On what lies your trust?

While Israel did not have even one king who walked in the ways of the Lord, Judah had eight good kings.  Four of this list of eight were, in a way, outstanding.  They were Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah.  Even these four kings did not live with a heart fully committed to the Lord till the very end.  When God gave success, riches, victory, and peace, their hearts strayed from the Lord!

When Zerah the Ethiopian came against King Asa, he cried out to the LORD, and the Lord struck them ( 2 Chr 14:11).  But Asa made a pact with Ben Hadad of Syria to fight Basha of Israel instead of depending on God.  When Asa became diseased in his feet, he sought only the physicians and not the Lord.       King Jehoshaphat went to help King Ahab fight Ramoth Gilead, and God sent His Word through Hanani, the seer, "Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD?  Therefore the wrath of the LORD is upon you"(2Chr19:2).      But Jehoshaphat never learned his lesson.  He went to help the Kings of Israel two more times, and he even gave his son Jehoram in marriage to Athaliah, Ahab's daughter!   The Lord sent an angel and killed 1,85,000 Assyrians when Sennacherib invaded King Hezekiah.  The Lord also extended Hezekiah's life.  But when the ambassadors from Merodach-Baladan of Babylon came to "inquire about the wonder that was done in the land"(2 Chr. 33:31), Hezekiah told them not about God but showed them his riches!  King Josiah did not listen to the Word of the Lord that came through Prophet Jeremiah, asking him not to get into that war with Pharaoh Necho.  Josiah did not heed the warning and died at his hands at Megiddo. 

All were excellent kings but failed in different ways, and there lies our lesson today!  The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 10:12, "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall."  It is all history, and the Holy Spirit has recorded it so that we can learn from their mistakes.   Our trust has to be in the LORD alone at all times.  When we trust in our understanding of our horses and chariots and stop obeying God's Word, it will lead us to destruction.  

My friend, on what are you placing your trust today?  Are we trusting our positions, possessions, and bank balances to live our days peacefully?  Be warned today.  There can be no peace apart from the Lord and we cannot finish well without complete obedience to the Lord!

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