King Uzziah’s story seems so familiar in our contemporary times.

How many times have we heard the news of a great leader in the Christian community who has been shamed and cast from their leadership role because they came to think the law didn’t apply to them? It doesn’t matter whether their transgression results in financial malfeasance, moral failure, or theological apostasy.

The bottom line is they initially followed the Lord and enjoyed success, but were deceived into believing their success provided them a stature above the law.

Proverbs 16:18 warns us, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” King Uzziah’s example illustrates how triumph leads to pride, pride exalts self and blinds us to our weaknesses. Our selfishness draws us into sin even as our weakness leaves us vulnerable to attack.

It’s a predictable and preventable cycle.

How do we stop this cycle before it begins?

If we set our minds firmly on the truth that “all good and perfect gifts come from above,” that God is the giver of our talents, our victories, our wealth, even our next breath, then pride has no place to gain a foothold. We recognize selfish ambition and self-serving desires as sin, and repent and seek the power of the Holy Spirit to resist their pull. When we acknowledge our vulnerability to sin and thoughtfully consider how we might “avoid every kind of evil” or in the King James Version, “abstain from every appearance of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22), we make wise choices.

How might that look for us, practically speaking?

If we handle funds, we might ensure processes are in place to double-check our math, to provide a second signature on checks, or to have regular, independent audits of our financial practices.

If we meet with colleagues, we do so in public. If private meetings are needed, a witness may be prudent. Although Billy Graham famously adhered to this rule in regard to members of the opposite sex, today the practice may need to be more broadly applied.

If we are preaching, we may seek brothers and sisters with diverse perspectives to review our notes and point out when we miss the mark, either in our understanding of God’s Word, or in our application and illustrations. (WHEN, not if, because each of us will be imperfect at times!)
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What practical steps do you recommend to guard against the dangers of pride?

Amaziah made a mistake that we are also often prone to make. He listened to wise counsel and trusted God in one circumstance, but once God gave him victory, he not only didn’t recognize God’s hand in his win, but he began to worship false gods.

So, we probably don’t bring home a statue of Baal and bow down before it, but stick with me.

God’s given me victory in self-control and weight loss, but I allow someone to say, “Great job!” and take the credit without giving glory to God, who alone deserves the credit for any measure of self-control demonstrated.

I got the job I prayed for, but thought it was because of my experience, education and qualifications, rather than the unmerited favor of God, ignoring that every good and perfect gift comes from above.

My children achieved some milestone, and I swelled up with pride, as if I were responsible, rather than praising God who has blessed them with healthy bodies, healthy minds, and faith in Him.

I don’t know about you, but I confess there are idols constantly trying to clutter my life. The enemy and my own selfish nature encourages seeing life’s ups and downs as all about me, instead of seeing God’s hand in orchestrating my life for His purposes.

The second verse in this chapter tells us that King Amaziah, “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly.” I want my epitaph to be “she followed the Lord wholeheartedly, with abandon, without fear, and with great boldness.”
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What about you? How would you like the story of your life to be summed up in one sentence?

For all those parents who try to raise their children well, but find they’ve wandered far from God in their adulthood; Joash is proof that the best upbringing can’t overcome a determinedly sinful heart. Joash was raised by the priest, and while the priest remained alive, Joash honored that upbringing by rebuilding the temple.

But as soon as Jehoiada died, Joash turned away from what he had learned growing up and followed the counsel of leaders who plied him with flattery.
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Maybe the parenting message in this story is the importance of going beyond teaching your children to obey your wise counsel, to teach your children to seek God’s counsel for themselves.

From a very young age, Joash was under the influence and teaching of the high priest, Jehoiada. Historians suggest that Joash was essentially a puppet king with Jehoiada pulling his strings.

The priest taught him to follow, rather than to lead.

So when the priest was no longer there to guide him wisely, others stepped in to offer their counsel, and Joash eagerly followed them as well.

He followed them into pagan worship and eventually repaid Jehoiada’s kindness in saving him from Athaliah, raising him, and orchestrating his ascension to the throne by having Jehoiada’s son stoned to death.

One of the most difficult challenges in parenting is allowing your adult children to make bad decisions. Of course, we can’t just smile and wave as they drive over a cliff, but there comes a point where we may share our concerns, but place the burden of the decision on their shoulders.
We allow them to make decisions and experience the consequences of those choices.

We trust the Lord to allow them to go only as far as absolutely necessary to bring them back with a greater appreciation of grace.

We pray the consequences won’t be too severe and that the detour won’t be too costly.

But the cost of stunting their ability to choose wisely by insulating them from the results of their choices is far too great for us to fail in this final parenting task.
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Like Jehoiada, we may not always be there.

Psalm 34 provides a succinct explanation for this chapter’s violent end to a vicious queen:
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
 and his ears are attentive to their cry; 
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
 to blot out their name from the earth.
I count about 18 times in the Psalms that David cries out to God, “how long?” How long will the Lord allow the wicked to rule? How long will God allow for evil to prevail on the earth?

From our earthly perspective, it can feel like an eternity; but all the earth’s history is only a heartbeat for God. While we struggle against evil, we can rest in knowing that God works all things together for good to those who love Him, those called according to His purpose, to be conformed to the image of Christ. (Romans 8:28)

If you’re one of the family members of those Athaliah slaughtered, that may feel like shallow comfort. If you’ve lost a child, or suffered abuse, or been unjustly convicted, or in any way been the victim of evil, no good that God could bring from the circumstances will seem worth the pain you’ve suffered. This is where believing God’s promises over my own perceptions is vital. My perceptions have been wrong regarding everything from the color of a dress (blue/black or white/gold?) to the intent of someone’s words, so I’ll  trust in God’s promises every time.

God didn’t introduce sin into this world; but He is taking what man introduced and redeeming it. To suggest that I know a better, more effective, more immediate way to do that is to suggest I know better than God how to be God. I’m wrong so often (see, I said it!) that I sure wouldn’t dare to offer guidance to God.​

When I see evil in the world and wonder, “Lord, how on earth could you allow THAT? How could you ever work anything good from it, and what ‘good’ could ever make it worthwhile?” I’m immediately reminded of the cross. God took the most unjust, evil, heinous act against the most innocent, perfect Son, and worked through that to provide salvation for every person who has ever lived if they will believe. We can trust Him to redeem our injustices as well.

One of the themes throughout the Bible is that God always preserves a remnant. No matter how much destruction occurs, we see God’s hand in protecting a few who will then carry His truth.

In this chapter, we see how the queen mother, a pagan daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, wiped out anyone she considered a threat. The implication is that she intended to reunite Israel and Judah under the rule of her idolatrous royal line.

But God.

God provided the rescue, just as He did for Abraham on Mount Moriah, for Moses in a basket on the Nile, for Joseph when he was thrown in the cistern.

God delights to rescue those He loves!

His rescue is not always in our timing, though.  Abraham waited a couple of decades for the promised son to arrive. Moses waited as a shepherd for forty years before God used him to rescue Israel from Egypt — and then another forty years while God preserved a remnant among the Israelites during the Exodus. And Judah suffered through six years under the murderous rule of Athaliah, before God’s remnant was restored.

The God who rescued each of these, and many more, in the Bible still rescues today. I’ve seen God’s rescue in financial despair, in a tornado, several car accidents, job situations, parenting challenges…the list goes on and on. And even when the timing wasn’t what I would have prayed for, in retrospect, it was always perfect!
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How have you seen God step in and rescue? How do you view the timing as you look back on the circumstances?

In the first verse of chapter 18, we learned that Jehoshaphat allied himself with King Ahab by marriage. Now we learn the details and the horrific ramifications of that alliance.

Jehoshaphat arranged a marriage between his oldest son and heir to the throne of Judah, Jehoram, and Ahab’s daughter.

Instead of emulating the godly example of his father and grandfather, Jehoram takes a lesson from his father-in-law and begins his reign by slaughtering all his brothers, except the youngest who escapes the sword.

Jehoram went on to lead Judah into such apostasy and idolatry that when he died, his epitaph was, “He passed away, to no one’s regret.” They didn’t even bother to have a funeral for him.

Arranged marriages for political alliance are no longer a thing. And all God’s daughters said AMEN!
But how often do we enter into binding agreements with people without considering their character? Whether it is choosing a partner in marriage or in a business venture or as an employer, we are admonished in 2 Corinthians 6:14, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”

The way my grandmother used to put it, “Bad company corrupts good character.” Our pastor has said, “Look at your five closest friends—that is who you will be in five years.”

We can easily take from this the notion that we should shun unbelievers. But if others had done so, we would never have come to Christ.

Jesus withstood sharp criticism for breaking bread with sinners. Of course, those who were critical failed to understand we are all imperfect, flawed people. This isn’t about surrounding yourself with perfect people, especially because we’ve seen that even those with a stellar reputation can have some pretty dirty laundry buried in the backyard. But it is a lesson in recognizing people whose values and purpose don’t align with yours, and not entering into agreements that would put those differing values in conflict.

We can promote peace and friendship, generosity and kindness, without joining in marriage or business.

One of the pastor’s at our church, Ricky Harris, unpacked 2 Corinthians 5:17 by saying that this “new creation” that we become through our salvation is essentially a new “kind,” referring to God’s original creation of various kinds of animals. It paints an effective picture when taken with 6:14—imagine a plow being pulled by a thoroughbred horse and an ox. The differences in their height, their speed, and their strength would make it impossible to make any progress.

As believers, we have one priority: God’s glory. That plays out in sharing about His love, in caring for the widow and orphan, in serving others and in encouraging one another to live lives that honor God’s investment in us. The values of someone with no Interest In God are bound to be completely different. Yoked together, we each are pulling in different directions!

If yesterday was a pattern for rebuking fellow believers, today’s chapter is a pattern for facing overwhelming adversaries.

1. Recognize your helplessness in your own strength.

Jehoshaphat rightly assessed that the armies of Israel were no match for these three united armies. No brilliant military strategy would be sufficient to overcome the odds. When we face an enemy that dwarfs us in every measure, our only hope is to call on God.

2. Gather brothers and sisters in Christ to pray with you.

Jehoshaphat brought the people of Israel together and prayed, reminding them of God’s faithfulness in the past, the unjustness of this attack, and the sovereignty of God. He admitted to God their utter dependence on Him and humbly sought God’s help.

3. Obey God’s direction.

When God commanded Jehoshaphat to lead his army to march against their enemies, the king could have let fear keep them hunkered down in the city. But he followed God directions, he heard and obeyed God’s command to not be afraid or discouraged, and he led his troops out. God might have used these troops to defeat the enemy as he had in other circumstances, but this time God chose to defeat the enemy without the army of Judah ever lifting a weapon. By the time they arrived, the armies of Moab, Ammon, and Mount Seir lie scattered in the valley, not a single soldier survived.
Make no mistake: Whether our adversary is cancer, financial failure, our own temptations to sin, a wicked person intent on our destruction, or an army, God is able to bring us victory in any circumstance.

4. Praise God.

Jehoshaphat was quick to give the glory for the victory to God. We can easily find ourselves rationalizing away God’s powerful victories - giving credit to our own courage or strength, to the wisdom of man, or to weaknesses of the enemy. We must remember and give praise to the God who saves us not only spiritually, but physically. God may use doctors, medicine, other people in your life, or even work through us to overcome sin or circumstances, but the victory is always His.

We can all stand to be encouraged by stories of God’s faithfulness, so I’d love to hear your story! In what overwhelming circumstance of your life have you seen God provide the victory?

As soon as Jehoshaphat returned, he was greeted with a rebuke from Jehu, the seer. Jehu’s rebuke serves as a pattern for us in how we might approach someone who’s taken a wrong turn in order to restore them.

First, he confronts Jehoshaphat’s alliance with Ahab very directly. Ahab’s hatred and disdain for God were well-known and allying himself with wickedness hurt Jehoshaphat’s witness and leadership of his people. Loving someone does not mean accepting whatever they do without question or rebuke. Instead, when we love someone, we want what is best for them, and are willing to lose the relationship rather than to watch silently as they self-destruct.

Jehu next points out the consequences of Jehoshaphat’s sin—that God’s wrath was upon him. Loving someone means we are willing to explain the consequences of their behavior. We don’t sugarcoat it or brush it off. All behavior has consequences and an important part of maturing is considering those consequences and making wise choices based on them. In this case, Jehoshaphat “went out among the people and turned them back to the Lord.” No doubt, the lesson he had learned provided a parable he could share with others. We all fail at times to follow God closely, and suffer consequences — but those circumstances provide us with teaching tools to help others avoid the same pitfall.

Finally, Jehu encouraged Jehoshaphat. He didn’t leave the king wallowing in guilt and self-pity, but reminded him of the good he had done previously, and gave him hope for the future. When we must confront a loved one about sin, we have to bring the conversation back around to a position of hope and encouragement. No matter how far we’ve fallen, God loves and forgives. No matter how much damage we’ve done, God is able to restore. Leaving someone bruised from the realization of their sin is not loving, it’s bullying and demeaning. God’s discipline leads to restoration and reconciliation. His Word says, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”
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Our purpose and goal in confronting sin must be to restore our brother or sister to a place of service, never to tear them down. ​

We had such high hopes for Jehoshaphat. He was following the Lord, leading the people well, tearing down the idols left by former kings.

But he allied himself with the godless Ahab. He valued the unity of Israel over unity with God. When asked about going to war with Ahab, instead of the first words from his mouth being that they should seek the Lord before making a decision, he commits to join Ahab, and then suggests maybe they should consult with God about it as a spiritual afterthought. His priorities are revealed—nationalism trumps faith.

This is a little convicting for me. How often do I jump on a bandwagon thinking that I’m being patriotic, making peace, or maintaining the unity of the body, without first asking the Lord which position honors Him? Aligning ourselves with sin, for the sake of peace or unity, is aligning ourselves against God.

We’re in a season where the emperors’ nakedness within the evangelical church is being noticed for the first time. Behavior of leaders that have been ignored for generations are being pointed out, called out, and rooted out for what they are: sin. Treating anyone within the body with disrespect, disdain, or discrimination reveals a view of them that doesn’t reflect their role as image-bearers of Christ. This doesn’t make those who have behaved badly villains, demons, or pariahs—it means they sin just as we all are prone to do. Just as we all must evaluate ourselves, hold one another accountable, and repent when sin creeps into our lives.

If it weren’t so sad, the second scene in this chapter would make a great SNL skit. I picture Micaiah saying, “Attack and be victorious” in a monotone, yawning, and rolling his eyes. Ahab is surrounded by a bunch of yes-men prophets who applaud his every foolish move. Micaiah, the only remaining prophet of the Lord who hasn’t been put to death or run out of the country, only has criticism for him. But instead of considering the value of the criticism, he turns a deaf ear.

God’s sovereignty echoes through this chapter, but roars in the final scene. All Ahab’s scheming couldn’t save him when God had decided enough is enough. We can’t hide from God. We can’t disguise ourselves and think we can escape the consequences of our rebellion and sin. Even when our sin is hidden in our heart so deep that those around us see us as ministry leaders, pastors, elders, teachers—God sees what we do in private. God sees what happens in our heart when pride, lust, and greed take hold.

Our first allegiance, always, must be to God.

Our loyalty and oneness must be to the gospel.
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Our solidarity must be with those who stand for righteousness.

The pattern of kings who followed God, and were blessed with peace and prosperity, and those who fell into idolatry and were defeated, is often twisted to convey a prosperity gospel message. But the Bible also presents many who followed God and suffered, not the least being Jesus, who followed perfectly, yet suffered profoundly.

So why do followers of God suffer, atheists prosper, believers become wealthy, and unbelievers lose everything? Is there any rhyme or reason to our success and failure based on a relationship with God? (Or as some might say, “Is there anything in this for me besides heaven?”)

We see so much evidence for God using both success and failure in the lives of His people in the Bible. From Job to Lazarus, we see people who love God and whom God loves encounter pain, hardship, even death.

But God.

For me the key to understanding this complicated equation is that the sum is goodness and blessing, but I have to redefine what goodness and blessing means. We live in a world that equates blessing with dollar signs and goodness with abundance and prosperity. Especially in America, we have become so enamored with the rich and famous that we fail to see how wretched, poor, and blind many of them are. Is it a blessing when you have more money than you know how to spend, but are addicted to drugs, suffering from mental health issues, and suicidal?

In God’s definition of goodness and blessing the poor in spirit, the meek, the persecuted, and the pure in heart are blessed, not necessarily with material things, but with eternal things— the kingdom of God, seeing the face of God, being called sons of God.
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God does bless some followers with worldly possessions and He does so with great purpose. Jehoshaphat used the time of peace and prosperity that God had blessed him with to send out teams to the various towns with the book of the Law, to teach them God’s commands and how to live in right relationship with God. Likewise, those who are blessed materially today are called to pour out those blessings not on extravagant luxury for themselves, but on sharing the good news that God loves you to all those who are made in His image.