Episode Transcript
WEBVTT
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Let's turn our attention now at to
Second Chronicles Chapter Twenty seven, as we
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continue reading and hearing God's word preached
through this book. Second Chronicles A,
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chapter twenty seven, please give your
attention to God's word. Jotham was twenty
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five years old when he began to
reign, and he reigned sixteen years in
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Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jeroshah, the the daughter of Zadok, and
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he did what was right in the
eyes of the Lord, according to all
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that his father, Uzaiah had done, except he did not enter the Temple
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of the Lord, but the people
still followed corrupt practices. He built the
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upper gate of the House of the
Lord and did much building on the wall
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of a fell. Moreover, he
built cities in the Hill Country of Judah
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and forts and towers on the wooded
hills. He fought with the king of
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the AMMONITES and prevailed against them,
and the ammonites gave him that year one
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hundred talents of silver, ten thousand
corps of wet and ten thousand corps of
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Barley. The ammonites paid him the
same amount in the second and third years.
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So Jotham became mighty because he ordered
his ways before the Lord, his
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God. Now the rest of the
acts of Jotham and all his wars and
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ways. Behold. They are written
in the book of the Kings of Israel
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and Judah. He was twenty five
years old when he began to reign and
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he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem and
Jotham slept with his father's and they buried
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him in the city of David and
a has his son, reigned in his
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place. After hearing several accounts of
kings that started well and ended poorly,
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this is a nice refresher and a
reminder of a Godly King, a simple
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story of a godly king, King
Jotham. King Jotham is characterized as doing
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the good of his father, but
without following him in his faults and the
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desire of every father. I think
verse seven tells us that his various acts
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and wars, his ways in wars, are written in the book of the
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Kings of Israel and Judah. I'm
here, the Chronicler, the historian,
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focuses on two things in verses three
through five, just to overview the story
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a little bit for you. First, his building projects. Jotham is commended
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for this, like other good kings, Jotham repairs and builds what is lacking
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in his kingdom, in the temple, in the city and further away of
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places as well. We read that
he rep Paris, one of the temple
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gates, the wall to the city
and then, of course, various forts
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and towers in the hill country.
There's this sense of of moving outwards from
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those most important places, on and
and out. We've seen this with other
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kings, as we've read of their
building projects and things that they've done.
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Well, this is one of the
reoccurring themes, this fortification of the city,
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a strengthening of the Temple of God
and even expanding the rule. Second,
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the second thing that Jotham is commended
for and his chronicled here, are
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his battles. Like other good kings, Jotham was not weak but instead defeated
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the enemies of the Lord and made
them subject to him. The ammonites are
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focused on here. We read that
he fought with the king in verse five
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and prevailed against them, and they
end up as subjects, giving a kind
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of tax, a subjects tax,
to him, a continual reminder of their
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loyalty. This extends for at least
three years. Other things. Those are
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his acts primarily there in verses three
through five, but there's other king,
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other indications of his success. He
reigns a long time. He's buried in
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a good place. There isn't these
long stories of politics and trickery and deception
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and things like that that we read
in some of the other accounts. It's
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more ring in a way, in
a way that's not quite as colorful,
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I mean to say, as some
of the other accounts, but in that
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sense it's really wonderful. It's just
simple obedience, a wonderful life, a
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lived a very well. That's the
basic characterization of this king of King Jotham.
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Well, what accounts for this success? This is something that the Chronicler,
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as we've seen again and again as
he chronicles the life of these kings,
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is very concerned about. What accounts
for the success? And the answer
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is in verse six. Notice what
it says. It says Jotham became mighty
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because he's ordered his ways before the
Lord, his God. This is actually
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the second time this is mentioned.
Verse Two also includes this, where it
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says and he did what was right
in the eyes of the Lord, according
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to all that is from father use, I had done, except he did
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not emper enter the Temple of the
Lord. That last part. They're not
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saying that Jotham failed in this way, but he didn't do the thing that
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his father did, this wicked thing. So he did all the good things,
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but not the bad as what it's
saying. They're well noticing this verse
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two, in this verse six,
about Jotham reigning in a way, that
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lives his life before the eyes of
the Lord, that he orders his ways
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before the Lord. Is a sort
of bookend, right, or or a
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hug, maybe even around his ways
and wars. The acts of Jotham are
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characterized on both sides by this similar
idea that he lived his life out before
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the Lord, before the eyes of
the Lord, he ordered his ways before
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the Lord. That is what the
chronicler and the Holy Spirit, through the
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author, is commending to us.
That's the connection. Why was he successful?
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Because he did this. So that
will be our emphasis for this evening
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as well. What does it mean
to do right before the eyes of the
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Lord? What does it mean to
order your ways before the Lord? What
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does this tell us about the God
that is revealed in these words? The
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first thing I want to point out
is that is we consider the eyes of
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the Lord, or living before the
Lord. Is that the Lord tells us
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in these phrases and in this chapter
and throughout the book and the whole Bible,
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to be sure that God watches over
the world as a lawgiver, as
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a king. God is King over
the world that he has made. The
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creatures are his subjects. Consider Psalm
one hundred and thirteen, for the Lord
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is high above all nations and His
glory above the heavens. Who is like
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the Lord our God, who is
seated on high, who looks far down
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on the heavens and the earth?
This is one of many, many scriptures
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that say a very similar thing.
The Lord God is not a little we
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can't contain him in a form that
we set on a shelf and and light
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things for and put fruit in front
of. The Lord God is high above
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all things. He is the king
of the universe, not just as one
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who has sort of ascended to that
place and beat out everyone else, but
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is the one who made all things
and made their things in subjection to him.
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Who is like the Lord Our God? The answer is none. He
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looks far down on the heavens and
the earth. Jotham's a good king,
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but he's just a man. He
may sit up high on his throne in
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the palace and Jerusalem, but that's
as far as it goes. God,
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however, is king over all the
world. He's high above all the nations.
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This is part of what it means
to think about the God whom we
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always live before. It is a
great temptation of kings to of no thought
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to the watchfulness of God. So
the fact that he, in his glory
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and in His Majesty and His Holiness, is looking down on the world that
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he has made. It seems that
the more power that we obtain in this
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world, the more we like to
think of ourselves as independent, as self
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governing, as autonomous. Is People
that are in charge of our own destinies.
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But Are we? We are not. Psalm thirty three ten says the
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Lord brings the counsel of the nations
to nothing. He frustrates the plans of
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the people. God's eyes, as
he looks down on the children of man,
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is not merely observant. God's not
merely watching it all play out as
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a curious person. God watches things
as one who has control over them,
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as one who influence them, influences
them, changes things, brings about his
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perfect and holy will. We say
in the catechism that as king, he
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governs all his creatures and all their
actions. To live your life before the
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Lord, to live your life before
the eyes of the Lord, is to
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have that present in your mind and
in your your heart all the time.
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The opposite is to stand up as
autonomous, to stand up like Nebuchadnezzar and
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look out and say, look at
all of this that I have accomplished.
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This, says, not a good
way to live. It's not a godly
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way to live. It's it's not
a truthful way to live. It's like
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denying the gravity exists or that that
there aren't some physical forces in this world,
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limitations that you have. We are
creatures. God is the Creator.
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So Jotham will understands what many other
kings, and really everyone, kings or
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not, often don't understand, that
God is in charge and they are not,
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that the things of kings do not
ultimately protect or save. God is
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the one who does these things.
Again from Psalm thirty three, verses sixteen
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and Seventeen. Now the king is
not saved by his great army, a
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warrior is not delivered by his great
strength. The war horse is a false
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hope for salvation and by its great
might it cannot rescue this would be the
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exact opposite of what every king is
always planning, always hoping. This is
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the exact opposite of what we often
do. We depend on the things of
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this world to be our strength,
to save us. Psalm says that ultimately,
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these things are a false hope for
salvation, that our only salvation is
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in the great king, in his
armies and his strength. So Jotham realizes
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this and that's why he has strength
with the AMMONITES. That's why others throughout
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the chronicles have had strength and victories, because they've looked to the Lord,
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they've seen him and his kingly power. They've recognized him as an in his
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authority and instead of instead of establishing
themselves over and against him, they place
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themselves under him, under his watchful
eye, recognizing his authorities, submitting to
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his will. Of course, this
is not just for Jotham to realize,
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it's for us to know as well. These things are not written in the
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chronicles for us to stand back and
sort of place all the kings on a
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table and judge them one after another. They are for us to make,
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to be put in their place,
to consider the same kinds of decisions.
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Will we recognize God in a similar
way or will we not? Do we
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give him our obedience or will we
not? Proverbs fifteen three says the eyes
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of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the
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good. It's just a practical note
I can I can attest to and I
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think maybe you can too. How
many times you've fallen into sin and then
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realized afterwards that you had given no
thought at all to the eyes of the
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Lord, hadn't even been thinking about
it, weren't even considering it, and
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when you do, guilt and conviction
for sin comes flooding in. I say
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that to point out that in the
in the aftermath of our sin, when
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we realize these things, it's good
for us to call that to mind and
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to remember these words we're hearing from
scripture. The eyes of the Lord are
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in every place, keeping watch on
the evil and the good. Instead of
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just remembering that at the end of
our sin, we have to remember it
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at the beginning, in the middle
of our temptation. A second thing into
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this is much briefer but very connected
to what we've already said, is that
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God not only watches as this authority
and Lawgiver, as a ruler and supreme
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authority, but he also watches as
a judge who weighs the evidence and brings
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conviction. That's why we feel guilty
for our sin. We know that we
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are guilty before him. We consider
his eyes when we consider him watching our
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our every way, even the thoughts
and intentions of our hearts. Perhaps you
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remember this verse from Second Chronicles,
Chapter Sixteen, Verse Nine. For the
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eyes of the Lord run to and
fro throughout the whole earth to give strong
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support to those whose heart is blameless
toward him. But then he says to
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this king who has fallen away,
he says, this is King Ace.
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I believe you have done foolishly in
this. From now on you will have
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wars. He speaks dace, and
he says you've forgotten this point. You
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thought that you could go and live
without the watchfulness of God. You thought
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that you could live outside of his
vision, outside of his per view.
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Not so much. The eyes of
the Lord run to and fro throughout the
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earth, and you have done foolishly. And now all your plans will be
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frustrated. From now on, you
will have wars. The last thing I
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want to mention in this regard,
though, is that, before the Living
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God, before this great king,
if we are to live before him and
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with a sense of his presence and
his eyes, it's not just being aware
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of His Holiness and his power to
judge, but there's also something else,
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and something that's saving, because God
has told us that in his eyes we
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can also find mercy and forgiveness and
grace, and these attributes are just as
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powerful as his justice, just as
powerful as his ability to bring conviction for
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sin. Now there are people who
recognize everything we've set up to this point,
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but not the latter. They have
a sense of God's authority in their
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lives, they have a sense of
his supremacy in all things and they feel
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the weight of their sins, but
they are not hearing that God also looks
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over things with an eye of mercy
and, I. Of Grace, and
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that he promises to those who fear
him and come to him not just in
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their sins but for the forgiveness of
their sins, that they will find favor.
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This is the good news of the
Bible. That God, though he
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is supreme in all things, though
he's perfectly holy, and though we have
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transgressed every law, we can come
before him and find forgiveness before his eyes.
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We can come in our sins and
in our weakness, in our struggles,
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in our failings, and ask him
to watch over us, to protect
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us, to keep us, to
forgive us. A few chapters back,
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in Second Chronicles, Chapter Twenty,
we have an example of another faithful king
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who got this point. He prays
to the Lord before his people. This
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is King Jehoshah had, and he
says, Oh, our God, will
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you not execute judgment on them?
Speaking of his enemies, he says,
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for we are powerless against this great
horde that is coming against us. We
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do not know what to do,
but our eyes are on you. To
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live before the eyes of the Lord
means to have our eyes on him.
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That's what it means. That's what
Jehosha fat did. He didn't stand himself
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over and against God and trust his
horses, trust his army, trust all
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the resources that God had given him
up to this point. No, he
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stood unto the Lord and said help
me, I'm weak, I don't know
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what to do. He lived his
eye, his life before the eyes of
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the Lord. To live before the
eyes of the Lord is to have our
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eyes fixed upon him. We consense
not only his great judgment and power to
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convict sins and give laws and all
those terrors. We can have a sense
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of that, but it changes when
we recognize his forgiveness, because we have
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a holy expectation now of divine favor. This is what Jotham must have understood,
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in part because he trusted not in
himself but on the Lord. That's
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where his power came from. He
came from trusting in him. Now,
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the Old Testament, this was always
clear, but it was never clearer then
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when Jesus came. When Jesus came, God's salvation and His grace, in
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his mighty power, was revealed in
an amazing way. Consider it. Keeping
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on this theme of of looking upon
God as we consider him looking upon us,
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I remember the beautiful words of Simion
when he looks upon Jesus in Luke,
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Chapter Two, verses twenty nine through
thirty two. Simeon says this,
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Lord, now you are letting your
servant depart in peace according to your word,
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for my eyes have seen your salvation, that you have prepared, in
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the presence of all people, the
light for revelations to the gentiles. Simeon
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looked into the eyes of God,
in the face of Jesus, the incarnate
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son, and what did he see? Salvation, for my eyes have seen
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your salvation, salvation that you've prepared, in the presence of all people's alight
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for revelation to the gentiles. In
the coming of Jesus, we have the
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coming of the Great King of the
world, the law giver, the Supreme
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One, the authority above all things, and he came and became a human
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child, one who would suffer and
die at the hands of kings and rulers
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and authorities who thought they could stand
themselves up over and against God, who
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thought that they could establish themselves as
autonomous and independence and sovereign. They thought
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they could put him to death and
finally, finally establish their rule once and
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for all. But of course,
we know what happened. Jesus's death was
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no defeat, it was a victory
over the very sin and death and curse
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that keeps us apart from God.
Jesus came as a King to save sinful
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kings and to save all of us
who trust in ourselves instead of in him.
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He overcame their sense of he overcomes
our sense of internal power by showing
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us the power of His grace.
Chronicles, in many ways is written as
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a kind of decision point. It's
a history, yes, but it's written
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in a way that continually sort of
begs this question, who is God and
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how will you respond? We're given
example after example of various people that were
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faced with this question. In these
examples and in these stories we are told
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who God is and what happens to
people who respond to him in this way.
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They're blessed, they're saved, their
strengthened. Ones who turn away from
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him, ones who established themselves,
ones who do not seek after God,
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who ignore his eyes. They fall
into ruined leprosy, as we saw with
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Jotham's father, disease, misery,
treason, all kinds of other things.
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The chronicler puts it in this way
so that we, the readers of this
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history, would come face to face
with the same question. To come to
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know God as he is, would
Um to know not the god of our
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imaginations, the God we'd like to
push away, the God we'd like to
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ignore, but the God who reigns
above heaven and earth and sees all things,
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who is supreme in the way that
he gives his law, but also
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in the way that he gives his
Gospel. In the revelation of Jesus,
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God gives to us the promise and
hope of salvation. The one sad note
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in second chronicles twenty seven is that
though Jotham did what was right in the
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eyes of the Lord, the people
still followed corrupt practices. This is one
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place among many that Jesus succeeds where
Jotham failed. Jesus is subjects. Jesus
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is kingdom, the one that he
establishes, the people that he saves on
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the cross us. We follow after
him. He secures a kingdom that will
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last forever. As will read in
the next chapter, a has tanks.
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It goes really bad. Jotham,
this great king, he has a son
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and it all falls apart. That's
not what happened when the son of God
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was born on Earth. Let us
pray
