Reading
SAA Notes
A bad king has a good son! For three thousand years the world has been reading this wonderful testimony to Asa in verse 14. What will the succeeding generations know of you? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they knew this, too, of you?
SJA Notes
* Mighty God, we will give thanks to You, O Lord, amongst the peoples. For Your steadfast love is great above the heavens, Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
“He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father, …”
These words are a repeating refrain of behaviour as we walk through the books of Kings and Chronicles.
We see here that Jeroboam’s son rejected God just like his father did.
As a king he led Israel _away_ rather than _towards_ God.
However!
There is another repeated refrain,
“And [King’s Name] did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as David his father had done.”
We have these two refrains, one about rejecting God, the other following Him.
But there is more, we go deeper.
We know King David was a sinner, imperfect, a broken vessel.
How do we make sense of this passage saying things like,
“… And yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, …”
How do we make sense of this?
Only through Jesus!
He is the lens through which we SEE, through which SENSE comes.
Jesus is our righteousness, just as He was David’s righteousness. David will stand in Jesus on the last day, just as we will.
David’s sins are forgiven, the record of his debt cancelled (Colossians 2) – Just as with us.
Like Abraham, David had righteousness credited to him – Just as with us.
David was obedient, as was Abraham, just as we are called to be obedient. David sought the face of the Lord, just as we strive to. David had God’s gift of faith being grown within him just the Spirit grows it in us.
David pursued holiness. Abraham sought a better country. This then is for us too.
* God Above,
Thank You that we stand not in our own works but in the righteousness of Christ.
Nothing of ourselves, All of You.
What a wonderful salvation You have wrought for us, what an inheritance we look forward to.
Thank You Lord!
Amen.