He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD. – 2 Chronicles 21:6

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 6, 2019): 2 Chronicles 21

American Poet and Philosopher Henry David Thoreau said that “If you would convince a man that he does wrong, do right. But do not care to convince him. Men will believe what they see. Let them see.” According to the philosopher, our words are a waste of breath. If someone is in error, convince them not with words but with your actions. So much of what we do is because we echo what it is that we have seen. There are elements of my ministry that are nothing more than reflections of what I have seen by Pastors that I have served with over the past forty years. I carry with me the good, but also the bad, of those who have preceded me. I do what it is that I have seen.

Jehoram had a good example. Both his father, Jehoshaphat, and his grandfather, Asa, were good kings. The family of Asa were the guardians of everything that was good in the house of David. And they honored the example of David and the God that he had served with their reigns and their lives. But, as with any of us, not all that they did was right. Jehoram watched his father ally himself with Ahab of Israel. But that was an alliance that had angered God. And the example that had been set with this one action of Jehoshaphat set the stage for what would be the downfall of Jehoram. Jehoshaphat’s son would take the alliance of his father a step further. Jehoram would marry the daughter of Ahab, Athaliah, and open up Judah for all of the sins that had infected the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

But the problems of Judah didn’t stop there. Because of this sin, Jehoram set Judah up to be led by their only Queen, and that Queen was Athaliah, the daughter Ahab of Israel.  For six years, the sovereign of Judah was not a descendant of David, but instead of a Northern King. And we can trace all of this back to an alliance that did not honor God, between Jehoshaphat and Ahab.

Sometimes, it is so easy for our mistakes to set up the evil of the next generation, because they watch what it is that we do. And something as small as an alliance with someone who refuses to honor God can be the seed of destruction for all who come behind us.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 1