relationships (2 Chronicles 21:1-20) Our Choices

(2 Chronicles 21:1-20)  Then Jehoshaphat lay down with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and his son Jehoram became king in his place. 2 He had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azaryahu, Michael, and Shephatiah. All these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel. 3 Their father gave them many gifts of silver, gold, and precious things, with fortified cities in Judah; but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.

4 Now when Jehoram had taken over the kingdom of his father and gathered courage, he killed all his brothers with the sword, and some of the leaders of Israel as well. 5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for eight years in Jerusalem. 6 He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for Ahab’s daughter was his wife; and he did evil in the sight of the Lord. 7 Yet the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David because of the covenant which He had made with David, and because He had promised to give a lamp to him and his sons forever.

8 In his days Edom broke away from the rule of Judah, and appointed a king over themselves. 9 Then Jehoram crossed over with his commanders and all his chariots with him. And he got up at night and struck and killed the Edomites who were surrounding him, and the commanders of the chariots. 10 So Edom revolted against Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time against his rule because he had abandoned the Lord God of his fathers. 11 Furthermore, he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to be unfaithful, and led Judah astray.

12 Then a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, “This is what the Lord, the God of your father David says: ‘Because you have not walked in the ways of your father Jehoshaphat and the ways of Asa king of Judah, 13 but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to be unfaithful as the house of Ahab was unfaithful, and you have also killed your brothers, your own family, who were better than you, 14 behold, the Lord is going to strike your people, your sons, your wives, and all your possessions with a great plague; 15 and you will suffer severe sickness, a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out because of the sickness, day by day.’”

16 Then the Lord stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabs who bordered the Ethiopians; 17 and they came against Judah and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions found in the king’s house together with his sons and his wives, so that no son was left to him except Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.

18 So after all this the Lord struck him in his intestines with an incurable sickness. 19 Now it came about in the course of time, at the end of two years, that his bowels came out because of his sickness, and he died in great pain. And his people did not make a funeral fire for him like the fire for his fathers. 20 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for eight years; and he departed with no one’s regret, and they buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Verses 4-7 say a lot about God's love and faithfulness.  Just as He had promised David that his throne would be everlasting (through Jesus), and even though certain descendants were VERY FAR from perfect, the Lord holds to His promises.  In the same way, as the Lord promises us that once we become a believer (through Jesus), we cannot lose our salvation, even though we will drop the ball and make mistakes, the Lord holds to His promises!  And while we cannot lose our salvation, we will suffer consequences of sinful actions since the Lord will discipline us because of His love and care for us.

We also see here how fair the Lord is.  Not only did Jehoram have a godly father who would have taught him the Lord's will, but God sent a warning to him via a prophet.  So why would we be shocked or appalled that the Lord would bring down consequences on those unbelievers who do evil things?  I have heard many people say, "If there is a God of love, why is there so much suffering?"  But then, these same people are the ones who are appalled at how God sends consequences.

My questions are: what kind of loving God would force anyone to believe in Him?  And what kind of loving God would force anyone to be completely obedient?  This is why our loving God created us with a free will.  It is our choice to reject Jesus and what He has done for us on the cross, or to believe.  And then, it is our choice to continue striving after Him in obedience, every day, in each and every step we take.

A fair question might be, why does God allow His obedient children to suffer?  Remember, that right now, we live in a fallen, broken world.  We will suffer consequences because of the actions of others.  And we will suffer just because we live in a fallen, broken world where there are natural disasters and diseases.  But, consider all of these as tests and trials, in which - when we seek the Lord's help and guidance - He will help us.  As we continually trust the Lord, we will grow in our faith, and we will experience God's peace, joy and comfort.  God is so very good!

(Romans 5:1-5) Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we also have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we celebrate in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.