July 2
2 Kings 20:1-22:2 | PS 150:1-6 | Prov 18:9-10 | Acts 21:18-36
We often mistakenly assign godly qualities based on earthly standards. A long earthly life does not necessarily mean that person walked well with God any more than a short life signifies that the person did not. How one suffers on earth with various diseases often has nothing to do with one's walk with God. Also, one's financial status can not be used to assign godliness. But, so often we do. My father died at 93 and had a sudden death, while my mother died at 72 after a long and painful battle with colon cancer. Though both were not people of faith, they were beautiful and loving parents who I loved dearly, yet their fates could have not been more different. There are many children who are stricken with various maladies and suffer greatly before their lives have even begun. These children are before the age of accountability and have yet to do much either for or against the Lord.
We see this illuminated in the lives of the various kings. King Hezekiah was among the best kings Judah ever had. He honored God, removed pagan worship, exhibited faith unparalleled by many others. Yet he had a relatively short reign of twenty-nine years, and lived to the age of 54. Besides this we see that his reign and life was nearly cut even much shorter at the age of 39, as we read in 2 Kings 20:1, "About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what the Lord says: Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.”" After prayer, his life was extended to 54. Yet, his son was exceedingly evil, as we read in 21:6, "Manasseh also sacrificed his own son in the fire. He practiced sorcery and divination, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the Lord’s sight, arousing his anger." Not only was his personal life godless, but he led the nation to godlessness in the aftermath of the righteousness exhibited by his father, Hezekiah, as we read in 21:9, "But the people refused to listen, and Manasseh led them to do even more evil than the pagan nations that the Lord had destroyed when the people of Israel entered the land." Yet Manasseh reigned for 55 years and lived to the age of 69. Jeroboam, the first king of the Northern tribes of Israel led the entire nation into idolatry, and this evil action paved the way for all of the future kings of Israel, but when his young son was dying, we read of this son in 1 Kings 14:12-13, "Then Ahijah said to Jeroboam’s wife, “Go on home, and when you enter the city, the child will die. All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only member of your family who will have a proper burial, for this child is the only good thing that the Lord, the God of Israel, sees in the entire family of Jeroboam."
Without an understanding of eternity, life on earth can appear random and senseless. After all, if life on earth is all that we get, then age at death and achievements on earth are all that one seeks. But, we who know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior know something the rest of the world does not. Longevity is seen as only a start date which continues on to eternity in heaven or hell, since our souls never perish. Our eternal destination has nothing to do with wealth or length of years on earth, instead it has everything to do with a decision. Jesus made the decision to die for our sins so many years ago on Calvary. Now each of us must make the decision to repent of our sins, or change our minds concerning our sinful ways, and accept what the Lord Jesus has done on our behalf or not. This and this alone determines our eternal destination. Once that decision is made our life on earth might be short or long, full of health or disease. But this time on earth pales in comparison to eternity. For this time on earth may we spend it well on things that truly matter, things which have eternal consequences, things done for God. May we move forward with the desire to one day hear from God, "Well done, good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:21)".
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: