Judah [and Israel] did evil in the eyes of the Lord. By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger more than their fathers had done. The people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. (1 Kings 14:22, 14, NIV 1984).
My Musings – Nineteen kings ruled over the northern kingdom of Israel from the time the kingdom divided in 933 B.C. till its fall to the Assyrians in 722 B.C. All were evil, with Ahab being perhaps the worst. Twenty kings ruled over the southern kingdom of Judah from 933 B.C. till their fall to the Babylonians in 586 B.C. All but eight were evil. The eight good kings were Asa, Jehosophat, Joash, Amaziah, Azariah, Jotham, Hezekiah, and Josiah.
“He [insert the name of any but the eight] committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been. Nevertheless, for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him [the kings of Judah] a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong. For David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not failed to keep any of the Lord’s commands all the days of his life—except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.” (1 Kings 15:3-5, NIV 1984). This was a sad but familiar theme throughout the Old Testament from the end of Solomon’s reign until both kingdom’s had fallen.
[Insert the name of one of the eight] did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done. Although he did not remove the high places.” (1 Kings 15:11, 14, NIV 1984). This too was a recurring theme for the eight. Doing right qualified with an “although.” Just like David’s “except in.“
The stories of these kings exemplified the extraordinary grace and long-suffering of God on behalf of the descendants of Abraham. Until judgement could no longer be forestalled. Both kingdoms fell, never to return to the glory of the golden age before the kingdom divided.
At the same time, it illustrated the total depravity of man, even among God’s chosen people. In so doing, it underscored the need for the coming Messiah. “For what the law [and forty-two kings were] was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so, he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:3-4, NIV 1984).
My Advice – Do not think for an instant that you will be able to do what no one else has ever been able to do by your own efforts – “fully” meet the “righteous requirements of the law.” There will always be an “although” or an “except in.” “For it is by grace [we] have been saved, through faith—and this not from [ourselves], it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV 1984). By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Appeal to God’s grace, then live “according to the Spirit.“
The Brew Is A Musing 