2 Chronicles 10-12

The journey through the Kings of Israel and Judah continues.  Today’s reading was another re-run of yesterday’s passages from 1 Kings.  Have you ever re-read a book or watched a movie a second time through and noticed more about the story and the characters than you did the first time around?  That’s how I feel about these parallel stories in 1Kings and 2 Chronicles.  Sometimes the writer of one book injects a bit more information than the other.

For example, tonight I learned that all those who followed the Lord, including the priests, left Israel when Jeroboam took over because he refused to acknowledge God.  They went to Judah and served the Lord under King Rehoboam.  I also learned that King Rehoboam had many wives and concubines…although not as many as Solomon!  He did some wise things as his kingdom was being established.  However, when things were running smoothly and all was right in his world, he, too turned away from God and abandoned the law.

Before I go pointing fingers at him, I have to take a good look at myself.  Are there times that I abandon the Lord?  Unfortunately, I’d have to say….yes.  Whereas Rehoboam turned away after he became strong, I tend to turn away from God when I get overly busy…or when I get overly stressed.  Turning away isn’t a conscious thought for me.  Rather, it’s like a haze of forgetfulness falls over me like a foggy morning, and I lose my bearings.

I’ve recently been struggling with the idea of placing the Lord at the center of our homeschooling in such a way that it is REAL.  Putting the Lord first is more than just dressing up a table with a vase of flowers…it’s more than just requiring my daughter to memorize a few verses here and here.  What does a homeschool curriculum look like that is centered on the Lord, where all the subjects are linked to each other and back to God?

I had a great conversation today with a veteran homeschooler who I believe the Lord used to give me an inkling of what it might look like for us.  She told me that she and her kids went through the Bible by book, but not in order.  She prayed about which books they needed to focus on through the year.  They began each day by reading out loud to each other from the Bible.  Suddenly my imagination exploded and I could see us doing something similar!  I could use our Bible sort of as a textbook (although one with ultimate authority)…we could work on our key word outlining skills, narration, reading aloud, sentence diagramming, geography…all sorts of academic lessons could be learned using the pages of THE book.

Some of you may already do this and are clucking your tongues at my ineptitude.  Way back in George Washington’s day, parents taught their children to read using the Bible as their text — in many cases, it was the only book in the house!  Nowadays it is easy for a parent — even a Christian homeschooler — to neglect THE book for the latest and greatest in homeschooling curriculum.

In some ways we all are like Rehoboam.  We have multiple copies of God’s word in our homes, yet we turn to google or Oprah or Dear Abby to find answers to our questions.  When we do turn to His word for answers, sometimes we don’t particularly like what we find!  It is not easy to pray the Lord’s prayer with an open heart and mind:

Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

So many times I ask God for MY will to be done rather than trusting His will to be perfection.

Speaking of MY will…I’ve noticed lately that around sixty or so of you people out there are regularly reading my blog, but I have no idea who you are!  If you are a regular reader and/or have a blog of your own, let me hear from you.  It’s sobering to think that the words I write may encourage others — I certainly pray that they won’t discourage anyone in their walks with God!  At any rate, I am glad you are walking alongside me as I blog through the Bible.  It’s been an educational ride thus far, and we’re nearly halfway there!