Prophets And Kings, Day 102. Samaria Resettled By Foreigners

Prophets And Kings

Day 102

Samaria Resettled By Foreigners

INTRODUCTION BY BELINDA

The king of Assyria haves conquered Israel and taken her people away. Now him resettles their capitol city of Samaria by sending in foreign people to occupy it.

2 KINGS 17:24-41

"The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Kuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim and settled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites. They took over Samaria and lived in its towns." (2 Kings 17:24) The king wants Samaria populated or else it will fall into ruins. Also, leaving it empty might encourage people not subject to Assyria to move in and occupy it. The king wants Samaria settled by people who will be loyal subjects to him.

"When they first lived there, they did not worship the Lord; so He sent lions among them and they killed some of the people. It was reported to the king of Assyria: 'The people you deported and resettled in the towns of Samaria do not know what the god of that country requires. He has sent lions among them, which are killing them off, because the people do not know what he requires.'" (2 Kings 17:25-26) Some scholars think the roving bands of lions were attracted to the battle scenes in and around the city. They think they lions were drawn to the smell of blood and decomposition. It must have been a bloody, hard-fought battle because it took Assyria three years of siege before they were able to breach the walls of the city and no doubt the soldiers of Samaria fought fiercely and to the death while protecting the last remaining piece of their territory. 

The messengers sent to the king believe in many gods because they are from a pagan nation. They know Israel had a God but, sadly, there isn't enough evidence in Israel to tell the settlers much about Him. This reminds me of a question I once heard that went something like this, "If you were accused of being a Christian, how much evidence would there be to convict you?" At this time in Israel's history, there is not much evidence to convict them of worshiping the living God. The settlers are confronted with many confusing artifacts. On the one hand, there seems to be a God credited with rescuing Israel from slavery in Egypt, but on the other hand there are two golden calves that Jeroboam I set up to represent this one God. There are also many idols throughout the land, along with pagan altars and Asherah poles. No wonder the settlers had no clue who the God of Israel was or what He required of mankind.

"Then the king of Assyria gave this order: 'Have one of the priests you took captive from Samaria go back to live there and teach the people what the god of the land requires.' So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria came to live in Bethel and taught them how to worship the Lord." (2 Kings 17:27-28) The priest settles in Bethel, the place named "House Of God" by the patriarch Jacob. 

Unfortunately, the advice of a priest is only as good as the faith of a priest. The people of Samaria have corrupted the worship of the living God by bowing down to golden calves in place of going to the temple at Jerusalem to worship. When the priest comes to teach the people the worship of the God of Israel, he is teaching them the practices of Jeroboam I, not the true law of the Lord. This results in little to no genuine conversions among the foreigners, who simply add the God of Israel to their own gods. "Nevertheless, each national group made its own gods in the several towns where they settled, and set them up in the shrines the people of Samaria had made at the high places. The people of Babylon made Sukkoth Benoth, those from Kuthah made Nergal, and those from Hamath made Ashima; the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire as sacrifices to Adrammelek and Anammelek, the gods of Sepharvaim. They worshiped the Lord, but they also appointed all sorts of their own people to officiate for them as priests in the shrines at the high places. They worshiped the Lord, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought." (2 Kings 17:29-33) 

What could have been a marvelous opportunity to come to knowledge of the living God results in God being treated as if He is equal to idols. He is given no more importance than any other god. If the priest had returned to the faith of his forefathers and had taught the true word of God and the true worship of God, all these settlers might have been converted. Imagine what a revival could have broken out if these people had the opportunity to know the one true God! Instead the priest teaches them the practices Israel had fallen into, the practices that led to her downfall, and to these foreigners the God of Israel looks like any other god. They are willing to show Him some respect only because they want to dwell safely in the land, but they are not willing to forsake the gods they grew up with.

At the time the author penned today's passage, all these idolatrous practices were still going on. "To this day they persist in their former practices. They neither worship the Lord nor adhere to the decrees and regulations, the laws and commands that the Lord gave to the descendants of Jacob, whom He named Israel. When the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites, He commanded them: 'Do not worship any other gods or bow down to them, serve them or sacrifice to them. But the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt with mighty power and outstretched arm, is the one you must worship. To Him you shall bow down and to Him offer sacrifices. You must always be careful to keep the decrees and regulations, the laws and commands He wrote for you. Do not worship other gods. Do not forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not worship other gods. Rather, worship the Lord your God; it is He who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.'" (2 Kings 17:34-39) 

Israel is the only nation that God ever made a covenant with, the only nation God spoke to with His own voice from the mountaintop, offering them eternal status before Him as a nation, offering them eternal occupation of the land if they would only remain faithful to Him. They agreed to the terms of the covenant and now have broken it. God has kept His part of the bargain but they have not kept theirs. Because the people forsook Him in favor of other gods, the Lord is not bound to keep them in the promised land. They have broken the condition He set forth for dwelling safely in the territory. "They would not listen, however, but persisted in their former practices. Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their ancestors did." (2 Kings 17:40-41) Because their souls longed for foreign gods, to a foreign nation the Lord has exiled them so they may learn that He alone is God. The God who brought them out of Egypt is the only God who can rescue them from the Assyrians. They will relearn who He is, not sitting safely in a land flowing with milk and honey, but in the furnace of affliction. They will cry out to Him from Assyria just as they once cried out to Him from Egypt. Living among the useless idols of Assyria just as they once lived among the useless idols of Egypt, they will look up and remember the only God who can save.

Prophets And Kings, Day 101. Israel Exiled

Prophets And Kings

Day 101

Israel Exiled

INTRODUCTION BY BELINDA
Yesterday the king of Assyria came to squash the rebellion of King Hoshea who hads stopped paying tribute to him. Assyria laid siege to Israel for three years before being able to breach the city walls of Samaria. The king of Assyria put King Hoshea in prison and carried the people of Israel away.

2 KINGS 17:7-23

"All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt." (2 Kings 17:7a) When the ten northern tribes broke away from Judah and Benjamin, the first king of Israel, Jeroboam I, set up two golden calves and said to the nation that these were the gods that brought them out of Egypt. From the very first day, the northern kingdom was on the wrong track and it has only taken about two hundred years for the nation, once so powerful and mighty, to fall apart.

"They worshiped other gods and followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced." (2 Kings 17:7a-8) By worshiping calves as a stand-in for God, as a stand-in for going down to Jerusalem, it was just one small step into complete idolatry. The people next took up the religious practices of the Canaanite tribes.

"The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns. They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree." (2 Kings 17:9-10) The altars and poles would have been public sins but here the author accuses the people of secret sins too. Maybe some weren't bold enough to bow down at a pagan altar in public but perhaps they kept small household idols. Maybe they didn't participate in the sex cult rituals or the heinous Canaanite practice of child sacrifice, but perhaps they were unfaithful to their spouses in secret or they mistreated their children. We don't know what their secret sins were but we can be certain God knows. Nothing is hidden from Him. "For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:14)

"At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the Lord had driven out before them had done. They did wicked things that aroused the Lord's anger." (2 Kings 17:11) The people knew the Lord drove the Canaanites out before them because of sin. God had given the Canaanites many hundreds of years to repent but their sins grew increasingly wicked. Somehow God's people failed to consider that the same God who judged the Canaanites was going to judge them for these same sins. It occurs to me that, in a way, we all fail to realize this. Don't we sometimes fall for the lie that we are special? Don't we have a far more forgiving attitude toward ourselves than toward others? Don't we often deceive ourselves into thinking God will be more forgiving toward us than toward others? I think maybe being God's chosen people went to Israel's head. He brought them out of slavery and made a great nation of them, powerful and wealthy. At one time, simply the mention of the name of Israel made the nations around them tremble in fear. But once they were planted in the land, so great that their neighbors feared them, they began to see themselves as gods. I wonder if that hasn't happened to us here in America. God planted us here and made us great. He rewarded the desire of our founders to be able to worship Him freely. He built us up and made us powerful and wealthy. Just the mention of our name once made the nations tremble in fear...some nations still tremble in fear at the mention of our name. But are we beginning to see ourselves as gods, answerable to no one? If so, God is as capable of bringing us down as He was of bringing the northern kingdom of Israel down. No nation is too great to fall. Just think of all the empires that have come and gone since the beginning of time, their ancient cities in ruins, their idols shattered, their temples deserted. If we forsake the Lord our God, He is able to make America a heap of ruins just like those nations.

"They worshiped idols, though the Lord had said, 'You shall not do this.' The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all His prophets and seers: 'Turn from your evil ways. Observe My commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your ancestors to obey and that I delivered to you through My servants the prophets.' But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in the Lord their God. They rejected His decrees and the covenant He had made with their ancestors and the statutes He had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, 'Do not do as they do.'" (2 Kings 17:12-15) We mustn't lose sight of the fact that for two hundred years the Lord sent prophets to His people. He pleaded with them to repent. He gave them opportunity after opportunity to turn back to Him and be made whole. From the very beginning the northern kingdom began to turn away from the Lord but He appealed to the hearts of the people for two centuries before bringing the harsh discipline of the Assyrians upon them.

"They forsook all the commands of the Lord their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal. They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sought omens and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing His anger." (2 Kings 17:16-17) Divination and witchcraft had long ago been condemned and forbidden by God but the people persisted in it. These practices still exist today and are marketed to us in the form of entertainment. Ouija boards are sold as games in the toy section of department stores. Horoscopes are in all the major newspapers. While driving through most any town we can see signs advertising places to get our fortunes told by palm reading or Tarot cards. I don't care if it makes me sound old-fashioned when I denounce all these things as witchcraft. We ought not dabble in the occult, no matter how prettily it's packaged. Satan has to disguise it as entertainment, for how many would be attracted to something labeled "occult" or "witchcraft"? Some would, but most of us wouldn't. 

Being a Christian doesn't make us safe when we mess with witchcraft. I know a Christian person who started out reading the daily horoscope for fun, as many do, and progressed from there to casting charts and using them as divination, allowing these charts to regulate every aspect of their life. I would not have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, how a "little" thing like reading the horoscope in the newspaper led to a person falling deeply under the influence of evil, but as an eyewitness to this I have no choice but to believe it. The spiritual world is as real as anything you can see with your own eyes or touch with your own hands. It's nothing to trifle with. I once tried to reason with this person about their obsession and was verbally attacked so viciously that I was afraid I was going to be physically attacked. There was a scary near-madness in this person's eyes. It was the same type of look you might see if you try to take drugs or alcohol away from an addict. By the grace of God, this person ended up eventually renouncing astrology and coming back to the church. The stronghold was broken by the power of God. 

Another subject I want to touch on before we move on has to do with ghost hunting. I've viewed some of these popular shows and I know what they're about. I know some businesses have popped up that allows people go on excursions to cemeteries and whatnot trying to speak to spirits, calling out to the spirit world trying to get someone or something to answer, trying to get a voice on tape or an image on film. This is yet another thing Satan has disguised as entertainment or, worse yet, a thing he has used to play on people's emotions by making them believe they can speak to their departed grandmother. I don't feel anything in the Scriptures lends any support to the idea that the spirits of the departed hang around. Instead the Bible clearly states that it is appointed for each person to die and after that comes the judgment. (Hebrews 9:27) Also Scripture assures us that when a Christian dies, he or she is absent from the body and present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8) When we die, our business on this earth is concluded. We go to another destination and we remain there. Personally, I think at least 99% of all paranormal-seeming events are natural occurrences. They could be electrical surges, weather phenomenon, and so forth and so on. But in the small percentages of cases where something supernatural is really occurring, I don't believe it's our departed grandmother; it's something of a demonic nature. It may claim to be our departed grandmother. It may claim to be the spirit of a young child who died tragically. It may claim to be any number of non-threatening entities. But the Lord Jesus Christ told us that Satan is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44) The Apostle Paul warned us that Satan masquerades as an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14) 

We must not attempt to interact with the spirit world. The only spirit we should concern ourselves with is the Holy Spirit and although Christians cannot be possessed (because the Holy Spirit indwells us) we can be oppressed by spiritual darkness and depression when we dabble in the occult. The house of the person who was caught up in astrology felt dark and oppressive to me. It was like the air was too thick. Just walking through the door made me feel a deep sense of despair. Even the person addicted to astrology remarked on how bad the house felt. I don't even like discussing these matters because the last thing I would want to do is pique anyone's interest in the occult, but I do want to give an urgent warning. This stuff is real. The Bible tells us it's real. It's unhealthy to have an interest in it and the best thing we can do is fix our minds on Jesus Christ and trust Him with anything our enemy the devil tries to throw at us. There's nothing to be gained in dwelling on the occult or fearing what might be going on in the spiritual realm. Our job is to work on our relationship with our Redeemer, to learn of Him and to live our lives in a way that honors Him. The One who conquered death and hell and the grave is more than able to protect us from anything or anyone who comes against us.

Because Israel turned from God to useless idols and to the occult, He removed them from the land where He had planted them. "So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from His presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left, and even Judah did not keep the commands of the Lord their God. They followed the practices Israel had introduced. Therefore the Lord rejected all the people of Israel; He afflicted them and gave them into the hands of plunderers, until He thrust them from His presence. When He tore Israel away from the house of David, they made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam enticed Israel away from following the Lord and caused them to commit a great sin. The Israelites persisted in all the sins of Jeroboam and did not turn away from them until the Lord removed them from His presence, as He had warned through all His servants the prophets. So the people of Israel were taken from their homeland into exile in Assyria, and they are still there." (2 Kings 17:18-23) When they sacrificed to idols, the people were actually sacrificing to demons, though they deceived themselves into thinking this wasn't so. The Bible tells us that when sacrifices were made to any but the God of Israel, they were being made to demons. (1 Corinthians 10:20) There is no god but God, anything else is a lie. It is for this lie and their eager adherence to it that the Lord allowed Assyria to conquer Israel.

There is a lesson in this for us all. Our focus should always be on following our Lord, individually and as a nation. Drifting away from Him will cause us harm. I know lately I've had a lot to say about the urgency of praying for our nation but the downfall of Israel in the Bible keeps driving home the point that any nation who turns from God is in danger of falling. We need to pray for America like never before. Who knows what might happen if God's people prayed faithfully every day for our country? He might pour blessings out upon us that our minds can't even imagine.

Prophets And Kings, Day 100. Hoshea Last King Of Israel

Prophets And Kings

Day 100

Hoshea Last King Of Israel

INTRODUCTION BY BELINDA
Today we meet Hoshea, the last king of Israel before the nation is taken into captivity by Assyria.

2 KINGS 17:1-6

Hoshea isn't a complete stranger to us because we heard something about him in Chapter 15. He was part of a conspiracy against King Pekah of Israel. He assassinated the king and took the throne. 

Earlier in the week we studied the reign of King Ahaz of Judah and during his reign King Pekah of Israel and King Rezin of Aram came against Judah to try and overthrow it and take it for themselves. The Lord sent the prophet Isaiah to King Ahaz to tell him not to fear these kings. The Lord promised him that these kings would not accomplish their goals against Judah. Ahaz only needed to fear the Lord, not these mortal men. But he refused and instead allied himself with the king of Assyria who conquered Damascus and put King Rezin to death, something he may have already had an interest in doing. And now we see that King Pekah, whom Ahaz so feared, is put to death by one of his own countrymen. The Lord knew both these kings would be taken out of the way soon.

"In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but not like the kings of Israel who preceded him." (2 Kings 17:1-2) Hoshea is not a good man. He doesn't live by God's laws. But evidently he doesn't continue the state-sponsored worship of the golden calves as the kings before him. It could be he has no regard for any god: not the God of his ancestors, not the golden calves that Jeroboam I set up in place of the God of his ancestors, not Baal, not Molech, not any god of the nations. The author does not tell us whether Hoshea adheres to any religion or not, but he gives the impression that although Hoshea is evil, he's not as evil as some of the kings before him.

During the time of King Ahaz of Israel, he allied himself with Tiglath-Pileser, the king of Assyria, to defend Judah against the Arameans. Now Tiglath-Pileser is deceased and his son, Shalmaneser, reigns in his stead. The king whom Ahaz placed his trust in is gone, demonstrating the folly of placing our security in anyone or on anything but the Lord who lives forever. "Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up to attack Hoshea, who had been Shalmaneser's vassal and had paid him tribute." (2 Kings 17:3) Ahaz of Judah is not the only king who was ever subject to Assyria, although he subjected himself to that nation willingly. Hoshea of Israel is subject to Assyria because one of his predecessors, King Menahem, paid King Pul of Assyria off when Pul invaded Israel in Chapter 15. Since that time Israel has had to pay tribute to Assyria.

But Hoshea doesn't want to be subject to Assyria and is attempting to form an alliance with the king of Egypt. "But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was a traitor, for he had sent envoys to So king of Egypt, and he no longer paid tribute to the king of Assyria. as he had done year by year." (2 Kings 17:4a) Shalmaneser, like his father before him, was willing to allow Israel to exist as a more or less sovereign nation, ruling its own people and making its own laws, as long as Israel continued paying tribute. But Hoshea believes the change of kings in Assyria is a good time to revolt. So he sends envoys to the king of Egypt for help. The king named as here as "So" is Osorkon IV. Egypt itself was falling apart at this time, just as Israel was. Osorkon IV will be no help to Israel against Assyria and will barely manage to protect his own people from Assyria during the reign of Shalmaneser's successor. Hoshea is looking for help in all the wrong places. Israel's strength has never been in her alliances. Her strength has always been her God and now, as the northern kingdom enters her death throes, she has abandoned her God.

When Shalmaneser hears of Hoshea's treason against him, "Therefore Shalmaneser seized him and put him in prison. The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria and laid siege to it for three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Harbor River and in the towns of the Medes." (2 Kings 17:4b-6) It takes Shalmaneser three years to capture the capitol city of the kingdom of Israel, but at last he breaks through the heavily fortified double wall around the city. 

The prophet Hosea and the prophet Micah both speak of the terrible desolation Shalmaneser brought on the people of Israel. Hosea tells us that the king of Assyria killed the resistance fighters with the sword, that he ripped open the pregnant women, that he dashed infants against the stones. Micah tells us that Shalmaneser left Samaria as nothing but a heap of rubble, with her stones torn apart and her idols shattered. These idols stand mute as the enemy pours in like a flood, unable to save themselves, unable to save the people. For centuries now the people have brought sacrifices and offerings to these idols for nothing. Any god but the living God is a lie. It's an illusion. It's nothing but smoke and mirrors. When trouble comes, only the living God, the God of Israel, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, is able to help. But the people turned their backs on Him a long time ago and even now, in a time of unbelievable oppression and cruelty, they do not call on His name. What happened to Israel frightens me for my own nation. The discipline God allowed to fall on Israel could well fall on us too. But even in these dark days of Scripture we see the mercy of God. He doesn't allow the people to be conquered because He intends to destroy them as a nation. He allows them to be conquered so they will realize their false gods are false gods, unable to do anything good or bad. He allows them to be taken captive so they will remember the God who rescued the captives once before, when He brought them out of Egypt. He allows them to lose their sovereignty because they have not made Him sovereign over their lives. 

The Lord said this about the reason for the coming destruction, "Now they sin more and more; they make idols for themselves from their silver, cleverly fashioned images, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of these people, 'The offer human sacrifices! They kiss calf-idols!' Therefore they will be like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears, like chaff swirling through a threshing floor, like smoke escaping through a window." (Hosea 13:2-3) Because of her sins, the Lord is about to allow Israel to be swept away just as a man might sweep chaff from his threshing floor.

This should be a warning to us all. If we forsake the living God to serve anyone or anything else, discipline will fall on us. In the USA we may not find many bowing down to literal idols but we possess here the idols of wealth, fame, sex, power, and any other thing which satisfies the carnal desires but leaves the desires of the soul unfulfilled. We need to pray like never before for revival, for a turning back to God, lest He say of us what He said of Israel, "Woe to the sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him." (Isaiah 1:4) 

Please join with me in prayer: Father God, both we and our fathers have sinned. (Psalm 106:6) We have sinned against You as individuals and we have sinned against You as a nation. We stand before You without excuse, without defense. You are the God who settled us here in a land of plenty, a land of prosperity, and we have allowed our prosperity to make us complacent. We have kept silent while Your name was reviled. We have kept silent while Your laws have been broken. We have worshiped at the altars of comfort and ease while the nation has fallen into spiritual decay. Lord God, forgive us! You alone are God and there is no other! There is no one who can help, no one who can save, but You. For the sake of those who have a little strength and have not denied Your name (Revelation 3:8), please don't take Your protective hand off our country. For the sake of those whose sins are covered by the blood of Your dear Son, please spare us the discipline we deserve. We cry out to You, the one and only living God, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. You alone are God. You alone are God. It is You who made us and not we ourselves. (Psalm 100:3) Without You we can do nothing. Without You we are nothing. Revive us, Lord. Turn hearts back to You and heal our nation. We ask this in the saving name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!

We conclude with this worship song.

Nothing Without You

Prophets And Kings, Day 99. Ahaz King Of Judah, Part 3

Prophets And Kings

Day 99

Ahaz King Of Judah

Part 3

INTRODUCTION BY BELINDA
We conclude ours study of King Ahaz of Judah today.

2 KINGS 16:7-20, 2 CHRONICLES 28:23-25

Instead of turning to the Lord for help against his enemies, Ahaz appeals to the king of Assyria. "Ahaz sent messengers to say to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, saying, 'I am your servant and vassal. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.' And Ahaz took the silver and gold found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria." (2 Kings 16:7-8) Ahaz is willing to buy the favor of Tiglath-Pileser however possible, up to and including taking the articles from the temple and giving them to him. What makes Ahaz's treachery so astonishing is that the chapter we are studying goes along with Chapter 7 of the book of Isaiah. The Lord sent Isaiah to tell King Ahaz not to be afraid of the king of Aram and the king of Israel. The Lord urged Ahaz to trust in Him and not be afraid, to ask for a sign that the Lord would not allow these kings to conquer Judah. But Ahaz refused to ask for a sign, putting on a righteous front as if he respected the Lord too much to ask a sign from Him, saying, "I will not put the Lord to the test." So instead of repenting and turning away from the Edomite idols he's been worshiping, Ahaz remains stubborn against the Lord and turns to the Assyrian king for assistance. 

What Ahaz is promising the Assyrian king is that he and Judah will become subject to Tiglath-Pileser and Assyria if the king will come to their rescue. Ahaz is willing to submit to a foreign pagan king but not to the living God. The sovereignty of the nation of Judah hangs in the balance here. Offering to serve a foreign king is giving up some of Judah's status as an independent nation, something he would not have done if he had listened to God's word through the prophet Isaiah. God alone is the One who keeps Judah safe, who keeps her a sovereign nation. God alone is her helper and defender. But because of the words of submission Ahaz speaks and the riches he sends to him, Tiglath-Pileser is happy to come to Judah's aid at this time. "The king of Assyria complied by attacking Damascus and capturing it. He deported its inhabitants to Kir and put Rezin to death." (2 Kings 16:9) The Assyrian king conquers Damascus, the capitol city of Aram, and puts Rezin the king of Aram to death, temporarily neutralizing this enemy of Judah. 

But Ahaz's alliance with a pagan king will led him even further into apostasy. He goes to Damascus to meet with the Assyrian king who has helped him and there he sees a pagan altar he wants to copy. "Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. He saw an altar in Damascus and sent to Uriah the priest a sketch of the altar, with detailed plans for its construction. So Uriah the priest built an altar in accordance with all the plans that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus and finished it before King Ahaz returned." (2 Kings 16:10-11) The spiritual decay in Judah during the reign of Ahaz is so severe that even the priest Uriah sees nothing wrong in building an altar to a god that the people of Israel and Judah never knew. He has no problem with building an altar to a god that never brought Israel out of Egypt, that never led them through the wilderness, that never planted them in the promised land. 

"When the king came back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and presented offerings on it. He offered up his burnt offering and grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and splashed the blood of his fellowship offerings against the altar. As for the bronze altar that stood before the Lord, he brought it from the front of the temple---from between the new altar and the temple of the Lord---and put it on the north side of the new altar." (2 Kings 16:12-14) The offerings mentioned here are offerings the Jews were commanded to present to the Lord, but Ahaz presents them to a false god instead, even daring to take the bronze altar from the temple to put it by the pagan altar. The author of 2nd Chronicles tells us that King Ahaz says to himself, "Since the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me." (2 Chronicles 28:23) He believes his enemy the Arameans were so powerful and fierce because they worshiped the gods of Damascus. Ahaz believes if he serves these gods himself, they will help him become powerful and fierce.

Uriah is not just any priest but is apparently the high priest because Ahaz gives him instructions of how to move the religious services from the temple of God to this pagan altar. "King Ahaz then gave these orders to Uriah the priest: 'On the large new altar, offer the morning burnt offering and the evening grain offering, the king's burnt offering and his grain offering, and the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their grain offering and their drink offering. Splash against this altar the blood of all the burnt offerings and sacrifices. But I will use the bronze altar for seeking guidance.' And Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz had ordered." (2 Kings 16:15-16) I don't know how the citizens of Judah felt about having their offerings taken and given to this foreign god but I imagine they felt they had no say in the matter. The king has the authority to put them to death if they object. The high priest, who should be an example of godly living, is carried away by this madness. The people can't fight the king and high priest. We don't know whether the people are troubled by these events or whether most of the citizens have fallen too far into idolatry to care. Maybe they are happy to serve whatever god the king tells them to serve. But, as we've seen before in our study of the kings, God always has a remnant who is faithful to Him. He always has His prophets who speak out against sin. He always has His ordinary citizens who quietly continue to live according to His laws. Unless the Lord leads us otherwise, I hope to study the book of Isaiah when we finish with the kings, and in that book we will see the patience and the grace and the mercy God shows His wayward people, how long He pleads with them through the prophets, how many opportunities He gives them to repent and be healed.

Next we find Ahaz carried away by political correctness, something which has invaded our own country to the point that, as the saying goes, "Some people's minds are so open their brains have fallen out." In other words, being obsessed with the fear of saying or doing something offensive has led people to stand for nothing at all, just like Ahaz. It has led people in our country to fear mentioning the name of Christ lest somebody be upset. Ahaz fears that when the king of Assyria comes he will be offended by any reminder of the God of Judah, so he begins putting the things of the Lord out of sight, "King Ahaz cut off the side panels and removed the basins from the movable stands. He removed the Sea from the bronze bulls that supported it and set it on a stone base. He took away the Sabbath canopy that had been built at the temple and removed the royal entryway outside the temple of the Lord, in deference to the king of Assyria." (2 Kings 16:17-18) The author of 2nd Chronicles adds these details, "Ahaz gathered together the furnishings from the temple of God and cut them in pieces. He shut the doors of the Lord's temple and set up altars at every street corner in Jerusalem. In every town in Judah he built high places to burn sacrifices to other gods and aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of his ancestors." (2 Chronicles 28:24-25) The temple of the Lord is closed for business. Ahaz doesn't want his ungodly friend, the king of Assyria, to notice or think about the temple. He wants him to believe the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has been forgotten.

The name of Jesus Christ is always going to be offensive in a fallen world. He promised us we would be hated for His name's sake. He promised that His name would cause division, even among family members. Should we let that cause us to turn back? Should we stop proclaiming the name of the One who bought our souls from death and hell by His own blood? Should we refuse to stand for the One who hung on a cross for us? Should we fear ridicule from a world that spit on our Redeemer? Should we deny our Savior out of a reluctance to seem politically incorrect? No! We must stand for the honor of His name more and more as the clock of this world winds down and as the day of His appearing draws close. It's a sin against our Savior if we don't proclaim Him to a fallen world. It's a sin against the world if we don't tell them they have a hope above all hope in Jesus Christ. Someday we will all stand before God and what help will those be who approved of us not speaking in the name of Jesus? They won't be able to defend us against the righteous Judge. Only the Lord Jesus will be able to defend us by saying, "This one is Mine! This one's sins are covered by My blood." Only Jesus will stand before His Father and say of me, "She was not ashamed of Me and I am not ashamed of her!" 

"As for the other events of the reign of Ahaz, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? Ahaz rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. And Hezekiah his son succeeded him as king." (2 Kings 16:19-20)

Let's never be like King Ahaz who thought so little of the glory of a holy God that he cast Him aside to please a godless king. Jesus Christ died for us and we must never be ashamed to stand up for Him. This world grows darker by the day and, instead of letting ourselves become discouraged and afraid, it should compel us even more to stand up in these last days and say boldly, "Jesus Christ is Lord! Jesus Christ is my Lord!"  

Prophets And Kings, Day 98. Ahaz King Of Judah, Part 2

Prophets And Kings

Day 98

Ahaz King Of Judah

Part 2

INTRODUCTION BY BELINDA
We learned yesterday what a wicked man King Ahaz is, an idolater who even sacrificed hims son to a Canaanite god. Because of hims sins the Lord allows trouble to come upon him. But the instrument of the trouble, the nation of Israel, goes far and beyond what is reasonable or even humane, and so the Lord steps in to rescue Judah.

2 KINGS 16:5-16, 2 CHRONICLES 28:5-15

"Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem and besieged Ahaz, but they could not overpower him." (2 Kings 16:5) The king of Aram and the king of Israel ally themselves to conquer Judah but are not able to take Jerusalem. The prophet Isaiah said, "When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it." (Isaiah 7:1) The Lord, speaking through Isaiah, said that Rezin and Pekah intended to tear Judah apart and split the territory up, with Israel taking half and Aram taking half. Then they intended to place a man of their choosing in charge of what was formerly Judah. But the Lord said through the prophet Isaiah that He would not allow these plans to be successful. He made a promise to David to preserve Judah and to preserve its royal line and God does not break promises.

Pekah and Rezin were not able to take Jerusalem and wipe out the royal family, but, "At that time, Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram by driving out the people of Judah. Edomites then moved into Elath and have lived there to this day." (2 Kings 16:6) The Arameans do succeed in driving the people of Judah out of Elath with the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, moving in. 

The author of 2nd Chronicles records a defeat of Judah at the hands of Aram and I was not able to find out for certain whether this battle was the battle for Elath or the battle to defend Jerusalem. But the defeat is directly tied with the idolatry of King Ahaz because the author has just finished telling us of the king's abominable idolatry and then says, "Therefore the Lord his God delivered him into the hands of the king of Aram. The Arameans defeated him and took many of his people as prisoners and brought them to Damascus. He was also given into the hands of the king of Israel, who inflicted heavy casualties on him." (2 Chronicles 28:5) 

Although Jerusalem is not captured, Israel and Aram are able to do much damage to Judah. "In one day Pekah son of Remaliah killed a hundred and twenty thousand soldiers in Judah---because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors. Zikri, an Ephraimite warrior, killed Maaseaih the king's son, Azrikam the officer in charge of the palace, and Elkanah, second to the king. The men of Israel took captive from their fellow Israelites who were from Judah two hundred thousand wives, sons and daughters. They also took a great deal of plunder, which they carried back to Samaria." (2 Chronicles 28:6-8) What a dreadful day for Judah! Only by the grace of the Lord is she spared from being completely eradicated. The men of Judah suffer their wives and children being captured and carried back to Samaria. You may recall how much David and his men wept at Ziklag when they came home to find that the Philistines had carried off their wives and children. They wept until they had no strength left to weep. Multiply the cries of those men by thousands and you can imagine the wail that rose up out of Judah when Israel took their wives and children captive. But because the Lord will not break His promise about Judah, the cries of these men come straight to His ears. Just as the Lord recovered the wives and children of David and his men, He will recover the wives and children of the men of Judah.

As we have learned in our study of the kings, no matter how far the nations fall into apostasy, God still has His people who are faithful to Him. He still has those who are courageous enough to stand up and call evil what it is. Right will always be right and wrong will always be wrong, no matter how long the world stands, because God's word stands from everlasting to everlasting. When the Israelites return to Samaria with their captives, a faithful prophet of God goes out to meet them and call them out on their sins. "But a prophet of the Lord named Oded was there, and he went out to meet the army when it returned to Samaria. He said to them, 'Because the Lord, the God of your ancestors, was angry with Judah, He gave them into your hand. But you have slaughtered them in a rage that reaches to heaven. And now you intend to make the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves. But aren't you also guilty of sins against the Lord your God? Now listen to me! Send back your fellow Israelites you have taken as prisoners, for the Lord's fierce anger rests on you.'" (2 Chronicles 28:9-11) The Israelites have committed genocide. Their nation and the nation of Judah all sprang from Jacob. They have slaughtered their brothers and sisters. They intend to make slaves of their brothers and sisters. Oded is brave enough to point out that Israel is no more righteous than Judah. God has brought trouble on Judah for her sins but Israel is equally sinful. God did not intend this genocide or forced slavery. He did not command Israel to commit the acts they have committed. Was He willing to allow Israel and Aram to be a constant threat and oppressive worry to Judah? It would appear so, at least for a time, but this wholesale slaughter, this gleeful shedding of blood, this deliberate humiliation of a nation that is a sister to Israel was not God's will. 

Oded cautions Israel not to think for one minute that she is one bit more righteous than Judah or that God will not judge her. The stink of Israel's sins has come into the very nostrils of God and He is enraged. Thankfully, there are reasonable men in Israel willing to hear and obey the words of the prophet. "Then some of the leaders in Ephraim---Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berekiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai---confronted those who were arriving from the war. 'You must not bring these prisoners here,' they said, 'or we will be guilty before the Lord. Do you intend to add to our sin and guilt? For our guilt is already great, and His fierce anger rests on Israel.'" (2 Chronicles 28:12-13) These men acknowledge their personal sins and they acknowledge the national sins of Israel. This is a step in the right direction. We cannot receive spiritual healing from the Lord until we acknowledge we have sinned against Him. 

"So the soldiers gave up the prisoners and plunder in the presence of the officials and all the assembly. The men designated by name took the prisoners, and from the plunder they clothed all who were naked. They provided them with clothes and sandals, food and drink, and healing balm. All those who were weak they put on donkeys. So they took them back to their fellow Israelites at Jericho, the City of Palms, and returned to Samaria." (2 Chronicles 28:14-15) Because one man was willing to stand up and proclaim the truth, an injustice is corrected. Because four men heard the prophet's words and were quick to repent, they influence the whole army of Israel. The people from Judah have been force-marched to Judah, some without proper clothing or even shoes on their feet. They are hungry and thirsty because their basic needs were not met on the march. Their feet are blistered and in need of healing balm. Some are too weak to walk back to Judah and are placed on donkeys. These people are restored to their families in Judah because the Lord spoke and a prophet listened, because the Lord spoke and four good men listened, because the Lord spoke and an army listened. Had they stopped their ears to the voice of God, I think a destruction would have fallen on Israel.

We often think we are incapable of having much impact for the Lord. We think of ourselves as only one person. But if God is with us, what more do we need? Oded spoke and the people listened. Who knows what influence each of our lives may have on others? When those around us observe how we live for Christ, how we conduct ourselves ethically, how we treat others as Jesus would have us treat them, that is a testimony in itself. We are to be a testimony to Christ in both words and actions, as the four men who took to heart the words of Oded were a testimony in both words and actions. They admitted their sins and proved their repentance by doing what was right. They treated their fellow human beings with dignity and compassion. They sent them home to their families where they belonged. The actions of the one prophet and the actions of these four men influenced a mighty army to do what was right. If we are willing to be used of God, He is able to use us. One life can influence many lives. As the saying goes, "Little is much when God is in it." 

Prophets And Kings, Day 97. Ahaz King Of Judah, Part 1

Prophets And Kings

Day 97

Ahaz King Of Judah

Part 1

INTRODUCTION BY BELINDA
King Jotham, a good king, died yesterday and now hims son Ahaz, a very wicked king, inherits the throne of Judah.

2 KINGS 16:1-4

Jotham was a godly man but for some reason his son turns out to be one of the most evil kings of Judah. We have to assume Jotham set a good example for his son and for any other children he had, but somehow Ahaz possesses a wayward heart. The idolatry in the land seems to have influenced him, especially the idolatry in neighboring Israel and in the neighboring Canaanite tribes. I would bet that most of us know some godly parents who have a wayward grown child, one who loves to immerse himself/herself in the ways of the world, in spite of their godly upbringing. The world is constantly in the face of our young people, tempting them, mocking the word of God, telling them the Bible is outdated and no longer relevant. Satan is relentless in his pursuit of every new generation that comes along and that is why we must pray more and more as time goes on. I believe we are living in the end times and Satan knows his time is very short. He's trying to do all he can in the time he has left and it seems as if more than ever he's attacking our families and our young people. But the Bible assures us that the prayers of the righteous are powerful and effective. (James 5:16)

"In the seventeenth year of Pekah king son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign. Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God." (2 Kings 16:1-2) The author mentions King David, Ahaz's ancestor, as his father because David is the most shining example of what a godly king of the royal line should be, although Ahaz's father Jotham is also a wonderful example. Neither Jotham's example nor the Scriptures written by David and about David have had any effect on the character of Ahaz.

There's really no way to prepare for this next statement, "He followed the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, engaging in the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree." (2 Kings 16:3-4) The kings of Israel have been, up to this point, more wicked than the kings of Judah. Judah at least has the temple and the priesthood to constantly remind them who their God is and what He requires. Most of the kings of Israel have bowed down to the golden calves set up in place of God. Some of the kings of Israel have bowed down to foreign Gods such as Baal. Ahaz has a heart that longs to serve these other gods, indeed any god but the God of his forefathers. Ahaz falls deeper into apostasy than any before him when he takes up the worship of the god Molech, sacrificing his own son to this false god and burning the child's body in the fire inside a golden statue of this demonic idol. Lest we ever feel sorry for the Canaanites whom the Lord drove out of the promised land, this is the type of religious practice that was common to them. This is why the Lord commanded the children of Israel to wipe the tribes of Canaan from the face of the earth. But they did not obey the Lord; they simply killed and exiled enough of them to make space for themselves to occupy the land. And this is the result of their disobedience. The Canaanite tribes remain to influence God's chosen people into the most unspeakable sin.

It's not enough for Ahaz to reject the Lord and to commit a crime we can't even bear to think about. He becomes an equal opportunity worshiper, sacrificing at every altar in the land, bringing offerings to every false god in the land. He seeks the favor of every god but the one true God. A similar spirit is at work in our world today, a spirit that claims there are many ways to God, that when Jesus Christ said He was the way, the only way, it wasn't true. That lie comes straight from the father of lies, Satan himself, in order to keep souls from coming to Christ. The devil hates God so much that his hatred spills over on those God loves. The only way to hurt an all-powerful God is through those He loves and so Satan desires to keep as many souls from entering the kingdom of God as possible. The idols the devil presents to mankind have changed in appearance over the ages but at heart they are the same old things, the same old lies. He still attempts to give us anything but Jesus, anything but the One who died to save us. 

The Lord Jesus Christ spoke the truth when He said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) If we cannot accept this statement then we must reject everything Jesus ever said. If this one thing is not true then He can't be God. He can't be a prophet and He can't even be a good man. If this one thing is not true then He would be a liar and God cannot lie. (Hebrews 6:18) If this one thing is not true then we have no hope and are still lost in our sins. But this is why Jesus died a public death, witnessed by many, and this is why He rose from the dead, being witnessed by many after His resurrection. This is the proof that everything He said about Himself is true. We can trust the words of a Man who rose from the dead. We can believe everything He ever said. The One who died for us and rose to prove He has the power to save us is the only way to heaven. "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) 

The video below begins with a narrative that demonstrates that Jesus Christ is in every book of the Bible, from beginning to end, and that His name is the only name. It concludes with a lovely worship song.

No Other Name

Prophets And Kings, Day 96. Jotham King Of Judah

Prophets And Kings

Day 96

Jotham King Of Judah

INTRODUCTION BY BELINDA
Today the author takes us back to the southern kingdom of Judah to tell us bouts the new king there, Jotham. Jotham is a good king who follows the Lord.

2 KINGS 15:32-38, 2 CHRONICLES 27:1-6

"In the second year of Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel, Jotham son of Uzziah king of Judah began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother's name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok." (2 Kings 15:32-33) Jotham's reign isn't as long as that of some kings of Judah but before he sits on the throne he has already been running the nation for some time due to the illness of his father. 

"He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Uzziah had done." (2 Kings 15:34) The author of 2nd Chronicles adds this, "He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Uzziah had done, but unlike him he did not enter the temple of the Lord." (2 Chronicles 27:2) The author is not suggesting that Jotham didn't go to the temple at all but that he didn't go in to the altar and behave as a priest, as his father so sinfully did. Uzziah started out well, obeying all the commands of how to worship the Lord, but in his later life he became prideful and full of himself. He was so carried away with his self-importance that he entered the temple to offer incense on the altar, something only a consecrated priest could do. When confronted by the priests he became angry instead of sorry for his sin and the Lord struck him with leprosy. For the rest of his life Uzziah lived separately from his family, unable to lead the affairs of the nation, and so Jotham became king in everything but name. We don't know how long Uzziah lived after contracting leprosy but during those years Jotham was performing all his father's duties. Uzziah's sin and its consequences must have been a powerful lesson for his son. It taught Jotham that there is a God and that He is holy, not to be disrespected or dishonored.

There is one thing which Jotham and all the kings of Judah should have done: remove all the old high places where people worshiped God before the temple was built. We have discussed this subject several times before because the Lord commanded offerings and sacrifices be brought only to the place He would choose in the promised land, and He chose Jerusalem. So once Solomon built the temple nobody should have been bringing offerings and sacrifices to the high places. I can't say for certain why none of these kings remove the old altars. The Scriptures indicate it was something the kings knew they needed to do. The Scriptures keep bringing this up as a failure on the part of the kings, so we can't assume the kings left the altars there just because they had once been consecrated to the Lord. They know the Lord wants them removed. I suspect the kings left the altars because the citizens found them convenient. A person didn't have to travel to Jerusalem to worship but could walk up any old hill in Judah close to their house where there was an altar. Although bringing offerings and sacrifices to the Lord sounds like a good thing on the surface, refusing to do it the way He commanded allowed the people to practice their religion in whatever way seemed best to each man or woman. It separated them from the main body of believers and the priests at Jerusalem. Instead of going down to the temple where the word of God was read aloud, the people were avoiding hearing anything in God's law by going to the high places. Many of the poor people in Judah's society couldn't read and even if they could, they couldn't afford a copy of the word of God. Not going to the temple kept them from knowing what the word of God said and how it applied to their lives. "The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there." (2 Kings 15:35a) "The people, however, continued their corrupt practices." (2 Chronicles 27:2b) 

Jotham doesn't tear down the high places but he does build up the temple complex. "Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the temple of the Lord." (2 Kings 15:35b) "Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the temple of the Lord and did extensive work on the wall at the hill of Ophel. He built towns in the hill country of Judah and forts and towers in the wooded areas." (2 Chronicles 27:3-4) Earlier in 2nd Kings we found some walls torn down and the temple looted by Jehoash king of Israel after Amaziah king of Judah challenged him to a military fight. Amaziah made the challenge because raiders from Israel had attacked a territory of Judah, robbing the people and killing many. But the Lord was not with Amaziah because of his pride and sin, plus he was greatly outnumbered by the troops of Israel. Because he insisted on a fight, Jehoash brought it in Chapter 14, He broke down a section of the wall about 600 feet long and entered the temple, taking the fine articles from the temple and the palace. Amaziah did not rebuild this wall, nor did his son Uzziah, Jotham's father. So we see Jotham is a more godly man than some of his ancestors. He is concerned that the Upper Gate of the temple is in ruins. He is concerned that an important defense wall at Ophel is in ruins. After rebuilding these walls, he builds towns and forts, adding to Judah's security.

The Ammonites have always been an enemy to Judah and Israel, attacking them time and again over the years, but during the reign of Jotham they actually become subject to Judah. "Jotham waged war against the Ammonites and conquered them. That year the Ammonites paid him a hundred talents of silver, ten thousand cors of wheat and ten thousand cors of barley. The Ammonites brought him the same amount also in the second and third years." (2 Chronicles 27:5) The Ammonites pay Judah 3 3/4 tons of silver per year for three years along with 1800 tons each of wheat and barley per year.

The author wants to make certain we know just why Jotham and his kingdom prospers. "Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the Lord his God." (2 Chronicles 27:6) What a wonderful testimony to the Lord Jotham's life was! Can anything better ever be said about us than that we walked steadfastly before the Lord our God? The definition of steadfast includes these descriptions: to be devoted, to be firmly fixed in place, to be resolute and unwavering, to be dependable and reliable. To be called steadfast in the faith of the Lord is a great compliment. This tells us everything we need to know about Jotham's character. He was a man faithful to the Lord, devoted to his Creator, walking in His ways. 

We are not told the circumstances of Jotham's death, which is likely because he died of natural causes. The author of the books of Kings and Chronicles usually tells us the death circumstances of unrighteous kings, whether it be by assassination or by an illness that comes as a result of unrepentant sin. The just and the unjust both die, just as King Solomon once pointed out in Ecclesiastes 2:14 when he said, "The wise have eyes in their heads, while the fool walks in darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both." So Jotham, though a good man, still faces the fate we all face. But Jotham went into the presence of the Lord at his death and it is still said of him all these thousands of years later, "He walked steadfastly before the Lord his God." Jotham received the reward of a life lived for the Lord: eternal life with Him and a testimony that lives on.

"As for the other events of Jotham's reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? (In those days the Lord began to send Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah against Judah.) Jotham rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David, the city of his father. And Ahaz his son succeeded him as king." (2 Kings 15:36-38) During the final years of Jotham's reign, the Lord begins to allow Judah to be bothered by enemies because of her wrong worship practices. Jotham himself is not engaged in these practices but many of the people are. The Lord begins to send disciplining troubles upon them to encourage the people to ask themselves why this is happening, what they have done wrong. The troubles are intended to cause them to seek the face of the Lord. Not all of our troubles are a result of sin; most of our troubles are a result of living in a fallen world where disease and lawlessness exists. But sometimes trouble comes because we are going down the wrong path and have refused several opportunities to turn back. 

The Bible has many good things to say about King Jotham and it's quite a relief today to study a godly king after we have looked at several ungodly ones over the past several days. Jotham lived an honorable life and then rested with his ancestors. He rests in peace with the Lord, the reward of a life lived for Him. Jotham obtained a good name because of his faith and, "A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold." (Proverbs 22:1)