Nevertheless, because of the covenant the LORD had made with David, the LORD was not willing to destroy the house of David. He had promised to maintain a lamp for him and his descendants forever. – 2 Chronicles 21:7

Today's Scripture Reading (January 16, 2023): 2 Chronicles 21

Maybe one of the harsh realities of life is that sometimes, stuff happens. It isn't always pleasant, but the stuff that happens in our life is also sometimes without reason; it just happens. It is summed up by an ancient Latin phrase, one that we might want to learn, especially for those moments when life makes us want to swear. The phrase you need to know is "stercus accidit," which translates into "sh*t happens." I am glad I was able to further your vocabulary.

I believe in the Bible, but there are several places where I stand back and say, "that is not quite how it was. Sometimes, stuff just happens." The Chronicler says that God's covenant protected the House of David. Even though Jehoram had followed the ways of the Kings of Israel, who had gone against the ways of God, God was not willing to set the nation free. It is an interesting belief considering that the Chronicler was writing in the days of exile. The Chronicler says that God did not allow Jehoram to fail because God had made a "forever" covenant with David. Yet, a few generations later, God would remove his protection from Judah and allow Jerusalem to fall and Solomon's Temple to be destroyed. All of these events the Chronicler had either experienced or had been experienced by his parents or grandparents. God may have protected Jehoram, but that protection was not a forever commitment of God, and that must have been very apparent to the Chronicler living in exile.

As Christians, it becomes apparent that God never intended his support of the House of David to be projected to the world by protecting the Kings of Judah. Eventually, the earthly kings of the nations of God would fall, but even then, God still had a plan. And the plan hadn't changed just because more and more Judean Kings decided that they were going to follow the Kings of Israel in their rejection of God. God had already declared that the son of a woman would come to pay for our spiritual debt. It was a declaration that God had made back in the very beginning.

And I will put enmity
    between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
    and you will strike his heel" (Genesis 3:15).

The Messiah was never an afterthought. From the very beginning of the world, God had decided that he knew how he would save us all. And it would not be through an earthly king, even one like David or Hezekiah. It would be through his son, born of a woman and the House of David, and it would be his throne would last forever, and he would be the lamp that was spoken of by the prophets who had declared the words of God. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 1