Faithful Promises



2 Kings 8:16-24
16 In the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, began to reign.
17 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.
19 Yet the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant, since he promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever.
20 In his days Edom revolted from the rule of Judah and set up a king of their own.
21 Then Joram passed over to Zair with all his chariots and rose by night, and he and his chariot commanders struck the Edomites who had surrounded him, but his army fled home.
22 So Edom revolted from the rule of Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time.
23 Now the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
24 So Joram slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Ahaziah his son reigned in his place.

For the last several chapters of 2 Kings, we have been closely following Elisha and his ministry to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Now we shift our attention back to the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Here is where the hope of the future lies. During the time of the divided nation, Judah was where you might find a king who worshiped the living God. Judah was that place from whence would come the Messiah. But our king of the day, Jehoram, is not a faithful follower of God and his reign is one of apostasy and spiritual decline. We are not surprised to learn that the source of that decline is the daughter of Jezebel. She married Jehoram and brought the detestable practices of her mother along with her into Judah. This leads Jehoram to be a terrible king causing God to mete out punishment and disaster on the nation, hoping to get the attention of a wandering people.

Several events that take place during the 8 year reign of Jehoram are most likely designed to bring Judah back to God. First, Edom revolts and escapes domination by Judah. Jehoram launches an attempt to squelch that rebellion, but fails. Also, Libnah revolts and brings more violence into Judah. Suffice it to say, Jehoram’s reign was less than successful. Yet in the midst of these revolts we find the Lord, remaining firm and steadfast in His promises and in His faithful love for the people. Verse 19 shows us that He has not forgotten His promises to David and while the kings and people are faithless, He continues on the path will lead to the fulfilling of that promise. None of us could blame God if He had said, “That’s it! I’m done with you!” But He never does. He follows through with His promise of a Savior and sends Jesus into the world to save us from our sin. In spite of the pain caused Him by our continued love affair with sin, He remains true to what He said and saves us anyway! This is a good and merciful God.

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