“The LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom…” (Ezra 1:1b) Cyrus thought it was his idea to let the Jews go free.  Silly Cyrus, God was the one in charge, not him. Rulers are only in charge because God lets them

“He who mocks the poor taunts his Maker; he who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished.” (Proverbs 17:5) Bad things happen to people.  Sometimes those bad things are their fault; sometimes, they aren’t.  Either way, there is no joy to be found in the suffering of your fellow man.  There should be no

“For such is God, our God forever and ever; He will guide us until death.” (Psalm 48:14) When Sir Edmund Hillary scaled Mount Everest, he received the fanfare, but Tenzing Norgay, the Sherpa was his guide every step of the way.  Hillary was wise enough to enlist the help of a guide that knew

“Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that His burning anger may turn away from us.” (2 Chronicles 29:10) A wise man recognizes that he doesn’t want to have powerful enemies.  We build alliances with those who have strength and we make peace treaties with

“In the first year of his [Hezekiah’s] reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the LORD and repaired them.” (2 Chronicles 29:3) Hezekiah’s first act of authority was to make worship of God accessible to all.  He flung open the doors and called the people to serve God. 

“He [King Jotham] did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah had done… but the people continued acting corruptly.” (2 Chronicles 27:2) We place too much faith in politicians.  King Jotham was a righteous man, but that didn’t stop Israel from being wicked.  Godly leaders are a