North Bible Recap
Walk through the Bible, each week, with clear explanations and practical takeaways.
North Bible Recap
Episode 39: Matthew and 1 Kings
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How do you stay ready for what God is doing while remaining faithful in what He’s already called you to do? This week on North Bible Recap, Pastor Samson and Pastor Clint explore Jesus’ teaching on the end times, the Great Commission, Solomon’s tragic compromise, Elijah’s wilderness season, and timeless wisdom from Proverbs and Psalms. Together, they highlight the importance of faithfulness, spiritual discipline, and listening for God’s voice in every season.
Hey everyone, welcome uh to the North Bible Recap Podcast. We're so excited that you joined us. Uh, the privilege of uh hosting today and joining me today is the one and only Pastor Clint. Pastor Clint Smith has been, I mean, you Pastor, you've been a part of North Church for 23, 23 years. 23 years. 23 years. Yeah. Come on. Hey, this weekend was 15 for me.
SPEAKER_02Big deal.
SPEAKER_00Year 15, yeah.
SPEAKER_02It's a big deal, man.
SPEAKER_00And so uh, man, we're century and a half. You put all our years together, we'll catch up with Pastor Rodney.
SPEAKER_02Or something like that, right? Absolutely. Decade and a half.
SPEAKER_00Come on. Uh, but hey, we're so grateful that you came today. We're gonna go deep dive into Matthew, into Kings, Proverbs, Psalms. And so here's what we want you to do. Go ahead and hit the like button uh so that we know that you enjoyed this. Uh, share this with somebody, comment below, let us know the questions you have, interact with us. Uh, and then also uh don't forget to subscribe. If you're not subscribed, man, it's so important, it helps us out. Uh, hit that subscribe button. It doesn't cost you anything, it's absolutely free. Okay. And so let us know you're joining in by doing that. Uh well, we're gonna jump into some deep text today.
SPEAKER_02Let's jump in. So, not a lot of content, but it is extremely thick, very dense, a lot of good stuff. So, we're opening up with Matthew chapter 24 through 28, and it's it's the end, right? Absolutely. I guess the end that intros the beginning of Jesus as our Savior as we know him. Uh, it's the end of everything that you thought was safe. Uh, so Matthew 24 opens up with the disciples admiring the temple's architecture, and Jesus' reply is a gut punch to them because he says, not one stone will be left on another. And this launches the Olivet Discourse, Jesus' longest prophetic teaching. So, really leaving those two questions, Pastor Sampson, as when will the temple be destroyed? And what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. You know, uh, Pastor Clinton, if I came up to you and I told you, hey, just just so you know your house is going to be demolished, okay? Uh, you'd be shocked one, but then two, you're probably gonna be like, when is this happening? Yeah. Uh, and so this is a big deal because for Jewish people at this time, uh, the temple was a a point of pride for them. And so to hear that it's gonna be destroyed, uh, that's a pretty big deal. And so they're asking Jesus a question, well, when is it gonna be destroyed? What's gonna happen? Uh and then really, along with this, Jesus is talking about his second coming. Yeah, and so what are the signs that will precede will happen before the second coming?
SPEAKER_02But he shocked them because the temple was the center of everything they knew to be true. I think they were less concerned about him coming in the second coming, and they were more concerned about the temple.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. And so Jesus uses uh in Matthew chapter 24, uh, he uses the example of birth pains uh to get there. Uh now um we have had four children, uh, me and my wife hope. Uh, and you would think by the fourth one we'd become like experts at you know, bringing about children into the world. Uh, and what we learn is we're not. Uh in fact, uh even the last time around, like, you know, there's a whole bunch of science that goes into it. Like, you know, you go to the hospital, you get checked, and or I don't, my wife does. Uh, and uh, you know, they're they're checking her on this or looking at vitals, they're you know, seeing how much she's dilated, if that's TMI or whatever. Uh, they're you know, they're they're it but every time it's always been the same. Like, no matter how many different, you know, poking and prodding kind of stuff that they do, it's always like every nurse would come up to us and be like, Well, you know, the baby will come when the baby will come, you know.
SPEAKER_02Like, yeah, that's so true.
SPEAKER_00And it reminds you that no matter how scientific we got we got this thing, this is still a very like unpredictable thing. And that's the illustration Jesus uses. He says, Listen, there's gonna be false messiahs, there's gonna be war roars and rumors of wars, there's gonna be famines and earthquake, persecutions of believers, increase in wickedness. He's gonna say there, and you're like, man, all these things are already happening, they have happened. Yeah, they're happening right now, like, and you're you're it's kind of like you're going to the doctor and like, hey, is this ready? Is this the is the baby gonna come? And it's just like, oh, the baby's gonna come when the baby's gonna come.
SPEAKER_02One of the big points, though, that he's making here, Matthew 24, 14, and the good news about the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world so that all nations will hear it, and then the end will come. I think we get focused on all the calamity and the hardships, but I think the mission was primary to him in indicating when he was coming.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. The gospel has to go before the end. Yeah, so the mission matters. And that brings us to the the the rest of chapter 24, right? Uh, and so Jesus talks about a very significant event that would happen in Jewish history, which is sometimes called the abomination of desolation. Um, and it's the passage where uh Jesus references uh Daniel's prophecy, uh, where you know he says that uh all these things um will will happen where uh you'll see um the abomination of desolation, some into some translations uh in the most holy place or in the in the temple. And so there's a couple of different ways that people look at this. I don't know if you've ever thought about this, Pastor Clint, um, but uh in one sense, what Jesus talks about and what in quoting Daniel happens during that time frame in AD 70. Um the temple is destroyed uh and the Roman legion enters Jerusalem. Uh Titus, the Roman general, enters the most holy place, um, and uh there's desecration. They bring in the the icons of of Roman worship into the temple and they desecrate the temple. And so what Jesus quotes about Daniel actually happens within the first century. Yeah. However, it is also speaking to a future event uh where in some way, shape, or form, uh, another force uh of evil would enter what is God's holy place. Now, how all that plays out, we really don't know, but that's kind of the point. Because, like, just like you said, sometimes we focus on like the speculation of the calamity of all that kind of stuff. When really what Jesus is trying to get us to is readiness, He wants us to be ready for His return. Uh, and He says, Can you read uh chapter 24, verse 36?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, however, no one knows the day or hour when these things happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son Himself, only the Father knows. What's crazy is we all try to figure out when he's coming back. Yeah, he told us pretty plainly, you know, no one knows.
SPEAKER_00No one knows, and we're here we are trying to speculate. Uh, and the whole point is Jesus is trying to say, hey, you need to be ready. Yeah, right. You'll never be ready for the baby, okay, or you'll never know exactly when the baby's gonna show up, what hour, what minute. Okay, but it's important to get ready for the baby. It's important to get ready for this thing to show up. And so when Jesus shows up, we need to be ready. And so to illustrate this in chapter 25, Matthew 25, Jesus gives three parables of readiness.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, he starts with the ten virgins, five were ready, five were not, and what separated them wasn't desire because all ten wanted to be at the wedding, it was their preparation. So you can't borrow someone else's faith at the last minute. Come on. We all have to be responsible and prepare for ourselves. Uh, and then also the talents, verse 14 through 30. The master rewards those who put what they've given to work. The servant who buried his talent out of the fear is the one who is condemned. Faithful stewardship is an act of worship.
SPEAKER_00That's right.
SPEAKER_02And then the third one is the sheep and the goats. Uh, the surprise in this passage cuts both ways because the religious were surprised uh that they served Christ, and the unrighteous are surprised they didn't. Uh, and how we treat the vulnerable is how we treat Jesus. So that's that big awakening that uh he kind of reminds us of what's really important.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. And you know, sometimes going back to the parable of the talent, sometimes we we uh use it often as like a parable on money. Uh, and really he uses money as an illustration. He's really talking about the kingdom, right? So Jesus pointing out that the kingdom, uh, that we have been entrusted with the kingdom. Uh, and so it's our job to go and bear fruit. I think so often in Christianity we focus on following all the rules and doing all the right things when that's really not the point or the goal, right? Our point, the goal is to advance the kingdom, yeah, uh, and that's what we're called to do.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, he he really wants to find us faithful in all that uh we do.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. So then that brings us to Matthew 26 and 27, and this is the the passion narrative. Uh, so this is about Jesus suffering uh and uh ultimately it leading us to the cross.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so Matthew slows the narrative dramatically here. We're talking about the Last Supper, Gethsemane, the arrest, Peter's denial, the trials, the crucifixion. That's all in those last two chapters. So they are really focused. Uh, and one moment that we want to focus on today is Matthew 26, verses 61 through 65. Uh, and it says in verse 61, Who declared, this man said, I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days. Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, Well, aren't you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself? But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to him, I demand in the name of the living God, tell us if you're the Messiah, the Son of God. Verse 64, Jesus replied, You have said it, and in the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God's right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror and said, Blasphemy, why do we need other witnesses? You have all heard this blasphemy.
SPEAKER_00That's right. So in this passage, something really critical happens. Okay. We're seeing the reason why Jesus is crucified. Now, in the world out there, you will hear people say all the time, especially on internet, on TikTok, YouTube, wherever, that Jesus never claimed to be God. Okay. And this is a fundamental misunderstanding of Jesus and the Gospels. Because in the gospel, it wasn't just the Gospel of John that pointed out Jesus claimed to be God, his claim to be divine. But here, Matthew is giving us an example of Jesus making a claim at being God, about being divine. So they asked Jesus for a sign. Uh, and Jesus basically just stays silent. Uh, and then they're like, tell us, are you the Messiah? And Jesus says, Well, you'll see in the future that sign, and that sign will be that the Son of Man uh will be seated in the place of power at God's right hand. Now, now, once again, Jesus is pointing us back to Daniel, specifically Daniel chapter seven. And this is an important, uh, interesting idea, okay, because in the first century for Jewish people, uh, they believed Daniel chapter seven, and we believe too to this day, Daniel chapter seven is is actually speaking of a divine being. And that divine being in Daniel chapter seven is titled the son of man. That's why Jesus used that title often as his favorite title for himself, the son of man. So Daniel says they that we will see the Son of Man coming in glory, seated at the right hand of the ancient days. Who's the ancient of days? The ancient of days is God, Yahweh, the Father, right? And so then you'll see another divine being who is the Son of Man seated at the right hand of God. So you have Yahweh, who is God the Father, and Yahweh, who is God somehow the Son of Man. Uh, and so you see both of them in this one passage in Daniel chapter 7, Daniel prophesying this. Now, here Jesus is claiming to be that son of man. He is claiming to be that divine figure prophesied by Daniel. And so when these Jewish leaders hear this, they immediately tear their clothes. Okay, that was a sign, a physical sign of shame and anger and frustration. They tear their clothes and they cry out, blasphemy. Why is it blasphemous for Jesus could Jesus saying he's the son of man if it's just the way that we understand it? That's no, that's not blasphemy. But Jesus is making a claim at God. He is saying he, being a human, is that another gospel puts it that way, how where the they actually say the words, how can you, being human, consider yourself God?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, he's inserting himself into scripture. Yeah, uh, basically. Do you think people confuse that because Jesus resisted the fame and the attention when he was performing miracles? Would that be why people are kind of misled as far as him not proclaiming himself as God?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, that's a really good point. Because Jesus, for a lot of time in his ministry, for the majority of his ministry, was kind of hiding who he was. Yeah. Because you know, constantly he'd be like telling the demons, hey, don't tell anymore. He would tell people that he healed, don't go and tell, you know, don't tell anybody that this happened. Because Jesus is trying to trying to accomplish what he's sent to do, because he knows they're just waiting to crown him king, they're waiting to make him Lord in their fashion of what Lord means. But Jesus knows he has to go to the cross, which brings us to Matthew, uh, to the rest of Matthew. Um, so Matthew 27 gets us to the cross, the crucifixion, and then Matthew 28, we see Jesus' resurrection.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, the resurrection and the commission. So this is primary to our faith. Um, Matthew 28, 18 through 20, we call it the Great Commission. Jesus came and told his disciples, I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you, and be sure of this. I am with you always, even to the end of the age. What a promise. Yeah. A great challenge and a great promise.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. You know, um, this is the most Jesus statement, uh, I think of all Jesus statements, right? Uh the other day, Pastor Clint, um, we were sitting with the kids, and so hope my wife asked the kids to impersonate dad, impersonate me, okay? And she was like, just say what is the thing that dad says the most. And so you want to hear what my boy said? Let's go. Okay, so Louis, Louis says, and he like yells as he's like, What are you doing, son? And he has a little finger out like this. That was his impersonation of me. And then it was Charlie's turn. And Charlie said, This is me, okay? He's like, I need to go to the bathroom. Apparently, that is my most quoted statement from my boys. Uh, but this is the ultimate Jesus statement. It's the Great Commission. Jesus says, Go into all the world, right? Go make disciples of all nations. And you have to imagine, we talked about this when we first talked about Matthew. Matthew is primarily to a Jewish audience. It starts with a Jewish Jesus who is from the line of David, from the line of Abraham. And then Jesus is for everyone, he is for all nations. And what does Jesus promise? He would give to his disciples. He wouldn't give them safety. Uh, so they wouldn't be without persecution. They would definitely face all those things. But he promises them his purpose. He says, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
SPEAKER_02And once again, he puts us on mission here.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So we're all sitting around thinking about when is he coming back? When is he coming back? And he's saying the mission is primary. Yeah. Right? Go into all nations, make disciples. Uh, so really powerful. Come on. We could spend hours on these four or five chapters uh because it's so rich. There's so much there.
SPEAKER_00I know. This is kind of like speed running through uh through magic.
SPEAKER_02So so up next, we've got first Kings uh seven through twenty two. Not going to be able to cover all of that, uh, but today we're gonna talk mostly about the glory and then the fracture. And we are watching the peak and the crack all at the same time. So King Solomon builds the most magnificent temple in Israel's history and is the greatest king in Israel's history, and within his own lifetime, his heart turns away from God, and the kingdom literally tears in two.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I mean, how how uh how providential we in the Matthew are talking about the disciples admiring the temple, and now we're talking again about the temple, except the first time it occurs, yeah, which is in the day of Solomon. And this is really it's kind of like uh Solomon's story, it's kind of like watching like a star athlete like at their prime, right? Like just killing it, and then some personal thing, right? Some personal uh misconduct destroys or diverts from what they really could be.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, um, you know, it takes attention away from the greatness. Absolutely, yeah.
SPEAKER_00I mean, just think about and just some popular culture, I'm not trying to diminish any of these people, but just as examples, like like if you were in the golf world, you think of like Tiger Woods, or just most recently, like you think about Mike Vrabel, the you know, they were in the Super Bowl last year, the Patriots were. Uh, and then just that that whether it's one moment of dis indiscretion or you know, hidden sin uh for a long time when it is revealed, it completely demolishes, destroys what could have been. Uh, and so that is really what you're seeing, and once again, not to diminish any one person, because God could definitely do great things and heal anything, yeah, but it shows you the effect of a leader's indiscretion.
SPEAKER_02So when we jump into 1 Kings 7 through 8, we see the the temple is completed. Chapter 7 covers the temple furnishings in exhaustive detail, bronze pillars, uh, the bronze sea, the lavers. Uh, these weren't just decorations, they were theological statements about God's power, his covenant, and his provision for atonement. So very significant here.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. You know, I mean my wife really hope she loves like home renovation shows. And so, like, it's always uh like cooking shows. I like cooking shows. That's right. That's our difference. Uh, so she she loves like on those like home renovation shows, you'll you'll probably see it where you know they take this home that belongs to a homeowner, and then these professional decorators come in, they like completely like redesign it, do a whole thing. And then at the end of the show, you see like these you know people walking in, they're like amazed and tears flowing down their face of how what used to be their home and now is something so much more beautiful. But then there's like a new version of this show that we've been watching, uh Hope and I, and it's like designers, like professional designers, and they're they bring in other professional desires to judge how they did, and it's a whole different vibe, okay. And so, like when the professional desires come in uh to judge, man, they got some harsh critiques. Like it's it's rough whenever you watch it. But think about this. Solomon has this realization, okay, that this is the God who made everything, yeah, the whole world, the universe as we know it and don't know it, right? That God, and it's like, hey, we built a dinky little temple for you, God. Uh, here you are. And like, can you imagine? Like, Solomon has a reality too, the realism of this is not enough. Uh, and so he says, uh, in verse 27, chapter 8, verse 27, he says, But will God live on earth? Why even the highest heavens uh cannot contain you? How much less this temple I have built?
SPEAKER_02So God's glory fills the temple, yet no building can contain God. That's big. Uh, he he is both present and transcendent, and this is what makes the incarnation in Matthew so staggering. The same God compresses into flesh. Absolutely powerful how these two link up with what we were just talking about in Matthew.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. That's why Jesus, when he talked about the temple, he's talking about the temple of his body. Yeah. Um, now brings us to chapter 9 and 10. Okay, so this is where we see Solomon at his peak. Um, and you're seeing Solomon's kingdom is being blessed, uh, the queen of Sheba shows up. Um, so people from all across the world are coming to learn from Solomon, and he's elevated. And then when you get to chapter 11, you see the turn.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Uh, and this is a heartbreaking part of the story.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, just at this point. Point in life, uh, some may have seen this as what success looks like, but it was really his demise. 700 wives, 300 concubines, and each one brought her own gods with her. So uh, one, I can't imagine all of the hardship and that many relationships, and so many people pulling upon him, uh, and the needs of that, but then also just realizing that he was exposing himself to many false gods and had completely stepped away from his God in the way that uh the Lord was leading him. So this wasn't just a moral failure, it was a political strategy of the ancient world, and treaties were sealed through marriage. So Solomon was playing geopolitical chess, if you will, yeah, and he was losing his soul because of it.
SPEAKER_00That's right. Uh, you know, it and it's a slow drift, okay? Like I remember many years ago, uh, we were dri uh doing like a floating the river thing in Austin. Yeah, and we had uh me and my wife, we were on one little uh boat, whatever canoe type thing, and then my sister-in-law and some of my kids were with her, and we call her Titi. And so as we're kind of just floating, like you're not trying to paddle, you're just kind of sitting there, you're just like enjoying the calmness of the river, and then slowly Titi is drifting further and further away for us, and she's moving towards like this waterfall that is coming up pretty close, and like I stood up like Titi, watch out, and so she had to paddle herself out of that. But this is how it happens, it doesn't happen with just like you know, suddenly everything just blows up and your heart is now turned towards idols. No, no, no, it's it's a whole bunch of tiny little compromises where you just drift away from God, and you see it in verse uh chapter 11, verse 4. It says in Solomon's old age, uh, they, speaking of his wives and concubines, turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord, to Yahweh his God, as his father David had been.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it can almost seem like this is being blamed on the wives, yeah, in a sense, but really it was Solomon's decisions. That's right. And the game that he was playing to be the status that he was at. Uh he was making poor decision after poor decision and living a life of sin is the truth of the matter, and why all of this was happening.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and in reality, when you think this is the wisest man ever and yet this could happen to him. Yeah. And I think it's a it's a humbling reality for us that you could be incredibly smart, incredibly talented, and still lose everything. I mean, how many, I mean, just in ministry, like how many pastors do we know that lost everything? Like how many uh accomplished um writers, actors, um, you know, athletes, whatever you want to call them, that have been at the top of their game. And their talent didn't keep them there, right? Uh it wasn't their talent, it wasn't, you know, uh their money, it wasn't none of those things kept them at the top. Um, it was all just a demolishing of uh because of pride, right? Because of a lack of true worship in the heart towards God. You know who Chris Broussard is? Yes. And so I was watching this podcast with uh random clip uh on the internet with him, and he was talking, and he was talking about the Mike Vrapel thing, which is a very recent, I hate to keep coming back to that, but they were talking, these podcasters were asking him the question about, you know, he's a sports reporter, so what is it like being a sports reporter and working behind the scenes? You know, is there temptations or is a Christian podcast? There are temptations all around. And, you know, have you ever, you know, given in? Have you ever cheated on his wife? And he said this, and it stuck with me. Um, as I was watching this last week, he says, he's like, in 30 years, I've never cheated on my wife. And he says, and you know, there's a part of me that wants to say the reason I never did is because my wife is so great. She is, she's wonderful, she's beautiful, you know, mother of my kids. And she's like, there's part of me that wants to say that's why, but he's like, I know that's not why. That's not why in 30 years I never cheated on my wife. He says, in 30 years, the reason I never cheat on my wife is because I have a healthy fear of God. And he's like, it's not like me walking around in fear that God's gonna strike me down. He says, No, it's because I know that, yeah, if I do something like this, if I cheat, then maybe I can get away with it for a while. But there is a God in heaven who my sin is gonna find me out, and there is gonna bring there's gonna be consequences to those, whether it's today or 10 years or 20 years or 30 years down the line, there's gonna be consequences to that. Absolutely, and so that keeps me from going that direction. And I I have to believe for us in ministry, we've been blessed to be a part of a church where you know our senior leader, Pastor Rodney, is an incredible man of integrity and has lived his life out that way. But man, it it is easy to walk into those places, but it is having a fear of God that keeps you grounded.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And that's unfortunately what you don't see in Solomon's life.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. And we get into 1 Kings 12 through 14, where the kingdom is divided because of Solomon. Uh so Rehoboam ignores the elders and listens to his young advisors. He promises harsher rule than his father. So his idea is to bring the heavy on these people, and the northern tribes revolt under him, uh, and then the kingdom splits between Israel, which is the north, and Judah, which is the south.
SPEAKER_00That's right. Uh, and I always I don't know why. If you did you ever watch The Office, girl?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I've watched some of The Office.
SPEAKER_00So there's an episode of The Office, it's called the Coup. Uh, it's the funniest episode ever. Um, but it's where if you know the characters, this is hilarious to you, okay? Uh, where Dwight takes over the office. Which is a bad thing. If you don't know the office, that's a bad thing. That's a bad thing. And so he paints Michael's office black and he has he gives a speech to everyone, and he's like, for those of you who will remain under my employee, things are gonna be different, and he's you know, like wielding his power. And this is almost how Rehaboam steps into the seat of power, yeah, where he's just like, Man, you thought it was hard. Well, my dad, well, now I'm gonna be 10 times harder. I'm gonna show you, right? Like, my dad whips you with cords, I'm gonna whip you with scorpions, you know, like just exact wrong thing. And he he messes it all up, but it was providential because it was actually part of God's plan. Yeah, and so the kingdom is divided, the northern kingdom splits off, uh, and ten of the tribes follow a leader named Jeroboam, not to be confused with Rehoboam, Solomon's son. Uh, and so ten of the tribes uh that form the northern kingdom, which maintains the name Israel. Uh, and then the southern kingdom is just two tribes, uh, and that is under named by its largest tribe, Judah, and so it's just called Judah. Uh, and that is what uh Rehoboam is left with is just two tribes uh in the southern kingdom, and uh the kingdom of Israel is never the same, right? This is where you see the fractured, divided kingdom, um, and you see two trajectories uh that it goes. Now, Jeroboam is not a good guy either. He sets up idols, uh, two calves, golden calves for them to worship. It's like if you're trying to think of what is the worst possible route you can take, and then you're like, I'm gonna take that one. That's what Jeroboam does.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Uh, and uh so God sends prophets uh to speak to these kings.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and that's where we enter into 1 Kings 17 through 19 and the great Elijah.
SPEAKER_00That's right.
SPEAKER_02Um, so Ahab is the worst king yet, yeah. Uh and he marries Jezebel, which many of us have probably heard of Jezebel for uh running uh Elijah off, and he introduces Bell worship on a national scale and did more to provoke the Lord than all the kings of Israel before him. And it's into this darkness that God sends Elijah uh with no backstory, no genealogy, he just appears this man of God, this prophet for this time.
SPEAKER_00That's right. Uh and Elijah is what's uh in what theologians call a pre-classical prophet. So a classical prophet is like the prophet you see in the Old Testament, like Isaiah or Jeremiah. They write books, okay, and they're and the role of the prophet is to speak to the kings primarily, but sometimes they speak to the people. Um, and Elijah is kind of a precursor to the classic, he's a precursor to Isaiah and Jeremiah because he shows up, he doesn't write anything, he just does a lot of great wonders. In many ways, he is a type of Jesus. Uh, he does miracles and signs and wonders, and he speaks um through you know miraculous wonders to the people. And so at the very beginning, there's a drought. Uh, then you know, you see the story with him and the widow of Zarephath, where he uh raises her dead son. Um, there is the the it the famous story at the Mount Carmel, uh, where uh 850 prophets come on, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Verses one. Verses one. And then God defeats those prophets, and then Elijah ends up running scared from Jezebel after threatening. Absolutely. That's kind of a wild story. Uh but the fire of God fell in that moment.
SPEAKER_00Really amazing. And so, and and then that brings us to that that still small voice, which is I think a very important passage for us to remember that uh Elijah kind of reaches a point, uh, as great as he is, reaches a point where he is as human as we are, as scripture says. Um, and he just asks God to just take him out. Like, just God kill me now, right? It's too much, the world is too much. And I'm sure you know, when you're reading scripture, you see amazing stories of people who do great things like theirs. You're like, oh man, wouldn't that be great? But then you look at this and you're like, this is I felt this way before. Yeah, yesterday.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, like nobody else is out here. I'm doing this all by myself. You know, it's it's just it's a very human uh view of the prophet after he'd done these amazing things. So cool the way that God shows us and teaches us through his life here.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. And one of my favorite parts is um when God speaks to uh to Isaiah, I think it's chapter 19, uh, where Isaiah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Elijah. Elijah's asking just God to like take him out. Uh and so God really doesn't respond to that. Uh, and so Elijah goes and finds himself sitting under a tree, a broom tree, and he goes to sleep, and then an angel shows up and he like you know, prods him, wakes him up, and he's like, hey, here eat some food, right? Uh and then he eats and then he goes back to sleep some more, right? And then he wakes him up, gives him some more food, and he says, All right, now you're gonna go on a journey. And that food would sustain him for the next 40 days as essentially he's fasting, and it shows us some healthy exercises for us to practice in hard times, right? Uh at times we just need to rest. Like we were just talking earlier.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I had one of those days yesterday, and I woke up early, but then I ended up taking a nap because my body was just screaming at me.
SPEAKER_00Come on.
SPEAKER_02Like today is a day of rest. Yes, you know, our kids were at grandparents' house, and I had no other obligations that day, so I laid down and I took a nap. And I felt the weight of the world off of me when I woke up from that nap. Uh, and it's amazing. I've always found this story amazing because God is nurturing Elijah. Sleep and food, sleep and food. There's something to it, right? Fasting. Yeah, something to it because there's a spiritual component and there's a physical component, and God restores us through those things. Uh, and we all need that. Yeah. So I think just consistency in those things in this example is really powerful, and it's from that that God actually speaks to him.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. I like that this is how this is the things that precede Elijah actually hearing from God. Before he could hear from God, Elijah had to sleep, eat, fast, right? Uh, he had to have some disciplines in his life to care for him. Yeah. Uh, and I think fasting is an important part of that because we we sometimes we think about the eating and sleeping part, but we forget he didn't eat for 40 days after that. He had a 40-day journey to sustain and that food that he ate had to sustain him for that long. And so you're seeing um that man, that this this to make this journey, there's gonna take some spiritual disciplines in us. Uh, and just kind of going back to what Jesus says, right? He says, Um, you know, go into all nations and he says, Behold, I'm with you, lo, I am with you always. And so Jesus is with us in those moments when we are hungry and we just need to eat, we need nourishment, when we are thirsty and we need nourishment, when we just need sleep. There's something biblical about a nap, right?
SPEAKER_02100%.
SPEAKER_00And there is something biblical about taking time to fast and just take care of your relationship with God.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and then also just a little side note here am I trying to nourish myself with lucky charms and all of cereal, or am I doing it with a banana or something that could be you know helpful? Absolutely. So God passes by in the wind, the earthquake, the fire, but God's not in any of those things, then that still small voice, that gentle whisper, the NLT says comes because God is not always in the spectacular, but sometimes he speaks in the quiet after the chaos. Yeah. So big.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. There's just something about waiting on God to speak. I think maybe if you're watching this and you are used to maybe like Isaiah or like Elijah, you're used to God moving in great ways in your life, and you know, great mountaintop experiences, maybe coming down to the altar and praying and all these great things happening. Sometimes you take for granted that God speaks through quiet moments, and that's just as important, even maybe even more significant, uh, than these great, you know, healings and miracles and things like that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so we're moving good. Uh, we've got Proverbs 12. Come on, and then a few Psalms to talk through. Proverbs 12 is really all about wisdom for today and every day, and it's a collection of contrast. So it's the wise versus the fool, the righteous versus the wicked, the honest versus the deceitful. Uh, not just abstract points, they're observations about how real life actually works. So, one of the verses that that stood out here uh was Proverbs 12, 18. Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing. That one stood out to me. I I think about uh as a child, even you know, sometimes people can be really hard on kids at an early age. But one sharp thing from a teacher or a coach, pastor, a parent, a friend, perhaps, uh, those things can stick with you for your entire life. But words of wisdom, yeah, those can live for a last lifetime as well, and really help build your faith up and help remind you of who you are in Christ. I remember a teacher, uh, Miss Wiseman, strangely enough, was her name. Uh, she was my science teacher in high school, and I was kind of a clown in high school, and uh, it was more about the hangout to me than anything else. And uh, I remember her looking at me and she said, Clint Smith, you're capable of a lot more than you think.
SPEAKER_00Wow.
SPEAKER_02And that stood with me from that time on because at that time I didn't see myself like that at all. Yeah. But Miss Wiseman saw something in me that not a lot of people were seeing at the time. Yeah. So very meaningful.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I well, I got one for you, Pastor Clint. Uh, going back now 14 years, uh, wise, you've always spoken wise words in my life. But I remember uh young me, first year in ministry, um, I had to kind of, you know, bring correction to somebody I was leading, and uh, they hadn't done certain things that I asked them to do. And I was very frustrated, I was real mad. And I remember I came to you for advice, and um, you know, there were some, you know, some factual things that I had that were like clear signs that they hadn't done what I asked them to do. Um, and I had to confront them with that truth. And then I was also very angry at them, to be real. And uh, I was just telling you, I was like, man, I don't know what I'm gonna say because I'm just gonna I'm so mad. And I remember you said something to me that stuck with uh me all these years. And he says, Sometimes the truth is hard enough, so you don't have to be. And that just stuck with me, that I didn't have to be a hard butt, right, in that situation. Uh, that I can just simply you know confront with the truth uh and let that person respond. And that was what that person needed in that moment, and that's what I think of when I think of this uh this verse, verse 18. Yeah. Uh wise words bring healing.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, they do. And speaking of wise words, just capitalizing on the book of Proverbs in your life. I just encourage anyone who's listening, watching today, that you would make Proverbs a priority in your life because there is just so much truth there, uh, wisdom, things that can impact everyday life that sometimes we just discard and don't pay close attention to it, but it's really, really valuable. So the last portion that we're covering today is Psalms 79 through 83, and this is about praying when everything has fallen apart. Uh these are written during a time of national catastrophe. Uh, the the temple has been defiled in in Psalm 79, Jerusalem's in ruins, bodies unburied. Uh, this is a raw grief turned into prayer. And I think sometimes when we think about prayer, we think about our prayers being clean and cute and pretty for the Lord. Yeah, that's not what He needs from us. Yeah, Samson, honestly, sometimes when I'm reading the Psalms, it's kind of depressing. It really is because it's so human, yeah, you know, and we're used to polishing things up for everybody. Yeah, God doesn't need us to be polished. That's right. He wants us to be authentic uh and really lean into him and and being real with him uh and and actually talking about what's going on in whatever situation we might be dealing with.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and you know, and I think that's so important because when we when we come to God with honesty, right, um, we are bringing what God really requires of us, uh, which is a broken and contrite spirit. Uh, and he could do something with that. When we come to God with just false bravado or like we got it all figured out, man, we're just fooling ourselves and we're kind of limiting God in a way um of what he really wants to do in our life.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, we'll we'll hit on Psalm 80 briefly here. Uh verse three turn us again to yourself, O God. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So this gives that image of Israel as a vine planted by God and now trampled by its enemies, striking. Common themes once again in the book of Psalms, uh, but in particular this section. And God brought the vine out of Egypt, cleared the ground, and planted it, and now it's destroyed. The question is not, did you plant it? But why have you broken down its walls? Yeah. So there's no sure sugarcoating it here. The psalmist is asking God to explain himself.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Uh and this is honest faith, not blind faith, kind of going back to us, God just wanting us to be real with him.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Come on. Absolutely. I I love um uh seeing that that reality of the psalmist acknowledging that it's God who planted Israel. Right, it's God who is the source of our life, and it's only God that has the answers to the problems. And so I think that's the that's the honesty when you come with raw prayers and raw emotion to God, is that you're acknowledging that he is the responsible one.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Uh, and so yeah, you could be frustrated with God, you could take that emotion to him. Uh, but in doing that, you're also acknowledging that he is the source.
SPEAKER_02He is the source, yeah. Yeah, yeah. A lot of times I'm like, I wish these guys would just quit crying about things. But maybe, maybe that's what we need to be doing more of is lamenting and crying out to God because he is our only source.
SPEAKER_00That's right. Man, ah, that's so good. All of that was good. Well, I mean, that that's it. We covered a bunch there and we went pretty quick to cover it all. Um, man, uh, do this for me. If you enjoyed today's podcast, be sure to like this. Uh, if you haven't subscribed yet, go ahead and subscribe, share this with somebody. And man, do us a favor if you're watching this on YouTube or whatever, but leave a comment, let us know your thoughts. Is there something we missed that you want to zoom in on? Is there some part of this that stood out to you? Something new that you learned, and leave us a comment down below. And thank you again for joining us for another episode of the North Bible Recap Podcast.