SOME GOOD LEFT IN JUDAH

2 Chronicles 11, 12

“Indeed, there was some good in Judah.”  (2 Chronicles 12:12)

How quickly the nation of Israel turned away from serving Jehovah!  The nation reached its pinnacle during the reigns of David and Solomon.  Then Solomon turned away from God and began to worship the gods and goddesses of his pagan wives.  God promised Solomon that he would tear the kingdom out of his hands because he did not obey him as David had obeyed.  But because of his promise to David, Jehovah would not do this in Solomon’s days but after his son, Rehoboam, became king.  Rehoboam only reigned 17 years over Judah and Benjamin so the destruction of Israel took place in a matter of a few decades!

Jeroboam became king of Israel (the ten northern tribes) and he immediately established idol worship on the high places of Israel.  All the priests and Levites fled the north and moved to Judah giving their allegiance to Rehoboam.  All the people of Israel who wanted to follow Jehovah also fled to the south.  Judah had all the people of God, all the people who wanted to serve God.  Nevertheless, 2 Chronicles 12:1 says, “After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all [the nation] with him abandoned the law of the LORD.”  God brought judgment upon Judah through Shishak, king of Egypt, who carried off the wealth of Jerusalem.

God’s prophet, Shemaiah, came to Rehoboam and 12:6 says that all the leaders of the nation and King Rehoboam humbled themselves.  Then verse 12 says, “Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the LORD’s anger turned from him, and he was not totally destroyed.  Indeed, there was some good in Judah.”  Finally, we read in verse 14, “He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the LORD.”

When I read these accounts of the spiritual fall of Israel my heart aches for those who lived in the land and remained faithful to God.  They must have grieved when they saw the sins of their king and their leaders!  They must have cried out to God to have mercy on their land and give them a godly king!  There were many who were still alive who could remember the glorious early days of Solomon’s reign.  Then in a matter of decades the nation was torn apart and many of them had fled their own lands to be in Judah only to see Rehoboam arrogantly turn away from Jehovah!  What pain must have gripped their spirits when they saw Jerusalem looted!  What sorrow they endured because their leaders had turned away from God.  Nevertheless, there was still some good in Judah!

My heart grieves for our country.  How quickly a nation can fall!  I’m old enough now to have been able to witness the spiritual decline in our country in a matter of decades.  Yet there is still some good in America!  There are still men and women who call out to God to have mercy and give us leaders who are God-fearing people!  There is still hope.  The faithful need to remain faithful and not give up!  We pray for awakening.  We pray for another stirring of the Holy Spirit in our land.  We find ourselves in this sad situation because we have leaders who have not set their hearts on seeking the Lord.  We must continue to cry out to God for mercy and we must continue to hold fast to the Word of God.  Even if our nation is in decline, the kingdom of God is more powerful than ever because God is still bringing men and women to faith.  He will build his church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it!