Hobert’s Homily:
Kings and Kingdoms
Jehoshaphat, a king whose name means “Jehovah
is judge,” was one of the few godly kings in Judah. He tore down the pagan
worship sites and dispatched priests and Levites throughout the nation to
teach people the laws of God (2 Chronicles 17:6-9).
Jehoshaphat is best known, however, for how he
handled a crisis that could have destroyed the country he ruled. When
several surrounding nations gathered against Judah to destroy it,
Jehoshaphat knew he was no match militarily. So he called the people and
leaders of Judah together to pray. The last sentence of his prayer
summarizes his heart: “Nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You”
(2 Chronicles 20:12). God answered his prayer for help and gave Judah the
victory—the armies against him turned on each other and destroyed
themselves.
If you are facing a situation today that seems
hopeless, one for which you have no answers, pray Jehoshaphat’s prayer:
“Lord, I don’t know what to do, but my eyes are on You.” Stay focused on Him
until the answer comes. Thomas Watson put it this way, “It is better to meet
God with tears in your eyes than weapons in your hands.”
It’s human nature for us to focus, most of the
time, on the wrong thing. If we’re not regretting the past (wrong), we’re
worrying about the future (also wrong)—“wrong” in the sense that they divert
our attention from the one thing that is most important: the present. Our
focus should be on discerning and obeying God’s will for us today rather
than how we wish the past or the future might be different.
King David was, in the eyes of those who came
after him, a man who recognized what God had called him to do during his
lifetime: the two most important were being the king of Israel and building
God a “house” (the temple, completed by David’s son, Solomon). David’s focus
was on serving “his own generation” according to the will of God (Acts
13:36). And that is what we should do as well. The past is irretrievable and
unchangeable. The future we can plan for, but cannot control. The present,
however, is what God has given us today. Like David, our focus should be on
God’s will for today. The more each “today” is lived obediently, the fewer
regrets about the past we will have in the future. To obey God’s will is to
find the fulfillment of our lives.
God’s people in David’s day and Jehoshaphat’s
gave generously to the Lord’s work as they focused their eyes on God’s will
in their day. F. W. Meyer once commented on 2 Corinthians 8:7 saying,
“Probably there is no greater test of our true religion than our behavior in
giving. How few, comparatively, give in proportion to their income! How few
give systematically! How few have learned the joy and luxury of giving, so
that they abound therein!” The joy and luxury of giving! The Lord not only
provides our needs; He gives us enough to share with others from the
overflow. Just as God gives us faith to trust Him more…speech to share His
message… knowledge to understand His Word; so He also gives us enough to
support His work. Paul also wrote, “You will be made rich in every way so
that you can be generous on every occasion” (2 Corinthians 9:11).
