2nd Chronicles 32

We read this story already in 2nd Kings 18-20; this is just a condensed version of it. Hezekiah again was a good king who loved the Lord and wanted to do what is right before him. This chapter is a good chapter to read about how God is control even when the enemy is pressing against us and we do not know what to do.

Assyrians invade and God Saves

We see that life was going good for Hezekiah and the Lord was allowing Judah to be prosperous. The land was doing good. All of a sudden we see that king Sennacherib king of the Assyrians came to attack the land. As this would have stirred up anyone because the Assyrians were the ones that took over Israel and conquered the northern kingdom.

Instead of Hezekiah being frightened we see that he the nation by telling them to not be afraid because they outnumber the Assyrians. In verse 8 he said, “With his is an army of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us fight our battles.” And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. This reminds me of Elisha. In 2nd Kings 6 we see the Syrians wanting to go to war against Israel. It was the army of the Lord that fought that battle that day and we need to know that we do have an army of the Lord that fights our spiritual battles as well as the physical ones too.

The king of the Assyrians just kept trying to frighten the people of Judah by mocking God. He kept on saying, “God will not deliver you from us. Did he deliver any of the other nations especially your brothers in Israel?” We see that Hezekiah kept his faith in the Lord. The people trusted their king and Heavenly King as we see the outcome that God went before Judah and fought the battle. In verse 22 we see that the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria amd from the hand of all hi enemies and he provided for them on every side.”

God is so good as he provided before and after. When the battle was getting ready to go, God went before his people. We see that the people followed after God and trusted in him. God fights for us and is in the battles with us. Remember Jesus was tempted but never gave in. He endured the physical pain of the cross for us. He knows what it is like and he did it for you. You are never alone in battles, we need to seek God all the time, good or bad, rain or shine.

2nd Chronicles 30

I like reading about this king Hezekiah because he knew he had to do something about the spiritual state of not only of Judah but all of Israel.

As of now, the northern kingdom, Israel had been taken captive by the Assyrians and they were in bondage to the Assyrians. Judah is still kicking as now they have a new king, Hezekiah. He makes temple worship a daily thing, he reinstitutes the jobs of the priests and the sacrifices start going. He made sure that the priests and Levites consecrated themselves before God.

All Across the Land

We see that Hezekiah sent word all across the land of Israel and to Manasseh and Ephraim to have them start practicing passover again as it was neglected for some time. He knew that they were fallen but he reached out to them and gave them a chance to get back into that relationship with God. In verse 10 it says that many laughed them to scorn and mocked them. They were laughed at and mocked but in verse 11 it says some men from Asher came to Jerusalem. 

This reminds me of today. We can proclaim Jesus Christ from the rooftops, invite others to go to church but people will still laugh and mock. This is something that has been going on for years and will continue to go on, but we still need to go to the world (Matthew 28:19 and Acts 1:8). People will laugh but keep going. People will mock and hate but it is not you, it is against the Lord. The sad thing is that all the people who laughed and mocked missed out on something amazing.

God Responded

Hezekiah prayed to God for the people to be forgiven of their sin as many came to Jerusalem to celebrate the passover. God heard his prayer and healed the people. Not only did this thing last 7 days but they wanted it to keep going so it went another 7 days. Have you ever been in such great worship and communion with God that you do not want it to end? This was one of those things- the people did not want to leave the presence of God. When you are in the presence of God you will never want to leave.

The results was what it says in verse 26, “So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem.” This was truly a Great Awakening of the the soul. The people long after God and did not want it to end. Who or what is crowned in your life right now? You can never have this desire for the Lord if he is not crowned king over and in your life. We need to let go of what is taking that high place and let God be ordained in that place. He is worthy of all praise. I pray that his glory is shown to all of us. Keep going and getting closer. Whenever we seek after God He will respond!

2nd Chronicles 27

Sometimes I will see someone that I have not seen in a while. I will say, “Hi!” Then I will ask where have you been? Usually I get the response that they have been really busy or stuff has come up. It is true that we all get busy but honestly what they tell is just a excuse because they have stopped having fellowship and worshiping with other believers. It is so important that we go to church. A saying that Pastor Forrest would always say is, “The more you go the more you Grow.” 

In this chapter we look at the life of Jotham who was king over Judah for 16 years.

But He did not enter into the Temple

We read that Jotham who took over after Uzziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and according to all that his father Uzziah did but he did not enter into the temple of the Lord. Out of his 16 years as king he never entered into the temple of the Lord! Some commentators would suggest that this was that he did not enter into the temple place that only the Levites and priests could enter so he was being obedient. But I take it as he was not going to the temple because of his dad, Uzziah and his criticism of the temple worship. He did not want to worship God in his temple.

Jotham did good in the eyes of the Lord but he did not worship with the others in the temple. The result of this in his leadership was that the people still did corrupt worship or they still worshiped the idols on the high places of Judah. Because of his lack of importance with worshiping God only and in the temple the people felt they had the liberty to worship idols wherever and however. Jotham needed to be the good example of a faithful follower of God by worshiping him. Jotham did right still as before every battle and every thing he went to the Lord for guidance but it did not set a good example to his followers.

It is important for us to go to church on a continual basis. We need to be filled daily by us seeking the Lord through his Word and prayer but we also need to be around other Christians so we can serve the Lord and the lost together. We go to church to worship publicly and corporately as it is encouraging to be with other believers. We sit under the teaching of the pastor so we can be fed corporately as well as individually. Hebrews 10:25 tells us that we need not to forsake the meeting together and that is why we have church, to grow and serve together. We need accountability and we are members of the body as we serve, each with different gifts to accomplish the great goal of meeting the lost.

2nd Chronicles 25

There are many books and many passages of Scripture that we have at our fingertips that can guide us so we can finish strong in the Christian race. Even though there are so much help and accountability out there, people still will fall. They will not only fall but they will not end that well. 

In this chapter of 2nd Chronicles we have a great opportunity to look at the lives of these kings who God allowed to lead his people and see how they finished. We have a new king in charge, king Amaziah who was son of Joash who did right in the eyes of the Lord yet his whole heart was not in it.

Yesterday we read about Joash who started strong but when his spiritual leader died, he went off the godly path onto a wild side of life. His son maybe did a little better but was not committed.

What Happened?

We see that Amaziah began to reign over Judah when he was 25 and he did right in the eyes of the Lord yet his not with his whole heart (1-2). As we see that his reign started out good. He had some enemies come and he listened to the prophet who told him not to team up with Israel and because of that, they won the battle. The only bad thing is, he took the idols of their enemy and began worshiping to it. Instead of destroying or leaving the idols, he takes them and makes them his god. He must have had short term memory or something because it was the True God who allowed them to win over their enemies. It was the True God that warned them not to team up with Israel. 

Not only did Amaziah start worshiping idols, he became very prideful and wanted to team up with Israel. Israel warned small Judah to not be prideful and if they persist they will come against them. Amaziah did not take the warning and they went to fight each other. Israel defeated Judah, Amaziah was captured and Jerusalem was taken by storm and the gold and silver was taken from the treasury. 

Warning:

We can look at this section as steps to not fall. We may think we are walking with the Lord but if our heart is not completely devoted to God we will fall. Amaziah did not fall when the enemy came, it was just when he won. His downfall was pride as it is for many Christians. One test is when trials come (James 1:2), we can see who is wholly devoted to Jesus and those who are not, but another true test of devotion is victories. 

Romans 10:13~ Says, “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” This verse is not talking about just saying Jesus, but it is when one whole hearted turns from their sin and become a slave to Christ, they will be saved. This calling on the name of the Lord is Old Testament language of someone calling on a king with whole hearted devotion to their king. They are stating they will be obedient and follow after their king as long as they live. Many people may say they called on Jesus to be saved except they have not given all of themselves to him. There are areas that they are still holding on. There are areas that they are not willing to stop or deny themselves. Just like Amaziah who won became prideful and that was his problem we need to guard ourselves over Christian victory and see if we are whole hearted to God or not. Trials will come but also the pride so be careful and devote your whole heart to God and not half.

2nd Chronicles 24

Joash was only 7 years old when he began to reign and as a young boy he starts out pretty good. In verse 2 we read that he did was good in the eyes of the Lord. He was surrounded by a godly leader, the priest Jehoiada. The truth is he started out good but took a turn for the worst when he became older. It is sad when you read the story, think of his potential, and then a weak finish. When you read this chapter please take notes.

Joash Starts out Good

We see Joash not only doing what is good in the eyes of the Lord but he also wanted to repair the temple, the place of the Lord. He was reinstating worship of the Lord. It seems as if this king of Judah was doing good. The last one, Ahaziah, did not do so good. He did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked as king Ahab walked. We do not know how many years may have passed but we do know things changed for Joash.

In verse 2 we see somewhat of a hint to what will happen. Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of priest Jehoiada. In was not in all the days of his life but in the days of another. Jehoiada did good and lived a long time but after he died, Joash stopped serving the Lord. He actually had Jehoiada’s son, Zechariah killed. He went completely the opposite of how he lived before. In verse 17 we see that the king listened to the words of his fellow princes and abandoned the Lord and stopped following after him.

What Happened?

It is sad when I would see young men and women praise the Lord and follow after him when they are younger but somewhere down the road whether they start college or their sphere of influence, they stop and abandon following after the Lord. Many times if they leave their house, they start living for themselves and the world and we see a prodigal son or daughter.

This section shows us that people base their relationship with God because someone else may be saved. Some base it on their parents, or friends; but there it is not individual. Paul told the Philippian church to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. In Philippians 2:12-13- work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. It does not matter who in your family asked God for forgiveness and believes in Jesus for you to get to heaven. You can not grab on to them and follow them into heaven. When you die, you alone will be faced with either you know Jesus as Lord and Savior or you do not! Joash only served God as Jehoiada was alive but when he left he followed after other things. God needs to be out pillar, our rock, and our salvation not someone. When a godly person leaves it should cause us to fan the flame of our salvation (2nd Timothy 1:6) and not turn away.

2nd Chronicles 20

Today we had the opportunity to see an ultrasound of our baby girl. This time we got to see her in 4D, which is awesome because you get to see certain features that you could not in a 3D ultrasound. I had my nephew, Noah with us and it was interesting to see how focused his eyes were on the machine and on Alyssa. Nothing seemed to break him of his concentration on figuring out what in the world was going on. I could say, “Noah, Noah, and maybe even a little louder, Noah!” but no, he was not fazed. 

In this chapter we see Jehoshaphat asking God for deliverance from his enemies because they were going to be surrounding him and attacking him.

Our Eyes are on You!

When you read the prayer of Jehoshaphat you see that he knew how Great God is and how He is in control of everything and even in battle. As the king was honest with God, he said, “I do not know what to do” he knew where to turn. He said in verse 12, “But our eyes are on you.” 

What a great place to be in when you can say that your eyes are on the Lord. It is a scary thing when our eyes are not. In Matthew 14:22-33 we see that Peter walks on water, briefly. He had his eyes on the Lord when he was walking but when he saw the wind, he started to sink. Peter took his eyes off the Lord! When we take our eyes of the Lord we will sink in sin. We will wallow away in the misery of guilt. What a safe place to be in and say, “I do not know what to do, but my eyes are on Jesus.”

I am in a state where I say, “I do not know what to do.” I can try to figure out what to do as this is my nature but the answer is not in myself but in my Lord. Be strong in the Lord. He is our Rock and Fortress. 

End Result

Jehoshaphat encouraged the troops to have faith and trust the Lord as he will show himself to them. God promised them they would not even have to fight. They did not instead God allowed these different armies to fight each other. We don’t know if there was a dispute and then lead to war but all we know is that none were left. The spoil was so much that it took 3 days for them to take all the things of war for their own. God delivered Judah in a way that is miraculous but that was also a way for God to show Jehoshaphat who he is. 

When you go through tough things are your eyes on the Lord? Who do you run to? Who do you go to hear your cries? Who do you go to when it seems like life is closing in on you and you feel like you are going to be squeezed to death? We know we are going to be going through things as the Bible gives us the heads up, but we also know that we are not alone. We are to persevere under these trials and what God is refining in us is for his glory. Our strength is in an awesome, powerful God. As my nephew, Noah had his eyes so focused on what was going on the elements around him could not take away from the focus, may we lean on the Lord with all our attention and focus that nothing in this world can phase us.