Month: March 2024

2 Chronicles 28:1-3 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; but he did not that which was right in the sight of the Lord, like David his father. For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim. Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.

Ahaz was one of the most wicked of the kings of Judah, responding to God’s goodness by committing abominable practices of worship of and sacrifice to false gods. Here is recorded a long list of unbelief and idolatry: He did not what was right; He walked in the ways of the evil kings of Israel; He made idols for Baal; He burnt incense in Hinnom (Gehenna, hell); He sacrificed his own children (a real abomination); He sacrificed on high places, hills, and groves.

Everything he did was a gross example of sin against the First and Great Commandment. God punished Israel for his idolatrous and unbelieving leadership, bringing enemy invasions. Satan is allowed to carry out God’s judgments when he is given such an open invitation.

However, in the midst of these hard times the Lord inspired Isaiah to speak the famous prophecy of Isaiah 7:14: “A virgin will bear a son, Immanuel.” This prophesied Messiah is Jesus, who will save His people from their sins. In difficult and troublous times, maybe even caused by our own sin and unbelief, even in our dark hours the love of God still shines forth with a ray of hope: it is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, our Immanuel and our Savior.

2 Chronicles 27:2, 6 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Uzziah did; Howbeit he entered not into the temple of the Lord. And the people did yet corruptly….So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God.

Jotham was generally a good king, but his people remained as corrupt as they had been. He did that which was right and he prepared his ways before the Lord. For this reason he became mighty, for God blessed him. God responds with blessings for those who are faithful to Him.

However, the people did not follow his example, but they remained as corrupt as they had been under Uzziah. Those you lead may not always follow your example, but that should not affect the way you live for God. Although the leader’s response to God was commendable, the people did not respond as he did, but did corruptly. They were not faithful in their faith or practices to the one true God.

We will believe God and live in Him and enjoy His blessing, no matter what the world around us believes and acts. We are not conformed to the world but are transformed by the renewal of our mind. Jotham is to be commended for sticking to his guns in a difficult time, but he is not commended as a leader for his influence did not seem to affect the people’s faith and life. Our response to difficult times is: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

2 Chronicles 26:16 But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to destruction: for he transgressed against the Lord his God, and went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of incense…. And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, it appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed, neither shall it be for thine honor.

After God gave Uzziah great prosperity and power, he became proud and corrupt, and acted presumptuously. “Pride goeth before destruction.” He took it on himself to go into the Holy Place to burn incense. This was a trespass. His heart was lifted up. Things were going so well that he thought he was something. As a humbling punishment, God struck him with leprosy in his forehead, and he lived separately as a leper until he died.

If God has given you wealth, influence, popularity, or power be humbly thankful, but be careful. God hates pride; it destroys. Practice habits of gratitude that give God the credit for what you have. Humble thankfulness for everything prevents a foolish pride that leads to destruction. “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”

2 Chronicles 26:5 And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper.

Uzziah was a mostly good king, though he had some issues. While Zechariah was ministering to him, he sought the Lord, that is, he believed God and worshipped Him alone. The result of his response is that God made him prosper. Uzziah’s long reign was mostly good for the kingdom.

When we respond to the Gospel by seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteous, good things are going to happen in our life. We don’t always see the correlation between paying attention to God, putting Him first, believing the gospel and prosperity in body and soul, but the Word shows that there a connection, whether we see it or not.

Nevertheless, we seek the Lord because He is good, kind, merciful, loving, and forgiving. We do not seek the Lord just in order to find prosperity and blessing, but that is the fruitful result. We seek the Lord in good times and in bad times, and God makes it all happen.

2 Chronicles 25:14-15, 20 Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them. Wherefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, which said unto him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of thine hand?…But Amaziah would not hear; for it came of God, that he might deliver them into the hand of their enemies, because they sought after the gods of Edom.

Amaziah did that which was right, but not with a perfect heart, and he turned out to be evil later. God had given him a great victory over the Edomites. But inexplicably, after the victory he returned and sacrificed to idols, to the gods of the Edomites, the people he had just defeated. Why? Perhaps because he was now at ease and didn’t feel he needed the Lord.

We are very susceptible to sin after great victories. It is then that we feel most confident, relaxed, and ready to celebrate. If, in that excitement, we let our defenses down, Satan can attack with all sorts of temptations. When you win, watch out. After the mountain peaks come the valleys.

We learn the lesson. When we are in trouble or distress we are more likely to turn to the Lord for help in time of need. But when we are at ease and comfort and things are going well, we are apt to forget God, ignore Him, and trust in self and other things. We respond to good times by remembering God’s grace, thanking Him always, and remaining faithful. Actually, we respond the same way in bad times. Thus, daily renewal of faith is vital at all times.

2 Chronicles 24:20 And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? Because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you.

After the death of Jehoiada, Joash listened the wrong advisers, and the people left God’s house and served groves and idols. The Lord sent prophets to them, but they would not listen. Then the Spirit of the Lord spoke through Zechariah. They transgressed the Commandments, especially the First. Therefore, they could not prosper. And they forsook the Lord. Therefore, the Lord has forsaken them.

Things go well in life when the one true Lord and God is believed, put first, and worshipped. Things do not go well when other gods and things are trusted in instead of God alone. Joash was the last of the good kings, but his reforms did not last long or go far enough, at least according to Jeremiah and the prophets. After Joash the kingdom did not last much more than twenty years as Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple and took the people into captivity.

We also need to respond to our problems by turning back to God daily, for indeed we daily sin much and deserve wrath and punishment. But we repent often and believe again the grace of God in Christ. We respond to that Gospel by putting God first, worshipping Him alone, and forsaking the sinful world and the sinful self.

2 Chronicles 24:10-11 And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into the chest, until they made an end. Now it came to pass, that at what time the chest was brought unto the king’s office by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, the king’s scribe and the high priest’s officer came and emptied the chest, and took it, and carried it to his place again. Thus they day by day, and gathered money in abundance.

A part of the reforms of Joash was the repair and restoration of the neglected temple. Joash had a chest made and set it up at the gate of the house of the Lord. The people were to bring their contributions and place them in the chest. The money collected was to be used in the refurbishing of the temple and its furnishings.

The people rejoiced that they were given the opportunity to give to the Lord and restore temple worship. It gives us great joy to respond to the Gospel by bringing our tithes and offerings to the Lord and His worship. “God loves a cheerful giver.” A joyful response to the needs of God’s work and worship yields a generous contribution. Joy brought “money in abundance” into the chest.

Our offerings to the Lord are occasions of rejoicing, for living without grace is more destructive to our wellbeing giving to the Lord out of our bounty. Giving and rejoicing are “day by day,” not a once and done event.

2 Chronicles 24:2 And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

Joash was mostly a good king and did what was right in the eyes of the Lord as long as Jehoiada the priest was alive. Jehoiada raised him as his father, and then he became his advisor during the early days of his reign. He helped him bring the people back to the Lord, and the land prospered under Jehoiada’s guidance and Joash’s leadership.

However, after Jehoiada died, his faithfulness diminished, and he became not so good any longer. Joash gets the credit for doing a good job, but the real honor goes to the priest for his godly advice. This is shown by the fact that he did what was right as long as Jehoiada was alive.

We learn the value of surrounding ourselves with godly and faithful teachers, preachers, mentors, parents, advisors, and counselors. We see the importance of listening to others who may used by God to guide us on the way. No one should be so proud that he thinks he can do what he wants without listening to godly advice. We respond to our duties faithfully when we humbly pay attention to what God may be saying to us through other people. We realize that I by myself do not have all the wisdom needed for living, but that God does. We pray that God would send godly advisors into our life and that we would hear them. “Thy kingdom come.”

2 Chronicles 23:16-17 And Jehoiada made a ovenant between him, and between all the people, and between the king, that they should be the Lord’s people. Then all the people went to the house of Baal, and brake it down, and brake his altars and his images in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.

Jehoiada renewed the covenant, that the Lord would be their God and they would be His people. Jehoiada the priest influenced the reforms under Joash the king. He spearheaded the reform by renewing the covenant; they promised to be the Lord’s people, that is, believe and worship Him alone. Then they put their renewed covenant faith into action by tearing down the house of Baal, his altars and idols, and even killing the priest of Baal.

This kind of faith and living is an illustration of what our Christian life is like: we go to church to strengthen our faith by hearing the Gospel and renewing the covenant God made with us in Holy Communion; then every day we repent and believe by remembering our Baptism. We seek to discover and then destroy every idol and Baal and altar in our heart and life and anything we look to for good other than the Lord alone. Repentance is a bold activity that roots out every hidden sin and any thought that keeps us away from God.

This weekly and daily response is necessary because selfish sin remains, the devil always lurks, and the world tempts. Renewing our covenant faith is vital for godly living and spiritual wellbeing. We believe in following the example of Jehoiada.

2 Chronicles 23:13 And she looked, and behold, the king stood ar his pillar at the entering in, and the princes and the trumpets by the king: and all the people of the land rejoiced, and sounded with trumpets also the singers with instruments of music, and such as taught to sing praise. Then Athaliah rent her clothes and said, Treason, Treason.

Jehoiada anointed seven-year-old Joash to be king. And all the people rejoiced loudly and sang praises, for the rightful king of the line of the Promise to David was restored to the throne. The wicked Athaliah had usurped the throne of Judah and killed all the king’s son, except Joash who was hidden. The exuberant rejoicing in the Lord and singing praises to God was the people’s response to God taking action (through the priest and his wife) to restore His promise and keep alive the seed of David.

The Enemy has always tried to thwart and hinder the will and purpose of the Lord and prevent His promise from being fulfilled. For instance, Satan tried to kill the baby Jesus through king Herod, but God hid Joseph and Mary in Egypt until Herod died. Pharaoh tried to exterminate Israel, but was Moses hidden, and saved to become a Deliverer. Our enemy forces are powerful and seek our destruction, but the power and love of God is always mightier and wiser.

Make no mistake, Satan is relentless, always prowling, but through Christ he is overcome. Therefore, we pray, “Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” God hears our prayer, and we sing, rejoice, and give thanks and praise. Our overcomer has come!