Theological Commentary: Click Here
God’s Word seems
to always answer questions. A few days
ago, I was reminded to not associate the brevity of a king’s reign with the level
of evil. Today is a great case and point. Jotham reigns sixteen years and is praised
for his walk in the ways of the Lord. Ahaz,
Jotham’s son, also reigns for sixteen years and did not walk in the ways of the
Lord at all. God’s blessing falls upon
the righteous and the unrighteous indeed.
One’s station in life, the length of one’s reign, one’s popularity among
the community are not necessarily indicators of God’s assessment of our
righteousness.
On the other
hand, God’s evaluation of our righteousness does impact the fruit
of our efforts. Jotham has military
success. He becomes wealthy because he
is able to make the nations around him his vassals. Jotham’s efforts are protected by the Lord.
Ahaz
practices child sacrifice and other detestable things. Because of these practices, His military campaigns
are defeated. His soldiers are taken
captive. Ahaz loses wealth to the
nations around him. Without the
protection of the Lord, his human efforts meet human ends.
I also love
the story here about the soldier of Judah who are captured by the soldiers of
Israel. While God did not want to
protect Ahaz’s military expeditions, neither does he want the Hebrew people
enslaving their own kin. God sends a
prophet to warn the people of Israel to not make slaves of their kin. The captured soldiers are protected by God,
even if the king is not. They are sent
home, clothed and cared for.
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