Godās avenger
2 Chronicles 22: And Jehu killed him.
The stories of the kings of Israel and Judah donāt always leave us feeling encouraged and uplifted. Thereās a whole lot of ugly stuff and even when we read devotionally we donāt come away with anything like a cup of sugar! Jehuās role in the story is an interesting one. Heās called to be Godās avenger. Because of Ahab of Israelās wickedness Jehuās given the job of hunting down and killing all his family. Now, Ahaziah becomes king of Judah and he stupidly follows in the footsteps of his father. Rather than looking to his grandfather, Jehoshaphat, for an example he connects himself to Ahabās clan and, in the words of this passage, āattended the sin school of Ahab, and graduated with a degree in doom.ā That puts him on the radar screen of the man whoās mainly been concerned with cleaning up the wickedness associated with the throne of Israel. Now, as the king of Judah enters into the orbit of Ahab, Jehu takes note. When he has the opportunity Godās executioner corners Ahaziah and kills him. As I said, some of these stories donāt make us feel all warm and fuzzy! Ahaziah foolishly associated himself with the wrong people, was then counted as one of them, and then paid the same price that they paid. A take away from this less-than-encouraging passage is that weād better be careful in choosing our best friends and who we allow to influence our lives.
Take Away: Choices have consequences.
Tag: Book of 2Chronicles
Devotional on 2 Chronicles
The Boy King
2 Chronicles 23: They were to be Godās special people.
Anyone who thinks these āking booksā of the Old Testament are dull needs to turn on their imagination and read some of these passages anew. A wicked woman rules Judah and for six years she terrorizes those who seek to serve God. Right under her nose at the Temple a baby boy, the rightful heir to the throne, is being raised in secret. When the boy turns seven the supporters of righteousness decide that they have to act before Queen Athaliah finds out about the child and takes his life. A plot that involves mostly priests and Levites is put into place. There are secret meetings and an ancient cache of weapons dating back to Joashās great ancestor, David, is prepared for battle. In hopes of attracting as little attention as possible the work schedules at the Temple are manipulated. Armed men secure the Temple grounds and guards escort the boy to the entrance of the Temple where heās crowned King of Judah. The people cheer their release from oppression. Queen Athaliah hears the commotion and rushes to the Temple shouting āTreason!ā Before long sheās dead and the Boy King sits on the throne of Judah. The old priest Jehoiada guides the lad and his subjects in their steps back to God. Worship activities are restored at the Temple and revival sweeps the land. Now, I know that Joashās story doesnāt end well, but it certainly has an exciting beginning. Our kids know about David and Goliath, maybe we need to tell them about how a seven-year-old boy became the King of Judah.
Take Away: The Lord delights in using unlikely people to do great things.
Devotional on 2 Chronicles
I was w-w-w-wrong
2 Chronicles 25: But what about all this money ā these tons of silver I have already paid out to hire these men?
The āchroniclerā starts off telling us that Amaziah ālives wellā and ādoes the right thingā and then begins an accounting of all the foolish blunders he makes. Itās likely that Amaziah handled things just fine until things begin to unravel near the end of his reign. At one point heās preparing for war. After numbering his army he concludes that he needs more soldiers so he turns to Israel for help, paying a great deal of money to mercenary soldiers to fight on his side. However, the Lord sends word to him that this is a huge mistake. These soldiers wonāt be helped by the Lord because they donāt trust in him. Amaziahās response is reasonable. He wants to know about all the money heās already spent on these fighters. The man of God reminds him that itās better to have Godās help than it is to have a bigger army. The king yields, writing off the wages already spent as a bad investment. This account doesnāt earn Amaziah stellar marks, but it does earn him a passing grade. Failure, in this case, would have been throwing good money after bad. The lesson here is one well learned. Those of us who are of a strong will tend to lock our jaws and press on even when itās more and more apparent that we shouldnāt have started down a certain path in the first place. Our argument is the same one the king used: āIāve come too far and invested too much to turn back now.ā No one believes in perseverance more than I do, but sometimes perseverance is just a flimsy cover up for pride. At some point a heaping helping of humble pie is in order. āI thought I was right and that this would work, but I was wrong.ā Write it off and get on with life.
Take Away: Better to write off a loss than to compound the situation by doubling down on a bad decision.
Devotional on 2 Chronicles
Pride goes before a fall
2 Chronicles 26: Arrogant and proud, he fell.
Uzziah is just a teen when he becomes king of Judah. By and large, he does a good job as king and his long reign is a good one for his nation. From the beginning he seeks God. The Lord is pleased with him and blesses his life with successful building projects and a strong army. Then, when it seems Uzziah will be one of the rare kings who have nothing but positive things on their record something ugly happens. His successes go to Uzziahās head. We donāt know the full story but Uzziah decides, like Saul did many generations earlier, to take over the worship activities. He takes the one role in the nation that’s denied him ā going into the Temple and acting as priest of God. The legitimate priests, descendants of Aaron, try to stop Uzziah, but he ignores them. With the holy censor in hand, he refuses to hear the objections of the priests. Then, God objects, and when he objects, he canāt be ignored. The dreaded disease of leprosy breaks out on Uzziahās hand as he holds the censor. This is Godās judgment. Itās too bad isnāt it. Uzziah comes so far and does so many things right. His downfall comes, not as a result of some big temptation or some great threat. Instead, itās brought about by his success. When things are going right and itās clear that God is blessing us we need to remember Uzziah. Here we see a lesson in how success can lead to failure.
Take Away: The distance from impressive success to dismal failure is shorter than we might think.
Devotional on 2 Chronicles
One chapter lives
2 Chronicles 27: Jothamās strength was rooted in his steady and determined life of obedience to God.
Jotham comes to power before he ascends to the throne. His father Uzziahās affliction keeps him from running the government and Jotham rules in his fatherās place. After seven years of this arrangement, upon the death of Uzziah, Jotham ascends to the throne. He gets high marks in both the 2nd Kings and 2nd Chronicles accounts of his reign. However, both accounts are rather brief. Jotham does some significant construction and has a couple of major military campaigns. The bottom line of his life is that his āstrength was rooted in his steady and determined life of obedience to God.ā If a personās life is to be summed up in one sentence, thatās a pretty good sentence to hear. Words like āstrength,ā āsteady,ā determined,ā and āobedience of Godā leave us wanting to hear more about this good man. One nice thing about the account of Jothamās life is that thereās no ābut…ā after the epitaph Iām considering today. I wonder what words will be used to someday describe my life? Unlike Jotham Iāll never be a famous person or a national leader. By the grace of God, though, āsteadiness, determination, and obedience of Godā is within my grasp. Even people who live āone chapter livesā can make that chapter count for something worthwhile.
Take Away: A life lived for the Lord is a life well lived.
Devotional on 2 Chronicles
Doubling down on a losing hand
2 Chronicles 28: If I worship the gods who helped Damascus, those gods just might help me too.
Good king Jotham is laid to rest and his son Ahaz takes over. His years in power are marked by spiritual and national failure and he leads his people into idol worship and detestable practices. Darkness descends as God withdraws his blessings on Judah. Neighboring Damascus betrays Ahaz and grinds Judah into the ground, humiliating it by taking treasures from the Temple. Ahaz, whoās turned his back on Jehovah God, stupidly concludes that the gods of Damascus are preferable to the idols heās been worshipping. He copies their idols and brings worship of them to Jerusalem. Whatās wrong with this guy? He dumps the Lord God and then wonders why he and his nation are no longer blessed. Then, to add insult to injury, rather than return to the God of his father, he decides to try out the gods of Damascus. This guy is begging for judgment and he gets it. The old wisdom is that the first thing to do when one finds himself in a hole is to stop digging. Ahaz doesnāt get it, so when he finds himself in trouble for rejecting God instead of stopping and reconsidering his course of action he doubles down on it making matters doubly worse. The thing is that this is exactly what I see people do today. They ignore God and go their own direction. Then, when things donāt work out instead of repenting and returning to God, they double down and move even farther away from the Lord than they are already. There are a lot of young adults who were raised in the church and know better who keep adding one bad decision on top of another. Sad to say in them Ahaz has lots of company.
Take Away: Adding one minus to other minuses will never get us a āplusā result.
Devotional on 2 Chronicles
Responding to God
2 Chronicles 29: I have decided to make a covenant with the God of Israel.
Hezekiah announces his intention to make a covenant with God. He sees that the old covenant has been broken and is in need of repair. His ānew covenantā is really a reinstatement of the āold covenant.ā While the statement suggests that Hezekiahās taking the initiative here by approaching the Lord with an offer, the fact is that God has patiently waited for a response like this. If Hezekiah sees this whole event as his initiative I guess thatās okay but actually God is, and always is, the āFirst Mover.ā Thatās how it is for us too. Like the prodigal, we think to ourselves, āI will arise and go to my Father,ā as though itās all our idea in the first place. And, just like it is in that story we arrive and find that the Father has been patiently waiting for us all along. To ādecide to make a covenantā is a good thing, an important decision. However, such a move is only possible by what John Wesley might describe as the āgrace that goes beforeā — God at work making it possible for us to come to that decision in the first place.
Take Away: Do you need to work some things out with God? Guess what? Heās already moving to work things out with you!
Devotional on 2 Chronicles
The chief cheerleader
2 Chronicles 30: Hezekiah commended the Levites for the superb way in which they had led the people in the worship of God.
The religious reform under Hezekiah rivals the great events of David and Solomonās reigns. The newly refurbished Temple and the eager and capable work of those who serve there make for an impressive and satisfying worship experience for all that come. When the big celebration ends, Hezekiah makes it a point to go to the Levites and commend them for their superb work. In this, I see Hezekiah not only leading in vision and agenda but in thanks and appreciation as well. Good leaders do that. I do note that Hezekiah calls their work āsuperbā because thatās what it is. He isnāt some cheerleader who shouts out āWeāre number oneā when the teamās behind by 30 points. Iām reminded though that even when the work doesnāt reach the superb level thereās probably something positive that can be said. Once the leader establishes good will the way may be opened for some constructive comments on improving things next time. So, I see in this passage that leaders should lead in words and acts of appreciation for work well done. Also, I remember that while a leader isnāt to give false praise that genuine support can lead the way to opportunities to help others grow in their service of the Lord.
Take Away: Good leaders know how to lead the way in showing appreciation for work well done.
Devotional on 2 Chronicles
The very best at doing good
2 Chronicles 31: Everything he took upā¦he did well in a spirit of prayerful worship.
Hezekiah gets considerable mention in the Chronicles version of the history of Godās people, and with good reason. Heās said to be the āvery bestā at doing what is āgood, right, and trueā before God. This isnāt some national leader who does whatever is politically expedient and then tips his hat to the Almighty when itās convenient. Instead, this is a man who makes every decision based on his desire to please God. Thatās exactly how he approaches his religious life. If a decision has to do with worship he makes that decision prayerfully. He also prayerfully builds his life and Kingdom around carrying out Godās Laws and Commandments. Judah is a blessed nation because it has a national leader who turns to God in everything he does. The result is that heās a āgreat successā and is commended by God as one who is āgood, right, and true.ā I pray that the Lord will give my nation and all the nations of the earth such leadership. Also, in my much smaller leadership role, I desire to follow his excellent example.
Take Away: Leading, in itself, can be good or bad; depending on the direction the leader is going. A leader who leads people to righteousness is worth celebrating.
Devotional on 2 Chronicles
Praying man
2 Chronicles 32: King Hezekiahā¦responded by praying.
Before moving on, letās take one last look at this King of Judah whoās ranked with Solomon or even King David. Here we see his tiny nation threatened by the mighty Assyrian army. Sennacherib, himself, has come to oversee the defeat of Judah and the capture of Jerusalem. The siege starts with psychological warfare. With the huge Assyrian army camped out nearby messengers come to intimidate Hezekiah and try to divide the loyalty of the people. Of course the threat is real. Assyria has marched across the region defeating one nation after another. When Sennacherib says that Judah is next heās deadly serious. Hezekiah responds in some practical ways. For one thing he plugs up the springs that the enemy army might use as a water supply. However, weāre told that his primary response is to pray. I love the picture I see here. For Hezekiah prayer isnāt the ālast ditch because Iāve tried everything elseā approach. This man has learned a valuable lesson: when he prays, God answers. It seems that I have to often return to this basic lesson. Even when I have a wealth of evidence that prayer makes all the difference in the world my first response to many life events is to try to handle things myself. Itās only when that fails that I get serious about praying. Know what? I donāt think the problem is unique to me! āO what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.ā
Take Away: Prayer is to be our first response.
Devotional on 2 Chronicles
Better late than never
2 Chronicles 33: As he prayed, God was touched.
Manassehās father, Hezekiah, made some mistakes, but his leadership of Judah was, by and large, pleasing to God and to his people. Now itās Manassehās turn. He messes up ā āroyally!ā Under his leadership the descendants of Abraham turn back to the idol worship of the past. He even brings disgusting idols right into the Temple his father had so carefully restored. Itās as Manasseh’s doing these stupid things that we find a chilling statement. The Scripture reports: āAnd God was angry.ā Tell you what; if youāre doing your own thing and ignoring God you really donāt want to hear these words! The result is that God allows Assyria to accomplish what they were kept from accomplishing before. Jerusalem falls before this regional power. Manasseh, himself, is led off like a farm animal to distant Babylon, likely destined for execution. To Manasseh it seems that this just might be a good time to pray! Well, to be honest about it, it is way past time for him to pray; but pray he does. He falls on his knees and cries out to God, repenting ātotallyā of his sins. If one thing you really donāt want to hear about yourself is that āGod is angryā the sweetest sound that can fall upon the ear is what we read here: āAs he prayed, God was touched.ā Manasseh shouldnāt have messed up in the first place. His life would have been vastly better had he been true to the God of his father. However, once he messed up, the next best thing was to pray a prayer of absolute, from-the-heart repentance. Such prayers always touch the heart of God. Itās true for Manasseh. Itās true for you and me.
Take Away: Better to not mess up in the first place, but if youāve messed up itās time to pray like youāve never prayed before.
Devotional on 2 Chronicles
Taking God seriously
2 Chronicles 34: The king stood by his pillar and before God solemnly committed himself to the covenant.
Josiah is just a boy when heās made king of Judah. Heās a āseasonedā king, 26 years old and with 18 years of leadership under his belt when the Book of Godās Law is brought to him. Instantly, he realizes how much trouble his nation is in. Theyāve broken all the laws in the book! The covenant his ancestors made with God had plenty of blessings in it but it had some very serious curses in it as well. Having ābroken the lawā theyāre destined to face the consequences. Josiah, weāre told, takes this message seriously. He immediately prepares to approach God to ask for a stay of execution. His plan is simple: heāll commit himself to the covenant that was made years earlier and broken repeatedly by the generations that went before him. The Lordās impressed with Josiah and his people. The curse is put on hold and Josiah rules a total of thirty-one years. Iām taken today with the mercy and patience of the Lord. Think of God being so forgotten that the Temple which is to be the glorious center of worship is, instead, in a near state of ruin. Think of obedience to his laws being so neglected that that the book of the Law is simply ādiscoveredā in those ruins. Then, watch as this young king reads, understands, and pleads with the Lord for mercy. Finally, rejoice as the Lord graciously extends that mercy. No matter how weāve messed up thereās still hope if we repent and return to this gracious God of Second Chances.
Take Away: God is the God of Second Chances.
Devotional on 2 Chronicles
God-centered leadership
2 Chronicles 35: The kingā¦solemnly committed himself to the covenant.
When a campfire is fully ablaze, the individual flames are generally unnoticed. However, as the fire burns down to embers, an individual blade of fire may seem to light up the entire campsite for a moment. Thatās the feeling I get as I read the story of the waning days of Judah. Most everythingās bad. Kings rise to power and then fall and almost seem to be in a competition to see who can be the most ungodly. However, along the way we meet some courageous men who, almost single handedly, lift the entire nation to their shoulders and craft, at least temporarily, a return to God. Such a man is Josiah. When the word of the Lord is discovered in the Temple he publicly vows to live according to the ancient covenant. He seeks Godās direction and receives it. Because of his desire for God, an entire generation is stopped from the march to destruction that it has been on. As I look at my own society and see the journey weāre on I nearly surrender to despair. Weāre so godless, so lost in the darkness of our own making. Still, Iām reminded that even in a dying campfire just one flame can light the night. I pray that the Lord will give such a leader to my generation.
Take Away: Lord, have mercy on us.
Devotional on 2 Chronicles
The End…well, not quite
2 Chronicles 36: ā¦he wanted to give them every chance possible. But they wouldnāt listen.
The intended audience of the Chronicles is the descendants of those in the story thatās told here. The original readers live in exile, hundreds of miles from Jerusalem. These people have never seen the City of David and are in danger of becoming disconnected from their rich heritage. However, thereās more. These books tell why they are where they are. The passage before us gives the final word. God had warned their ancestors again and again that if they continued down the road they were traveling it would end in destruction. The mercy and grace of God in reaching out to them was disregarded. His repeated overtures to them were rejected and because of that rebellion God gave up on them and all was lost. Now both Israel and Judah are gone and the holy city of Jerusalem is destroyed. The End. However, the Chronicles author canāt let it end like that. After writing the obituary of Judah he ties the old story to their current lives. The God who gave up on their ancestors is now reaching out to them. Thereās the possibility of rebuilding the Temple theyāve read about in this story. The God of Second Chances is still at work even in their lives. This story tells us a lot about the descendants of Abraham but it tells us even more about God.
Take Away: God is the God of Second Chances.