turn from God – Be Still…

Read 2 Chronicles 24:17-27

Again, we see how a good king can very quickly become disillusioned and turn evil. There are some shocking twists in this passage. The Chronicler’s history differs from the parallel texts in 2 Kings, so it’s helpful to remember his focus is usually on the priests.

Without Jehoiada the priest to keep King Joash’s focus holy, other leaders swoop in and the kingdom crumbles. We’ve seen before what happens when leaders turn away from God. The warning from Jehoiada’s son could not have been clearer. Zechariah stood before the people and said, “This is what God says: Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands and keep yourselves from prospering? You have abandoned the Lord, and now he has abandoned you!”

Read 2 Chronicles 12:1-16

We see in this reading what can happen when leaders are not following God. All the efforts of fortifying cities Rehoboam did in our last reading could not stop the invasion when God was allowing it. The prophet “Shemaiah told them, “This is what the Lord says: You have abandoned me, so I am abandoning you to Shishak.” What does that say to us today?

The leaders accepted God’s response and promptly humbled themselves. Seeing this, God relented from his plan of destruction. What if these leaders had not understood God’s disapproval and discounted the prophet’s warning?