2 Chronicles 17

Jehoshaphat takes over as king for his father Asa.  Scripture tells us that “God was on Jehoshaphat’s side”.  Want to take a guess as to why that is true?  Here it comes guys – pay close attention: “because he stuck to the ways of his father….he was a seeker and follower of the God of his father and was obedient to Him”.  So here is a defining question.  What will God say if someone follows you and is “stuck to” your ways?  We are told to be disciplemakers – to have people imitate us as we imitate Christ.  What will be the result if someone does imitate you?  The word actually means to mimick someone’s life completely.  I get a little scared thinking about that.  What if my son or grandson lives life like I do?  Does that please God?  Am I setting that example and standard the way Asa did for Jehoshaphat?  Sobering thought but very real responsibility.  I have seen over and over in my own life that many people do imitate us whether we like it or not, and far too often they start with the bad things in our lives.  Kids seem to always pick up the aggravating behaviors before ever catching any good stuff.  Isn’t that how it was with your kids?  The real defining statement about Jehoshaphat is this: he was “single-minded in following GOD”.  What a way to be described.  I long to hear those words.  Are you single minded in how you live for God?  Is He the ONE thing that guides and controls your actions?  Are you living for an audience of ONE?  I’d be lying if I said that was true in my life.  There are many things that cry out for my attention and influence how I use my time and ultimately my life.  I wish it were true that I was single minded for God, but the world manages to get more than it’s fair share of focus from me, especially on some days when the chaos screams loudly.  But this is our goal guys – to become so focused on the Father that we are living life single mindedly for Him.  Jehoshaphat does one other very wise thing here.  He sends out his best and most learned men to “teach the people” and educate them about God.  He doesn’t hope they will catch it.  He makes sure they are taught the truth about the Father.  It worked and people developed a healthy “fear of God” and Jehoshaphat has a great time leading his kingdom.  God blessed him indeed because he was singleminded and faithful.

2 Chronicles 16

 King Asa comes under attack from Baasha, king of Israel.  Asa immediately takes action and goes to Ben-Hadad who was king of Aram and puts a treaty in place – paying silver and gold to him.  It works and the king of Aram makes war against Baasha and gets him to retreat and leave Asa and his kingdom alone.  Sounds pretty bright doesn’t it?  Not so much in God’s eyes.  Check out what scripture tells us: “Because you went for help to the king of Aram and didn’t ask God for help, you’ve lost a victory”.  Asa dealt with his problem on his own.  He sought an answer and made it happen.  Seems like a good way to handle things on the surface.  But God was not pleased.  God expected Asa to come to Him just like he had the first time they were in trouble and sorely outnumbered.  God is not nearly as enamored by our ability to handle things on our own as we are.  In fact – check this out – it really says it clearly and we need to pay attention: “GOD is always on the alert, constantly on the lookout for people who are totally committed to him”.  God is looking for a few good men who are sold out to HIM, not brilliant in handling issues on their own.  Walking with God is not about how smart we are, it is about how deep our dependence is on the Father.  We need to go to Him FIRST when we have struggles and issues on our plate.  We need to see Him when we are up against a tough situation.  Asa pays for his being a self made man with his life.  In the 39^th year of his rule, he gets a bad foot infection.  “He didn’t as God for help…Asa died”.  Men – we must learn to seek God and pray.  Too often we come to God after we fail to make things happen on our own, or at least that is how I am.  I try and deal with things my way and if I don’t succeed, then I am quick to go to the Father for His help.  But the message here is that we must go to God first.  That should be our starting point, not our safety net.  Are you “totally committed to Him?”  Have you sold out for the Kingdom?  Is that where you immediately go when up against a difficult situation?   Too often it isn’t for me.  Lord help me keep you in your rightful place as I deal with the struggles and challenges of life.  Help me seek you and be sold out to your Kingdom.

2 Chronicles 15

Asa gets word from Azariah the prophet that changes his course: “GOD will stick with you as long as you stick with him”.  Do you see a theme from scripture.  More often than not, we need to do something to get God’s response.  Asa takes the direction to heart and gets after it.  Scripture says he:

1.      Cleaned out

2.      Spruced up

3.      Called an assembly

4.      Bound them with a covenant to seek God

5.      Shouted out the promise

6.      Killed those who refused to seek God

7.      Removed his mother Queen Maacah from her throne

And what happened?  Scripture tells us “He showed up”.  God saw that Asa’s “heart was in the right place, loyal to God” and God took action and blessed him.  There “wasn’t a trace of war up to the 35^th year of Asa’s reign”.  Guys – we have to be willing to take action – no arm chair Christianity – get in the game and get after it.  God responds to our obedience.  If I sound like a broken record – blame the One who wrote the book.  I never realized just how many times He talks about obedience and action.  We have to get with His program if we want to see His power.  Are you doing that?  It isn’t too late.  Today is the day to get started.

2 Chronicles 14

 Asa takes over as king after Abijah dies.  There has been a couple generations of godless kings and now a new sheriff is in town.  Scripture tells us he was a “good king”.  What will it take for you to be remembered as a good man?  Have you thought about that.  Will your headstone say that when you die.  Will you be thought of as one who was an asset to the world you lived in?  We can get a clue from scripture as to what Asa did that defined “good” from God’s perspective.  It isn’t rocket science:

1.      “center their lives in God”

2.      “do what the law said”

3.      “follow the commandments”

4.      “get rid of the pagan shrines and altars”

5.      “build up a good defense”

 

Asa focuses his kingdom  back on God and leads the people to obedience.  He sets the example from the top – to walk with God in a way that brings Him honor and glory though doing what He has told them to do.  Can you imagine what would be said of you if you did the same?  You would stand out like a sore thumb.  Decisions would be made through the lens of God’s will every time.  Action would be taken to line up with all that God has commanded us to be and do.  Our homes and businesses would be free from distraction and things that cause us to miss what God has for us.  We would know the truth and have studied it and memorized it so we were strong in dealing with the attack of the enemy.  We would be in deep fellowship with brothers in the Lord ready to do battle together when under attack.  Sounds like the early church to me.  They lived together and taught their children well by living in obedience.  I long to hear God tell me “well done good and faithful servant” when I meet him at heaven’s gate someday.  That won’t happen by accident.  It will require a very focused and intentional use of the 168 hours he has entrusted to me each week.  What will be said about you?  What is said about you today?  Are you a man after God’s heart?  Look in the mirror and ask that question.  I want all of us to be “good men” who are bound together by a commitment to do battle together with the enemy.  But we have to get ready for that – to prepare our hearts and lives through focus, obedience, depth and fellowship.  See you on the battlefield!

2 Chronicles 13

The kingdom seems to  be split after Rehoboam dies.  Jeroboam rises up as does Abijah and they are ready to do battle.  400,000 soldiers on Abijah’s side – 800,000 for Jeroboam.  Taking odds?  Abijah delivers the message – “we’re sticking with God – we have not traded him for the latest model – keeping tried and true priests”.  Abijah is not falling for the current way to be spiritual – the man made idols and focus on man rather than God which defined Jeroboam’s kingdom.  Abijah “continues doing what God told us to in the way He told us to do it”.  That is OBEDIENCE guys.   Doing what God has told us to do in spite of what the common manmade theology might be for the day.  Jeroboam tries to attack from behind while Abijah is working to make peace.  “While he was speaking – God is on our side; he’s our leader” – Jeroboams forces attack.  God shows His face and destroys 500,000 of the soldiers of Jeroboam.  They are routed even though they attack with twice the troops and from both sides.  How can that happen?  Scripture tells us “the army of Judah won hands down  because they trusted God”.  We can learn a couple things from this story.  Stay true to what God has told us to do – OBEY.  Secondly – when the army of Abijah saw the pending unexpected attack – “they prayed desperately to God”.  Scripture says they won “because they trusted God”.  Trust and Obey – there is no other way!

2 Chronicles 12

Rehoboam moves away from God.  Scripture tells us he “virtually abandoned God” and the wrath of God come against his kingdom.  They are invaded and captured by Shishak almost to the point of destruction.  This is a mere 5 years after he takes over.  So here we have a guy whose father and grandfather were very blessed by God, and within an extremely short period of time they just fall off the bus.  He finally gets it and becomes “humbly repentant”.  Sort of makes me wonder why it took so long as his kingdom was being destroyed right before his eyes, but once he repented God came back into the picture through Shemaiah and told them He would “give them a break” as it says in the Message version.  God loves a repentant heart.  Scripture tells us His “anger was blunted” and He does not allow the enemy to totally destroy Jerusalem, although they capture and loot it.  The key to this chapter is in verse 14 – the analysis of Rehoboam’s life:  “GOD was not important to him; his heart neither cared for nor sought after GOD”.  What a legacy.  This guy had the upbringing that should have made him more than care about God and the relationship with Him.  But he doesn’t.  He turns his heart away from God.  What will be said about you when your life ends?  Will it be that God was always important to you?  Will it be that you were a man after God’s heart?  I pray that will be true for my life.  That is the only way we should live guys.  We have to stay focused on Him.

2 Chronicles 11

 Reheboam decides it is time to make war and take back the parts of the kingdom which had been lost.  He pulls together 180,000 soldiers and is ready to go to war but God sends His word to Shemaiah who tells Reheboam not to do it but rather send the men back home.  And he does – he listens and “they did what God said and went home”.  Can you imagine the scene?  All these guys ready to do battle and then told to just turn around and go home.  Reheboam takes a different tact now and fortifies his cities.  He builds them up and puts arms in each and places his sons “in all the fortress cities” to keep his defense system ready and up to speed.  Reheboam has 18 wives and 60 concubines so he was a busy boy.  How about that for a challenge – keeping 78 women happy along with his 88 kids.  Whoa – what a job to wake up to every morning.  He does screw up by dismissing all the priests and building his own “worship centers with goat and calf demon-idols”.  Poor decision there but many of the people remained “loyal to the ways of David and Solomon” for a while anyway.  The legacy of David and Solomon lasted for a few years but without being reinforced and taught, it eventually goes away.  That is the problem with legacy.  Unless people persist to carry it forward, the long term impact can end pretty quickly.  Part of creating that legacy for the future is to make sure the message is passed down.  Scripture tells us to teach our children well.  We need to not only train them in the truth, but make sure they understand the responsibility to train their own children the same way.  It doesn’t happen by osmosic like most of us would like.  It is hard work to leave a legacy.  It requires significant investment into others.  But oh how great it is to see great legacies in action.  What will your legacy look like?  What are you doing to make sure it reflects the God you serve?  Are you making the right investments in others so it continues?  I’m not suggesting you have 88 kids to carry it forward.  I am saying it will not be an accident and required an intentional and strategic investment into those who will be the next generation.  Don’t miss the chance – teach them now and teach them well.

2 Chronicles 10

Rehoboam become the king after Solomon dies.  The people came to him at the time of his inauguration as king and said: “Your father made life hard for us–worked our fingers to the bone. Give us a break; lighten up on us and we’ll willingly serve you”.  Solomon had been a very tough task master.  He had worked the people hard to achieve all the building that needed to be done.  They are asking for a break.  Rehoboam goes to the elder advisors who had served his father to get their counsel.  They tell him to back off a bit.  He then goes to a bunch of his friends to get counsel and it is exactly the opposite.  They tell Rehoboam to give it to the people like this: “If you think life under my father was hard, you haven’t seen the half of it. My father thrashed you with whips; I’ll beat you bloody with chains”!  Two very different pieces of advice.  Reheboam takes the wrong one and tells the people it will be much harder than they have ever experienced.  Scripture says he “turned a deaf ear to the people”.  The result was pretty significant – many left the kingdom and only those who lived in the towns of Judah remained.  His kingdom shrank much that day.  Beside that – the first time the leader of his workforce tried to make things happen he was stoned and Jeroboam had to run for his life to Jerusalem.  He didn’t listen to the people but chose to listen to unwise counsel.  Had he been wise and listened to the elders counsel things would have been very different.  Power and pride cause him to start the spiral to disaster.  We need to surround ourselves with the right people and we need to listen carefully to those we serve and lead.  Power corrupts, absolute power destroys if we are not tuned in to those we lead.

2 Chronicles 9

 2 Chronicles 9 gives us a couple insights into Solomon’s life after all the hard work of the Temple and other building projects are complete.  The queen of Sheba hears of him and decides to make the trip to meet him in person.  The interaction goes like this according to scripture: “She emptied her heart to Solomon, talking over everything she cared about. And Solomon answered everything she put to him–nothing stumped him”.  The queen comes to test the waters – to see if he is really all that she has heard about and finds that he is.  Her experience in his kingdom “took her breath away” as she was treated royally by his servants and experienced the bounty of his kingdom.  The queen’s response goes like this: “I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it for myself; they didn’t exaggerate! Such wisdom and elegance–far more than I could ever have imagined”.  Is that how people respond to being around you?  Are they blown away by how you treat them and the wisdom you share?  Do they feel cared for and treated well?  I think we all need to take a look at our interactions with people.  How we treat them has a huge impact on how they view God through us.  Solomon certainly sets a high bar for us to work toward.  Yes he has a distinct advantage being the wisest guy ever to live, but the principles here apply to all of us.  Learn to listen, take an interest in those we are blessed to interact with, share what we have freely with others, care for them.  Not rocket science – just good relationships.  Scripture tells us there was a steady stream of rulers that came to see Solomon and experience life with him.  He was richer and wiser than any other living person.  He was the Warren Buffet of the day – but he kept his eyes focused on God and continually upgraded the Temple and shared the wisdom God gave him.  He ruled for 40 years and put Israel back as a strong and mighty nation again.  God blessed him much.  He wants to do the same for you and me!

2 Chronicles 8

Solomon has been a busy guy.  In 2 Chronicles 8 the scripture lists his accomplishments.  Check this list out:

1.      Built the temple

2.      Rebuilt cities

3.      Marched and conquered

4.      Fortified cities

5.      Built new fortress cities

6.      Built store cities

7.      Built chariot cities for his horses

He was one busy builder.  He used the people from all over his kingdom as slaves to accomplish these great tasks and they were managed by Israelites that served as his project managers.  Quite a list of building projects, and he finished them all.  That is impressive, but this chapter also points out that Solomon did not lose focus on God and who was the power behind his kingdom.  Scripture also tells us that he:

1.      Offered burn offerings

2.      Kept the regular schedule of worship

3.      Followed the practice of his father to have groups of priest leading worship

4.      Assigned security guards to protect each gate

In fact it says Solomon directed his people to make sure things were “kept right down to the fine print–no innovations”.  He wasn’t going to be creative and miss what God wanted him to be doing.  He was walking in complete obedience and paying close attention to what God instructed.  Nothing outside the lines here – just do what God had instructed him through his father David.  Good he paid attention!