4 Then Jehoahaz prayed for the LORD’s help, and the LORD heard his prayer, for he could see how severely the king of Aram was oppressing Israel. 5 So the LORD provided someone to rescue the Israelites from the tyranny of the Arameans. Then Israel lived in safety again as they had in former days.
6 But they continued to sin, following the evil example of Jeroboam. They also allowed the Asherah pole in Samaria to remain standing. 7 Finally, Jehoahaz’s army was reduced to 50 charioteers, 10 chariots, and 10,000 foot soldiers. The king of Aram had killed the others, trampling them like dust under his feet.
-Second Kings 13:1-9 (NLT)
We've spent the better part of the last couple of weeks studying about the way we live our lives, and how we must be doing the will of God in our lives. In today's Bible reading, we see the story of Jehoahaz, who was a king of Israel. This short story teaches us an important lesson, one we really need to take heed to.
Verses 2-3 says, "But he did what was evil in the LORD's sight. He followed the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat, continuing the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit. So the LORD was very angry with Israel, and he allowed King Hazael of Aram and his son Benhadad to defeat them repeatedly." What we see here is that this new king of Israel continued in the sins of previous kings. He continued leading Israel down a path away from God. And as a result, the LORD was angry. God was angry with them because they didn't follow the commands of God. As a result of their disobedience, they were defeated by another king and country. Sin has consequences, and you can only sin so long before those consequences happen.
Then, we read in verse 4, "Then Jehoahaz prayed for the LORD's help, and the LORD heard his prayer, for he could see how severely the king of Aram was oppressing Israel." In the midst of their sin and rebellion to God, Jehoahaz prayed and, I believe, repented of his sin, and for the sin of Israel. And God heard his prayer, and answered his prayer. Verse 5 says, "So the LORD provided someone to rescue the Israelites from the tyranny of the Armeans. Then Israel lived in safety again as they had in former days." Because of the prayer of Jehoahaz, Israel was saved. They were rescued from their distress and the oppression of the Armeans. The Bible tells us that they once again lived in safety. But, then we read in verse 6, "But they continued to sin, following the evil example of Jeroboam. They also allowed the Asherah pole in Samaria to remain standing." They continued living in sin, even after Jehoahaz repented. They got rescued from the oppression of a foreign king, only to keep living like they lived before. What happened? Verse 7 says, "Finally, Jehoahaz’s army was reduced to 50 charioteers, 10 chariots, and 10,000 foot soldiers. The king of Aram had killed the others, trampling them like dust under his feet." Israel's army was reduced to basically nothing. What's our application today?
For the Christian, we were once living in bondage, in oppression to sin. Sin ruled over us, sin controlled us. But, God provided someone to rescue us out of our life of sin, to rescue us from the bondage and oppression of sin. Once we were rescued, we should be living under the leading of God. But, for many of us, we still live in the leading of sin. We've been rescued, but we still live in the controlling nature of sin. For Israel, their continuation in sin meant that they were defenseless against attacks. For us, when we continue to live in sin, we, too, will be easily defeated. Are you still walking and living in the sin you've been rescued from? Think About It.
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