2 Chronicles 28 – We All Have a Little Something in Us

Most of us have been taught that if we look hard enough, we will find some good in everyone.

But there’s a person in 2 Chronicles chapter 28 who challenges that. There, King Ahaz is portrayed as someone totally devoid of righteousness.

  • He followed after the false gods of his enemies and burned his own children as a sacrifice to these false gods. (2 Chron. 28:3)
  • He turned to his own resourcefulness and to pagan nations rather than to God.
  • He closed the temple of God and broke all its artifacts hoping to win the favor of pagan gods.
  • He wasn’t even deemed worthy to be buried with the other kings of Judah.
  • His enemies had more compassion and righteousness than Ahaz (2 Chron. 28:6-15)

No matter how hard you look, you cannot find anything good about king Ahaz.

He became this way through a series of refusals.

  • Refusals to hear God.
  • Refusals to humble himself before God.
  • Refusals to obey God.

God brought repeated defeat and hardship on Ahaz, hoping to get his attention and turn him around. But Ahaz became more deaf and disobedient to God. (2 Chron. 28:22)

Ahaz is so bad it’s hard to see what his story has to do with us. But think about it:

  • Have you ever responded to hardship by turning to your own resourcefulness, or looking to someone else for help, rather than God?
  • Though you’ve never sacrificed your children in fire, have you ever pursed your own desires to the point where you sacrificed your children?
  • Have you ever been tempted to turn away from God when it seemed that He was thwarting you more than helping you?

We might not be all bad, but we all have a little Ahaz in us. (Rom. 3:23) And every decision and attitude we entertain will either shape us more like Ahaz or more like God.

2 Chronicles 21 – Why Would Someone Do That?!

There are stories that make you say, “Why would someone do that?”

On October 2, 2006, a man walked into a one-room Amish school house in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and killed five little girls before killing himself. He had a wife, kids, and a good job. He was unprovoked and he even knew some of the girls’ families. It makes you say, “Why would someone do that?”

This is my response when I read how Jehoram turned from God, in 2 Chronicles chapter 21. Jehoram’s grandfather was a beloved king who followed after God and led his people to do the same. Because of this, God blessed and protected the nation, causing them to be feared and honored among the other nations. Then, Jehoram’s father took over and (with two exceptions) also followed God and enjoyed God’s blessing and protection.

But when Jehoram takes over, he completely turns away for God. Why would someone do that?!

Perhaps it was because his father aligned himself with the wicked king Ahaziah. But that alliance cost Jehoram’s father greatly. So before he died and left Jehoram as king, Jehoram’s father would surely have cautioned Jehoram about turning away form God. Maybe Jehoram’s was rebellious and self-serving by nature. We just don’t know.

But we do know what happens when a person willfully turns away from God. They eventually suffer and lose control. They don’t achieve their desires; they achieve their nightmares. 2 Chronicles 21:20 tells us that when Jehoram died, no one was sad or sorry. I cannot think of a sadder epitaph.

We may not know why a person chooses a different path than the one God desires, but we know what the outcome will eventually be. So chose your path wisely.

2 Kings 8-10 – How Could a Loving God Allow This?

Every day, we hear of “random” acts of violence, people who have everything making “senseless” decisions that cost them everything, and people who “supposedly” represent a Holy God but do unholy things. You can’t help but wonder, “How could a loving God allow this?

Well, you get the same feeling reading 2 Kings chapters 8-10. So much blood-shed and murder. And it all seems to be directed by God Himself! On top of that, Jehu commands and carries out the killings, because God has communicated to him that this is the consequence of not obeying the Lord. Yet, Jehu doesn’t obey God completely either! (2 Kings 10:31) It’s like an oncologist who has just watched his patient die of lung cancer, yet goes outside for a cigarette!

So, to understand these chapters, let’s stick with the oncology theme for a minute. Think of these chapters in terms of cancer treatment. If cancer in a body is not stopped, the malignancy mutates and grows at an alarming rate. So a physician sets out to use chemotherapy and radiation to kill the cancerous cells and prevent them from completely taking over. But even though it’s only the cancer that’s targeted, many other cells (and the body itself) suffer from this treatment.

Though it doesn’t make us feel any better about it, this what is happening in 2 Kings 8-10.

We all suffer from the cancerous, addicting effects of a destructive sinful nature, yet we become indignant that God would allow bad things to happen to us. We look with smug satisfaction when others “get what they deserve,” but get upset with God if we should get what we deserve…even though God has been more gracious to us than we deserve.

Yes, 2 Kings 8-10 are ugly chapters. They point to our ugly condition and tendencies. But despite what God may allow, He is still seeking our best…even in our worst.

1 Kings 21-22 – You Can’t Get Away With It!

Some people just don’t get it. Do you know the type? These people don’t listen, even though the message is clear and strong. They keep walking down the wrong paths, even though the warning signs are loud and clear. It’s as if they think they’re exempt from the consequences, even though the consequences are nipping at their heels. They are what the Bible calls…fools.

This is the picture we get of King Ahab, in 1 Kings chapters 21-22. Ahab is self-focused. Despite the warnings and consequences, he wants what he wants. He only wants to hear what he wants to hear and tries to squelch the truth he doesn’t want to hear. (See 1 Kings chapter 22.)

But God’s truth and God’s consequences are sure, no matter what we do to ignore them or avoid them. We can’t escape God. That’s why an arrow, shot randomly into a crowd of soldiers, finds the disguised Ahab and strikes him in the very small space between the joints in his armor.

Lucky shot? I think not. Numbers 32:23 tells us that we can be sure that our sin will find us out. Ignoring our rebellion and denying our sin will not make it go away. And it will not make God go away!

Don’t be like king Ahab; doing what you want, when you want, and how you want. Listen to God, follow His instruction, count the cost of discipleship, and avoid the consequences of serving yourself.

“Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.” (Galatians 6:7 NLT)

1 Kings 20 – Disregarding God

Have you ever done something good for someone, only to have that person disregard you? When that happens, your response is often, “How could they do that, after all I’ve done for them?!”

This is the theme and feel of 1 Kings chapter 20. Twice, God rescues King Ahab of Israel by giving him victory over King Ben-Hadad of Aram…despite overwhelming odds. There should have been no way King Ahab could have survived, let alone been victorious in these two battles. But God intervened and gave Ahab the victory so that he would know the Lord was really God. (1 Kings 20:13, 28)

Yet, after all God did for Ahab, Ahab disregards God by disobeying His command to kill King Ben-Hadad. And Ahab disobeyed, not because of humanitarian reasons, but because of his greed. (1 Kings 20:34)

Then, after being confronted with what he’s done and the consequences of his disobedience, Ahab cops an attitude. (1 Kings 20:43)

You read this story and think, “What’s up with this guy?! What a jerk!” But, before you judge Ahab too harshly, you need to ask yourself, “Have I ever been guilty of the same thing? Have I received help, blessing, and rescue from God, only to later disregard Him? Have I failed to recognize my indebtedness to Him?”

As He was with Ahab, God has been gracious toward us…daily. We’re not even aware of all the times He’s rescued us, protected us, and provided for us throughout life. The honor and obedience He deserves from us should be a small token of our gratitude.

Today, take time to recognize God’s goodness toward you and take some time to respond to Him in gratitude and obedience.

1 Kings 12 – Are You A Repeat Offender?

Have you ever watched someone do something foolish and said to yourself, “I’m never going to do anything like that,” and then wound up doing something very similar later on? If so, you have a picture of what’s going on in 1 Kings chapter 12.

There, Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, chooses to reject wise counsel and instead do what he wants to do. Because of this tragic and rebellious sin, Rehoboam loses over 90% of his kingdom to Jeroboam.

Now you would think that Jeroboam, having watched Rehoboam lose most of his kingdom through selfish rebellion, would have learned to do things differently. But after God gives most of the kingdom to him, and after God has told him that He will do for him what He did for David, Jeroboam turns away from the God who has given him the kingdom and sets up idols and false gods for worship. He’s a repeat offender.

It makes you want to say, “How can you be so foolish?”

But before we start pointing fingers, how many times have we watched someone suffer the consequences of willful disobedience only to turned around and ignored our own need to obey.

It’s part of our post-fall wiring (Romans 3:23) and none of us are exempt. This is why we need a Savior to pay for our sin and give us a new life that can combat the old life.

Rehoboam. Jeroboam. They all sound alike. They all act alike, and they are all prone to wander off the path of God…just as we are. The question is not, “Will you ever do something like that?” The question is, “When you do, will you turn back to the God of your blessings or continue toward your downfall.

Are you a repeat offender?

1 Kings 11 – A Little Disobedience

There’s no such thing as a little disobedience.

It’s not unusual to find news stories of well-known and successful investors being arrested for illegally cheating their clients out of millions of dollars. Thousands of people have lost their retirement and life savings due to illegal investment schemes by unscrupulous investors.

These investors were successful without their illegal schemes. Even in a down-turned economy, they fared better than most. Yet their desire for even more led to their downfall.

This was the case with Solomon in 1 Kings chapter 11. Solomon had wealth, wisdom, power, and luxury. He was famous and respected throughout the known world. But he wanted even more.

Solomon had a weakness for women. And though he could have had all the Israelite women he wanted for his wives, Solomon wanted foreign women. He wanted women who believed in, and followed after, other gods. God had specifically and clearly told Solomon that such women were “out of bounds.” But Solomon, though he had everything, wanted more and willfully disobeyed God’s instructions. (1 Kings 11:2, 9-10)

This started Solomon and the whole nation of Israel on a downward slide.

It’s so easy for our lives to be like Solomon’s. God has given us so much, yet we still want more. We clearly understand how God wants us to live, yet we willfully do what we want to…often with similar results to Solomon’s.

We consider an act of disobedience such a small thing, then we suffer big consequences. And we find ourselves saying, “I don’t know what happened. Things were going so well!”

God has given us Solomon’s story to warn and teach us. The God who blesses us so richly calls us to follow Him completely. (1 Kings 11:6) There’s no such thing as a little disobedience!