Wednesday, October 14, 2009

2 Chronicles 25

7 comments:

Unknown said...

"Amaziah did what the Lord said was right, but he did not really want to obey him." v2

Wow. This gave me pause for thought. David sinned, doing what he did NOT want to do, but his attitude (one of sincere and heartbroken repentance and a hunger to be more obedient) made him a man who was considered by God himself, "a man after God's own heart." Yet here we have Amaziah, obeying the law, but in his heart he was not *really* submitted, not really desiring to be like God. Complying to "rules" without having a heart for God, actually, when you think about it, the Pharisees were exactly like that. They trusted in their own "good behavior" to get them through the doors of heaven, but their hearts were far from seeking the Lord and the Spirit of the Lord in the way they lived.

"You can make yourself strong for war, but God will defeat you. He has th epower to help you or to defeat you." v8

When we choose to pursue something that is outside God's will for us we put ourselves directly at odds with Him. How do we think we can possibly "win" under those circumstances???

"But what about.... (what I've already invested here)? "The man of God answered, "The Lord can give you much more than that." v9

I LOVE this. Trust, obey, be blessed abundantly. Don't think that you can "out-give" or "out-take" God in order to get ahead. The way to get ahead is to be securely in his shadow and he will pour out His wealth (figuratively speaking, but material provision can apply too) and blessing.

"We never gave you the job of advising the king. Stop, or you will be killed." v16

What an IDIOT. Seriously, worshipping the idols of the people he DEFEATED? Like, what's with that??? Doh! And then this, shutting down the ony wise counsel he received, refusing to listen to common sense and reason. Retarded.

"But Amaziah would not listen. God caused this to happen so that Jehoash would defeat Judah, because Judah asked for help from the gods of Edom." v20

We talked at length about a similar situation in school yesterday. The passage was where David took the census of his men, in disobedience to God, but it actually says in one place that "God made David..." do it, and in another place that "Satan incited David to do it...". My curriculum went into length talking about the sovreignty of God and the will of man, it was SO good, maybe because it was written for kids, I could finally wrap my brain around it a bit better.

Basically it was saying that when we are stubborn and disobedient, God uses our erring will to make us do something that will then play into the hand of a consequence He has planned. Same thing with Pharaoh's hardened heart. Pharaoh already had a stubborn heart prone to hardening against the Lord, God used that and hardened his already hard heart to make him do something that would bring about God's consequences.

In this way God uses even our free will to His purposes. Amaziah was already a stubborn fool, and God utilized that stubborness and foolishness to bring about a consequence. God is in control. Even when we are. Wild.

Mac an Rothaich said...

Reading of Amaziah's self destruction was unnerving... So many warnings where given him and he heard them not. It all went sour in a serious way! Battles utterly lost, captivity and eventually assassination! I pray I will always be open to the truth!

How often do I make decisions on my own? Even when God sends a word to lead me right again? How often do I quickly loose sight of God after a 'win' and quickly become taken with an idol of pleasure in my life? We fail everyone around us and hurt so many as well as ourselves. The beauty of doing it Gods way is that he is able to do right for all involved, something we are incapable of on our own.

As usual it is more important to follow the heart of the law and the heart of God and not be just about the rules.

P.S. The translation I am using today says "and he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a loyal heart.' I wasn't sure what to get from LOYAL so if anyone can share their translations version of that verse I would appreciate it.

Mac an Rothaich said...

Your comment popped up as I posted mine! I was really moved by so many verses in this chapter! v8 and v9 carried a real punch for me! Appreciate your understanding of where my version said loyalty! I for one wanna obey and want to be on Gods side! Love your comparison to David! I had an amen of agreement as soon as I read it! SO TRUE!

Berry Girl said...

Mine says "He did right in the sight of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart" - like following the letter but not the heart of the law.

I had a lot of the same thoughts. But my favorite part was when he asks what he's supposed to do about the men he hired, and the prophet says "The Lord has much more to give you than this". How often we hold on to our small things when God is just waiting for us to give them to Him so that He can give us so much more. I'm going to contemplate that today...

I was also appalled at his refusal to receive the words of wisdom. And then I thought about how hard it can be to receive words like that which are true but which tell you something that you don't really want to hear. I hope I have enough wisdom and humility to receive words like that.

Denise said...

Thanks you guys. I have been blessed by reading your discussion. My brain is on hold at the moment so reading it is all I can handle tonight.

Mac an Rothaich said...

I have to make another comment on here ladies! I haven't had time in the Word for a long time and this week I felt like this blog made it easy for me. I have been stressed all week about a study starting last night and when I got feed through this chapter I just felt it was for a reason. Turns out we all came together with much on our hearts to share and it all connected and this chapter was absolutely part of the message the Lord had for our new group! I am so very thankful I took the time to sign on here and see where you guys where at and join in a bit! The Spirit really reminded me about how we are all connected in Christ and how that isn't limited by geography or life stories! I know I am not very faithful about this site but thanks so much for continuing it ladies! Often I have been popping in without commenting. TTFN

Unknown said...

Thank you for this. It's been great to have your thoughts here. I have to admit just last week or the week before I wondered why I bother to keep coming here sometimes, when noone else is here, and it's just "one more thing" for me accomplish in a day, but the Lord challenged me to stay faithful, so all of the fellowship you and others have been sharing here has been a blessing and encouragement to me this week. I long for fellowship, and I LOVE this kind of interaction. It is a huge blessing and encouragement to my faith walk.