2 Chronicles 24:17,18
“But after the death of Jehoiada the officials of Judah came and bowed down to the king, and the king listened to them. And they abandoned the house of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols; so wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs.”
Wow! What a sad occurrance. The priest was a mentor and leader for the king his entire life. He appeared to be a good king. One who followed the Lord. However, once the priest died the king is swayed by some and he abandons God.
I would be curious what these people said. It was apparently persuasive. I can imagine. It may have been. “King, you have taken the advise of the priest your entire life. It wasn’t bad, but many were excluded. How about hearing their side. They are religious, just slightly different.” The king bought it.
The crazy thing about this is that he kept to this path even though it led him to destruction. Warnings came, but he wouldn’t budge. All of his lifelong dedication to God apparently wasn’t sincere, but the influence of a strong priest.
The king didn’t fear God. He feared others. He first feared the priest, then this next set of influences. This reminds me of kids raised in church. They know about God, but never personalizing it. They have to own it. God puts them through their own struggles and they have to own it. Some never do. The king never did.
The pressure of circumstances makes all of us rely on something. God wants us to choose Him. To make Him god. To not put idols before Him. Some rely on power, the world, some new fad, others and so on.
I’ve heard the phrase, “The same sun that melts butter hardens clay.” We can allow trials to embitter us or soften us. Going to God softens us. Yes, they are difficult. They put pressure on us. Our world creates a victim mentality. They get upset about how unfair things are. They wallow in that misery.
These tough times are meant to drive us to Him. We can ask Him about them. He will definitely comfort us. We may get reasons, but usually not. We have to trust. He does tell us that He can make all things work out for the good. We might not see that in the moment or even quite a while.
He is a hiding place. He is a safe shelter. Allow tough times to drive us there. Learn to be comforted and blessed by Him. Circumstances will be tough, but He will comfort. That needs to be personalized.
The bible makes it clear that all of us have a god. If not the Lord, then it’s power, money, people, pleasure, substances, sex and so on. We will all go to something in our times of trouble.
This is a sad story of a king and a nation that left God. Lord, help us to stay close to You.