May 18, 2020

2 Chronicles 27 picks up with the reign of Jotham who co-reigned with his father, Uzziah the leper, for a short time. Jotham’s example can teach us several things. Two things jumped out to me while I was reading. The first is to do right—even if you’re alone.

Verse 2 says that Jotham, “did right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Uzziah had done.” That’s good news! “But the people continued acting corruptly.” That’s bad news. 

Jotham experienced uncelebrated faithfulness. He was the king, the highest authority in the land, and yet he was powerless to persuade. Despite his success, despite his position, the people went their own way. 

Maybe you’ve experienced similar things. Maybe you’re around your unbelieving family and their soul-crushing negativity, combativeness, etc. Perhaps your co-workers drive you to the brink of exhaustion as you pour out your Christian love upon them without response. You’ve done your best to love God and love others, but it sums up to uncelebrated faithfulness. Sure, it’s easy to say, “God sees your heart…” However, that platitude brings little comfort to the husband or wife of an unbelieving spouse or the parents of a prodigal.  

All I can say is, “Endure.” Christ did not call us into a life of ease and acceptance—despite these being idols in my own life. Living sold out for the Lord means preaching a message of “Good-News” that is only good to those who accept it in time. It also means storing up your treasure in heaven (Matt 6:20). It means obedience despite the cost. However, the second thing we see from Jotham is that obedience bears good fruit.

Jotham was victorious in his building projects, he was victorious in his military endeavors, and he was victorious in economics. But, verse 6 tells us why he was so victorious, “because he ordered his ways before the Lord his God.” 

Obedience bears good fruit. Although people may not celebrate our faithfulness, God does. And sometimes, that celebration accounts for temporal blessings. There are two errors people make when teaching on God’s blessings. The health, wealth, and prosperity folks are obviously wrong. However, they make the topic of “blessing” difficult for good Bible teachers who want to distance themselves. The other error is to think of God’s blessings in the same way we think of karma. We can’t compel God for anything. Karma is a fallacy. However, the Bible teaches on sowing and reaping (Gal 6:7–10). Obedience means applying God’s wisdom to our lives. We agree with God about what is good and live consistently with it. When we do that, God has ordered this world in such a way that, by His providence, results are favorable. Obviously, the enemy and other forces are at play and things don’t always work out. However, obedience is always rewarded, often in this life as well as the next. 

In the comments, let us know what we can celebrate with you. We’d love to hear about steps you’ve taken, life-change, or how the Lord has been working in or through you.

By: Tyler Short — Connections Ministry Associate