”

As soon as he said this, servants rushed over and put a hood over Haman’s head. One of them turned to the king. “Haman has built a gallows to hang the man who saved your life.”

This angered the king even more. He pointed to Haman, “Hang him on it!”

Haman was immediately taken out and hanged on the gallows he had built. After this, the king replaced him with Mordecai.

So the Jewish people were saved from the disaster Haman had planned for them, and Mordecai became the highest-ranking official in the government.

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Esther Becomes Queen

175 – Esther Becomes Queen

Esther 1:1 – 5:8

One day the queen of Persia embarrassed the king in front of the lords of the court. They all agreed the king should replace her. So an order went out saying all the beautiful virgins were to come to the palace. From them, the king would choose a new queen.

Esther was a beautiful young woman who had been raised by her older cousin Mordecai. She went to the palace because of her beauty and virtue. But … her cousin told her not to tell anyone that she was Jewish.

In the course of time, she was selected to be the new queen. Soon after this, two events happened about the same time. The first was that Mordecai heard a plot to kill the king. He reported it, and the plot was stopped. His good deed was recorded in the official records.

The second event was that a man named Haman was made the highest-ranking official in the government. From then on, people bowed when he walked by—everyone except Mordecai.

When Haman saw this, he became angry and wanted Mordecai killed. But he wanted more than that—he wanted to totally destroy the Jews.

So he went to the king and said, “There are people in the empire who are different than everyone else. They don’t obey your laws because they have their own. It’s not good to let them live. Allow me to serve you by organizing their destruction. It would be my honor to personally pay for the cost of doing this.”

The king was pleased at Haman’s willingness to serve the kingdom, so he gave him the authority to destroy the Jewish people. Haman set a date and then sent out a proclamation.

It said all the Jews were to be killed on that date. This would include the men, women and children. Their possessions were to be given to those who did the killing.

Once the proclamation was translated into many languages, it was sent out to all the nations in the empire. Fear and panic gripped all the Jews of the land.

Esther was in the palace and didn’t know about this decree. Soon she heard that Mordecai was mourning in a public place. She sent a servant to ask him what was wrong. Mordecai told the servant everything and gave him a copy of the decree. He said, “Tell the queen she must talk to the king and beg him to have mercy upon her people.”

She sent a message back to him. “No one is allowed to go before the king without an invitation. Those who do are put to death unless he points the golden scepter toward them. It’s been 30 days since he has last sent for me.

Mordecai sent a message back to her. “Don’t assume you’ll escape, just because you live in the palace. Listen, if you don’t help, your people will be delivered by some other means. Still, you will die! I believe you were brought to the kingdom for such a time as this.”

She sent back a note. “Tell our people to fast for three days. They’re not to eat or drink anything. My servants and I will do the same. Then I’ll go and stand before the king, even though it is against the law. If I die, I die.”

After three days, Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court so the king could see her from his throne. When he looked up, he was pleased to see her and immediately pointed the golden scepter towards her. She walked up and touched the top of it.

He said, “Tell me what you want and I’ll give it to you.”

She said, “If it pleases you, I want you and Haman to come to a banquet I have prepared.”

“Done!” said the king. “Guard, run get Haman and bring him here. We’re going to Queen Esther’s banquet.”

Continued in the next story

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Den of Lions

171 – Den of Lions

Daniel 6:1-28

When Darius became king, he appointed an official over each of his 120 provinces. He then selected three administrators to supervise the 120 officials.

Daniel was one of the three administrators, and he was the most capable. The king was about to give him authority over the entire kingdom.

The officials and the other two administrators didn’t want this to happen. They decided to make Daniel look bad to the king. They searched for a flaw in his life or some kind of corruption in what he did for the government. They couldn’t find anything. Finally they said, “There’s only one way we can do this. We must find something in the laws of his God.” 

Finally they found it, so they created a plan. They went to the king and said, “Oh King Darius, live forever. The officials and administrators have agreed on a way we can honor you. With your permission, we want everyone to worship you for 30 days. We’ll craft a law that says no one can worship any other god during that time. We want you to sign it as a law of the Medes and Persians that can’t be changed. If anyone disobeys this law, they’ll be thrown into a den of lions.” Darius was pleased with this honor, so he signed the law.

Daniel heard about this after it was done. Still he followed his normal routine of worship. Three times a day, he went into his house and opened the upper windows that faced Jerusalem. There, he knelt down and prayed, giving thanks to God. It was exactly what the men knew he would do.

They went to the king and said, “Is it true that you signed a law that said for 30 days no one may worship any other god besides you? And didn’t it say that anyone who violated this would be thrown into a den of lions?”

He said, “Of course. I made it a law of the Medes and Persians, which can’t be changed.” “Oh king, we’re sad to tell you that Daniel, Jewish exile, is breaking that law. He bows down and worships his God three times a day.”

Darius was shocked! He knew he had to find a way to rescue Daniel. He worked on it all day. Finally the men came and said, “You know that the law of the Medes and Persians can’t be changed.”

So the king gave the order to go get Daniel. The king talked to him just before he was thrown into the den. “Oh, may the God you serve rescue you from these lions.”

Daniel was lowered into the den, and then a stone was placed over the opening. The king put his seal on it so that no one could interfere with this judgment. He went back to his palace and cancelled the evening entertainment. He refused to eat, and he couldn’t sleep all night.

When it was finally morning, he rushed back to the den of lions. Once the stone was removed, he yelled, “Oh Daniel, servant of the living God. Was your God able to rescue you from the lions?”

Daniel yelled back, “My king, God sent his angel, who shut the mouths of these lions. I haven’t been hurt in any way. God knows I’m innocent. Your Majesty, I haven’t wronged you in any way.”

The king gave the order to have Daniel pulled out of the den. Darius then told the guards. “Go get those men who plotted against Daniel. Get their wives and children. Throw them all into the den of lions.”

All the men and their families were brought and pushed down into the den of lions. The lions were waiting at the bottom and tore them apart before they reached the floor.

King Darius sent a decree throughout his kingdom. It said, “Everyone is to be afraid of Daniel’s God because he’s the living God. His kingdom will last forever. He’s able to rescue those who serve him.”

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Josiah’s Reforms

158 – Josiah’s Reforms

II Kings 23:1-37 II Chronicles 34:32 – 35:27

King Josiah and the nation of Judah renewed their commitment to the Laws of God. The king then took all the false altars out of the Temple and had them burned. The people also went throughout Jerusalem and destroyed all the idols that were in the city.

Once that was done, the king personally went throughout the land of Judah and oversaw the destruction of idol worship in all the cities. Next he went throughout the land of Israel and destroyed all the idols and altars that were there. When he found a major pagan spot, he desecrated the altar so the people would never use it again. 

He went to the altar Jeroboam had built at Bethel. Josiah totally destroyed everything that was around it. He saw some tombs nearby, so he sent men to get some human bones. He burnt them on top of the altar to desecrate it.

Then Josiah saw a monument nearby. He said, “What’s that?”

The men of the area said, “That’s the tomb of the prophet who came from Judah. The Lord sent him here to speak against Jeroboam when he dedicated this altar to his golden calves. He prophesied and told the people what you would do to this altar. Today you have fulfilled his prophecy. It is also the grave of an old prophet from Samaria.”

Josiah said, “Don’t disturb these bones.” He then returned to Jerusalem.

The king organized a Passover feast like no other. He and prominent men of Judah gave generously so everyone could have a sacrifice to give.

In the entire history of Judah, there had never been a king like Josiah, who loved and served the Lord with all his mind, heart, and strength. He totally followed the ways of God.

Still, the Lord planned to have Jerusalem destroyed. He was going to send the people of Judah into exile, just as he had done to Israel. But he didn’t allow it to happen until after Josiah died.

When the king was 39 years old, the pharaoh of Egypt led his army past Judah on the way to help Assyria. Josiah took his army out to stop them. The pharaoh said, “My battle isn’t with you. I’m going to fight someone else. Don’t interfere, or God will use me to destroy you.”

Josiah didn’t listen to this advice. He went into battle, but disguised himself so the enemy wouldn’t know he was the king. Suddenly an arrow hit him, and he slumped down in his chariot. His servants rushed him back to Jerusalem, and there he died.

All of Judah mourned Josiah’s death. The prophet Jeremiah wrote a song that was sung at his funeral.

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Uzziah

149 – Uzziah

2 Chronicles 26:1-27:9 & 2 Kings 15:1-7 15:32-38

When Amaziah died, the people made his son, Uzziah, king. He was 16 years old and served as king for 52 years. God gave him great success because he followed the Lord and wanted to please him.

Uzziah did many wonderful works. He defeated the enemies of Judah and was known far and wide as a powerful king. He restored Jerusalem and strengthened the other cities of Judah. He loved the soil, so he excelled in farm activities. He provided for his army so that every man was well equipped for battle. He invented the catapult, so he could throw large stones from the walls of Jerusalem.

One day, King Uzziah was feeling proud of his accomplishments and his dedication to God. He decided to go into the Temple and burn the incense himself, instead of letting the priest do it. The high priest suddenly realized what he was about to do. He got 80 other priests and went in the Temple so they could stop the king from doing this.

He said, “Uzziah, this is wrong! God made it clear that only a descendant of Aaron is allowed to offer incense to the Lord. Please, leave right now! You’re not honoring God in this.”

Uzziah became angry as he stood next to the altar with the censer in his hand. He couldn’t believe all the priests were so bold as to confront him on this. Suddenly leprosy appeared on his forehead. All of the priests saw it and rushed him out of the Temple. He willingly went with them because he knew the Lord was punishing him.

Uzziah had leprosy for the rest of his life. He had to stay away from other people, so he lived in isolation. Because of the leprosy, he wasn’t allowed to go into the Temple. He couldn’t even go into his own palace. His son Jotham lived there and ruled the people in the king’s stead.

Jotham became king after his father died. He followed the example of his father’s early years. He continued to build up the kingdom of Judah. He did what was right and became a powerful king.

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Thistle & The Cedar

148 – The Thistle and The Cedar

II Chronicles 25:1-28 II Kings 14:1-22

After Joash died, Amaziah became king of Judah. He started off as a good king, and followed the Lord for many years.

Eventually, he decided to attack Edom and bring them under his control. He organized an army of 300,000 soldiers. He then hired another 100,000 soldiers from Israel and paid them four tons of silver.

A man of God came with a message. “Don’t use soldiers from Israel. If you do, God will make sure you lose the battle.” 

The king said, “But what about the money I already paid them?”

The prophet said, “Don’t worry about that money. God is able to give you much more than that.”

So the king told the soldiers of Israel to go home. They became angry. Along the way they raided several cities of Judah and killed over 3,000 people.

While this was going on, the army of Judah marched south toward Edom. They won the battle and regained control over them. Unfortunately, Amaziah brought the gods of Edom back to Judah. He set them up and started worshiping them.

The Lord became angry and sent a prophet to speak to the king. “Why would you worship gods that weren’t able to protect their own people from your army?”

Before he could say any more, Amaziah said, “Stop talking! You’re not one of my counselors. Leave or I’ll have you killed.”

The prophet said, “Because you won’t listen to God’s message, he is going to punish you.”

So the Lord put in Amaziah’s heart the desire to go to war against Israel. The king sent a message to king Jehoash saying, “Come out and face me in battle.”

Jehoash sent a story back to Amaziah. He said, “A thistle sent a message to the cedar tree. He said, ‘I want to arrange a marriage between my son and your daughter.’ Suddenly an animal accidentally stepped on the thistle and crushed it.”

“Don’t be like the thistle. You had a good victory with Edom. Enjoy it, but don’t let pride lift you up. Stay home, because if you come after me, Judah will fall.”

God made sure Amaziah didn’t listen to this. The two armies went into battle and Judah was totally defeated. Their army ran from the battlefield.

Jehoash captured Amaziah and then took Jerusalem. Israel broke down 600 feet of the wall of Jerusalem. They took all the gold and silver from the Temple and the king’s palace.

Jehoash left Amaziah in Jerusalem and went back to Samaria. A group of men tried to kill Amaziah, but he escaped to another city. They hunted him down, and killed him there.

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Athaliah

143 – Athaliah

2 Kings 8:16-29 9:14-29 11:1-21 2 Chronicles 21:1 – 23:21

Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, wanted to establish a good relationship with the kingdom of Israel. To do that, he had his oldest son marry Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab, king of Israel. Unfortunately, Athaliah influenced her husband to follow the sinful ways of Israel.

As soon as Jehoshaphat died, his son became king and put idols all around Judah, and built a temple to Baal in Jerusalem. He killed his six brothers to make sure they wouldn’t take the kingdom away from him.

Elisha sent him a message. “You’ve caused the people to worship idols, and now you’ve killed your brothers. They were all better men than you. Therefore, all of your sons will be killed, and you’ll die a slow agonizing death.”

Immediately, Judah started losing battles. The king developed a severe stomach illness. All of his sons were killed except the youngest. The king’s illness caused him extreme pain for two years. When he finally died, no one mourned his death.

His youngest son became king, and he followed the direction of his mother Athaliah. He went to visit his uncle, the king of Israel. While he was there, Jehu killed both of them.

When she heard that her son was dead, Athaliah decided to become king, even though she was a woman. Still, she knew the people of Judah always selected their kings from the descendants of David. That meant the people could kill her and make one of her grandchildren king. Therefore, she decided to kill them. She called for the guard and told him to go to the palace and kill them all.

Athaliah’s daughter heard this and rushed to the palace. She worshiped the Lord and was married to Jehoiada, the high priest. At the palace, she took the baby Joash and his nurse and left—just before the guards got there. She hid the child in the Temple of the Lord. Meanwhile the guards killed all the other royal descendants of David.

Athaliah was confident she had killed them all. So, she became king of Judah and ruled the nation for six years.

Jehoiada hid Joash in the Temple until he was seven years old. Finally the priest knew it was time to act. He organized a meeting with trusted military leaders and the heads of various family groups. He asked them, “What would you do if you had a descendant of King David.”

“We would make him king!”

Jehoiada then brought Joash before them and said, “Here is your next king.”

Together, they set a date to bring him out before the people. They organized the military, Temple activities, and crowd control. On the big day, the people of Judah went to the Temple.

Joash was brought out and put in the place reserved for the king. Jehoiada anointed him with oil and placed a crown on his head. The trumpets blew, the choir sang, and the people shouted, “Long live the king!!”

Athaliah heard all the shouting, so she went out to see what was going on. People were running through the streets, celebrating, and talking about the king. She walked into the Temple and saw Joash in the place reserved for the king, and he had a crown on his head. She ripped her clothes and screamed, “Treason! Treason!”

Jehoiada pointed at her and said, “Take that woman out, because it is not right to kill someone in the Temple.”

So they dragged Athaliah out of the Temple, and killed her at the horse corral. The people went through the city and tore down everything that had to do with Baal. The high priest once again set up the worship of the Lord in the Temple. Everyone rejoiced because Athaliah’s reign of terror was over.

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Elisha Crying

140 – Elisha Crying

2 Kings 8:1-15

Elisha went to the Shunammite woman and said, “Take your family and leave Israel as soon as you can. A famine will hit the land and last for seven years.”

She did as the man of God said. Her family left Israel and moved to the land of the Philistines and stayed there seven years. When she came back to Israel, she went to the king to ask that their family house and land be returned to her. 

When she arrived, she found that the king was listening to Gehazi, who was talking about some of the great things Elisha had done. It happened that the servant was telling about the time the prophet brought the dead boy back to life.

Just then, the Shunammite woman walked in. Gehazi said, “My lord. This is the woman I was talking about. It was her son that was raised from the dead.”

The king asked her to tell the story from her viewpoint. After she told the story, he said to a court official, “Make sure this woman gets everything back that belongs to her. Also, give her whatever money was made from her fields while she was away.”

Some time later, Elisha went to the capital of Syria. The Syrian king was sick. When he heard that Elisha was in town, he sent his servant Hazael to the prophet. “Take some gifts to the man of God and ask him if I’ll recover from this illness.”

Hazael took 40 camel-loads of all kinds of goods as a gift. He said to the prophet, “The king of Syria wants to know if he’ll recover from his illness.”

Elisha said, “Go tell him that he’ll recover from his illness. But that’s not true. The Lord has told me that he’ll die.”

Then Elisha stared at Hazael. He stared so long that Hazael became embarrassed. Then the prophet broke down and cried. Hazael said, “Man of God, why are you crying?”

“Oh, because of the horrible things you’ll do to the people of Israel. You’ll burn down their cities and kill their young men. You’ll crush the heads of babies and rip open pregnant women.”

Hazael said, “How can I do these terrible things? I’m only a servant.”

“Oh, the Lord has shown me that you are going to be the king of Syria.”

Hazael left the prophet and went back to his master. The king asked, “What did Elisha say?”

“He said you’d recover from your illness.”

The next day, Hazael dipped a heavy cloth into water, and used it to suffocate the king. After he died, Hazael took his place as king of Syria.

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Elijah in the Whirlwind

132 – Elijah in the Whirlwind

II Kings 2:1-25

The time came for the Lord to take Elijah to heaven. So the old prophet said to Elisha, “Stay here. The Lord is sending me to Bethel.”

Elisha said, “As sure as the Lord lives, I won’t leave you.” So they went to Bethel.

There was a group of prophets at Bethel. They said to Elisha, “Do you know the Lord is going to take your master away from you today?”

“Yes, I know. Now be quiet.” 

Elijah said, “Elisha, stay here. The Lord is sending me to Jericho.”

Elisha said, “As sure as the Lord lives, I won’t leave you.” So they went to Jericho.

The prophets at Jericho said to Elisha, “Do you know the Lord is going to take your master away from you today?”

“Yes, I know. Now be quiet.”

Elijah said to him, “Stay here. The Lord is sending me to the Jordan River.”

Elisha said, “As sure as the Lord lives, I won’t leave you.” So they went on together.

When they got to the Jordan, Elijah rolled up his cloak, and struck the water. Immediately, the waters parted and the two men walked across the river on dry ground. Fifty prophets watched from a distance.

Once the two men were on the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, “What do you want me to do for you before I’m taken away?”

Elisha didn’t hesitate. “Please, I want a double portion of your spirit.”

Elijah was shocked. He said, “What? Your request is difficult. But, you’ll have it if you see me being taken from you. If not, you won’t get it.”

As they continued on, suddenly a chariot of fire with horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them. Then Elijah was taken up into heaven in the whirlwind … and was gone.

Elisha saw it all. He ripped his clothes and yelled, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!”

He then saw Elijah’s cloak, which fell when the prophet went up into the air. Elisha walked over and picked it up. He turned and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan River. He lifted the cloak high in the air, and then struck the water. He said, “Where’s the Lord God of Elijah?!” The waters parted, and he walked across on dry ground.

The fifty prophets saw all of this. They said, “The spirit of Elijah lives in Elisha.” From that day on, they honored him as their new leader.

When he got back to Jericho, the people of the city said to him, “Jericho is a good place to live, but the spring is bad. It even keeps our crops from growing.

He said, “Put some salt in a new bowl and bring it to me.”

They brought it to him and he went to the spring. He threw the salt into the water and said, “The Lord has made this water pure. You can now grow crops and no one will starve.”

He left Jericho to return to Bethel. Along the way, some boys started making fun of him. They said, “Get out of here, baldy!”

The prophet turned and put a curse on them. Immediately, two bears ran out of the woods and killed 42 of the boys and ripped them apart.

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