Title: Jotham/2 Chronicles 27:1-9
Jotham/2 Chronicles 27:1-9
great-grandfather joash
Jotham's great-grandfather, Joash, ascended the throne at the age of seven. When he was seven years old, the people, led by Jehoiada the high priest, killed all of his royal descendants and killed Athaliah, Joash's grandmother, who was holding the throne, and established Joash as king. Joash, who became king, did well at first. But later, he became proud and rebelled against God. God sent prophets to warn them, but they did not listen. When Jehoiada's son Zechariah was moved by the Holy Spirit to warn him, he stoned him to death (2 Chronicles 24:21). In the end, the servants killed the ungrateful Joash and made his son Amasa king.
Grandpa Amsha
Father Uzziah
Uzziah became king at the age of 16 and reigned 52 years (2 Chronicles 26:3). So I lived to 68. However, in the mid-50s, he became leper and could not enter the temple or the royal palace until the day he died. He lived alone in a separate palace and died. Even after he died, he could not enter the tombs of the kings because he was unclean.
Uzziah's disciplinary case that made Jotham afraid
The temple itself did not have any power (2 Chronicles 7:19,22). However, the temple is a place where God is specially present (2 Chronicles 7:12-16 Isaiah 37:14), and especially in the Old Testament times, it was a place where the symbol of God's presence was clear. Like Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1-2) or Uzziah, if you go to the temple wrong, you can get angry (Lev 15:31, 16:1). But not going to the temple is even worse (Exodus 34:23). It is a mistake to try not to make a mistake, but to only perform the minimum duty before God in fear of getting angry. God does not wait and punish us when we do wrong (Luke 19:21-22). We should actively approach God to please God and receive God's blessing, but it is wrong to keep a distance from God and to believe properly. It is Satan's gift to make people feel bad or afraid of God. Faith is to be embraced in the arms of God even if you are beaten. 'The LORD is merciful; we want us to fall into the hand of the LORD, and not fall into the hand of man' (2 Samuel 24:14) We must come boldly before the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16, 10:35, 1 John 5:14) ). The faithful men of God sang:
'Blessed is the man whom you have chosen and brought near to dwell in your courts. We will be satisfied with the beauty of your house, your temple” (Psalm 65:4).
'It is a blessing to me to draw near to God. I will make the Sovereign Lord my refuge, and I will proclaim all your deeds” (Psalm 73:28).
“One day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere; it is better to be a gatekeeper to my God than to dwell in the tents of the wicked” (Psalm 84:10)
neglect of duty
One important passage for Jotham is that 'the people did rather wicked things' (2 Chronicles 27:2b). King Jotham himself lived without sin. But the people did evil. Jotham was a king. Because he was a king, he had a duty that he had to fulfill. Therefore, we had to go before God with the problems of the people and ask for His help. If you thought that only you had to commit sins, you abandoned your duties. Abandoning one's duties is a sin of wickedness and laziness (Matthew 25:26).
Jotham was over 40 years old, and his life was over. He lived carefully, but died about two years after his father Uzziah died. We need to spend the time God has given us right and fully in front of God. Faith is not just about fulfilling obligations. Faith is emotion and love.
'How will I repay all the favors the Lord has given me? I will take the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD; I will pay my vows to the LORD before all his people' (Psalm 116:12-14).