Tag: Right in the Eyes of the Lord

3. And all the people joined in the covenant.

2 Chronicles 29:1  Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah the daughter of Zechariah. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.  In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. He brought in the priests and the Levites and assembled them in the square on the east and said to them, “Hear me, Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth from the Holy Place. For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord and turned their backs. They also shut the doors of the vestibule and put out the lamps and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the Holy Place to the God of Israel. Therefore the wrath of the Lord came on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them an object of horror, of astonishment, and of hissing, as you see with your own eyes. For behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, in order that his fierce anger may turn away from us. My sons, do not now be negligent, for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him and to be his ministers and make offerings to him.”

Ezra 10:3     Therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done according to the Law.

Nehemiah 9:38    “Because of all this we make a firm covenant in writing

Jeremiah 34:15   You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes by proclaiming liberty, each to his neighbor, and you made a covenant before me in the house that is called by my name,

Jeremiah 50:5    They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, saying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’

2 Kings 23:3    And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant.

2 Chronicles 6:8    But the LORD said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart.

Fathers do not determine the walk of their children when they are grown.  Fathers can do everything right and their child, when an adult, can take paths in their life that totally contrary to God and how they were raised.  Likewise, the fatter can do absolutely everything wrong and their child, when an adult, can take paths totally in line with God and now how they were raised.  Of course, the child can follow in their father’s footsteps as well for good or evil.

We see this over and over again throughout scripture.  We wonder why or how this happens.  We don’t have to look far to see it all around us and in our family or the family of friends.  Individually we make an intentional choice to honor, serve, follow, glorify, trust and obey Jesus Christ or we make an intentional choice not too.  We choose to seek God and His word or not.  We choose to deny self or not.  We choose to grow and mature in the gospel of Jesus Christ or not.  We choose how much activity we allow into our life that may interfere with our walk with Jesus Christ.  We choose how generous we will be.  We choose if we will allow ourself to be wronged and if we will forgive, and if we will be united with our body of believers.  We choose how we will spend our time.  We choose what we allow ourselves to think about.  We choose what we will say and how we will say it.  We choose every moment of every day whom we will follow.

We read scripture today on those who chose and committed to desire, seek and follow after God.  Be one who intentionally chooses to place God first and subject everything else to that commitment.

2.t. Yet he sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord. These testified against them, but they would not pay attention.

2 Chronicles 24:1  Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. Jehoiada got for him two wives, and he had sons and daughters.

2 Chronicles 24:15  But Jehoiada grew old and full of days, and died. He was 130 years old at his death. And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, and toward God and his house. Now after the death of Jehoiada the princes of Judah came and paid homage to the king. Then the king listened to them. And they abandoned the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols. And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs. Yet he sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord. These testified against them, but they would not pay attention.

Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God, Why do you break the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.’” But they conspired against him, and by command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord. Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, had shown him, but killed his son. And when he was dying, he said, “May the Lord see and avenge!” At the end of the year the army of the Syrians came up against Joash. They came to Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus. Though the army of the Syrians had come with few men, the Lord delivered into their hand a very great army, because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. Thus they executed judgment on Joash. When they had departed from him, leaving him severely wounded, his servants conspired against him because of the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed.

We can never underestimate the influence of those we allow ourselves to associate with.  You would have thought Joash would have been firm in his walk with the Lord.  He was led and counseled by the high priest Jehoiada from the time he was 7 yrs old and had become king.  Joash did right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada.  It is not as though Joash did not know what it meant to lead the people in full commitment to the Lord.  He knew what was right yet still chose to listen to the princes of Judah and abandon the house of the Lord.  They chose to worship idols and Joash followed along willingly.  Even when Zechariah the son of Jehoiada, being led by the Spirit of God, called them out on their falling away, Joash chose to not listen and had Zechariah stoned.

Do you ever wonder how it is possible to have tasted the love, guidance, joy, peace, and blessings of God and people turn away from Him?  So it is when we are living in prosperity and have been blessed by God with joy and peace.  We so easily don’t see the need anymore for God in our lives, and if we do it is at arm’s length.  It is almost as though we keep Him on speed dial in case we need His help but other than that there is no humble service, honor, reliance, or listening for His leading in our lives.  We might not admit it but we intentionally choose to do this.

Think about a time when chaos, confusion, uncertainty, and trials hit you hard.  Were you not calling out to God with all your heart, mind, and soul?  Weren’t you relying on and trusting in Him?  Weren’t you constantly seeking Him?  Now compare this time of your life and the earnestness in which you sought and flowed after God to how you are in times of peace, prosperity, and blessings.   Is there a difference?  Do you seek to be in His presence with the same level of intensity?  Do you seek to hear Him speak into your life?  Do you hunger and thirst for Him in the same way?  If not, then confess it and repent and turn away from this lukewarm commitment.  Remember the price that was paid.  Remember the love of Jesus Christ willingly given for the redemption of your sin.  Remember this world is not our home, we are only passing through.  Remember are a child of the King and ought to live to honor Him.

No one is immune to the attacks on our heart, mind, and soul from either self or Satan.  We need to take inventory of our heart, mind, and soul.  We need to take inventory of the time we spend in His Word, the time we spend in prayer, the time we spend in honoring, the time we spend in listening, and time we spend in thought and action.  His word should be on our heart, in our mind, and flooding our soul.  Our ears should desire to hear Him speak into our life.  Our eyes should be seeking to see His handiwork.

In all things, at all times, in all words, and in all action our lives should serve, honor, worship, glorify, follow, obey, trust in and rely on Jesus Christ.  Keep Him first.  Choose to walk each moment of every day with Him for these purposes because He is worthy of all honor, glory, and praise.

183.And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may go well with you

2 Kings 18:1   In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan). He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. For he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses. And the Lord was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him. He struck down the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city.

In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it, and at the end of three years he took it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. The king of Assyria carried the Israelites away to Assyria and put them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God but transgressed his covenant, even all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded. They neither listened nor obeyed.

Deuteronomy 6:18    And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may go well with you

Nehemiah 9:17    They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck

Daniel 9:8    To us, O LORD, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you.

Micah 3:4    Then they will cry to the LORD, but he will not answer them; he will hide his face from them at that time,

We can certainly see both sides of the coin in these 12 verses of 2 Kings 18.  Hezekiah, King of Judah, listened, believed, followed, obeyed, and did what was right in the eyes of God.  Hoshea, King of Israel, neither listened nor obeyed.  The outcomes of these two countries were very different.  Judah prospered during the time of Hezekiah and Israel was carried away.

What I make note of is how we are so easily swayed to walk paths that are not “Doing what is right in the eyes of God”.  It seems to take form when one area of life is allowed to dip its feet into what God has clearly said: “stay away from doing this”.   What we don’t realize is that once our feet hit the slippery bottom of what we are dipping into we soon are falling headlong into the pool of “Not doing what is right in the eyes of God”.  The pool does not look deep nor does it look like anything menacing, in fact, it looks inviting.  There are numerous ones who are there ahead of us and they call out with invitation too.  We might have been warned in the past to stay away from this but once we have gotten close and see others who seem to be enjoying the refreshing appearance of freedom our guard is down and our ears only hear the call of the forbidden.  We are so close now that the voice of God can not be heard over the noise of those to whom we have chosen to get close to and even join.

There is truth in “Right is Right even if only one is doing it” and “Wrong is Wrong even if everyone is doing it”  If we are going to do what is right we better know where to look to find out what right is.  If we neglect this book of truth we will not have the ability to hear the leading of the Holy Spirit, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to know and understand follies of man.   It is easy to follow what seems right in our own eyes and it is easy to listen to ourselves.  Both of these actions will make us deaf and blind to the Word of God and knowing what is right in His eyes.

151. And his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God,

1 Kings 15:1  Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah. He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father.

2 Chronicles 25:2    And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, yet not with a whole heart.

2 Chronicles 31:20-21  Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God.  And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.

When walking down the paths of; 1. And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God.  2.  he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, yet not with a whole heart.  3. seeking his God, he did with all his heart and prospered.

There are dangers we face that are self-induced and none so dangerous as not giving God our whole heart.   When God does not get our whole heart then we get influenced and driven by our own sinful desires or those of others.  When we separate our heart to serve other things more wholly than God we jump on a very wide deceiving path of influence, illusions, deception, false hopes, and fleeting satisfaction.  Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” This is true in more than just money.  If we try to manage our time with God in an attempt to satisfy both our self and God we most certainly will side with self.  When that happens the word of God becomes less and less, serving Him becomes a burden, honoring Him becomes counterfeit, following Him becomes more of performing art than the desired walk, and obeying Him becomes at best a guess of what society deems ok.  See what Peter says about slipping away from God and it’s the outcome: 2 Peter 1:3-10 “ His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble,”

Serving God half-hearted will lead to acceptance and tolerance of sin in our lives.  It will rob us or true joy, peace, rest, hope, and faith.

The Straight Path

but you shall cling to the Lord your God just as you have done to this day

Joshua 23:6
turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them, but you shall cling to the Lord your God just as you have done to this day

Deuteronomy 5:32
You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess

Proverbs 4:25
Ponder the path of your feet;
then all your ways will be sure.
Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil

2 Kings 22:2
And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left

Hebrews 12:12
Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.

Joshua is old and he speaks to the people telling them to keep on a firm path with the Lord not turing to the left or the right.  He is not the only one to state this truth.  Jesus said “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few”.  It is a common theme in scripture for those who are called by God.  What is the straight path?  I think it is having heart, mind, and soul with a purposeful desire to fully trust and humbly serve God.  He is my portion, strength, shelter, rock, hope, peace, joy, love….. and is not replaced by things of this world.   Keep your feet on solid ground. Keep your eyes fixed on Him.  Keep your heart’s desire for Him. Keep your ears listening for His voice and direction.  Keep your trust in His strength, power, and might.  Do not dilute His grace with your works.  Want to be used by Him for His purpose, honor, and glory.