Jehoahaz and Recoginizing Blessing

In the three and twentieth year of Joash the son of Ahaziah king of Judah Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned seventeen years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not there from. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael, all their days. 2 Kings 13:1-3

When do you thank God for all the blessings you have? When you are really successful, on the way up, or at the lowest point? Jehoahaz king of Israel was yet another in the line of evil kings. God, subsequently, did not bless Israel and allowed them to face the consequences of their sin. A great deal of the hurt is simply from the fact that a majority of the world does not honor God. God has no obligation to bless them in their rebellion and thus the wages of sin are paid out at death, certainly, but also in living. Yet, the Lord relents from time to time when people will turn to Him.

This happened when Jehoahaz besought the Lord, and it is said that the Lord listened to him (cf. 2 Kings 13:4), and He provided a savior for Israel (cf. 2 Kings 13:5). The Lord saw the pain and the suffering that Israel was going through, and He heard the prayer of Jehoahaz. Yet, after being delivered, the people went right back to the sins that had plagued the kingdom from its outset.

When things get really bad in this nation and world, we often have a people who will run to God, but, as soon as the bad times seem to fade, we see many fade back into the sin from which they once ran. Part of this is our failure to recognize the blessings of God in every day and only focus on the present circumstance that seems like the end of the world. My hope is that you will take a few minutes each day to thank God for all the little things with which you are blessed: your boss who can be really mean (it is nice to have a job), your dented up car (it is nice to have one to drive) your aching body (it is nice to be able to have movement). We need to be thankful always and, in turn, remain faithful always. When we fail to recognize all the blessing around, we are tempted to go our own way like Israel of old. We need to let thankfulness be the standard each day no matter what comes. Praise Jehovah!

Grace and Peace,

R.D. Beavers

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