2 Chronicles 24-26

Click on the Scripture above to read today's Bible text.

Here are a few "take-aways" from today's Bible stories...

1) Spiritual accountability makes a HUGE difference! Chapter 24 is an important look at the influence of spiritual accountability. While Jehoiada remained the priest, the king and the leaders of Judah stayed close to the Lord and practiced godliness. Sadly, however, once Jehoiada died, spiritual accountability was gone and the leaders of Israel decided to abandon the Temple and the worship of God. Instead, they began to worship Asherah poles and wooden idols. As a result, the Lord helped the Aramean army to attack and defeat Judah as punishment for their abandonement. Even worse, the king calls for the killing of one of God's prophets (Zechariah) when he confronts the king about his disobedience and abandonement from the Lord.

All of us need some form of accountability! To whom are you accountable to for staying spiritually pure before God?

2) Will you be buried among kings? One of the most fascinating verses in the Bible is found in 24:15-16. Jehoiada is the only priest to be buried among the kings of Israel. Why? Because he had done "SO MUCH GOOD IN JUDAH FOR GOD AND HIS TEMPLE."

What GOOD are you doing for God and His temple? Is the influence of your life being felt in your workplace, among your family, in your city, and in this world? If people really knew what good you're doing, would they bury you among kings?

3) As long as we seek the Lord, God will make us to prosper! Through chapter 25, we see how abandoning the Lord creates disaster. In chapter 26, God uses the prophet Zechariah to teach Uzziah to fear the Lord and thus we get the statement in verse 5, "And as long as the king sought guidance from the Lord, God gave him success! Our successes and failures often depend on just how closely we follow the Lord. As long as we seek Him, God will make sure we succeed. And, it's important to remember that what we might deem as failure in the eyes of the world may be or bring success in the eyes of God!

4) Power often leads to pride which leads to a tragic combination! At the end of chapter 26, we see in one verse (26:16) that Uzziah allowed these two intoxicating ingredients to ruin his life - "But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall." It was King Solomon who, many years before gave this warning - "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18). God hates a proud attitude. Why? Because it is He who allows us the ability, the gifts, and the power to accomplish things. He is behind all things!