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Welcome to this Daily PBJ devotional. Read 2 Chronicles 24 and Zechariah 7 today. This devotional is about 2 Chronicles 24 verse 22, but I'll read that again in a moment after we read all of 2 Chronicles 24. Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother's name was Zebiah. She was from Beersheba. And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. Jehoiada took for him two wives, and he had sons and daughters. Sometime later, Joash set his heart on repairing the house of the Lord. So he gathered the priests and Levites and said, Go out to the cities of Judah and collect the money due annually from all Israel to repair the house of your God. Do it quickly. The Levites, however, did not make haste. So the king called Jehoiada, the high priest, and said, Why have you not required the Levites to bring from Judah and Jerusalem the tax imposed by Moses, the servant of the Lord, and by the assembly of Israel, for the tent of testimony? for the sons of that wicked woman Athaliah had broken into the house of God, and had even used the sacred objects of the house of the Lord for the bales. At the king's command a chest was made and placed outside at the gate of the house of the Lord, and a proclamation was issued in Judah and Jerusalem, that they were to bring to the Lord the tax imposed by Moses the servant of God on Israel in the wilderness. All the officers and all the people rejoiced and brought their contributions, and they dropped them in the chest until it was full. Whenever the chest was brought by the Levites to the king's overseers, and they saw that there was a large amount of money, the royal scribe and the officer of the high priest would come and empty the chest, and carry it back to its place. They did this daily and gathered the money in abundance. Then the king and Jehoiada would give the money to those who supervised the labor on the house of the Lord to hire stonecutters and carpenters to restore the house of the Lord, as well as workers in iron and bronze to repair the house of the Lord. So the workmen labored, and in their hands the repair work progressed. They restored the house of God according to its specifications, and they reinforced it. When they were finished, they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada, and with it were made articles for the house of the Lord, utensils for the service and for the burnt offerings, dishes, and other objects of gold and silver. Throughout the days of Jehoiada, burnt offerings were presented regularly in the house of the Lord. When Jehoiada was old and full of years, he died at the age of one-thirty. And Jehoiada was buried with the kings in the city of David, because he had done what was good in Israel for God and his temple. After the death of Jehoiada, however, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them. They abandoned the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherah poles and idols. So wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs. Nevertheless, the Lord sent prophets to bring the people back to him and to testify against them. but they would not listen. Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah, son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood up before the people and said to them, This is what God says. Why do you transgress the commandment of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, He has forsaken you. but they conspired against Zechariah, and by order of the king they stoned him in the courtyard of the house of the Lord. Thus King Joash failed to remember the kindness that Zechariah's father Jehoiada had extended to him. Instead, Joash killed Jehoiada's son. As he lay dying, Zechariah said, May the Lord see this and call you to account. In the spring, the army of Aram went to war against Joash. They entered Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the leaders of the people, and they sent all the plunder to their king in Damascus. Although the Aramean army had come with only a few men, the Lord delivered into their hand a very great army. Because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers, judgment was executed on Joash. And when the Arameans had withdrawn, they left Joash severely wounded. His own servants conspired against him for shedding the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest, and they killed him on his bed. So he died, and was buried in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings. Those who conspired against Joash were Zabod son of Shimeith the Ammonites, and Jehozabad son of Shimreth the Moabitess. The account of the sons of Joash, and the many pronouncements about him, and of the restoration of the house of God, are indeed written in the treatise of the book of the kings. And his son Amaziah reigned in his place. This is God's word. And again, this devotional is about 2 Chronicles 24-22, this time from the NIV, which says, King Joash did not remember the kindness Zechariah's father Jehoiada had shown him, but killed his son, who said as he lay dying, may the Lord see this and call you to account. Karma is a Hindu and Buddhist concept that, at least here in the West, is interpreted to mean that evil things you do will bring evil to you and good things you do will bring good to you. There are certain precepts of scripture that are similar. Here are a few of them. One is the law of the harvest. Galatians 6, 7 says, Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Or Proverbs 26, 27 says, He who digs a pit will fall into it. So there are some similar concepts in scripture, but the Bible is clear that sometimes bad things happen to good people. Karma is not a biblical idea. God will dispense perfect justice in eternity. But injustice sometimes, maybe even often, happens in this life. So it is with Zechariah here in 2 Chronicles 24-22. Joash had been a good king for Judah, while Jehoiada the priest, Zechariah's father, was alive according to verse 17. After Jehoiada's death, however, Joash changed his ways, and he and the people of Judah abandoned the temple of the Lord their God. the god of their ancestors, and worshipped Asherah poles and idols. That's verse 18 in the NIV. Zechariah stood for the Lord and called his people back to obedience. But Joash ordered him to be stoned to death. The son of the man who helped him establish his kingdom is someone that Joash killed. If there were perfect justice in the world, Zechariah would have lived a long life for his faithfulness to the Lord. God's will, however, was to allow him to die at Joash's order. As for King Joash, who unjustly killed Zechariah, he did die prematurely. He was wounded in battle, as we saw in verse 25a, and then was assassinated by members of his own government in verse 25b. They conspired against him for murdering the son of Jehoiada the priest. That's also known as Zechariah. So God did answer Zechariah's prayer, as we saw in verse 22, and give him a measure of justice. But Zechariah had to wait for the judgment day to receive his reward. Remember this story when a godly person dies prematurely. God's word says that there is the promise of long life for those who honor their parents, that's said in Ephesians 6, 1-3. But God, in his sovereign wisdom, makes exceptions, as he did in this case with Zechariah. God made will for his servants to suffer injustice in this life. but there will be justice someday. Just as Zechariah left vengeance up to God's will in verse 22, so God's word tells us to leave room for God's wrath instead of taking revenge. You can see Romans 12, 19, which says that. Are you perplexed when God allows something that is seemingly unfair, unjust, to happen to a good person in this world? Are you holding a grudge against someone who has harmed you in this life? Can you leave it in the Lord's hands to judge instead of holding a grudge? God's justice is perfect. But like many things in life, we often have to wait on His timing and His will for His perfect justice to happen. The best demonstration of God's justice was the death of his son for us. There God's justice was fully satisfied because Christ died for all our sins. Our prayer then should be for the salvation of those who have mistreated us, just as Stephen the first Christian martyr prayed for God's mercy toward those who killed him. See Acts 7.60 for that. And remember that Christ died for your sins, and perhaps he died for the sins of those who have wronged and harmed you. So pray for their salvation today, and I'll see you next time. May God bless you. Hope you have a great day today.
2 Chronicles 24
Series DailyPBJ Devotionals
This is a daily devotional about 2 Chronicles 24 from dailypbj devotionals. For more information, visit https://dailypbj.com. To receive these devotionals every morning in your inbox, visit https://dailypbj.com/subscribe. To support my work, visit https://dailypbj.com/support/
Sermon ID | 12182417116439 |
Duration | 11:14 |
Date | |
Category | Devotional |
Bible Text | 2 Chronicles 24 |
Language | English |
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