- And after all this the Lord struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease. In the course of time, at the end of two years, his bowels came out because of the disease, and he died in great agony. His people made no fire in his honor, like the fires made for his fathers. 2 Chronicles 21:18-19 – If you’re disgusted with the words within this passage then the passage is doing exactly what it was designed to do. To help those see the end result of a life like this. One of agony, one of disgust, one where no one missed it when gone. All this sounds harsh, but what did this king do to deserve all this? In verse 11 we see this said, “Moreover, he made high places in the hill country of Judah and led the inhabitants of Jerusalem into whoredom and made Judah go astray.” He not only made new places of worship of false gods that previous kings tore down, he caused the people God entrusted to him to go astray in following those other gods. We see here God doesn’t take it lightly when we create stumbling blocks for our brother’s walk. When we stand in the way or create temptations in someone else’s life to cause them to walk after something not of God, God is not pleased. While many of us may not be seeking to do this purposely, we must be careful we aren’t even unknowingly. Are you causing someone to doubt their worth because of how you speak to them? Are you holding someone back from what they could be doing for God because of your selfishness? Maybe you aren’t creating new altars to false gods, but if we are causing people to be on a different path than the one God wants them on then our actions aren’t that much different than those of king Jehoram. Let’s use our lives to help people follow Jesus in every way we can. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1535
- Moreover, he made high places in the hill country of Judah and led the inhabitants of Jerusalem into whoredom and made Judah go astray. 2 Chronicles 21:21 – The faithful king Jehoshaphat that we have been reading about for a few days has passed, and his son Jehoram is now king. Jehoram is an unfaithful to God king and worshipped the false gods of his wife and his wife’s family. While that alone is a problem, what we see in the text is worse. He led the nation of Judah astray from the worship of God. His actions, his influence, and his idol worship caused others to stray away from the Lord as well. Let us open our eyes today to the reality of this too happening in our story. The way we interact with sin and allow sin within our life may too lead someone else astray into sin. Our spouse may be enticed to their own sin if they see us entertaining our own. Our kids may copy what we do later in life. Our friend might slip back into that vice because of us. While we may not have the influence of a king, we still do have influence. Let’s use that influence for good rather than evil. As much as our sinful actions can lead others to sin so can our holy actions lead others to pursue holiness. Which path would you like to see those around you on? Let your choice today be to set aside sin and follow the ways of Jesus. Allow your life to be a light that guides others to their Savior rather than away. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2610
Daily DEVO 