2 CHRONICLES 25-28

Heart Issues
I am challenged again to keep on keepin’ on. I want to follow the Lord all the days of my life and not be swayed by my own pride. I want to fight the good fight and finish the race that God has called me to. These stories may have partly led to Paul’s writings of pressing on. I needed this encouragement today as I am feeling weary of all of our doctor appointments and ministry stuff in addition to not being able to do them all. I am trying to figure out the balance right now of following hard after God, but giving myself a break as I am discouraged some and tired. I am excited about our baby, but I need to redefine my pace and slow down some and sit with the Lord most of all. Ahaz is a picture of someone running the complete opposite direction of God. There are many people in life who do this and God allows but opposes that person. I am thankful to God that He cares enough about each individual to punish and pursue our hearts even as wicked as Ahaz was. He continued to pursue His people and next came Hezekiah.

Notes
-Amaziah and Uzziah are more great examples of kings starting off well, but not going all the way. They start off by seeking the Lord and are changed by their pride and seeking after other gods. Amaziah, after God led him to victory over the Edomites, bows down to the gods of the people he just defeated. God’s anger burned against him and as his pride grew he contested the king of Israel who God allowed to kill him. Then Uzziah was so prideful that he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense to Him and after being confronted by the priests, leprosy broke out on his head. At this point he was relieved of his duties for a leper was a disgraceful thing in those days. Jotham is a surprising story, for he followed the Lord and “walked steadfastly” with Him, but the people remained wicked. In most cases the kings dictated the people’s actions and here it seems that Jotham may not have enforced his views on the others and was becoming politically correct like our leaders. Ahaz is an example of an awful king who sought after other gods and never truly learned his lesson.
-It is so significant to look at where the kings were buried. All of the bad kings were not buried with their fathers which is very symbolic of saying that the good kings were in a whole other class than the wicked ones. Ahaz was not buried with his fathers.