Don't Believe Your Own Hype!

Good morning! (Or afternoon or evening, depending on when you're reading this.) I hope you're enjoying the read through 2 Chronicles a little more than 1 Chronicles--many more little narratives and a lot fewer lists.

I also hope you're keeping up with "My Book of Chronicles" too! I was so glad to hear how many people were willing to share where they see God at work in their lives during worship on Sunday. (For those of you who missed it: two Sundays ago, I preached on 1 Chronicles 5. I talked about how 1 Chronicles was the story of a family's faith and witness of seeing God at work in the everyday, mundane details of their lives, which is why the Chronicles were so precious to their descendants. So I handed out little notebooks to those who were there and encouraged them to write down where they saw God at work in their lives; hence, their own "book of Chronicles" which could be handed down through the generations of THEIR family.)


Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
What does Paul ask the Christians at Ephesus to do? (Eph 3)
Ephesians 3:13 13 I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory. I belatedly realized this is a reading from Wednesday's schedule, not Thursday. Sorry!

And here's the question of the day:
What did Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, do when she learned her son had died? (2 Chron 22)


And here's the reflection of the day:
2 Chronicles 24 has an interesting little story for us today. "Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years."

Sheesh, seven years old. How many of you parents barely allow your seven-year-old to pick out his or her own clothes, let alone rule over Israel?! But that's the way it goes with passing down the kingship through lineage. It is just one of the tragic results of a life, for better or worse, cut short.

Fortunately, Joash had Jehoiada. We have read much about Jehoiada in the last couple chapters of 2 Chronicles, so we know he was a no-nonsense kind of guy, clearly anointed by the Lord for leadership over his people. For forty long years, Joash did "what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years of Jehoiada the priest" (v2). Isn't that a little different than what we're used to reading about these kings--usually it says they did "what was right in the eyes of the Lord" period. There's not usually an end limit on their obedience; generally they are obedient all of their lives.

The text doesn't tell us exactly what went wrong, but my guess is that Joash believed his own hype. It does tells us, "After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them" (v17). Maybe Joash started to believe his own hype.

And it all went downhill from there. Joash seems to have forgotten all that Jehoiada had done for him and taught him. He was one who guided Joash, acting as a direct connection between the king and God. Jehoiada was probably also the one who kept Joash's ego under control. Once that presence was gone, things fell apart.

The moral of the story? Be careful of the company you keep. Surround yourself with people who will give you sage advice, who will keep you accountable, and will help you not believe your own hype!

Have a splendid day!
Allison