Bible Connect (Week 28 Day 3)

1 Kings 15; 2 Chron 13-14

15, 13-14 - 1 Kings 15 and 2 Chronicles 13-14 cover the same time period and kings. 1 Kings 15, however, doesn’t give much space to Abijah. 2 Chronicles 13 gives us his great speech and record of his faith (verses 4-12). Don’t miss it! God gave Judah the victory that day (verse 16) but alas, Abijah’s righteous- ness would not last. He walked in the sins of his fathers (1 Kings 15:3). Fortunately, the next king was a

49 good king, Asa. Asa bought the Syrians off so that they would attack Israel and take the pressure off his kingdom (1 Kings 15:18-20). He did not consult God in this - a disturbing note in an otherwise excellent reign. There is much speculation about Asa’s feet (verse 23) but no certainty about what happened there. This resulted in Asa being able to build and expand the kingdom. 2 Chronicles 14 gives more detail about Asa’s reign, his re-forms (verses 2-4), and building programs (verses 6-7). He faced a huge Ethiopian army with faith and was given victory by God (verses 11-15).

3 - Verses 5-6 speak of the Holy Spirit’s work. This verse reminds us of Jesus’ saying about “born of wa- ter and the Spirit” in John 3:5. It is simply a reference to how, when we have heard the Word that the Spirit inspired, we obey it and are born again by being baptized. Verse 6 says the Spirit is poured out on “us,” a reference to the outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost in Acts 2. Where is Nicapolis (verse 12)? There were seven cities named Nicapolis (“city of victory”). This is probably the Nicapolis on the western coast of Greece two hundred miles northwest of Athens.