I am not in a position to remain unemployed. I wish my book went to the top of the Best Sellers list, but it did not. My intent was never to get rich from sharing the Word of God.
Now I must trust Him to provide.
Today we read 2 Chronicles 25-28.
God’s Provision
It seems appropriate, under my circumstances, that we talk about Amaziah.
This king “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly” (v25:2).
In his case, this meant he did not kill the children, but I know people who fit this description.
We are people, more often than we would like to admit, that are not wholehearted.
We want to be. In our minds, we think we live to serve God.
He is the first thing I think about when I awake.
As I drink my morning coffee, I read His Word.
What Went Wrong?
When my wife brings me breakfast (I’m spoiled, she brings eggs and meat to me on the couch), I stop and pray. Thanking Him and asking for a good day before I eat. He always is faithful and gives us those good days.
There was one of those days, a couple of weeks back, when I prayed for a good day, and within a few hours, I learned I was being laid off.
Did He forget? I asked for a good day? That was not feeling so good.
I was feeling like Amaziah. He had gathered his troops, but a man of God told him not to march with the men from Israel. God would overthrow him.
For decades, our old mobile home was a place of perfect contentment for my wife and me. We knew God was going to provide a way for us to survive the years when my legs would not work well and she might be too old to help me as much. Our income had increased and we could have afforded more. But we waited.
When the time came, we felt certain that God was telling us it was time to build. We had saved the money. We knew how many more years I would be working. All the plans pointed to go!
Now, we have a beautiful home, but not enough saved for retirement.
Not To Be Greedy
I think this is how Amaziah felt. He had paid these troops to go with him. Now the man of God is saying, send them home.
He responds, “But what about the hundred talents I paid for these Israelite troops?” (v25:9).
I will take comfort in the answer he received. The man of God replied, “The Lord can give you much more than that.”
We know God has already given us the life of His Only Son. When we deserved punishment, He gave us His righteousness. It feels inconceivable to ask for more.
Amaziah did what I feel like doing. He sends the troops away, he was obedient to God. But, then he is furious and stomps out (v25:10).
God rewards his obedience; he wins the battle, and God gives him ten thousand more troops, whom they then throw off cliffs. I am not sure why they do this. It was a common practice with Romans and others doing it.
I think this shows the Amaziah, though obedient, was not wholehearted. He was still doing what he wanted to do, not what God wanted.
That is what I see in the churches, and myself today. We follow God the best we can, as long as we can do things our way.
We have seen that our way leads to disaster, but the alternative is to do things God’s way. This means giving Him complete lordship over our lives.
While we like the sound of it, the practice of it eludes us.
It Always Escalates
When we start down that path of making our own rules, there is always a next step.
Amaziah, as he returns from this slaughter, brings back the gods of the people of Sier.
He had been seeking God. When told to send the troops away, He did.
But after a small taste of rebellion, he falls into idolatry, like the kings before him.
God sends a prophet who asks, “Why do you consult this people’s gods, which could not save their own people?” (v25:15). It is a good question, but we do foolish things all the time.
We have seen God make a lack of money cover our needs. Other times we have seen Him provide more than we needed, so we could share the blessings with others.
Now, we are putting our faith back into the balance in our bank account? It could not save us before. Why are we not trusting in God?
