Pastor’s Bible Reading Schedule: 2 Chronicles 25-27
Devotional Thought:
Title: “It is not enough to start well.”
Amaziah was twenty-five when he began to reign in Judah. He followed his father, the childhood king Joash, who began his reign with a tender heart toward God, but it ended in tragedy as he slew the prophets of God and was himself assassinated. God’s assessment of Amaziah was “he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart.” (vs. 2) Amaziah immediately slew the assassinators of his father, but did not kill their children in obedience to Deuteronomy 24:16 which taught the fathers shall not die for their children or the children for the sins of their fathers. It is a very interesting principle to ponder in relation to salvation. Children cannot get saved for their parents and parents cannot get saved for their children. Every person is responsible to God for his or her own decisions and each person must personally decide to trust Christ, by faith, for their salvation. The principle is clearly stated in verse 4, “…but every man shall die for his own sin.” Once we are saved, God will provide all the instruction, guidance, strength, and wisdom to do what is right; however, God will not do what is right for us. We must make our own decisions. The same is true of parenting. As parents we must provide Biblical instruction, guidance, strength, and wisdom for our children, but we will not be there to make all of the decisions for our children. Amaziah’s first mistake was to compromise with those who were not living for the Lord. Amaziah’s faith was in numbers not in the Lord and that was the immature heart that the Lord was talking about in verse 2. When the prophet of God confronted him, he explained where the road he was traveling ended. “But if thou wilt go, do it, be strong for the battle: God shall make thee fall before the enemy: for God hath power to help, and to cast down.” (vs. 8) Amaziah was not concerned about God receiving the credit or the glory for the victory, but was rather concerned about the things that were temporary. When evaluating whether he should continue down this road with these hired fighters to help win this war, he had a choice to make regarding his own future, but the words “God shall make thee fall before the enemy” was ringing in his ears. Amaziah’s response was not humility, but rather prideful and greedy. “But what shall we do for the hundred talents I spent on these fighters?” The truly humble person sees things as God sees them and is not driven by things that are temporary. Pride blinds the mind, distorts the vision, and so inflates the ego that the person cannot tell truth from fiction. Although Amaziah sent these fights home, he never changed his prideful and arrogant heart. After his sound defeat of the Edomites, Amaziah gave himself the credit instead of giving God the credit. Even the wicked king of Israel, Joash, warned Amaziah of his pride, “but Amaziah would not hear; for it came from God…” (vs. 20) Oh how we get into trouble when we no longer listen to the word of God and allow it to change our attitudes and actions from self centered to God centered. This chapter starts with a man who obeyed the word of God and ends with a man who would not hear what came from God. How sad to see such opportunity and potential wasted because of arrogance and pride. May we commit to serving God with a humble heart and listen carefully to the word of God and obey.
Personal Requests:
• Lord, please help me to always be tender to the word of God. Please help me always to respond with a humble heart and never a haughty spirit.
• Lord, thank you for your teaching, guidance, strength, and wisdom that prepare the way for me to prosper. Thank you for examples like this that warn me against my own tendencies for arrogance and self-centeredness.
• Lord, please help me to not be content to start well, but to finish well for your glory.