Readings from the books of Kings and Chronicles
Our artistic journey through the Old Testament continues! Here you'll find our selected artworks and commentary to accompany this month's Come, Follow Me readings. Remember, you can also subscribe to get email reminders when new artworks are ready or follow along weekly on Instagram or Facebook. We hope that art-lovers everywhere will be inspired by these artworks as they complement their gospel study, family discussions, and church classes with fine art from around the world.
June 29 - July 5
The anonymous artist of this Russian Icon highlights Elijah’s direct connection with divinity through five different experiences: receiving food from a raven; receiving instruction from an angel; calling down fire from heaven; speaking with Elisha, his prophetic successor; and being taken up into heaven. Receiving food from a raven or interacting with a fellow disciple of Christ might be considered “minor miracles” compared to undepicted events like sealing the heavens or raising a boy from the dead, but they are important examples of Elijah’s heavenly aid and divine power. If you were to depict five experiences of direct connection with God from your life, what would they be?
July 6-12
Perhaps you have felt outnumbered, like Elisha’s servant when he found himself surrounded by a large enemy army. Even if you haven’t felt outnumbered, though, you have likely felt overwhelmed, maybe even doubtful that the Lord has a plan for overcoming your particular battle. But even if you cannot see beyond the army in front of you, the Lord promises, “I will go before you and be your rearward; and I will be in your midst, and you shall not be confounded” (D&C 49:27).
July 13-19
By any metric, Sennacherib and the Assyrian army should have conquered Jerusalem—but the Lord had something else in mind. The Lord promised his people through the prophet Isaiah: “I will defend this city…” and he did (2 Kings 19:34, 35). That night, 185,000 soldiers in the Assyrian camp died. Sometimes we see the symbolic hand of the Lord in very clear ways, and sometimes it’s more subtle. But if we look, we can find it. How long did it take you to notice the hand painted in the cloud formations in Maynard Dixon’s painting pictured above?
July 20-26
Just as many soldiers defend their army, their country and its people, or their rights, so too must we defend truth and righteousness. For the prophet Micaiah, this came at a higher cost: he was imprisoned for prophesying what he knew to be true. Even with pressure to simply declare what others wanted to hear, the prophet defended what the Lord had revealed. Micaiah said, “As the Lord liveth, even what my God saith, that will I speak” (2 Chron. 18: 13). In today's world, how can you defend your beliefs while practicing compassion for those that feel differently than you?
