Knowing The Difference (2 Chronicles 12:8)

 

Wednesday, June 26, 2024

Psalms 137; 138

2 Chronicles 12

James 2:8-26

Knowing The Difference (2 Chronicles 12:8)

Let’s be honest for a moment. It is all too easy to look around ourselves, at the world around us, to see how non-Christians are living their lives, and wonder if the grass over there might be greener. Our Lord’s commands often seem confusing, or burdensome, and if we were to pack it all in and go our own way, might not things be easier?

Becoming lords of our own destiny is the ongoing temptation of the human race. From the fruit in the Garden of Eden, to today’s mantra of “be all you can be”, we have been trapped in this to-and-fro between the intentions of our Creator and the desires of our own hearts.

And why not, thought Rehoboam? Why shouldn’t I look at the success of my own rule, and abandon the law of the Lord? Or perhaps he justified his apostasy not from his success, but from his failure to bring the northern kingdom back in line. Perhaps he abandoned the law of the Lord because he couldn’t see an immediate benefit, and so turned to the same goat-demons as his enemy to the north.

God was quick to act, sending an army from Egypt. He had plans for the southern kingdom of Judah, and wasn’t going to let Rehoboam turn aside so quickly. Repenting of their unfaithfulness, the kingdom was saved, but not entirely: they would know what it would be like to serve a king other than the King of Creation.

Living in faith can be tough. God works on his own timetable, and it can be especially frustrating when God lets wicked people profit from their wickedness. Even more frustratingly, sometimes God gives wicked people enough time to repent from their wickedness and be saved: this was the frustration of Jonah when his preaching saved Nineveh. But our frustration must not lead to abandoning God. He is so gentle, patient and generous with us. It is much better to serve under our loving Father than to serve under cruel men or hateful demons. We shouldn’t need a practical lesson to learn this. We can see it in our own lives, and in the pages of Scripture. God is a good king, much better than any other. We know the difference between God’s royal law and the law of death, and we know which one we would rather follow.

Lord of our deliverance, confirm for us the goodness of your loving rule over our lives. Give us the grace to obey you, and protect us from the rule of those who do not love you.