It's not often that I start writing referring to, or continuing a topic from the prior day's post. Unless of course, I have declared a series. And certainly yesterday would not be one that I'd like to revisit anytime soon. It simply made me uncomfortable, to tread on water so close to the edge... as if I was about to tip over the waterfall into the rapids of the extreme unknown. But then today, I read again about kings... this one did what was right in the sight of the Lord. And this one did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. Just after a prophet had warned them... just after he said, Seek good and not evil, That you may live; So the Lord God of hosts will be with you, As you have spoken. Hate evil, love good; Establish justice in the gate. Amos 5:14-15 NKJV So I think it's clear which kings were being faithful to the first verse Seek good and not evil. And I think we are easily capable of that... the seeking of such. It's that darned verse 15 that trips us up... the one that I struggled over yesterday. Hate evil, love good... For now it seems more plain to me because I can see it defined by a king. He put this verse into action before our very eyes. Here is a paragraph, much like the description of any new king, it follows the same format... In the second year of Pekah... Jotham the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, began to reign.... And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord; he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done. However the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. He built the Upper Gate of the house of the Lord. 2 Kings 15:32 - 35 Jotham, King of Judah, reigned for sixteen years. According to the paragraph above, He loved good, but did not hate evil. Here is the good he loved... he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done. and He built the Upper Gate of the house of the Lord. But here is the evil he did not hate... However the high places were not removed. King Jotham tolerated the altars and shrines that stood on the hillsides and in the high places of the cities in Judah. Even though he was responsible to lead these people, he did not take a stand against the idolatry in his cities, allowing them to worship gods other than the one true God. While that high gate he built was meant to honor God by being higher than those altars it was only for himself and the priests. The people of Judah continued to worship idols... the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. Now I'm not just picking on King Jotham in any way. Because he was by no means the only king who has a description like this. There were several kings before him with the very same description. In fact, if you go back to the time when the lands were distributed to the heads of the tribes of Israel, the time before kings, even they were commanded to dispossess the land of any idol worshippers who lived there. They were to hate evil all the way back then. And not all of them were faithful to that. And the effect of this tolerance was being seen even here, even now. So it's not completely Jotham's fault. But someone has to put their foot down. That was the prophet's message... for a reason, for that time. For look at the description of the next king... Jotham's son. In the seventeenth year of Pekah... Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign. Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his God, as his father David had done. But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel; indeed he made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel. And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree. 2 Kings 16:1-4 Now, Judah, the only nation left unto God, had turned it's back on Him. The nation He chose. Those He led from slavery out of Egypt. His countenance can no longer be upon them. They chose their own way... no matter the warning. This is... the what, and the why that keeps me reading. That keeps me coming back to God's word. Because it is filled with flawed people... just like me. But it is not really all about them. Just as my life is not really all about me. The Bible is all about... a God who will never stop pursuing us. Even though He cannot look upon the evil that we choose over Him. He created us. He loves us. We choose to walk away from that. And still... He pursues us. The Bible is not an outdated book. Don't believe that lie. Its not boring or hard to understand. It is a rich history, living and active, filled with the transparent character of God, displayed through the brokenness of humanity. And I love every drop I can drink of it... everyday! Word of God, train me, today... to continually endeavor to do good, to continually strive to hate evil. You know Lord, that my heart is frail, fragile, flawed and finite. But that is simply how You made me. You know my limitations and that is why You continually pursue me. For You are trying to make a point to that fallen, darkened spirit, satan. he chose not to serve You... wanting to rule his own world. And You, through us, will prove to him that, yes... even the beings with frailer powers than his, have hearts that can be won, willing and eager to love You... doing good and hating evil. When they call upon, trust in, and believe... that greater is He that is in them than he that is in this world.
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January 2019
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