April 27, 2015

THANK YOU FOR BEING OBEDIENT. HAVE SOME ICE CREAM!

2 Chronicles 26–28

Tate Stewart
Monday's Devo

April 27, 2015

Monday's Devo

April 27, 2015

Central Truth

Faithful obedience is an essential part of what leads to abundant life and is pleasing in the eyes of Christ. Living obediently will yield a clearer understanding of God's will for our lives.

Key Verse | 2 Chronicles 27:6

King Jotham became powerful because he was careful to live in obedience to the Lord his God. (2 Chronicles 27:6)

2 Chronicles 26–28

Uzziah Reigns in Judah

And all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. He built Eloth and restored it to Judah, after the king slept with his fathers. Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper.

He went out and made war against the Philistines and broke through the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod, and he built cities in the territory of Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines. God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabians who lived in Gurbaal and against the Meunites. The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread even to the border of Egypt, for he became very strong. Moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate and at the Valley Gate and at the Angle, and fortified them. 10 And he built towers in the wilderness and cut out many cisterns, for he had large herds, both in the Shephelah and in the plain, and he had farmers and vinedressers in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil. 11 Moreover, Uzziah had an army of soldiers, fit for war, in divisions according to the numbers in the muster made by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah the officer, under the direction of Hananiah, one of the king's commanders. 12 The whole number of the heads of fathers' houses of mighty men of valor was 2,600. 13 Under their command was an army of 307,500, who could make war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. 14 And Uzziah prepared for all the army shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and stones for slinging. 15 In Jerusalem he made machines, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and great stones. And his fame spread far, for he was marvelously helped, till he was strong.

Uzziah's Pride and Punishment

16 But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the LORD his God and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 But Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty priests of the LORD who were men of valor, 18 and they withstood King Uzziah and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the LORD God.” 19 Then Uzziah was angry. Now he had a censer in his hand to burn incense, and when he became angry with the priests, leprosy 1 26:19 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13 broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priests in the house of the LORD, by the altar of incense. 20 And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead! And they rushed him out quickly, and he himself hurried to go out, because the LORD had struck him. 21 And King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death, and being a leper lived in a separate house, for he was excluded from the house of the LORD. And Jotham his son was over the king's household, governing the people of the land.

22 Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last, Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz wrote. 23 And Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the burial field that belonged to the kings, for they said, “He is a leper.” And Jotham his son reigned in his place.

Jotham Reigns in Judah

Jotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok. And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD according to all that his father Uzziah had done, except he did not enter the temple of the LORD. But the people still followed corrupt practices. He built the upper gate of the house of the LORD and did much building on the wall of Ophel. Moreover, he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and forts and towers on the wooded hills. He fought with the king of the Ammonites and prevailed against them. And the Ammonites gave him that year 100 talents 2 27:5 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms of silver, and 10,000 cors 3 27:5 A cor was about 6 bushels or 220 liters of wheat and 10,000 of barley. The Ammonites paid him the same amount in the second and the third years. So Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before the LORD his God. Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars and his ways, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, and Ahaz his son reigned in his place.

Ahaz Reigns in Judah

Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done, but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even made metal images for the Baals, and he made offerings in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom and burned his sons as an offering, 4 28:3 Hebrew made his sons pass through the fire according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. And he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.

Judah Defeated

Therefore the LORD his God gave him into the hand of the king of Syria, who defeated him and took captive a great number of his people and brought them to Damascus. He was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with great force. For Pekah the son of Remaliah killed 120,000 from Judah in one day, all of them men of valor, because they had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers. And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king's son and Azrikam the commander of the palace and Elkanah the next in authority to the king.

The men of Israel took captive 200,000 of their relatives, women, sons, and daughters. They also took much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria. But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded, and he went out to meet the army that came to Samaria and said to them, “Behold, because the LORD, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, he gave them into your hand, but you have killed them in a rage that has reached up to heaven. 10 And now you intend to subjugate the people of Judah and Jerusalem, male and female, as your slaves. Have you not sins of your own against the LORD your God? 11 Now hear me, and send back the captives from your relatives whom you have taken, for the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you.”

12 Certain chiefs also of the men of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against those who were coming from the war 13 and said to them, “You shall not bring the captives in here, for you propose to bring upon us guilt against the LORD in addition to our present sins and guilt. For our guilt is already great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.” 14 So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the assembly. 15 And the men who have been mentioned by name rose and took the captives, and with the spoil they clothed all who were naked among them. They clothed them, gave them sandals, provided them with food and drink, and anointed them, and carrying all the feeble among them on donkeys, they brought them to their kinsfolk at Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria.

16 At that time King Ahaz sent to the king 5 28:16 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate (compare 2 Kings 16:7); Hebrew kings of Assyria for help. 17 For the Edomites had again invaded and defeated Judah and carried away captives. 18 And the Philistines had made raids on the cities in the Shephelah and the Negeb of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages. And they settled there. 19 For the LORD humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had made Judah act sinfully 6 28:19 Or wildly and had been very unfaithful to the LORD. 20 So Tiglath-pileser 7 28:20 Hebrew Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him. 21 For Ahaz took a portion from the house of the LORD and the house of the king and of the princes, and gave tribute to the king of Assyria, but it did not help him.

Ahaz's Idolatry

22 In the time of his distress he became yet more faithless to the LORD—this same King Ahaz. 23 For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him and said, “Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.” But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel. 24 And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and he shut up the doors of the house of the LORD, and he made himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. 25 In every city of Judah he made high places to make offerings to other gods, provoking to anger the LORD, the God of his fathers. 26 Now the rest of his acts and all his ways, from first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 27 And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, for they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.

Footnotes

[1] 26:19 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13
[2] 27:5 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
[3] 27:5 A cor was about 6 bushels or 220 liters
[4] 28:3 Hebrew made his sons pass through the fire
[5] 28:16 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate (compare 2 Kings 16:7); Hebrew kings
[6] 28:19 Or wildly
[7] 28:20 Hebrew Tilgath-pilneser

Dive Deeper | 2 Chronicles 26–28

How many of your childhood experiences stand out to you because they ended with you being in trouble? In those times when you had to sit in time out, were grounded over the weekend, or (as was often my case) had your backside imprinted with a wooden spoon, I'm willing to bet that disobedience often played a large part in your getting in trouble. On the other hand, being obedient to your parents may have led to rewards, such as a big bowl of ice cream! (I didn't eat much ice cream as a kid.)

Throughout these chapters, we're given three examples of varying degrees of obedient, faithful service to God. The kings Uzziah and Ahaz fell into sin and began to rule Jerusalem without practicing obedience to God, and neither of these leaders ended their reigns in a very positive context (2 Chronicles 26:5, 16, 21; 28:5). Luckily, we are also presented with the story of King Jotham, who ruled Judah out of obedience and in ways that were pleasing to the Lord (27:6).

The story of Jotham serves as a great reminder of the abundant life that is found in obedience to God. While it is through the forgiving grace of Christ—not our works—that we are saved, God calls us to practice obedience by regularly reading His Word, avoiding behaviors and situations that may tempt us to sin, and seeking opportunities to share our stories of grace with others (1 Peter 1:13-15).

Jotham's obedience made him distinct from the people that he led (2 Chronicles 27:2), just as our obedience to Christ will often contradict the values of this world. Thankfully, we're called to be in the world but not of it, and as a result, we gain a deeper understanding of God's will for us (Romans 12:2). Remember that obedience to God isn't necessarily rewarded with earthly prosperity. However, as Romans 12 assures us, the wisdom to comprehend His will for us is promised. Consider this clarity as a scoop of spiritual ice cream from your Heavenly Father in response to your obedience to Him!

Discussion Questions

1. What are some ways in which you can be more obedient to God? What could that look like in your daily life?

2. In what ways can your obedience to God encourage others to be more like Christ? In what ways can your disobedience tempt others to move towards sin?

3. Does God promise to reward us with success if we are obedient to Him? What kinds of blessings might God grant us as we act in obedience?

4. Consider any friends or family you may have who are acting disobediently to Christ. How can you lovingly encourage a fellow believer to live more obediently?