The Plan

The Plan

Learning about God's Plan for Salvation at South Shore Trinity Lutheran Church

Week 23 – Israel: The House of Ahab falls

As human beings we want to be in control of everything. We want to trust in our own knowledge and our own understanding instead of trusting in God and His plan for us and our salvation. This week we will read about a number of people who trusted in God even when their head, and their fear, told them to do otherwise. The Shunammite woman trusted in God even when her anger and her grief told her not to. Naaman trusted in God even though God’s cure for his leprosy seemed insane, and Elisha trusted in God even though he was surrounded by the army of Aram.

God shows over and over again that He is in control and that He will move his plan of salvation forward despite the evil of this world. He wants us to have faith that He will guide us through any problem, no matter how insurmountable they might seem.

Week 22 – Israel: Elijah and Ahab

All Christians have had days when they have felt that God is ignoring them or even worse that He is against them. In this week’s readings we see that we are not alone in feeling that way. Even the prophet Elijah felt alone and deserted at times. It got so bad for him that at one point be basically cries out to God, “Just kill me why don’t ya!”

But it was especially at the times when Elijah didn’t feel he could go on any longer that God lifted him up. God’s methods weren’t always as flashy as the fire which came from heaven during the battle with the priests of Baal, but they were just as effective. God’s encouragement and strength came to Elijah in the form of bread and water. They came to him in the form of a still, quiet voice. They came in the knowledge that he wasn’t alone. None of the ways that God used to lift Elijah up were showy but each one of them were precisely what the prophet needed at the time and God encourages and strengthens each of us as well. Like Elijah we just need to be looking, listening and most importantly…reading.

1st Kings 18:20-46

“Maybe your God can’t hear you because he is on the toilet!” Best taunt EVER!

Week 21 – Israel: Elijah and Ahab

Last week we ended with the kingdom of Israel being split into two separate kingdoms. The first kingdom was composed of 10 of the tribes of Israel and kept the name Israel. The second kingdom became known as Judah and contained the city of Jerusalem. Judah was made up of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and a majority of the tribe of Levi.

The history of these two kingdoms and God’s continued work in them is recorded in the books of 1st and 2nd Kings, 1st and 2nd Chronicles, and numerous prophetic books. This has caused quite a bit of confusion for Biblical readers over the years because the accounts jump back and forth between the kingdoms of Israel and Judah and many of the same events are recorded in both Kings and Chronicles.

To alleviate some of this confusion, the readings over the next few weeks will focus on one of the kingdoms at a time, beginning with the kingdom of Israel. After that we will focus on the kingdom of Judah and the events that took place within her borders. Most of the time we will be reading from the books of 1st and 2nd Kings but we will jump over to Chronicles if Chronicles gives us more information or offers specific information that is important to understand God’s plan. We will also be making excursions into the books of Jonah and Jeremiah for the insights they will give us into God’s work within the two kingdoms.

An important thing to remember during the coming weeks is how God never stops moving His plan forward and never abandons His people. They regularly abandon Him but He never deserts them. He may allow them to face the earthly and eternal consequences of their actions but that is by their choice and not His. His desire was always that they would return to him and be forgiven.