Don’t Get Side Tracked! by Gene McGuire (Wednesday, February 27, 2008)
“But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy. . . .” (Acts 20:24)
COMMENT: In reading about the Jewish Nation, it seems to me that many of their kings started on the right track, but in the end they got side-tracked. We have already talked about Solomon’s failings which resulted in the division of the Jewish Kingdom into Judah and Israel. Solomon’s son Rehoboam was not much better, but his son Asa seemed to have had his act together. This king “removed the altars of the foreign gods and the high places and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images.” (2 Chronicles 14:3) Asa had a real passion for and faith in God that was demonstrated when Zehah, the Ethiopian, came against Judah with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots. Judah had a measly three hundred thousand men ready for battle. Asa made a fervent prayer to the Lord and He responded with a glorious victory for Judah. However, years later, when the king of Israel threatened Judah, Asa did not turn to the Lord but bribed the king of Syria to make an alliance with him. Hanani, God’s messenger, tried to tell him about the error of his ways. “God saved you from the Ethiopian hoards, why didn’t you trust Him this time?” (2 Chronicles 16:8 gene’s paraphrase) Evidently, the king was so “into himself” that he could not stand any criticism so he put the Lord’s seer in prison. In Asa’s 39th year he because extremely ill but he still would not consult the Lord, but the physicians. He died of his malady. Our Lead Scripture gives us all excellent advise. . . . let’s finish our race with joy.
SCRIPTURE STUDY: 2 Chronicles 16:1 -13
WISE SAYING:ONLY ONE LIFE AND SOON IT’S PAST. ONLY WHAT’S DONE FOR CHRIST WILL LAST.
A COUPLE OF HELPFUL HINTS: When king Solomon died, his kingdom became divided. The two kings had similar names, Rehoboam and Jeroboam. Rehoboam was Solomon’s son, so I think of the prefix in his name ,re, as representing “replace”. He replaced his father Solomon. To keep the two kingdoms separated in my mind, I just perceive their separation as being just the opposite of the Civil War in America. In our War, the South rebelled against the North, in the Jewish Nation the North rebelled against the South.
