Today we're focusing on 1Chronicles 3-5 and Psalm 84, 85 and 87. Since Psalm 84 is the theme for this entire podcast, I'm pretty excited to revisit it with you!

Though the purpose of this Psalm is to point us to worship of God and the pilgrimage the original readers took for the annual feasts in Jerusalem, I think we can find many principles of godly motherhood here as well! A life lived in worship and devotion to God will naturally be a motherhood that honors Christ!

Today's Reading: 1 Chronicles 3-5 + Psalm 84, 85, 87

Scripture Read or Referenced:

1 Chronicles 3:1-9

1 Chronicles 4:9-10

1 Chronicles 5:22-26

Psalm 84 (All, of course!)

Psalm 85:8, 11

Psalm 87:4

James 1:5

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Commentaries Most Referenced: Moody Commentary, MacArthur Commentary, Spurgeon's Treasury of David

Welcome to The Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries.

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I'm Stephanie Hickox, and today

we're focusing on First Chronicles

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Chapters three through five

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and Psalm 84, 85 and 87 since Psalm

84 is the theme for this entire

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podcast, I'm pretty excited to revisit

it with you we continue with the

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genealogies in one Chronicles three.

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Have you ever seen those

picture books, Rick?

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Written by David Shannon called No, David.

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That's what I hear in my head

when I read chapter three as it

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tells us of all the sons that

were born to David, no, David, no.

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he had six in one place, then four,

then nine, and then there were more.

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And speaking of book titles, I'm

not endorsing it, but have you ever

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heard the book Men are like waffles

and women are like spaghetti.

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When I think about David choosing multiple

wives, I'm reminded of this concept it

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seems to me that because women's lives are

so intertwined, we can't compartmentalize.

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If something's off, it

rolls over into everything.

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This can be a hard thing, but it

can also be a really beautiful thing

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because it means that our walk with

the Lord spills over into other areas,

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and also if there's unresolved conflict or

unrest, we want to get to the heart of it.

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But I've observed that men can

be much more resolute and it

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can serve them well many times.

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A man can often leave conflict on the

back burner and move on for what God

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requires him to accomplish in that day.

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I can see how God uses the

strengths of both genders.

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For me, that brings some potential

clarity to why David could be a man

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after God's heart in one moment,

and writing worship songs to him.

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And then in the next,

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carrying on with multiple wives.

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In chapter four, we read about the

genealogies of Judah and Simeon.

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Speaker 53: in verse four nine.

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Speaker 54: Jabez was more

honorable than his brothers, and

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his mother called his name Jabez,

saying, because I bore him in pain.

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They should just have an unwritten

rule that you shouldn't name

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your child while you're still

recovering from the pain of labor.

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In verse 10, Jabez calls upon the

God of Israel saying, oh, that you

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would bless me and enlarge my border,

and that your hand might be with me,

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and that you would keep me from harm

so that it might not bring me pain.

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God grants what he asks.

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Helping a man overcome his unfortunate

namesake and listening to his prayer.

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In chapter five, the history of the

tribe of Reuben is accounted for.

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even though Reuben was Jacob's

firstborn of the 12 sons, he slept

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with his father's concubine and

therefore lost his birthright.

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And there is something at First

Samuel That's in enlightening

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this for me a little bit.

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Previously, I understood Reuben sin

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to be wicked and immoral,

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but do you recall that Abner was

so offended when Saul's son accused

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him of sleeping with the concubines

because that was a play for the throne.

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I'm wondering if Ruben sleeping with his

father's concubine was also a power play.

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Just a theory.

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But it would make sense why his

father would remove him from a place

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of honor for that multifaceted sin.

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Next we read that the Trans Jordan Tribes

of the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the

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Half Tribe of Vanessa, stay unified.

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And in five 20 they cry out to God

in battle and he grants their urgent

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plea because they trusted in him.

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Unfortunately, at the end of the

chapter, some of them break faith with

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God following after other pagan gods.

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And God has the king of

Assyria take them into exile.

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We will cover that in depth later,

but if there are a couple biblical

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events in history that are important

to memorize, this would be one of them.

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The Assyrian captivity happened in 7 22

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That's why we know that this book

of Chronicles was put together

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much after the time of David.

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While we're on the topic of memorizing

things, Psalm 84 is a phenomenal

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chapter to have stored up in our

heart, to encourage us for how

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we can honor God with our kids.

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How lovely is your dwelling place?

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Oh lord of hosts.

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My soul longs Yes, faints.

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For the courts of the Lord.

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My heart and flesh sing

for joy to the living God.

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Even the sparrow finds a home and

the swallow a nest for herself where

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she may lay her young at your altars.

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A Lord of hosts my king and my God.

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Blessed are those who dwell in your

house ever singing your praise.

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Blessed are those whose

strength is in you.

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In whose heart are the highways to

Zion as they go through the valley of

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Bacca, they make it a place of springs.

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The early rain also covers it with pools.

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They go from strength to strength.

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Each one appears before God and Zion.

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Oh Lord, God of hosts.

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Hear my prayer.

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Give ear, oh God of Jacob.

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Behold our shield.

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Oh God.

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Look on the face of your anointed.

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For a day in your courts is

better than a thousand elsewhere.

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I would rather be a doorkeeper in the

house of my God than dwell in the tense of

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wickedness for the Lord God is a son and

shield the Lord bestows favor and honor.

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No good thing does He withhold from those

who walk up Rightly, oh Lord of hosts.

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Blessed is the one who trusts in you.

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I know all of scripture can guide us in

how to honor the Lord and motherhood,

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but this is pretty comprehensive.

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First, biblical motherhood

begins by dwelling with God.

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I know you're shocked.

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I would conclude that, but it's

the goal of this whole chapter.

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This psalm refers to the

pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

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That was required three times a year.

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But praise the Lord.

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We live in a day and age where we don't

have to go to a temple, but that the

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Holy Spirit chooses to dwell within us.

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Next a Godly mother delight in God.

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We see that in verse one.

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How lovely is your dwelling place?

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In verse two, my heart and flesh sing

for joy to the living God in four.

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Blessed are those who dwell in your

house ever singing your praise.

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And in verse 10, for a day in your courts

is better than a thousand elsewhere.

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And something I come back to over and

over is this next point that God calls

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us to surrender our children to him.

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In the midst of all of this

worship, we find a mother laying

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her children at God's altar.

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What I love is that the name of God that's

used over and over is Lord of Hosts.

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It said four times in this brief chapter,

Lord of Host denotes power and protection.

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This is the commander of the Armies

of Heaven, and this name of God first

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appeared in First Samuel chapter one.

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When Hannah was praying

to God for a child.

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She called upon the Lord of hosts because

he has all power to answer our prayers.

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when we surrender our children to

the Lord of hosts, we are saying,

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God, would you move mightily on their

behalf and would you protect them?

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We can acknowledge that the plans

and hopes that we have for them

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pale in comparison to the God that

created them and knows what they need

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best and his will for their life.

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Next?

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I think it's modeled for us

that a godly mother brings her

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children into God's presence.

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We're not just to seek the Lord,

we're to provide opportunities and

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avenues for our kids to dwell with him.

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The sparrow is laying

her young at God's altar.

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They're dwelling there together.

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Throughout the chapter, we're to

praise God, and it doesn't just refer

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to in the good times, verse five

and six, let us know that we're to

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praise even through the hard times.

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Blessed are those whose strength is in you

and whose heart are the highways to Zion

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as they go through the valley of Bacca.

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They make it a place of springs.

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The Valley of Baca represents a

place of bitterness or barrenness.

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As we endure times and seasons where

our plans are foiled and our hopes are

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shattered, we can make them a place

of springs by pressing into the Lord.

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Our hope can be a highway into the

presence of the Lord as scripture

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also tells us a thankful heart

prepares the way for the Lord,

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even when we don't know what he's doing,

and I am preaching to myself right now.

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We can praise him and trust

him because ultimately wherever

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he leads, he's going with us.

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So I would conclude by

this, that a godly mother.

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Finds her strength in God.

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Next, she avoids wicked influences,

both for herself and for her kids.

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I see this in verse 10.

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I would rather be a doorkeeper

in the house of my God than

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dwell in the tense of wickedness.

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It doesn't mean she's avoiding

opportunities to love or be a light,

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but it does mean she's not dwelling in

the wickedness or allowing her kids to.

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Spurgeon says to wait at his threshold

to peek in and see Jesus is sheer bliss.

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To bear burdens and open doors

for the Lord is more honor

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than to reign among the wicked.

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God's worst is better

than the Devil's best.

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Finally.

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A godly mother trusts in God

to protect, bless and sustain.

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The chapter concludes For the

Lord, God is a son and shield

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the Lord Bestows favor and honor.

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No good thing does He withhold

from those who walk up.

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Rightly, oh Lord of hosts.

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Blessed is the one who trusts in you.

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We can trust God to be

our son and our shield.

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That's our blessing and our protection.

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because he is the Lord of hosts who has

all power to bless us when we honor him.

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Speaker 53: In chapter 85,

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Speaker 54: we read about God's love

and faithfulness in the past, then in

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the present and then in the future there

are some really powerful verb choices.

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and I wanna point out verse eight, because

it's one of the Entrusted with a child's

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heart memory verses I will hear what

God, the Lord will say for He will speak

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peace to his people, to his godly ones,

but let them not turn back to folly.

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Isn't that a beautiful promise?

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it reminds me of the verse in

James that tells us God will

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give wisdom when we ask for it.

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Chapter 87, the focus is

on God's love of Zion,

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also known as Jerusalem.

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God didn't just select this as a place for

worship during the times of the psalmist,

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Jesus is coming back to reign there.

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First VOR tells us, among those who

know me, I mention Rahab and Babylon.

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Rahab was a symbol of

mythology representing Egypt.

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And Babylon is consistently represented

as an enemy of God in scripture.

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But when Jesus comes back, there will

be people even from those nations.

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He is a God that loves all nations and

all peoples, and I can't wait to join

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with people of every tribe and tongue

and bring glory to the God who created

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us all to walk in unity and love.

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Heavenly Father, sometimes it seems

motherhood is so daunting there's

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so much to do, but I praise you

for the clarity we can gain here.

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Guide us to be faithful to walk with

you, trust in you, and praise you.

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We see the warning in David's life

of taking on more than we can handle.

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I know I'm speaking to women who are

being pulled in a million different

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directions and are praying for how they

can manage their time, give us wisdom

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and pave the path, showing us that we

have a window of time to be faithful to

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our children while they're in our homes.

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Help us to cast off anything

that would distract us from your

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eternal purposes in our families.

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Give us discernment each day

what's needed, and help us to

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make any sacrifices you require

to be available for our families.

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We pray for the salvation of

every child we represent, and

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for every husband as well.

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That one day when we worship

you, face to face, that our

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families would be there with us.

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Thank you, Jesus, that you

allow us to dwell with you.

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It's in your name we pray.

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Amen.