Tag: ahaziah

2.p.  Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”

2 Chronicles 20:35  After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted wickedly. He joined him in building ships to go to Tarshish, and they built the ships in Ezion-geber. Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.” And the ships were wrecked and were not able to go to Tarshish.

Proverbs 13:20     Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

Proverbs 9:6  Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”

Revelation 3:19     Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.

We are bound to make mistakes during our life.  They seem to be right at our doorstep knocking and enticing us to open up that door.  These door-knocking guests are either our sinful natured self or some other friend, colleague, or new acquaintance.  We have the choice to make once we open the door.

Do we let them in? When it comes to self we are told to take every thought captive and recognize it for what it is against the word of God.  We can only do this if our heart, mind, and soul seek and desire to intentionally humbly serve, honor, follow, obey, and trust God.  We spend time in His word with a hunger to know Him more and more so that we can honor Him more and more in every part of our life.

When it comes to a friend, colleague, or new acquaintance knocking we also have a choice to make.  We open the door and their intention is made known to us.  This is where we compare what is being said with and against the word of God.  This is where we need leading from and through the Holy Spirit to discern what we are thinking about doing or what is being asked of us.  This is where we lean not unto our own understanding but seek Jesus Christ to make it know to our heart and mind.  Many of Christians have gone down paths apart from God because they were blind, neglectful, or complacent with the word of God.

There is no substitute for time in God’s word.  Time in His word feeds us, directs us, gives us hope, strength, peace, rest, love, and courage.

We were bought with a great price, the price of our sin, with the payment of whipping, beating, and nailing to a cross of God’s only beloved Son.  We read where “for the joy set before Him he gladly went to the cross”  This was the price that was paid for us while we were yet sinners.  He did this to call to Himself those who would believe in sacrifice for our sin as full payment.  Though we know this I wonder if somehow we have forgotten the great cost that was paid.  Are we living as though we have been purchased?  Are we living in constant remembrance of the cost?  Are we living in such a way that honors and glorifies the one who paid the price?  This is nothing to take lightly or half-heartedly.  Christ deserves all honor and glory from His redeemed.  Anything short of this does not reflect the price that was paid.

If we keep this in mind then we surely would spend more time in His word so that we grow in understanding and knowledge of Him and how to humbly live in service, honor, glory, to Him at all times.

172. Is it because there is no God

1 Kings 22:51  Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned two years over Israel. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. He served Baal and worshiped him and provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger in every way that his father had done.

2 Kings 1:1  After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel.  Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness.” But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Now therefore thus says the Lord, You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” So Elijah went. The messengers returned to the king, and he said to them, “Why have you returned?” And they said to him, “There came a man to meet us, and said to us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you, and say to him, Thus says the Lord, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” He said to them, “What kind of man was he who came to meet you and told you these things?” They answered him, “He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”  Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty men with his fifty. He went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’” But Elijah answered the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

Again the king sent to him another captain of fifty men with his fifty. And he answered and said to him, “O man of God, this is the king’s order, ‘Come down quickly!’” But Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.  Again the king sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up and came and fell on his knees before Elijah and entreated him, “O man of God, please let my life, and the life of these fifty servants of yours, be precious in your sight. Behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the two former captains of fifty men with their fifties, but now let my life be precious in your sight.” Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word?—therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” So he died according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken. Jehoram became king in his place in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, because Ahaziah had no son.

I am intrigued by this statement; “Thus says the Lord, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire”.  How many times are we needing to walk with God but we search for something else to comfort, satisfy, or to trust in.  When God is first in our life, His presence is always there with us, in our heart, mind, and soul.  When God is not first, and though He is there, His presence is not in our heart, mind, and soul.  The reason it is not there is that we do not want it there.  We don’t want to submit.  We don’t want to live to honor Him with our whole heart, mind, and soul.  We don’t want to leave the pleasures and comforts of our lifestyle.  We want to be the one in charge.  We want to be the one who decides what will be prioritized in our life each day.  We want control.

God is always there but will not share (our heart, mind, and soul) with another.  If we push Him out – out He will stay, howbeit knocking at the door to our heart.  We need to be intentional in our commitment, service, following, trusting, reliance, and obedience.