" He Did Right; Nevertheless . . . "

1st.Kings 15:9-14; 22:41-43   "And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah. And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his father. And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his father had made. And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron. But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa's heart was perfect with the LORD all his days. . . . And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. Jehoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD: nevertheless the high places were not taken away; for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places."

     Twenty kings reigned over Israel (the Northern Kingdom), and they all did evil in GOD's sight. Twenty monarchs, including wicked Queen Athaliah, ruled over Judah (the Southern Kingdom); of these, twelve did evil while eight did what was right before GOD. As we ponder the history of these good kings, we keep reading a sad refrain: "He did what was right; nevertheless the high places were not removed." We see this compromise in the inspired record of the following kings: Asa (15:11, 14), Jehoshaphat (22:43), Joash (2nd.Kings 12:2-3), Amaziah (2nd.Kings 14:3-4), Uzziah or Azariah (2nd.Kings 15:3-4), and Jotham (2nd.Kings 15:34-35). Finally, Hezekiah broke the pattern and removed the high places (2nd.Kings 21:1-3). Young Josiah destroyed the high places so totally that the four wicked kings that followed him did not try to rebuild them (2nd.Kings 23). So, only two of the eight good kings removed the high places.

     Are there any idols in your life that need to be destroyed (1st.John 5:21) ? Is there something sinful in your life that you are tolerating and not dealing with ? Is there any area of your life where you are not allowing the LORD to be on the throne ? Are you giving the LORD full access and full control over every room in the house of your soul ? Do you have a room in which you have erected some high place or some idol ? Have you allowed this substitute for GOD to stand in a place that should be reserved only for the LORD ? At CHRIST's judgment seat, will the LORD say these words about you: "He did right in many ways; nevertheless the high places were not removed " ? GWZ
Your servant in CHRIST,
Julie
Copyright, FEATURE: A Daily Bible Study Guide.
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