Today you should read: 2 Chronicles 22
At the beginning of chapter 22, we read about the short reign of Ahaziah. His leadership is certainly a negative example for us, which serves as a warning. Look what it says in verses 3-5:
3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor in doing wickedly. 4 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done. For after the death of his father they were his counselors, to his undoing. 5 He even followed their counsel and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to make war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead. And the Syrians wounded Joram… (ESV)
It seems that Ahaziah was surrounded by people who gave him bad counsel. This reveals two main things: (1) who you surround yourself with matters. Are the people in your life leading you towards Christ or away from him? Are they marked by wisdom or foolishness? (2) The other thing it reveals is your own heart and level of wisdom. When your life is marked by being around bad people, at a certain point, you are the one that is really to blame. You are the one who is responsible for your decisions and actions, not others. So make sure that you are surrounding yourself with wise, godly people, but also realize that you are the only one to blame for your sin or bad decisions.
We see that in verse 7, his wickedness was the end of him.
7 But it was ordained by God that the downfall of Ahaziah should come about through his going to visit Joram. For when he came there, he went out with Jehoram to meet Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab. (ESV)
Living contrary to God’s design always has its consequences. Like Ahaziah, you could experience these consequences on earth, but even if you don’t everyone of us will have to stand before God. For those who are in Christ, we can rejoice that our sin is never so great that is beyond the reach of God’s grace. We can stand before God with a confidence found, not in ourselves, but in the finished work of Christ on the cross. For those who don’t truly know Jesus, they will receive the wages of disobedience. My encouragement is to turn to Jesus today!
By: Graham Withers — Pastoral Ministry Associate
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