2 Chronicles 24:17-22 (NRSV)
Read 2 Chronicles 24:17-22 on biblegateway.com
Verse 17Now after the death of Jehoiada the officials of Judah came and did obeisance to the king; then the king listened to them. Verse 18They abandoned the house of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and served the sacred poles and the idols. And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs. Verse 19Yet he sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord; they testified against them, but they would not listen. Verse 20Then the spirit of God took possession of Zechariah son of the priest Jehoiada; he stood above the people and said to them, "Thus says God: Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has also forsaken you." Verse 21But they conspired against him, and by command of the king they stoned him to death in the court of the house of the Lord. Verse 22King Joash did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah's father, had shown him, but killed his son. As he was dying, he said, "May the Lord see and avenge!"
Devotion
A wise sage once told me that the word “ego” forms the acrostic for “edging God out.” Isn’t that really everyone’s acrostic? Since the Fall of Humanity, our natural selves have been playing god … avoiding our maker’s intent that we live by faith. Yet, scripture would help us to see that God is the hound of heaven, the lover of our souls. God is in a perpetual search mode and will not rest until we rest in him.
In the midst of King Joash’s rebellion, we are told, “Yet he sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord” (v. 19). Even today, God continues in his search mode through his son, Jesus. He is relentless in his wooing, calling, beckoning and inviting us to come back home and dwell in the land of grace.
Of course, we don’t deserve God’s merciful disposition. Yet, he has come to us once again in the Christ child, reminding us that he still errs on the side of grace. And for this, there is only one appropriate response: “Thank you.”
Prayer
Gracious Lord, grant us the supreme grace this day to trust, surrender and relinquish all, so that we might receive what you have in store for us and respond with gratitude. Amen.