The Eyes Of God (2 Chronicles 27)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.360 --> 00:00:04.839 Let's turn our attention now at to Second Chronicles Chapter Twenty seven, as we 2 00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:09.230 continue reading and hearing God's word preached through this book. Second Chronicles A, 3 00:00:09.710 --> 00:00:20.269 chapter twenty seven, please give your attention to God's word. Jotham was twenty 4 00:00:20.350 --> 00:00:24.179 five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in 5 00:00:24.260 --> 00:00:30.260 Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jeroshah, the the daughter of Zadok, and 6 00:00:30.379 --> 00:00:33.380 he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all 7 00:00:33.539 --> 00:00:37.689 that his father, Uzaiah had done, except he did not enter the Temple 8 00:00:37.770 --> 00:00:44.450 of the Lord, but the people still followed corrupt practices. He built the 9 00:00:44.490 --> 00:00:47.810 upper gate of the House of the Lord and did much building on the wall 10 00:00:47.890 --> 00:00:51.960 of a fell. Moreover, he built cities in the Hill Country of Judah 11 00:00:52.200 --> 00:00:56.679 and forts and towers on the wooded hills. He fought with the king of 12 00:00:56.719 --> 00:01:00.119 the AMMONITES and prevailed against them, and the ammonites gave him that year one 13 00:01:00.159 --> 00:01:04.950 hundred talents of silver, ten thousand corps of wet and ten thousand corps of 14 00:01:06.030 --> 00:01:10.709 Barley. The ammonites paid him the same amount in the second and third years. 15 00:01:11.629 --> 00:01:15.870 So Jotham became mighty because he ordered his ways before the Lord, his 16 00:01:17.030 --> 00:01:19.939 God. Now the rest of the acts of Jotham and all his wars and 17 00:01:21.099 --> 00:01:23.939 ways. Behold. They are written in the book of the Kings of Israel 18 00:01:23.980 --> 00:01:27.900 and Judah. He was twenty five years old when he began to reign and 19 00:01:29.060 --> 00:01:34.769 he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem and Jotham slept with his father's and they buried 20 00:01:34.769 --> 00:01:38.370 him in the city of David and a has his son, reigned in his 21 00:01:38.489 --> 00:01:53.680 place. After hearing several accounts of kings that started well and ended poorly, 22 00:01:55.439 --> 00:02:00.549 this is a nice refresher and a reminder of a Godly King, a simple 23 00:02:00.709 --> 00:02:07.550 story of a godly king, King Jotham. King Jotham is characterized as doing 24 00:02:07.710 --> 00:02:13.669 the good of his father, but without following him in his faults and the 25 00:02:13.710 --> 00:02:22.580 desire of every father. I think verse seven tells us that his various acts 26 00:02:22.740 --> 00:02:24.860 and wars, his ways in wars, are written in the book of the 27 00:02:24.860 --> 00:02:30.250 Kings of Israel and Judah. I'm here, the Chronicler, the historian, 28 00:02:30.490 --> 00:02:35.770 focuses on two things in verses three through five, just to overview the story 29 00:02:35.849 --> 00:02:40.849 a little bit for you. First, his building projects. Jotham is commended 30 00:02:40.930 --> 00:02:46.759 for this, like other good kings, Jotham repairs and builds what is lacking 31 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:52.439 in his kingdom, in the temple, in the city and further away of 32 00:02:52.520 --> 00:02:55.439 places as well. We read that he rep Paris, one of the temple 33 00:02:55.520 --> 00:03:00.509 gates, the wall to the city and then, of course, various forts 34 00:03:00.550 --> 00:03:04.550 and towers in the hill country. There's this sense of of moving outwards from 35 00:03:04.789 --> 00:03:08.189 those most important places, on and and out. We've seen this with other 36 00:03:08.310 --> 00:03:13.340 kings, as we've read of their building projects and things that they've done. 37 00:03:13.460 --> 00:03:17.139 Well, this is one of the reoccurring themes, this fortification of the city, 38 00:03:17.180 --> 00:03:25.340 a strengthening of the Temple of God and even expanding the rule. Second, 39 00:03:25.740 --> 00:03:30.770 the second thing that Jotham is commended for and his chronicled here, are 40 00:03:30.849 --> 00:03:35.969 his battles. Like other good kings, Jotham was not weak but instead defeated 41 00:03:36.009 --> 00:03:38.930 the enemies of the Lord and made them subject to him. The ammonites are 42 00:03:38.969 --> 00:03:43.560 focused on here. We read that he fought with the king in verse five 43 00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:47.039 and prevailed against them, and they end up as subjects, giving a kind 44 00:03:47.080 --> 00:03:53.960 of tax, a subjects tax, to him, a continual reminder of their 45 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:59.590 loyalty. This extends for at least three years. Other things. Those are 46 00:03:59.710 --> 00:04:03.150 his acts primarily there in verses three through five, but there's other king, 47 00:04:03.550 --> 00:04:09.750 other indications of his success. He reigns a long time. He's buried in 48 00:04:09.789 --> 00:04:18.019 a good place. There isn't these long stories of politics and trickery and deception 49 00:04:18.060 --> 00:04:21.540 and things like that that we read in some of the other accounts. It's 50 00:04:21.660 --> 00:04:27.529 more ring in a way, in a way that's not quite as colorful, 51 00:04:27.730 --> 00:04:30.250 I mean to say, as some of the other accounts, but in that 52 00:04:30.410 --> 00:04:35.810 sense it's really wonderful. It's just simple obedience, a wonderful life, a 53 00:04:35.970 --> 00:04:45.839 lived a very well. That's the basic characterization of this king of King Jotham. 54 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:49.360 Well, what accounts for this success? This is something that the Chronicler, 55 00:04:49.399 --> 00:04:53.629 as we've seen again and again as he chronicles the life of these kings, 56 00:04:54.069 --> 00:04:58.949 is very concerned about. What accounts for the success? And the answer 57 00:04:59.029 --> 00:05:04.990 is in verse six. Notice what it says. It says Jotham became mighty 58 00:05:05.589 --> 00:05:12.339 because he's ordered his ways before the Lord, his God. This is actually 59 00:05:12.379 --> 00:05:15.259 the second time this is mentioned. Verse Two also includes this, where it 60 00:05:15.339 --> 00:05:20.100 says and he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according 61 00:05:20.100 --> 00:05:24.370 to all that is from father use, I had done, except he did 62 00:05:24.449 --> 00:05:28.730 not emper enter the Temple of the Lord. That last part. They're not 63 00:05:28.970 --> 00:05:32.449 saying that Jotham failed in this way, but he didn't do the thing that 64 00:05:33.329 --> 00:05:36.839 his father did, this wicked thing. So he did all the good things, 65 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:42.240 but not the bad as what it's saying. They're well noticing this verse 66 00:05:42.360 --> 00:05:46.560 two, in this verse six, about Jotham reigning in a way, that 67 00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:50.670 lives his life before the eyes of the Lord, that he orders his ways 68 00:05:50.829 --> 00:05:56.189 before the Lord. Is a sort of bookend, right, or or a 69 00:05:56.230 --> 00:06:00.870 hug, maybe even around his ways and wars. The acts of Jotham are 70 00:06:00.949 --> 00:06:09.459 characterized on both sides by this similar idea that he lived his life out before 71 00:06:09.699 --> 00:06:14.620 the Lord, before the eyes of the Lord, he ordered his ways before 72 00:06:14.740 --> 00:06:18.329 the Lord. That is what the chronicler and the Holy Spirit, through the 73 00:06:18.449 --> 00:06:25.410 author, is commending to us. That's the connection. Why was he successful? 74 00:06:25.889 --> 00:06:30.970 Because he did this. So that will be our emphasis for this evening 75 00:06:31.009 --> 00:06:35.439 as well. What does it mean to do right before the eyes of the 76 00:06:35.560 --> 00:06:42.360 Lord? What does it mean to order your ways before the Lord? What 77 00:06:42.439 --> 00:06:49.350 does this tell us about the God that is revealed in these words? The 78 00:06:49.470 --> 00:06:54.310 first thing I want to point out is that is we consider the eyes of 79 00:06:54.350 --> 00:06:59.750 the Lord, or living before the Lord. Is that the Lord tells us 80 00:07:00.230 --> 00:07:03.660 in these phrases and in this chapter and throughout the book and the whole Bible, 81 00:07:03.899 --> 00:07:11.500 to be sure that God watches over the world as a lawgiver, as 82 00:07:11.500 --> 00:07:15.290 a king. God is King over the world that he has made. The 83 00:07:15.449 --> 00:07:23.129 creatures are his subjects. Consider Psalm one hundred and thirteen, for the Lord 84 00:07:23.290 --> 00:07:28.730 is high above all nations and His glory above the heavens. Who is like 85 00:07:28.889 --> 00:07:31.560 the Lord our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down 86 00:07:31.720 --> 00:07:38.480 on the heavens and the earth? This is one of many, many scriptures 87 00:07:38.519 --> 00:07:43.800 that say a very similar thing. The Lord God is not a little we 88 00:07:43.879 --> 00:07:46.949 can't contain him in a form that we set on a shelf and and light 89 00:07:47.149 --> 00:07:53.110 things for and put fruit in front of. The Lord God is high above 90 00:07:53.149 --> 00:07:58.310 all things. He is the king of the universe, not just as one 91 00:07:58.389 --> 00:08:03.019 who has sort of ascended to that place and beat out everyone else, but 92 00:08:03.259 --> 00:08:07.180 is the one who made all things and made their things in subjection to him. 93 00:08:07.699 --> 00:08:13.610 Who is like the Lord Our God? The answer is none. He 94 00:08:13.810 --> 00:08:20.730 looks far down on the heavens and the earth. Jotham's a good king, 95 00:08:20.850 --> 00:08:24.850 but he's just a man. He may sit up high on his throne in 96 00:08:24.009 --> 00:08:30.639 the palace and Jerusalem, but that's as far as it goes. God, 97 00:08:30.920 --> 00:08:35.159 however, is king over all the world. He's high above all the nations. 98 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:39.960 This is part of what it means to think about the God whom we 99 00:08:39.080 --> 00:08:46.149 always live before. It is a great temptation of kings to of no thought 100 00:08:46.309 --> 00:08:50.149 to the watchfulness of God. So the fact that he, in his glory 101 00:08:50.309 --> 00:08:54.779 and in His Majesty and His Holiness, is looking down on the world that 102 00:08:54.860 --> 00:09:00.940 he has made. It seems that the more power that we obtain in this 103 00:09:01.100 --> 00:09:05.620 world, the more we like to think of ourselves as independent, as self 104 00:09:05.740 --> 00:09:11.929 governing, as autonomous. Is People that are in charge of our own destinies. 105 00:09:13.889 --> 00:09:20.850 But Are we? We are not. Psalm thirty three ten says the 106 00:09:22.009 --> 00:09:26.320 Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing. He frustrates the plans of 107 00:09:26.399 --> 00:09:33.519 the people. God's eyes, as he looks down on the children of man, 108 00:09:33.480 --> 00:09:39.190 is not merely observant. God's not merely watching it all play out as 109 00:09:39.269 --> 00:09:48.549 a curious person. God watches things as one who has control over them, 110 00:09:50.830 --> 00:09:56.379 as one who influence them, influences them, changes things, brings about his 111 00:09:56.980 --> 00:10:00.419 perfect and holy will. We say in the catechism that as king, he 112 00:10:01.059 --> 00:10:07.570 governs all his creatures and all their actions. To live your life before the 113 00:10:07.730 --> 00:10:11.370 Lord, to live your life before the eyes of the Lord, is to 114 00:10:11.450 --> 00:10:13.809 have that present in your mind and in your your heart all the time. 115 00:10:16.169 --> 00:10:20.799 The opposite is to stand up as autonomous, to stand up like Nebuchadnezzar and 116 00:10:20.919 --> 00:10:24.799 look out and say, look at all of this that I have accomplished. 117 00:10:26.039 --> 00:10:31.279 This, says, not a good way to live. It's not a godly 118 00:10:31.320 --> 00:10:33.919 way to live. It's it's not a truthful way to live. It's like 119 00:10:35.080 --> 00:10:41.309 denying the gravity exists or that that there aren't some physical forces in this world, 120 00:10:41.429 --> 00:10:46.590 limitations that you have. We are creatures. God is the Creator. 121 00:10:46.789 --> 00:10:52.620 So Jotham will understands what many other kings, and really everyone, kings or 122 00:10:52.740 --> 00:10:58.820 not, often don't understand, that God is in charge and they are not, 123 00:11:01.500 --> 00:11:07.169 that the things of kings do not ultimately protect or save. God is 124 00:11:07.250 --> 00:11:11.169 the one who does these things. Again from Psalm thirty three, verses sixteen 125 00:11:11.450 --> 00:11:18.210 and Seventeen. Now the king is not saved by his great army, a 126 00:11:18.370 --> 00:11:24.080 warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false 127 00:11:24.200 --> 00:11:30.759 hope for salvation and by its great might it cannot rescue this would be the 128 00:11:30.840 --> 00:11:35.830 exact opposite of what every king is always planning, always hoping. This is 129 00:11:35.950 --> 00:11:39.470 the exact opposite of what we often do. We depend on the things of 130 00:11:39.590 --> 00:11:46.830 this world to be our strength, to save us. Psalm says that ultimately, 131 00:11:46.909 --> 00:11:50.620 these things are a false hope for salvation, that our only salvation is 132 00:11:50.940 --> 00:12:00.220 in the great king, in his armies and his strength. So Jotham realizes 133 00:12:00.379 --> 00:12:03.049 this and that's why he has strength with the AMMONITES. That's why others throughout 134 00:12:03.049 --> 00:12:07.690 the chronicles have had strength and victories, because they've looked to the Lord, 135 00:12:09.570 --> 00:12:13.529 they've seen him and his kingly power. They've recognized him as an in his 136 00:12:13.610 --> 00:12:18.600 authority and instead of instead of establishing themselves over and against him, they place 137 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:26.799 themselves under him, under his watchful eye, recognizing his authorities, submitting to 138 00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:31.549 his will. Of course, this is not just for Jotham to realize, 139 00:12:31.549 --> 00:12:35.909 it's for us to know as well. These things are not written in the 140 00:12:35.070 --> 00:12:39.149 chronicles for us to stand back and sort of place all the kings on a 141 00:12:39.269 --> 00:12:45.620 table and judge them one after another. They are for us to make, 142 00:12:46.980 --> 00:12:50.220 to be put in their place, to consider the same kinds of decisions. 143 00:12:52.419 --> 00:12:56.059 Will we recognize God in a similar way or will we not? Do we 144 00:12:56.419 --> 00:13:03.409 give him our obedience or will we not? Proverbs fifteen three says the eyes 145 00:13:03.490 --> 00:13:07.809 of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the 146 00:13:07.929 --> 00:13:13.720 good. It's just a practical note I can I can attest to and I 147 00:13:13.840 --> 00:13:18.039 think maybe you can too. How many times you've fallen into sin and then 148 00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:22.679 realized afterwards that you had given no thought at all to the eyes of the 149 00:13:22.840 --> 00:13:28.470 Lord, hadn't even been thinking about it, weren't even considering it, and 150 00:13:28.629 --> 00:13:35.750 when you do, guilt and conviction for sin comes flooding in. I say 151 00:13:35.870 --> 00:13:41.580 that to point out that in the in the aftermath of our sin, when 152 00:13:41.620 --> 00:13:46.059 we realize these things, it's good for us to call that to mind and 153 00:13:46.299 --> 00:13:52.340 to remember these words we're hearing from scripture. The eyes of the Lord are 154 00:13:52.379 --> 00:13:56.370 in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. Instead of 155 00:13:56.450 --> 00:13:58.970 just remembering that at the end of our sin, we have to remember it 156 00:14:00.090 --> 00:14:07.690 at the beginning, in the middle of our temptation. A second thing into 157 00:14:07.730 --> 00:14:11.519 this is much briefer but very connected to what we've already said, is that 158 00:14:11.639 --> 00:14:18.000 God not only watches as this authority and Lawgiver, as a ruler and supreme 159 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:24.669 authority, but he also watches as a judge who weighs the evidence and brings 160 00:14:24.830 --> 00:14:30.149 conviction. That's why we feel guilty for our sin. We know that we 161 00:14:30.269 --> 00:14:35.110 are guilty before him. We consider his eyes when we consider him watching our 162 00:14:35.509 --> 00:14:43.659 our every way, even the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. Perhaps you 163 00:14:43.700 --> 00:14:48.539 remember this verse from Second Chronicles, Chapter Sixteen, Verse Nine. For the 164 00:14:48.580 --> 00:14:52.409 eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to give strong 165 00:14:52.610 --> 00:14:58.210 support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. But then he says to 166 00:14:58.370 --> 00:15:01.450 this king who has fallen away, he says, this is King Ace. 167 00:15:01.529 --> 00:15:05.769 I believe you have done foolishly in this. From now on you will have 168 00:15:05.970 --> 00:15:11.720 wars. He speaks dace, and he says you've forgotten this point. You 169 00:15:11.919 --> 00:15:16.240 thought that you could go and live without the watchfulness of God. You thought 170 00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:20.279 that you could live outside of his vision, outside of his per view. 171 00:15:22.350 --> 00:15:26.149 Not so much. The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the 172 00:15:26.269 --> 00:15:30.309 earth, and you have done foolishly. And now all your plans will be 173 00:15:30.350 --> 00:15:39.460 frustrated. From now on, you will have wars. The last thing I 174 00:15:39.539 --> 00:15:41.940 want to mention in this regard, though, is that, before the Living 175 00:15:41.980 --> 00:15:48.100 God, before this great king, if we are to live before him and 176 00:15:48.259 --> 00:15:54.330 with a sense of his presence and his eyes, it's not just being aware 177 00:15:54.370 --> 00:16:00.409 of His Holiness and his power to judge, but there's also something else, 178 00:16:00.970 --> 00:16:10.639 and something that's saving, because God has told us that in his eyes we 179 00:16:10.759 --> 00:16:18.360 can also find mercy and forgiveness and grace, and these attributes are just as 180 00:16:18.519 --> 00:16:23.549 powerful as his justice, just as powerful as his ability to bring conviction for 181 00:16:23.710 --> 00:16:30.070 sin. Now there are people who recognize everything we've set up to this point, 182 00:16:30.149 --> 00:16:33.980 but not the latter. They have a sense of God's authority in their 183 00:16:33.019 --> 00:16:37.340 lives, they have a sense of his supremacy in all things and they feel 184 00:16:37.500 --> 00:16:44.539 the weight of their sins, but they are not hearing that God also looks 185 00:16:44.580 --> 00:16:49.809 over things with an eye of mercy and, I. Of Grace, and 186 00:16:49.970 --> 00:16:55.169 that he promises to those who fear him and come to him not just in 187 00:16:55.210 --> 00:17:00.049 their sins but for the forgiveness of their sins, that they will find favor. 188 00:17:02.279 --> 00:17:06.240 This is the good news of the Bible. That God, though he 189 00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:11.000 is supreme in all things, though he's perfectly holy, and though we have 190 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:18.829 transgressed every law, we can come before him and find forgiveness before his eyes. 191 00:17:21.589 --> 00:17:26.829 We can come in our sins and in our weakness, in our struggles, 192 00:17:26.950 --> 00:17:33.180 in our failings, and ask him to watch over us, to protect 193 00:17:33.259 --> 00:17:38.460 us, to keep us, to forgive us. A few chapters back, 194 00:17:38.460 --> 00:17:42.339 in Second Chronicles, Chapter Twenty, we have an example of another faithful king 195 00:17:42.420 --> 00:17:48.930 who got this point. He prays to the Lord before his people. This 196 00:17:48.049 --> 00:17:52.490 is King Jehoshah had, and he says, Oh, our God, will 197 00:17:52.569 --> 00:17:57.799 you not execute judgment on them? Speaking of his enemies, he says, 198 00:17:57.839 --> 00:18:02.599 for we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We 199 00:18:02.680 --> 00:18:07.599 do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. To 200 00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:11.480 live before the eyes of the Lord means to have our eyes on him. 201 00:18:12.549 --> 00:18:18.230 That's what it means. That's what Jehosha fat did. He didn't stand himself 202 00:18:18.390 --> 00:18:22.109 over and against God and trust his horses, trust his army, trust all 203 00:18:22.150 --> 00:18:25.230 the resources that God had given him up to this point. No, he 204 00:18:25.390 --> 00:18:30.539 stood unto the Lord and said help me, I'm weak, I don't know 205 00:18:30.660 --> 00:18:37.019 what to do. He lived his eye, his life before the eyes of 206 00:18:37.140 --> 00:18:44.970 the Lord. To live before the eyes of the Lord is to have our 207 00:18:45.089 --> 00:18:52.329 eyes fixed upon him. We consense not only his great judgment and power to 208 00:18:52.890 --> 00:18:57.880 convict sins and give laws and all those terrors. We can have a sense 209 00:18:57.960 --> 00:19:03.279 of that, but it changes when we recognize his forgiveness, because we have 210 00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:10.950 a holy expectation now of divine favor. This is what Jotham must have understood, 211 00:19:11.029 --> 00:19:15.549 in part because he trusted not in himself but on the Lord. That's 212 00:19:15.549 --> 00:19:21.950 where his power came from. He came from trusting in him. Now, 213 00:19:22.069 --> 00:19:26.099 the Old Testament, this was always clear, but it was never clearer then 214 00:19:26.140 --> 00:19:33.579 when Jesus came. When Jesus came, God's salvation and His grace, in 215 00:19:33.700 --> 00:19:40.009 his mighty power, was revealed in an amazing way. Consider it. Keeping 216 00:19:40.130 --> 00:19:44.930 on this theme of of looking upon God as we consider him looking upon us, 217 00:19:45.569 --> 00:19:52.569 I remember the beautiful words of Simion when he looks upon Jesus in Luke, 218 00:19:52.650 --> 00:19:55.759 Chapter Two, verses twenty nine through thirty two. Simeon says this, 219 00:19:56.039 --> 00:20:00.799 Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word, 220 00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:06.039 for my eyes have seen your salvation, that you have prepared, in 221 00:20:06.119 --> 00:20:11.509 the presence of all people, the light for revelations to the gentiles. Simeon 222 00:20:11.670 --> 00:20:17.869 looked into the eyes of God, in the face of Jesus, the incarnate 223 00:20:18.029 --> 00:20:25.099 son, and what did he see? Salvation, for my eyes have seen 224 00:20:26.099 --> 00:20:30.940 your salvation, salvation that you've prepared, in the presence of all people's alight 225 00:20:32.140 --> 00:20:38.329 for revelation to the gentiles. In the coming of Jesus, we have the 226 00:20:38.490 --> 00:20:44.210 coming of the Great King of the world, the law giver, the Supreme 227 00:20:44.450 --> 00:20:48.250 One, the authority above all things, and he came and became a human 228 00:20:48.289 --> 00:20:55.440 child, one who would suffer and die at the hands of kings and rulers 229 00:20:55.519 --> 00:21:00.039 and authorities who thought they could stand themselves up over and against God, who 230 00:21:00.039 --> 00:21:07.430 thought that they could establish themselves as autonomous and independence and sovereign. They thought 231 00:21:07.430 --> 00:21:12.509 they could put him to death and finally, finally establish their rule once and 232 00:21:12.670 --> 00:21:18.420 for all. But of course, we know what happened. Jesus's death was 233 00:21:18.579 --> 00:21:29.299 no defeat, it was a victory over the very sin and death and curse 234 00:21:30.099 --> 00:21:37.730 that keeps us apart from God. Jesus came as a King to save sinful 235 00:21:37.849 --> 00:21:44.769 kings and to save all of us who trust in ourselves instead of in him. 236 00:21:45.609 --> 00:21:53.599 He overcame their sense of he overcomes our sense of internal power by showing 237 00:21:53.680 --> 00:22:02.589 us the power of His grace. Chronicles, in many ways is written as 238 00:22:02.670 --> 00:22:11.390 a kind of decision point. It's a history, yes, but it's written 239 00:22:11.430 --> 00:22:18.980 in a way that continually sort of begs this question, who is God and 240 00:22:18.819 --> 00:22:25.900 how will you respond? We're given example after example of various people that were 241 00:22:25.980 --> 00:22:32.009 faced with this question. In these examples and in these stories we are told 242 00:22:32.329 --> 00:22:37.369 who God is and what happens to people who respond to him in this way. 243 00:22:37.650 --> 00:22:44.880 They're blessed, they're saved, their strengthened. Ones who turn away from 244 00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:48.119 him, ones who established themselves, ones who do not seek after God, 245 00:22:48.359 --> 00:22:56.240 who ignore his eyes. They fall into ruined leprosy, as we saw with 246 00:22:56.319 --> 00:23:02.390 Jotham's father, disease, misery, treason, all kinds of other things. 247 00:23:04.190 --> 00:23:10.190 The chronicler puts it in this way so that we, the readers of this 248 00:23:10.509 --> 00:23:17.099 history, would come face to face with the same question. To come to 249 00:23:17.299 --> 00:23:23.819 know God as he is, would Um to know not the god of our 250 00:23:23.859 --> 00:23:27.289 imaginations, the God we'd like to push away, the God we'd like to 251 00:23:27.410 --> 00:23:33.250 ignore, but the God who reigns above heaven and earth and sees all things, 252 00:23:33.569 --> 00:23:38.809 who is supreme in the way that he gives his law, but also 253 00:23:40.490 --> 00:23:45.839 in the way that he gives his Gospel. In the revelation of Jesus, 254 00:23:47.720 --> 00:23:55.079 God gives to us the promise and hope of salvation. The one sad note 255 00:23:55.279 --> 00:24:00.630 in second chronicles twenty seven is that though Jotham did what was right in the 256 00:24:00.710 --> 00:24:07.470 eyes of the Lord, the people still followed corrupt practices. This is one 257 00:24:07.630 --> 00:24:15.539 place among many that Jesus succeeds where Jotham failed. Jesus is subjects. Jesus 258 00:24:15.579 --> 00:24:21.099 is kingdom, the one that he establishes, the people that he saves on 259 00:24:21.180 --> 00:24:29.289 the cross us. We follow after him. He secures a kingdom that will 260 00:24:29.289 --> 00:24:34.730 last forever. As will read in the next chapter, a has tanks. 261 00:24:34.769 --> 00:24:41.119 It goes really bad. Jotham, this great king, he has a son 262 00:24:41.759 --> 00:24:47.599 and it all falls apart. That's not what happened when the son of God 263 00:24:47.759 --> 00:24:49.119 was born on Earth. Let us pray