Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus)

First, imagine a middle schooler becoming a king! Would you like to be ruled by your middle schooler?  Manasseh, age 12, is given all kinds of power and authority only because of the position.  He is not king because he has proven himself by showing the wisdom of a king; but merely because his father has passed the crown to him as the oldest son, next in line for the throne! 

Manasseh was born the son of the great King Hezekiah who loved the Lord God and love the people he served.  King Hezekiah restored and built new all that was broken in the kingdom of Judah. Guided by God he tore down all the altars of Baal, ceasing the worship of anything or anyone but God. He rebuilt the Temple of God and restored the ministry of the Levitical priests to God’s people.

But now, his middle school age son has come to inherited power and undoes all the good that King Hezekiah did who “did evil in the eyes of the Lord”.  The new king destroyed all that is father had done for the glory of God. He became known as the most evil king Judah has ever seen—the opposite of what his father was known as king. 

But God…

2 Chronicles 33

Manasseh King of Judah

Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. ² He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. ³ He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had demolished; he also erected altars to the Baals and made Asherah poles. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. ⁴ He built altars in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever.” ⁵ In both courts of the temple of the Lord, he built altars to all the starry hosts. ⁶ He sacrificed his children in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced divination and witchcraft, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.

⁷ He took the image he had made and put it in God’s temple, of which God had said to David and to his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name forever. ⁸ I will not again make the feet of the Israelites leave the land I assigned to your ancestors, if only they will be careful to do everything I commanded them concerning all the laws, decrees and regulations given through Moses.” ⁹ But Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.

¹⁰ The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. ¹¹ So the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. ¹² In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. ¹³ And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.

¹⁴ Afterward he rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, west of the Gihon spring in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate and encircling the hill of Ophel; he also made it much higher. He stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities in Judah.

¹⁵ He got rid of the foreign gods and removed the image from the temple of the Lord, as well as all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city. ¹⁶ Then he restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it, and told Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁷ The people, however, continued to sacrifice at the high places, but only to the Lord their God.

¹⁸ The other events of Manasseh’s reign, including his prayer to his God and the words the seers spoke to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, are written in the annals of the kings of Israel.^[a] 19 His prayer and how God was moved by his entreaty, as well as all his sins and unfaithfulness, and the sites where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself—all these are written in the records of the seers. ²⁰ Manasseh rested with his ancestors and was buried in his palace. And Amon his son succeeded him as king.

Amon King of Judah

²¹ Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. ²² He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done. Amon worshiped and offered sacrifices to all the idols Manasseh had made. ²³ But unlike his father Manasseh, he did not humble himself before the Lord; Amon increased his guilt.

²⁴ Amon’s officials conspired against him and assassinated him in his palace. ²⁵ Then the people of the land killed all who had plotted against King Amon, and they made Josiah his son king in his place.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

For fifty-five years, this man of evil reigned in Judah!  From age 12 to 67, King Manasseh reigned.  That godly King Hezekiah should have such a wicked son is another one of those puzzles in biblical history. If Manasseh was born in 709 B.C., then he was seven years old when his father was healed and when the miracle of the shadow occurred. He was eight years old when the 185,000 Assyrian soldiers were slain by God’s Hand to protect the kingdom of Judah while his father, King Hezekiah reigned!  But apparently these miracles during his father’s tenure made little impression on young Manasseh!  Until that one day when God…

Many Bible scholars think that Manasseh reigned with his father for perhaps ten years (697–687), from ages twelve to twenty-two, so he lived in close relationship with a godly father. But the remarkable thing is that Manasseh became the most wicked king in Judah’s history, so much so that he is blamed for the fall of the southern kingdom! (See also, 2 Kings 24:3; Jeremiah 15:4)

Why was God’s glory of wisdom lost on him?  We don’t know but what we are privileged to know is that the evil pride that overtook this young king was soon dealt with by God who humbled Manasseh.  God used the enemy Assyrians to bring him to his knees. The enemy of Judah shackled him, put a ring in his nose and led the king off to Babylon!  But God—intervened when the Manasseh sought the Lord in humility. 

Remember the promise of God spoken earlier in our study of the Chronicles?

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

This experience was greatly humiliating for this wicked king, but God used it to chasten him, break his pride, and bring him to his knees. Manasseh prayed for forgiveness, and the Lord kept His promise and forgave him. Even more, God moved the Assyrians to free Manasseh and allow him to return to Jerusalem to rule over the people.  THIS is Amazing Grace! 

Manasseh humbled himself, but the Lord first humbled him. True repentance is a work of God in the heart and a willing response of the heart to the Lord.

With a cleansed heart, renewed mind and refreshed soul by God’s mercy, King Manasseh returned home with the goal to undo all the evil he had done. He fortified Jerusalem and other cities in Judah, removed all the idols from the temple, as well as the altars in Jerusalem he had set up to false gods.  After cleansing the temple, he then repaired the altar of the Lord that had been neglected. He also offered peace and thanksgiving offerings to the Lord who had rescued him. He commanded the people of Judah to serve God, and he set the example.  But they did not listen to him—and neither did his young son, Amon.  The young son, Amon had been too influenced by his father’s sins to appreciate his new life of obedience to God.  Whereas Manasseh humbled himself before the Lord, his son Amon refused to do so; and the longer he sinned, the harder his heart became.  The Enemy of God destroys its own for evil leads to death. Amon is assassinated by his own court of officials.

In our own world, we can sometimes think that evil is winning but then God steps in. Our God who sees and knows all because He never fails.  In the middle of the storms, He is there.  In the worst of times to us; God has not given up His authority or turned to look away.  God is using all that happens around, in and to us to show us His glory is consistently at work.  God is patient, kind, compassionate and merciful.  All these traits of God’s character are wrapped in His infinite, relentless love for us!

Our response to His merciful love is to fall to our knees and seek the Lord with honest humbled words of trust with an obedient heart.  In the seeking we must surrender our pride; for it is our pride that blocks us from His glorious work within us that longs to unshackle us and set us free! 

Pray the prayer of Manasseh—Surrender all the troubles and pain that have you bound up in worry and anxiety right now.  Whatever it is, disease, addictions, kids in trouble, cash flow, debts, or job loss and bow to God who still has the authority and power to transform life.  Prayer: “Lord, have mercy on me and my family.  Teach me to see your way through the storm.” God answers prayers of humbled surrender with healing, forgiveness and restoration in ways we never dreamed possible.  With God all things are possible. With God, troubles are seen from a new perspective.  With God, peace comes to replace anxious thoughts.  With God, love drives our fear and displaces worry.

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered.  May this statement be our testimony and our song of redemption forever and ever, Amen!

Lord,

Thank you for giving us the privilege to come to you with all that is on our minds, knowing you know and are already at work on our behalf.  What amazing love, mercy, and grace you provide daily in miraculous, glorious ways—so others will know you and see your glory at work and come to you, too. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In Jesus Name, Amen

“Pride comes before the fall”—Proverb 16:18 Another translation adds the attitude before falling; “Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. (NKJV)

Pride tarnishes all the good done through us by God when we think we did all by ourselves.  Watch a toddler learning to walk.  At first, toddlers cling tightly to the hand of the one keeping them upright and steady in their attempts to walk. They learn soon to reach out to things in the room they think are stable and strong enough to help them rise up and walk on their own.  Later the learn to walk on their own—unassisted.  They walk confidently. When a parent tries to lead them from danger or a fall; they arrogantly tell them, “No, I do it myself.” The toddler wants to not only walk but run without holding anyone’s hand.  We all know what happens next—they fall.

Sometimes in our growing and maturing faith, we act like a bunch of spiritual toddlers!  We become so confident in our walk with God that we think we are ready to do life without Him.  The “God, I’ve got this” pride enters in like an unwanted disease. The symptoms of arrogance and self-righteousness are readily seen by God before we notice the infection spreading in our hearts, minds, and souls. Others will notice but  God sees it first as He sees us from the inside out.  “Haughty,” arrogant overconfident spirits soon take over our being and focus on God blurs in the distance. God stands nearby.  God didn’t move but we have walked away from his assistance in our walk.  Then we fall.

Our passage today speaks of Uzziah, the king of Judah, who did what was right in the eyes of God—until pride took over his being.  With God’s leading he did great works for God’s people and stabilized the kingdom. But all that good was tarnished by the disease of pride from the inside out. Then the disease of leprosy was allowed to affict him from the outside in. Read to the end for the results of pride.

2 Chronicles 26

Uzziah King of Judah

Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. ² He was the one who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after Amaziah rested with his ancestors.

³ Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem. ⁴ He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. ⁵ He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success.

⁶ He went to war against the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh and Ashdod. He then rebuilt towns near Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines. ⁷ God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabs who lived in Gur Baal and against the Meunites. ⁸ The Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as the border of Egypt, because he had become very powerful.

⁹ Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate and at the angle of the wall, and he fortified them. ¹⁰ He also built towers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns, because he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain. He had people working his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil.

¹¹ Uzziah had a well-trained army, ready to go out by divisions according to their numbers as mustered by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah the officer under the direction of Hananiah, one of the royal officials. ¹² The total number of family leaders over the fighting men was 2,600. ¹³ Under their command was an army of 307,500 men trained for war, a powerful force to support the king against his enemies. ¹⁴ Uzziah provided shields, spears, helmets, coats of armor, bows and slingstones for the entire army. ¹⁵ In Jerusalem he made devices invented for use on the towers and on the corner defenses so that soldiers could shoot arrows and hurl large stones from the walls. His fame spread far and wide, for he was greatly helped until he became powerful.

¹⁶ But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. ¹⁷ Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in. ¹⁸ They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God.”

¹⁹ Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. ²⁰ When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him.

²¹ King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house—leprous, and banned from the temple of the Lord. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.

²² The other events of Uzziah’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. ²³ Uzziah rested with his ancestors and was buried near them in a cemetery that belonged to the kings, for people said, “He had leprosy.” And Jotham his son succeeded him as king.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

In the end, the King who did great things by God’s Mighty Hand, was only remember as the king who had leprosy.  How sad…pride brings sadness.

I’m now recalling how Jesus answered and dealt with another proud, rich young ruler, a ruler similar to Uzziah.  He came to Jesus honestly, but with hints of pride, and asked;

“Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

“Which ones?” he inquired.

Jesus replied, “’You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.” Matthew 19:16:22

Was the rich young ruler hoping to buy his way into heaven by writing a sizable check as a donation to Jesus and his group of followers?  Would that be good enough? Wait, Jesus, you want all from me?  Mm, that’s a bit too pricey for me—beyond any tax break you could give me.  But sadness comes refusing God.  “I’ve got this God,” is the plight of many believers and the not yet believers of Jesus.

Later, Jesus will explain this conversation to his disciples—

“Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” Matthew 19:23-30

Pride has no place in our humbled walk with God in His Kingdom.

Pride that states confidently, “I do it myself,” leads quickly to fall.  Some of us who fall, humbly call out to God, “Lord, help me.”  But others of us act like toddlers in defiance of the fall.  We just sit and stew in our tears, wondering what went wrong when we were doing so good.  Pride blames everyone but us.  Pride tarnishes all the good achieved before the fall because we think the good came all from our own strengths. Pride, in fact, is our greatest weakness!

This is why the “pride proverb” is so famous!  “All have sinned and fall short,” writes Paul to the church and then and speaks to us today! (Romans 3:23) It is a sin not to give God all the glory for all that is good!  Pride is a sin that must be removed! Pride is removed only by repentance to God in the Name of Jesus! 

This proverbial wise advice is for all people and is said by believers and unbelievers alike.  But it specifically warns us all who have had the holy privilege to be a part of doing great works for the good of all by God leading, help, protection, and provision to stay humble, recognizing that it was God who did it through us as we held His Hand of wisdom and guidance.  Our only power to do good comes from God who is good through is Holy Spirit living and working in us. Listen to Him! 

Lord,

I repent of pride to you right now.  All I am, all I have I give back to you who gave life to me.  I’m yours.  I offer my life as an offering to you today. Guide me in all I think, say, and do so that others will know you, too.  Cleanse our hearts, remove all pride and all affects of this disease. Renew our minds, refresh our souls with your new mercies. Continually restore the joy of your salvation at work within us. And renew a right spirit within me.

In Jesus Name, Amen 

Just yesterday we reverently sang; “You can have it all” in worship to our Lord. But I confess that when I sing the chorus; I wonder if the words are still too inadequate for the One who already owns it all.  Are the words merely mankind’s attempt to give God permission to bless us in our feeble surrender in song?  It feels good but is it good?  The intended message is surrender.  But even in surrender, God seeks wholehearted surrender, the kind of surrender where there is not even a hint of our arrogant thinking of “oh how noble and good we are to sing these very words to Him” or to think “how pleasing we must be to God, blessing Him like this with our song of surrender.”  Especially when after the service is over; we return to our “regularly schedule programs” of self.

Believers who go deeper and wholeheartedly into a posture of humbled surrender — weep.  This outpouring of emotion is because wholehearted believers realize the true cost to not only believe Jesus but in the following of Jesus which involves ALL our hearts, minds, and souls—all that is within our “created in His own image” being! Wholehearted surrender comes because of realizing the fullness and significance of what God has surrendered for us—Jesus, His Son, a part of Himself which is more than enough! “We love Him because He first loved us,” John teaches us. (1 John 4:19) We also know that God created Love. God demonstrated His Love in surrender of His Son to save us.

Yes, “In the beginning, God…” is the beginning of God’s Story and Plan that includes surrender by Him for us. When we realize this truth, only then can we begin to grasp the depth of Real Love, created by God, Who is Love. Because of Love; God surrendered His One and Only Son to die for us because of this wholehearted Love for us! 

God created ALL.  God owns all.  He created all that is within us, surrounding us and is over and under us.  We are standing on the ground God created to hold us physically upright.  We are spiritually standing wholeheartedly on the Truth Who has all Authority. We are redeemed and blessed with life eternal because God created the Way back to Him through believing in His Son, Jesus!  God is Sovereign because God alone reigns over all He created and owns. Yes, the first four words of His Word speaks volumes about God; “In the beginning God…”

Everything in and on earth belongs to the Maker who gives life to new born infants who God knew in the wombs of their moms and who gave each one purpose to walk with Him!  King David, the descendant of the new king of Judah, sang wholeheartedly;

“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.

Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?
The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.

They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Savior.
Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, God of Jacob.

Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty—he is the King of glory.  –David, Psalm 24

How it must grieve the heart of God for us to come to him with half-hearted surrender to His wholehearted redemption of us.

Amaziah, descendent of David, new King of Judah is described as, “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly.”  Read on to see the results of half-hearted thinking followed by arrogant behaviors.  Spoiler alert—It’s not good.

2 Chronicles 25

Amaziah King of Judah

Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem. ² He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly. ³ After the kingdom was firmly in his control, he executed the officials who had murdered his father the king. ⁴ Yet he did not put their children to death, but acted in accordance with what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the Lord commanded: “Parents shall not be put to death for their children, nor children be put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.”^[a]

⁵ Amaziah called the people of Judah together and assigned them according to their families to commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. He then mustered those twenty years old or more and found that there were three hundred thousand men fit for military service, able to handle the spear and shield. ⁶ He also hired a hundred thousand fighting men from Israel for a hundred talents of silver.

⁷ But a man of God came to him and said, “Your Majesty, these troops from Israel must not march with you, for the Lord is not with Israel—not with any of the people of Ephraim. ⁸ Even if you go and fight courageously in battle, God will overthrow you before the enemy, for God has the power to help or to overthrow.”

⁹ Amaziah asked the man of God, “But what about the hundred talents I paid for these Israelite troops?”

The man of God replied, “The Lord can give you much more than that.”

¹⁰ So Amaziah dismissed the troops who had come to him from Ephraim and sent them home. They were furious with Judah and left for home in a great rage.

¹¹ Amaziah then marshaled his strength and led his army to the Valley of Salt, where he killed ten thousand men of Seir. ¹² The army of Judah also captured ten thousand men alive, took them to the top of a cliff and threw them down so that all were dashed to pieces.

¹³ Meanwhile the troops that Amaziah had sent back and had not allowed to take part in the war raided towns belonging to Judah from Samaria to Beth Horon. They killed three thousand people and carried off great quantities of plunder.

¹⁴ When Amaziah returned from slaughtering the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the people of Seir. He set them up as his own gods, bowed down to them and burned sacrifices to them. ¹⁵ The anger of the Lord burned against Amaziah, and he sent a prophet to him, who said, “Why do you consult this people’s gods, which could not save their own people from your hand?”

¹⁶ While he was still speaking, the king saidto him, “Have we appointed you an adviser to the king? Stop! Why be struck down?”

So the prophet stopped but said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.”

¹⁷ After Amaziah king of Judah consulted his advisers, he sent this challenge to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel: “Come, let us face each other in battle.”

¹⁸ But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah: “A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle underfoot. ¹⁹ You say to yourself that you have defeated Edom, and now you are arrogant and proud. But stay at home! Why ask for trouble and cause your own downfall and that of Judah also?”

²⁰ Amaziah, however, would not listen, for God so worked that he might deliver them into the hands of Jehoash, because they sought the gods of Edom. ²¹ So Jehoash king of Israel attacked. He and Amaziah king of Judah faced each other at Beth Shemesh in Judah. ²² Judah was routed by Israel, and every man fled to his home. ²³ Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh. Then Jehoash brought him to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate—a section about four hundred cubits long. ²⁴ He took all the gold and silver and all the articles found in the temple of God that had been in the care of Obed-Edom, together with the palace treasures and the hostages, and returned to Samaria.

²⁵ Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel. ²⁶ As for the other events of Amaziah’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel? ²⁷ From the time that Amaziah turned away from following the Lord, they conspired against him in Jerusalem and he fled to Lachish, but they sent men after him to Lachish and killed him there. ²⁸ He was brought back by horse and was buried with his ancestors in the City of Judah.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Both Amaziah and the next king, Uzziah who we will read about tomorrow, were God-fearing kings. As long as they surrender to God and acknowledged God’s part in their achievements, they prospered. When ambition and pride caused them to forget God,  and lean on their own understanding of how to lead the people of Judah; they paid the price for their sin.

Pride that lies within our sin nature is an old tool of our Enemy that he uses tirelessly. I believe Satan trains battalions of demons to whisper one question in our ears daily: “What are people thinking of you?” Pride causes us to set ourselves up as gods, thinking we own all that we have accumulated and therefore decide how to use it for our glory and position in life. Because of pride, we sin without regard to God’s standards of holiness. When our pride overtakes our being there is no longer any room for God.  Surrender no longer becomes a part of our vocabulary or our response to God who gave His all for us.

Those who deliver the Good News message of Jesus each week from the platforms are tempted most with pride—especially when beginning to make a difference for Christ!  The devil hates success in God’s church!  So, evil tempts God’s servants with pride that seeks ambition. It creeps in slowly but soon sweeps away our wholehearted devotion to God. Success often tries to squeeze God out of our minds. So, we must guard our hearts like precious treasures. We must daily ask God to renew our minds, transform our thinking and our attitudes while refreshing our souls with a reset of His mercies as our default.

Resist pride like the plague. Wholeheartedly focus on Christ in surrender to Him. “Here’s how” says Paul to the church;

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” Romans 12:1-2, MSG

Paul explains true surrender of self to God, the One who truly has it all;

“Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.” Romans 12:3, MSG

Amaziah was not wholehearted in his relationship to the Lord, and this revealed itself in the way he argued with the prophet about the will of God. The king was unwilling to send the mercenaries home because it would have meant forfeiting the 7,500 pounds of silver he had paid to the king of Israel. Amaziah was counting the cost and adjusting his priorities, hoping he could change God’s mind. The prophet wisely replied that God could give him much more if he would only trust Him and obey His will.

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”—Jesus, Matthew 6:33

“You are my strength when I am weak, You are the treasure that I seek
You are my all in all
I’m seeking You like a precious jewel, Lord, to give up I’d be a fool
You are my all in all…

Taking my cross my sin my shame, Raising again I praise Your name
You are my all in all
When I fall down You pick me up, When I run dry You fill my cup
You are my all in all…”

(Composer, Dennis Jernigan, 1991 Shepherd&#39’s, Heart Music, Inc. (Admin. by PraiseCharts Publishing, Inc.)

“I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all…” (Judson W. Van DeVenter, composer, 1896)

Lord,

I surrender all that is within me for all you want to do and through me as your servant. I’m yours.  And I’m listening wholeheartedly. I’m singing the Song of the Redeemer!

In Jesus Name, Amen

From the womb to the tomb we will hear a multitude of voices flow in and out of our ears. The voice we depend on at birth was heard from the womb with joyful anticipation of our birth. We loved that voice first who held and protected us in her womb—the voice of mom.  We also heard and recognized a deeper voice, too. The voice our dad was distinctive, deeper and would get our attention quickly when we were called to attention by all the names given to us at birth!  Other voices were heard as other family members leaned over the crib to see us for the first time. Later, voices of certain relatives will feel it is there job to speak their voice over us to guide us to their ways while others voices will encourage us in the ways of the Lord they trust. 

A time will come five years or so later when we enter a new world of voices—School. We are brought by the hand of our mom or dad into a rectangle room with colorful posters.  We hear lots of other voices of children like us with a grown up’s voice guiding the chaos into learning things we didn’t know before coming. It is the teacher’s voice we learn to trust and rely on most.

From the elementary classroom we move on to enter a larger place with even more voices—Middle and High School. There are many more classrooms where we rotate with all the other voices of adolescents to hear and learn from the voices of many teachers and administration who teach a plethora of information every day, all day long, until we graduate.  These voices add to those of our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and all other family members who feel they can contribute to our lives with their voice.  From graduation, we learn that there are many voices who speak many opinions on life either in a college setting and/or in the workplace.  Voices everywhere have something to say.  Who do we listen to now?

Jehoiada, the priest, was the voice of God to Joash.  From infancy, Jehoiada was also the voice he heard as a male father figure. The only other voice he heard came from his nurse who cared for all his physical needs. His own father, and former king of Judah was killed along with the rest of his family by the enemy.  God led Jehoiada to quickly hide and protect the infant because God had promised that a person born in the hereditary line of David would always be placed on the throne as king.  God kept His promise. Jehoiada and the nurse trusted God’s voice and became part of the Promise!

 2 Chronicles 24

Joash Repairs the Temple

Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba. ² Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years of Jehoiada the priest. ³ Jehoiada chose two wives for him, and he had sons and daughters.

⁴ Some time later Joash decided to restore the temple of the Lord. ⁵ He called together the priests and Levites and said to them, “Go to the towns of Judah and collect the money due annually from all Israel, to repair the temple of your God. Do it now.” But the Levites did not act at once.

⁶ Therefore the king summoned Jehoiada the chief priest and said to him, “Why haven’t you required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax imposed by Moses the servant of the Lord and by the assembly of Israel for the tent of the covenant law?”

⁷ Now the sons of that wicked woman Athaliah had broken into the temple of God and had used even its sacred objects for the Baals.

⁸ At the king’s command, a chest was made and placed outside, at the gate of the temple of the Lord. ⁹ A proclamation was then issued in Judah and Jerusalem that they should bring to the Lord the tax that Moses the servant of God had required of Israel in the wilderness. ¹⁰ All the officials and all the people brought their contributions gladly, dropping them into the chest until it was full. ¹¹ Whenever the chest was brought in by the Levites to the king’s officials and they saw that there was a large amount of money, the royal secretary and the officer of the chief priest would come and empty the chest and carry it back to its place. They did this regularly and collected a great amount of money. ¹² The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who carried out the work required for the temple of the Lord. They hired masons and carpenters to restore the Lord’s temple, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the temple.

¹³ The men in charge of the work were diligent, and the repairs progressed under them. They rebuilt the temple of God according to its original design and reinforced it. ¹⁴ When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada, and with it were made articles for the Lord’s temple: articles for the service and for the burnt offerings, and also dishes and other objects of gold and silver. As long as Jehoiada lived, burnt offerings were presented continually in the temple of the Lord.

¹⁵ Now Jehoiada was old and full of years, and he died at the age of a hundred and thirty. ¹⁶ He was buried with the kings in the City of David, because of the good he had done in Israel for God and his temple.

The Wickedness of Joash

¹⁷ After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them. ¹⁸ They abandoned the temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and worshiped Asherah poles and idols. Because of their guilt, God’s anger came on Judah and Jerusalem. ¹⁹ Although the Lord sent prophets to the people to bring them back to him, and though they testified against them, they would not listen.

²⁰ Then the Spirit of God came on Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands? You will not prosper. Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.’”

²¹ But they plotted against him, and by order of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. ²² King Joash did not remember the kindness Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him but killed his son, who said as he lay dying, “May the Lord see this and call you to account.”

²³ At the turn of the year, the army of Aram marched against Joash; it invaded Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the leaders of the people. They sent all the plunder to their king in Damascus. ²⁴ Although the Aramean army had come with only a few men, the Lord delivered into their hands a much larger army. Because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, judgment was executed on Joash. ²⁵ When the Arameans withdrew, they left Joash severely wounded. His officials conspired against him for murdering the son of Jehoiada the priest, and they killed him in his bed. So he died and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

²⁶ Those who conspired against him were Zabad, son of Shimeath an Ammonite woman, and Jehozabad, son of Shimrith a Moabite woman. ²⁷ The account of his sons, the many prophecies about him, and the record of the restoration of the temple of God are written in the annotations on the book of the kings. And Amaziah his son succeeded him as king.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

As long as Joash listening to the voice of Jehoiada the priest, great things of God happened under the young king’s leadership.  Worship of God alone was restored worship in the temple and the altars of Baal were destroyed. But when Jehoiada voice ceased; Joash turned his back on God to endure God’s discipline and punishment.

Surrounded by voices who honored God, chosen by the priest, Jehoiada who heard the voice of God; Joash made God-honoring decisions. When his counselor’s voice ceased; Josiah listened to everyone around him who wanted to return to evil ways.  Joash didn’t replace the Voice who kept him safe and secure. He chose the voice of evil who led him to selfish evil deeds of darkness. God gave Joash many chances to repent. But Joash would not listen to the Voice he needed to hear most of all. 

Max Lucado writes of choosing the right voice;

“Ever wonder why there were two crosses next to Christ? Why not six or ten? Ever wonder why Jesus was in the center? Why not on the far right or far left? Could it be that the two crosses on the hill symbolize one of God’s greatest gifts? The gift of choice.

The two criminals have so much in common. Convicted by the same system. Condemned to the same death. Surrounded by the same crowd. Equally close to the same Jesus. In fact, they begin with the same sarcasm: “In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him” (Matthew 27:44).

But one changed. “Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise’ ” (Luke 23:42–43).

Think about the thief who repented. Though we know little about him, we know this: He made some bad mistakes in life. He chose the wrong crowd, the wrong morals, the wrong behavior. But would you consider his life a waste? Is he spending eternity reaping the fruit of all the bad choices he made? No, just the opposite. He is enjoying the fruit of the one good choice he made. In the end all his bad choices were redeemed by a solitary good one.” Lucado, The Encouraging Word Bible

All of us have listened to the wrong voices and followed those voices into a bondage of bad circumstances that overwhelm us as a result.  But that does not have to be the end of our story!  

We have a choice still to listen to the Voice who gives us a new start with a new life that lasts for eternity. Listen to Him!  Love Him back, trust His voice, ready to follow the Voice who knows our name and calls to us to follow with humbled obedience!  This Voice of choice is filled with compassion, love, mercy, and grace. This Voice listens to our voice of repentance with pure joy and immediately cleanse our hearts of all that does not belong there. 

This Voice goes to work to renew our minds, training us to think more like He thinks.  His Voice calms and soothes us with peace unlike all other voices of this world in good times and in times of challenge.  God’s Voice called His Holy Spirit then becomes a forever Counselor for life who leads us to Truth and all that is holy!  Listen to God—the Voice of Choice for abundant living that leads to eternal life. It begins with our voice of sincere surrender to Him.

May God be our Voice of Choice forever and ever, Amen!  God never fails!

THE REST OF THE STORY—

Jehoiada died at the advanced age of one hundred and thirty. He was so beloved by the people that he was buried with the kings. But when Jehoiada passed and his voice no longer heard; King Joash listened to the voices of evil. He had two choices:  The voice of God or the voice of evil.  He chose evil.  His behaviors soon reflected his true faith.  This abandoning of faith the fault of Jehoiada, for the high priest had faithfully taught Joash the Scriptures. The problem was Joash’s shallow faith and his desire to please the voices of all the other leaders of the land, “the leaders of Judah” who visited Joash and asked him to be more lenient in matters of religion (vv. 17-18). By listening to his voices of choice over God’s Voice; idolatry, once again, moved mightily into Judah and Jerusalem.

A good beginning is no guarantee of a good ending. King Joash had every encouragement to become a godly man, but he didn’t take advantage of his opportunities by taking God’s truth into his heart. God spoke through his prophets to warn Joash—but he would not listen. King Joash even plotted with his other voices of choice to have Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, stoned to death because he rebuked the king for his sins. Imagine murdering the son of the very people who saved your life!

Following the wrong voice leads only to despair, deception, destruction, which ends in death forever.  Choose your influencing voices wisely!  Above all however, may our Voice of Choice always be the One who protects, provides, and redeems.

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.”—Jesus, John 10:27-28

Lord,

May we be the ones who hear your Voice with understanding so that we may tell others what you have said to us so they will know and listen to your voice, too.

In Jesus Name, Amen