READING: 2 Kings 8:16-29, 2 Chronicles 21:1-22:9
“And he departed with no one's regret.”
2 Chronicles 21:20
Talk about a sad obituary! I don’t know if I’ve ever read anything quite like it in a local newspaper anywhere.
Jehoram became the king of Judah at age 32, and “he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” (2 Chron. 21:6). He killed his brothers and “led the inhabitants of Jerusalem into whoredom and made Judah go astray” (2 Chron. 21:11). The Lord raised up armies against Judah and then struck Jehoram with a disease that wreaked havoc on his body for two years. Listen, then, to his obituary (2 Chron. 21:19-20):
- He died in great agony.
- The people did not give him a fire in his honor, as they had done for other kings.
- They buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
- He died, but “with no one's regret.”
Those last words are gripping ones. While they may be slight hyperbole to make the point, they nevertheless show that few people, if any, mourned the king’s passing. Look what sin did to him: it took him from being a king to being an outcast, from reign to ruin, from having life to experiencing agonizing death. That’s just what sin does, even when it brings temporary fun and excitement at the beginning.
And, in the end, sin is just not worth it.
ACTION STEPS:
- Live today so that the obituary others write about you is honoring to God.
- Don’t convince yourself that sin carries no consequences.
PRAYER: “God, I want my obituary to be pleasing to You. I commit to living fully for You today.”
TOMORROW’S READING: 2 Kings 9-11, 2 Chronicles 22:10-23:21
