Title: Pursue Biblical Success
2 Kings (33) Seek Biblical Success
(2 Kings 14:17-29)
< Historic Sites of Azariah and Jeroboa II >
After the Civil War of Beth-Shemesh ended with Israel's victory, King Joash of Northern Israel died soon. On the other hand, King Amaziah of southern Judah lived for another 15 years, and then fled to Lachish due to the rebellion of his servants, but was killed by assassins sent by the rebels and buried in Jerusalem (verses 17-20). The reason for the rebellion is not given in the Bible. It is presumed that after losing power in the Civil War, he was driven to death by the officials following his son Azariah, who had been co-king since the age of 16.
Another name for Azariah is Uzziah. In the Bible, the two names are used interchangeably, but if you look closely, Azariah is Uzziah with one more consonant, the Hebrew consonant ‘Resh’ (English r). The two words have the same etymology and have similar meanings. His real name, Azariah, which appears 9 times in the Bible, means “Jehovah is my help,” and Uzziah, the king’s name, which appears 22 times, means “Jehovah is my strength.” After becoming the sole king, Azariah further strengthened the kingship by conquering Elath, the central port city located in the Gulf of Aqaba (verse 22).
Meanwhile, in northern Israel, Jeroboam II the son of Joash became the 13th king and reigned 41 years (verse 23). Jeroboam II did evil in the sight of the Lord and did not depart from all Jeroboam's sins, namely, idolatry (verse 24). Even though he went astray religiously, he greatly increased his national strength and restored the territory of northern Israel from the mouth of Hamath to the Sea of Arabah (verse 25). He even extended his power to the northeast and restored it to Damascus (verse 28). Simply put, Jeroboam II was like King Gwanggaeto the Great of northern Israel.
When we look at the history of Jeroboam II, we realize what true success is. The Bible book of Kings sets the standard for a successful king: “How much have you expanded your territory? Instead of putting it on “how successful were you?”, put it on “How was it in God’s eyes?” So Jeroboam II enlarged the land, increased his power, and made him the most prosperous economically, but the Bible does not regard him as a good king, and records that “he did evil in the sight of the Lord” (verse 24).
It means success in the eyes of man, but not in the eyes of God. Instead of judging your life based on what you see, you should be able to live a successful life as a whole and be evaluated as a successful life even after you die. No matter how rich and successful you are, it is a miserable life if you hear people say, “He died well!” when you die. The most successful life is a life that is pleasing in the sight of God.
< Pursue Biblical Success >
At first glance, the word success has a worldly smell, raising doubts as to whether success is truly biblical. Is Success Biblical? Success can be biblical or unbiblical for some people. What is the biblical criterion for success? You can know if there is God in that success. It is unbiblical if success is to accomplish only human will, but biblical if it is to accomplish God's will through success.
The Bible is the book of life in which success in God is recorded. God does not delight in poverty and failure in the ultimate sense. Poverty and failure sometimes allow circumstances for true success, but poverty and failure are not God's ultimate purposes. God wants us to be rich in Him. Your own wealth without God flows into pride, but your wealth in God flows into humility.
Because human wealth often develops into an attitude of forgetting gratitude and grace, there is also a prejudice that wealth is wrong, but God does not view wealth itself as a mistake. It's not wrong to pray that your business will go well and your children will do well. The important thing is to not forget God when things go well, dedicate yourself to God more, and pray that God's fruit will be used for others. If you do, wealth is never a bad thing.
Does God only like the poor? Just as it is unrighteous if God only loves the rich, it is also unrighteous if God only loves the poor. God likes humble people who think, "I can't live without God," whether rich or poor. Ultimately, this paradox is also possible. In other words, it is a paradox that God will be especially fond of you if you are successful but do not lose your humility and continue to seek God.
The consistent practice of the paradoxical life of becoming more humble after great success is not as easy as you might think. But if he can do that, I can say he's a model for biblical success. Live hard and pursue success. And even if you succeed, don't lose your humility and use that success for good things that please God, and make your success a true biblical success.