Today you should read: 2 Kings 16
This chapter falls on a great week. We started the series on Nehemiah, and were challenged to examine and assess our spiritual condition. The connection to this passage is that we are reading about Ahaz. He let idols and sin control his life and send him spiraling away from God.
This idolatry went so far that Ahaz burned his own son as a sacrifice to the god Molech. Something that stands out other than this tragic aspect, is how when we let our lives be dictated by anything other than God we end up in a place that is not right for us. The reason this is true is because we stop leaning on God, and we think that we can find answers and help elsewhere. In Ahaz’s case, when he ran into some problems instead of turning to God, he decided to go to his new overlord instead. The result was the annexation of a large portion of Northern Israel and the death of Rezin and Pekah.
When our lives go unchecked we will only get farther and farther from the Lord and further enveloped by the world. Ahaz eventually gets to a point where his religion is full-fledged syncretism with the pagan religions in other nations, He desecrates the temple, loses all obedience to the Lord, and in turn loses God’s blessings and protection.
It is a sad thing when we choose anything other than God in our lives, because nothing in this world is capable of being God except for God. So today I want to just send a reminder out to evaluate yourself and do the spiritual inventory that Tim spoke about if you haven’t already. And if you are willing we would love to hear how it is going.
By: Dakota Gragg — Student Ministry Associate
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