THE LORD'S PROTECTION

THE LORD’S PROTECTION

PROCLAMATION

“When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family of the house of Judah.  But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes, who were about to be murdered and put him and his nurse in a bedroom … she hid the child from Athaliah so she could not kill him.  He remained hidden at the temple of God for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.”  2 Chronicles 22:10-12 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

After Jehoram died, his youngest son Ahaziah succeeded him as king of Judah because the Arab raiders had killed all of his older sons. (2 Chronicles 22:1-2)  Ahaziah also did evil in the eyes of The Lord and followed the wicked ways of his father at the encouragement of his mother Athaliah. (2 Chronicles 22:2-4)  He also followed the counsel of Joram son of Ahab who was wounded in a battle with the Arameans. (2 Chronicles 22:5)  Ahaziah was captured and killed when he went to visit his wounded friend Joram. (2 Chronicles 22:7-8 and 2 Kings 9:27)  When his mother Athaliah learned of his death, she went on a rampage and attempted to kill the entire royal family.  Joash son of Ahaziah was not killed because his aunt Jehosheba kid him from Athaliah. (2 Kings 11:1-2)

APPLICATION

The Lord God moves in mysterious ways, His wonders to unfold.  He protects us from hurt, harm, and dangers both seen and unseen.  There are times when He uses people in our lives, our family, our friends, or even our enemies, to accomplish His purpose.  Our actions can be affected and redirected because of the influence from the people in our lives.  They may not be an angel, or even a believer, but God can use them for our benefit.  Everyone in our life is there for a reason.  Some are there briefly, and some are there for a season, but The Lord God has a purpose for each one of them.  We need to thank God for all of the people in our lives, those that are a blessing to us and those that teach us a lesson.  All things work together for the good of them that love The Lord. (Romans 8:28)

THE LORD'S PUNISHMENT

PROCLAMATION

“So now The Lord is about to strike your people, your sons, your wives and everything that is yours, with a heavy blow.  You yourself will be ill with a lingering disease of the bowels, until the disease causes your bowels to come out.”  2 Chronicles 21:14-15 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

When Jehoshaphat died, his son Jehoram succeeded him as king of Judah. (2 Chronicles 21:1-3)  Once Jehoram became king, he killed all of his younger brothers, married the daughter of Ahab, and did evil in the eyes of The Lord. (2 Chronicles 21:4-7)  He built high places on the hills for idol worship and led the people astray. (2 Chronicles 21:11)  Then The Lord God sent word to him through Elijah the prophet in a letter saying that He was going to punish him for what he had done. (2 Chronicles 21:12-15)  The Lord God caused the Philistines and the Arabs to attack Judah, invade it, loot it, and carry off his sons and wives as captives. (2 Chronicles 21:16-20)

APPLICATION

It may appear that we have gotten away with doing wrong, but The Lord God is watching us and sooner or later we will pay for our sins.  As believers we will not lose our salvation, but we will be punished for our sins.  We will be tried by fire.   All of our works will be tried by fire with us and all of the things which do not give God glory will be consumed by the fire.  That which glorifies God will pass through the fire with us. (1 Corinthians 3:13-15)  We should ask now to be forgiven for our past sins and start doing more things which give God glory.

DO NOT PARTNER WITH EVIL PEOPLE

PROCLAMATION

“Because you have made an alliance with Ahaziah, The Lord will destroy what you have made.”  2 Chronicles 20:37 (NIV)

EXPLANATION
After The Lord told Jehoshaphat that the battle with the Moabites and the Ammonites was His, Jehoshaphat bowed down in worship before The Lord. (2 Chronicles 20:17-18)  The next morning he appointed men to sing praises to The Lord.  As they sang, The Lord caused their enemies to fight among themselves. (2 Chronicles 20:20-23)  When the men of Judah came to the place where the vast army was, they saw nothing but dead bodies.  They found so much plunder that it took them three days to collect it all. (2 Chronicles 20:24-25)  Afterwards they praised The Lord and rejoiced.  The fear of God came upon all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how The Lord had defeated the enemies of Israel. (2 Chronicles 20:26-30)  Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah, who did what was right in the eyes of The Lord, made an alliance with Ahaziah king of Israel, whose ways were wicked.  They agreed to construct a fleet of trading ships, but The Lord God destroyed all that they made. (2 Chronicles 20:35-37)

APPLICATION

As believers we need to be very careful regarding who we choose to associate with, partner with, or go into business with.  It is assumed that “birds of a feather flock together.”  The Bible states the same thing with different words.  “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3)  We tend to associate with like-minded individuals.  Good people and evil people are not usually paired.  When people of different philosophical ideologies get together, one generally persuades the other to their way of thinking.  If you can’t pull them out of it, don’t get pulled into it.  If we are not strong in the faith, hanging with non-believers can corrupt us.  Even if we do not change our beliefs, that which we produce with evil people will not be pleasing to The Lord God.

THE LORD WILL FIGHT OUR BATTLES

PROCLAMATION

“You do not have to fight this battle.  Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance The Lord will give you…”  2 Chronicles 20:17 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

After Asa died, his son Jehoshaphat succeeded him as king of Judah.  The Lord God was with him because he followed the ways of his father and David and did that which was good and right. (2 Chronicles 17:1-4)  He tore down the high places which had been used for idol worship (2 Chronicles 17:6) and taught the people from The Book of The Law. (2 Chronicles 17:9)  Jehoshaphat grew in wealth and power, but he always sought after The Lord.  He was victorious in many battles.  In his battle against the Moabites and the Ammonites, The Lord told him to stand and watch as The Lord fought his battle. (2 Chronicles 20:1-17)

APPLICATION

Some people and forces of evil oppose us because they are against The Lord God.  These are the battles that are not ours but His and He will fight them for us.  When we are doing that which is good and right in the eyes of The Lord and we run into opposition, we need to pray and turn it over to Him.  We need to make sure that we have put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:11-18) and just stand.  We just stand strong in our faith and watch as The Lord gives us the victory.  As we praise and thank God for the victory, we must remember not to gloat or rejoice at the misfortune of our enemies. (Proverbs 24:17-18)