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Bible reading: 2
Chronicles 24:15-27
15 But
Jehoiada waxed old, and was full of days when he died; an
hundred and thirty years old was he when he died. 16 And
they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he
had done good in Israel, both toward God, and toward his house. 17
Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah,
and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto
them. 18 And they left the house of the LORD God of their
fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon Judah
and Jerusalem for this their trespass. 19 Yet he sent
prophets to them, to bring them again unto the LORD; and they
testified against them: but they would not give ear. 20 And
the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the
priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus
saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that
ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath
also forsaken you. 21 And they conspired against him,
and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in
the court of the house of the LORD. 22 Thus Joash the
king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had
done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The
LORD look upon it, and require it. 23 And
it came to pass at the end of the year, that the host
of Syria came up against him: and they came to Judah and
Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people
from among the people, and sent all the spoil of them unto the
king of Damascus. 24 For the army of the Syrians came
with a small company of men, and the LORD delivered a very great
host into their hand, because they had forsaken the LORD God of
their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash. 25
And when they were departed from him, (for they left him in great
diseases,) his own servants conspired against him for the
blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and slew him on his
bed, and he died: and they buried him in the city of David,
but they buried him not in the sepulchers of the kings. 26 And
these are they that conspired against him; Zabad the son of
Shimeath an Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith a
Moabitess. 27 Now concerning his sons, and the
greatness of the burdens laid upon him, and the
repairing of the house of God, behold, they are written
in the story of the book of the kings. And Amaziah his son
reigned in his stead.
See what a great
judgment on any prince or people, the death of godly, zealous,
useful men is. See how necessary it is that we act in religion
from inward principle. Then the loss of a parent, a minister, or a
friend, will not be losing our religion.
Often both princes and inferior people have been flattered to
their ruin. True grace alone will enable a man to bring forth
fruit unto the end.
Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, being filled with the Spirit of
prophecy, stood up, and told the people of their sin. This is the
work of ministers, by the word of God, as a lamp and a light, to
discover the sin of men, and expound the providences of God.
They stoned Zechariah to death in the court of the house of the
Lord. Observe the dying martyr's words: The Lord look upon it,
and require it! This came not from a spirit of revenge, but a
spirit of prophecy. God smote Joash with great diseases, of body,
or mind, or both, before the Syrians departed from him. If
vengeance pursue men, the end of one trouble will be but the
beginning of another. His own servants slew him. These judgments
are called the burdens laid upon him, for the wrath of God
is a heavy burden, too heavy for any man to bear.
May God help us to take warning, to be upright in heart, and to
persevere in his ways to the end.
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