The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 15:3,
"He [King Azariah of Judah, aka Uzziah] did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done."
When the text tells us that a certain king "did what was right in the eyes of the Lord" or "did evil in the eyes of the Lord", as in verse 9, what are we being told? What was it exactly these kings did to be adjudged one way or the other?
On the negative side, idolatry is pointed to, often with a phrase along the lines of, "He [Zechariah, the fourteenth king of northern Israel] did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his predecessors had done. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit." Verse 9. All 19 monarchs of northern Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the idolatry introduced to the northern kingdom by its first king, Jeroboam son of Nebat, following the split in Israel after Solomon's death.
On the positive side, doing "what was right in the eyes of the Lord" appears when a king comes along to reverse the darkness of idolatry. King Asa of Judah is an example of this, "Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done. He expelled the male shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his ancestors had made. He even deposed his grandmother Maakah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah. Asa cut it down and burned it in the Kidron Valley." 1 Kings 15:11-13.
Idolatry was a defining issue for the leadership of Israel. Idolatry, of course, was the rejection of God in favor of anything else to take his rightful place as the focus of Israel's worship. Since God, in his own counsel, had determined that he would provide for the redemption of mankind, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on that miserable cross, providing for salvation based on faith, the issue of idolatry became paramount.
Israel was God's chosen covenanted people. The covenant the Lord entered into with Israel was to use Israel as his vehicle to bring redemption and salvation to the world. Paul reminds us of the important aspects the nation was to play in the Lord's agenda of redemption, "Theirs [Israel] is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen." Romans 9:4-5.
All of these Paul points to are with reference to the furtherance of God's agenda of redemption and the bringing of salvation to all mankind. For Israel to become immeshed in Idolatry, it would have sidelined her usefulness to the Lord to achieve his redemption of mankind. Something the Lord was not going to allow to deter his agenda.
All things in this life have their ultimate culmination in the Lord's agenda of redemption. He is building his kingdom and this age finds its fulfillment and completion when the new heavenly age dawns, populated by people who are redeemed from their sins by embracing Jesus Christ in faith.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
"He [King Azariah of Judah, aka Uzziah] did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done."
When the text tells us that a certain king "did what was right in the eyes of the Lord" or "did evil in the eyes of the Lord", as in verse 9, what are we being told? What was it exactly these kings did to be adjudged one way or the other?
On the negative side, idolatry is pointed to, often with a phrase along the lines of, "He [Zechariah, the fourteenth king of northern Israel] did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his predecessors had done. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit." Verse 9. All 19 monarchs of northern Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the idolatry introduced to the northern kingdom by its first king, Jeroboam son of Nebat, following the split in Israel after Solomon's death.
On the positive side, doing "what was right in the eyes of the Lord" appears when a king comes along to reverse the darkness of idolatry. King Asa of Judah is an example of this, "Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done. He expelled the male shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his ancestors had made. He even deposed his grandmother Maakah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah. Asa cut it down and burned it in the Kidron Valley." 1 Kings 15:11-13.
Idolatry was a defining issue for the leadership of Israel. Idolatry, of course, was the rejection of God in favor of anything else to take his rightful place as the focus of Israel's worship. Since God, in his own counsel, had determined that he would provide for the redemption of mankind, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on that miserable cross, providing for salvation based on faith, the issue of idolatry became paramount.
Israel was God's chosen covenanted people. The covenant the Lord entered into with Israel was to use Israel as his vehicle to bring redemption and salvation to the world. Paul reminds us of the important aspects the nation was to play in the Lord's agenda of redemption, "Theirs [Israel] is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen." Romans 9:4-5.
All of these Paul points to are with reference to the furtherance of God's agenda of redemption and the bringing of salvation to all mankind. For Israel to become immeshed in Idolatry, it would have sidelined her usefulness to the Lord to achieve his redemption of mankind. Something the Lord was not going to allow to deter his agenda.
All things in this life have their ultimate culmination in the Lord's agenda of redemption. He is building his kingdom and this age finds its fulfillment and completion when the new heavenly age dawns, populated by people who are redeemed from their sins by embracing Jesus Christ in faith.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
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