[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (DG) as a reading update (reflection) from one chapter of the Bible a day]
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"But
he forsook the counsel of the elders which they had given him, and consulted
with the young men who grew up with him and served him."
People
have this foolish tendency to ignore the advice of old people saying “it's
outdated” and to listen to young people saying “they know the times better.”
There's hardly any wisdom in inexperienced young people. "Wisdom comes
with age" is still true! Be careful to weigh young people’s opinions
against older people!
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"Rehoboam
loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and concubines (he
took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and fathered twenty-eight sons and
sixty daughters)."
Like
father, like son. Stupid. Trusting in alliances, not in God!
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"He
did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the LORD."
Humans
are sinners by birth, therefore everything they do will be sinful. Those whose
aim is to seek God will overcome sin. Know God, know His words to overcome
evil, sin, temptation, and the schemes of the deceitful world.
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"Abijah
and his people defeated them with a great slaughter, so that 500,000 chosen men
of Israel fell slain."
The
men of Judah were only 4 lakhs but they slew 5 lakhs people of Israel. They won
miraculously. And what a bloodbath among God's people!
Now,
if underground factions kill one another, remember, it's not unprecedented!
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"Then
Asa called to the LORD his God and said, "LORD, there is no one besides
You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength;
so help us, O LORD our God, for we trust in You, and in Your name have come
against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; let not man prevail against
You." So the LORD routed the
Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled."
The
fact that prayer is important and God is a lover of prayer and is an answering
God is recorded even in this short account of King Asa's reign.
#Pray. #Prayer. #God.
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"He
also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from the position of queen mother,
because she had made a horrid image as an Asherah, and Asa cut down her horrid
image, crushed it and burned it at the brook Kidron."
Not
even her mother was spared. That's what people with strong determination do. Some
did it for their selfish gain. Others like Asa did it for the truth, for the
restoration of godliness in his kingdom, to bring back the worship of Yahweh!
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"For
the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly
support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this.
Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars."
God
looks out for those who would depend on God entirely. Not a half obedience. Not
a half commitment. Not a semi-dependency. But like the three friends of Daniel,
those who would even go to the furnace!
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"The
LORD was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father David's
earlier days and did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father,
followed His commandments, and did not act as Israel did. So the LORD established
the kingdom in his control, and all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and
he had great riches and honor."
Again
and again, the history of Israelites shows us obedience to the word of God
brings peace and prosperity.
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“The
king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ‘There is yet one man by whom we may
inquire of the LORD, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me
but always evil. He is Micaiah, son of Imla.’ But Jehoshaphat said, ‘Let not
the king say so.’”
We
need some people around us to tell us "Let not you say such." It's
not "Don't say" in a commanding way, but in a persuasive form,
requesting from equal to equal or to superior. I myself have benefitted from
people who have already cautioned me!
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“He
said to the judges, ‘Consider what you are doing, for you do not judge for man
but for the LORD who is with you when you render judgment. Now then let the
fear of the LORD be upon you; be very careful what you do, for the LORD our God
will have no part in unrighteousness or partiality or the taking of a bribe.’”
This
is what's expected of a leader. This is what we must exhort the leader. This is
what we must pray for them. That they will have the fear of God. They may not
be Christians, but they must fear God.
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"O
our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great
multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes
are on You."
Hopefully,
we have prayed like this, many times. Of course, not the physical war like this
scale, but life is full of desperate moments!
This
is realizing God is God and we aren't.
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"He
was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight
years; and he departed with no one's regret, and they buried him in the city of
David, but not in the tombs of the kings."
What
a sad ending. Lost everything, even his health and honor in death! Even Jehu
tried to give a fitting burial for the wicked Jezebel. But nobody wept for him.
He wasn't liked by anyone!
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"He
did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab, for they were his
counselors after the death of his father, to his destruction."
If
you have friends, counselors, partners, who aren't righteous, you too will not
be far from their lifestyle. Don't fool yourself by saying, "I can protect
myself from their influence." Flee like Lot and his daughters from such company.