Seeking God For Success (2 Chronicles 26:5)

 


Thursday, August 15, 2024


Psalm 104:1-25

2 Chronicles 26:1-15

Romans 10:5-13


Observance: Mary, Mother of Our Lord


Seeking God For Success (2 Chronicles 26:5)


Let’s set aside our sword for a moment and get a good grip on the trowel. Plant your feet firmly on the ground, relax your shoulders, and let’s dig deep down into some basic foundations.


King Uzziah had some repair work to do, and not a small amount of digging. He had ascended the throne of a royal city that needed the defences rebuilt. And so he decided to listen to Zechariah. A small note here: King Uzziah’s grandfather Joash executed a certain godly man called Zechariah; as it was popular name for prophets, we might be getting a hint from the author about how we should be treating people who love God’s truth.


Back to the trowel. King Uzziah not only rebuilt the city defences, he also went out and did a great amount of agricultural engineering, “for he loved the soil”. And in a time where a standing army meant economic security, the king also raised “a powerful force”. All this, so the text tells us, was down to one fact: “as long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success.”


This is the foundation we are digging. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, says St Paul, quoting the prophet Joel. Indeed, our passage from Romans is chockers with Old Testament references, all pointing to the same end: “the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him”.


If the past pattern of Chronicles is anything to go by, the success of King Uzziah will only be for a time. At some point, either he or his successor will turn away from the Lord, and the results will be disastrous. Since we want to get serious about the work of the sword and the trowel, of the building of the kingdom of heaven on earth, we should keep reminding ourselves of the foundation upon which we are building:


“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”

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