In the end,
what You will have of me is
all
or
nothing.
There is no in-between.
Either I will be consecrated
head to toe,
my entire being
holy ground,
or
I will be a vast, open
wasteland—
a demonic haunt.
There is no in-between.
For You
(the indwelling universe-God)
will not be relegated to
a shelf
a building or
a weekly (better-not-be-longer-than-an-hour) visit.
You will either dwell
in the midst
or
You will be completely
banished from the land.
There is no in-between.
You are uninterested
in negotiation
or compromise.
Come, then,
and take no prisoners—
except me, that is.
Captivate me
head to toe
and all that's
in-between.
Come, Divine Intruder:
Make me
holy ground.
By the time Jesus came,
the office of the high priest
was highly sought after,
often secured by bribery
and fraud
and murder.
The position had become
synonymous with
power
and prestige
and an opulent life.
But it was never meant to be that way.
The high priest was supposed to be
the one man in Israel
most like God:
consecrated to a life of service
sold out to truth
dedicated to all things right
his only luxury
the burden of bearing the beloved
forever close to his heart.
2 Chronicles 31
Today’s blog will center around the last verse of this chapter: "In everything that [Hezekiah] undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered." (vs 21) This is the key to prosperity and success in God’s universe—working for God with your whole heart, no matter what you do. This is what God does.
2 Chronicles 17
One thing I noted about this chapter was the number of devoted people who were in Judah at the time. King Jehoshaphat was, of course, devoted to the Lord. The text points out that he even "removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah." (vs 6) Then there were the Levites who traveled through the nation, teaching the people about God from the Book of the Law. And then, toward the end of the chapter, there was mention of all the fighting men who surrounded the king, including "Amasiah son of Zikri, who volunteered himself for the service of the Lord." (vs 16)
