It might seem kind of boring to read through both Chronicles in the Old Testament, but it really does have an important theme. The lessons become pretty obvious actually.... I mean, I think I figured out a pattern, and as you all know, I'm not the "sharpest knife in the drawer".
As I was looking at the 26th chapter in 2 Chron. I found this --
"King Uzziah did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight......And as long as the king sought the Lord, God gave him success. LESSON ONE -- Okay, please the Lord .... have success. GOOD
"King Uzziah's fame spread far and wide, for the Lord helped him wonderfully until he became very powerful. But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall." LESSON TWO -- The Lord's help can make you famous and powerful. GOOD?
LESSON THREE -- Pride from fame and power can be our downfall. BAD
27th chapter --
"King Jotham did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight..... and became powerful because he was careful to live in obedience to the Lord his God."
LESSON FOUR -- Obey the Lord, be powerful. GOOD
28th chapter --
"King Ahaz did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord..... That's why the Lord his god allowed the king of Aram to defeat Ahaz. The Lord was humbling King Ahaz, for he had encouraged his people to sin and had been utterly unfaithful to the Lord."
LESSON FIVE -- Disobey the Lord, be humbled. BAD
"When trouble came to King Ahaz, he became even more unfaithful to the Lord...... This led to his ruin and the ruin of all Israel."
LESSON SIX -- When trials and tribulations come, don't turn away from the Lord. BAD
RECAPITULATION (Isn't that a great word? You know "recap", "summary")
See how simple this part of the Bible is? When we obey God, good things happen. When we disobey God, bad things happen..... Could it get much easier? Thank you.
I know, I know, nothing is as easy it seems..... and two of these lessons remind us of that. When we start to become successful in any aspect of life, including spiritually, it's really easy to start getting prideful. We think we've finally arrived, and think "why can't other people act like us"? That's when we fall.
It's also very easy to allow trouble in our lives to turn us away from God and blame him, rather than seek him for direction or an answer to the problem. THAT'S all part of maturing in him. It's not easy. I mean, if chosen kings of countries had trouble with it, why should we expect it to be any different for us?
Anyhow, for what it's worth..... just something I got out of my devotions this week.
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