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- [00:05]
A
Hey, thanks for joining us for these chapters, whether you're watching on YouTube or you're listening to a podcast, we hope that you are subscribed or that you're following along so that you don't miss an episode. We're in second chronicles 25 through 27. A few episodes left in this Chronicles. We've been in Chronicles for quite some time now, but just a few episodes left. Scott, what do we need to know about these chapters?
- [00:29]
B
Sure. All right. We got a lot of kings in this chapter. Well, we'll cover them really quick. You have Amaziah, Uzziah, and Jotham. So you got Amaziah first up in chapter 25. Shelby's kind of a mixed bag a little bit. So we read that he did what was right in the Lord's sight, but not wholeheartedly. Sounds very tempered. I think what stands out to me most, though, is that after he defeats the in battle, so he goes to war with them. He takes their gods as plunder and starts to make sacrifices to them. And there's a scene where he's encountered by a prophet who asks him a really great question. He's basically like, hey, why did you start worshiping the gods of a people who couldn't be delivered by those gods?
- [01:10]
A
That is a great question.
- [01:11]
B
You just watched how futile these gods are, and now you're sacrificing to them, like, what? What is going on? That's a fantastic question. You've got Uzziah after him. He's also a little bit of a mixed bag. He does things right. Then he starts to fly, too, of the sun by offering incense in the temple. That's something only the priests can do. And the author traces this pride to his power and security that he feels. And so he's. He's had enough success that he starts to feel like he can sort of relax God's standards, like, the rules don't apply to me. And then, in contrast to Uzziah and Amaziah, you have Jotham. So his account is actually really, really brief, but we're told what we need to. He did what was right in the Lord's sight. Unlike Uzziah, he respected God's boundaries by not entering the temple. That Jotham strengthened his position because he did not waver in obeying the Lord, his God.
- [02:06]
A
Okay, so we've walked through three different kings. What are some takeaways for us today in light of where they maybe did well or they misstepped?
- [02:15]
B
Yeah, a couple things really kind of jumped up for me. I've mentioned this before a couple times, how I can get real judgy about certain people in the Bible. It's like, how could you do that? And then realize I'm not really any different? And so, you know, it's easy for me to read about Amaziah and Uzziah here and think, like, what are you guys doing? But, I mean, I see myself in them, honestly, if. If I take a moment, like when Amaziah takes those idols of the gods he just defeated, you know, he'd been given a clear demonstration, very tangible demonstration, that. That those aren't fake gods, that his God is the true God that he should be worshiping. And. And I've seen that lesson affirmed my own life so many times. Like, you know, I've just seen so many instances where God just. Just reminds me of who he is. And yet I still fall into these patterns of thinking that disobeying him is maybe going to work out for me this time. It's just. It's very foolish, you know, and I'm just. I have to challenge myself and ask, hey, have I ever, like when I'm tempted to disobey the Lord, just ask myself, have I ever regretted obeying his commands? And the answer is no. Obedience is hard, but I've ultimately never regretted doing it. I think another thing that stands out to me with Uzziah specifically is that comfort Shelby can be a very, very dangerous place to be. Like when his power was kind of solidified, that's when he started to relax God's standards. And I think there's just a warning here. Like, when am I tempted to relax God's standards? Like, you know, just this time, just this once. Like, I've, you know, been generally good. Like, I'm all for rest and relaxation. That's great. But obedience is to God is never something we should relax from. That's never something that we get to take a vacation from.
- [04:03]
A
Yeah. Wow, that's a good. That's a good word, Scott. A challenging word for sure. You know, I think you talked about, like, comfort in the vice that can be. I saw the vice of pride in this passage we saw in 16:6. It said when he was strong, he grew proud to his destruction. And man, if that's not a vice in my own life, that as soon as you get one sort of taste of like, I'm capable, I did something then that pride creeps in, which then leads to destruction. And so in this. Honestly, what I'm thinking of is Jesus's example of humility that he had every reason to be rightfully impressed with himself as God, and yet he chose to humble himself to the point of death on a cross. And so I'm remembering the example of Jesus and how that contrasts with the pride and we saw we saw in these chapters. And I am asking for the Lord's help to ask humbly, to act humbly in my own life as well. So. All right, it's going to wrap up. 2 Chronicles 25 through 27. We'll be back tomorrow.