Passage Read: 2 Chronicles 22-25
Meditation Verses: 25:14-16
Thought
Amaziah listened to the Lord and released the men of Israel that he had hired for his battle against Edom. God promised him success if he listened to him, and because he obeyed and trusted the Lord would make up the lost money, he succeeded. But as he was away at war, the men he released plundered some of his unguarded cities. That likely angered him and led to him turning away from the Lord and to the gods of the Edomites. When rebuked by a prophet of the Lord, Amaziah shut him down, sealed his own fate. He experienced the power of the Lord, but when the Lord allowed trouble as well as blessing for his obedience, he chose to turn against the Lord. Why the Lord allowed that trouble is unknown, but it ended up revealing Amaziah's heart and how easily he would turn away and be embittered against the Lord.
Application
The only right heart is a heart that recognizes that God is God in all circumstances. If things go well, God deserves praise. If things go badly, God is still worthy of praise. If in my obedience I enjoy both success and trouble, I need to be careful to rejoice in the success and thank the Lord for it, and recognize that evil men will do evil things, and God allows it, but not because He approves it. Amaziah likely blamed the king of Israel for what his men had done. If he had cried out to the Lord and sought His direction, the Lord may have enabled him to punish and succeed against the king of Israel. But because in his bitterness he rejected the Lord and still thought he could succeed, God left him without help and he was defeated. Evil is the responsibility of those who do evil. God doesn't stop all wickedness, not yet. He has appointed men, created in His likeness, to execute justice on the earth. We are to right every wrong, in faithfulness and obedience to the Lord. We can't blame Him for the wickedness that even touches us, but should use the means He has given us to pursue the justice He decrees. The righteous struggle against the wicked, they don't give up on God and join them! I need to identify evil and rebuke it by whatever means and authority I have.