February 20: 2 Chronicles 22

Who Has Your Ear?

The only son left from the attack of the Arameans on Jerusalem and Jehoram’s house (21:17) was Jehoahaz (also called Ahaziah), so they made him the king at 22 years of age. His mother, Ahab’s daughter, was his counselor to do wickedly (22:3). He listened to his mother and her family, for they were his advisors, to his destruction (22:4).

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.  (Psalms 1:1 KJV)

No wisdom, no discernment, no counsel can avail against Jehovah.  (Proverbs 21:30 UASV+)

Be not wise in your own eyes; fear Jehovah and turn away from evil.  (Proverbs 3:7 UASV+)

Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil men.  (Proverbs 4:14 UAW)

We are told that Ahaziah “walked according to their counsel.” He went with his uncle Jehoram, who was Ahab’s son and the king of Israel, to fight Hazael king of Aram. Jehoram was wounded in the battle and went to Jezreel to heal. Ahaziah decided to visit his uncle. We are told: “Now the destruction of Ahaziah was from God, in that he went Joram” (verse 7).

Ahaziah was unaware that the prophet Elisha had commissioned one of his prophets to anoint Jehu as king of Israel and instructed him to take down the house of Ahab. You will find a more detailed account of this in 2 Kings 8:25-9:37. When Jehu showed up to kill Jehoram, he found Ahaziah and company and took their lives. He had to hunt for Ahaziah, who was hiding in Samaria. The “accidental” visit at the “wrong time” was really God’s divine appointment. Isn’t it amazing how God works through the choices and events of life to accomplish His plan?!

They buried Ahaziah with honor, unlike how his grandmother Jezebel would be treated in death, because they noted that “he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart (verse 9). This left Jehoram with no successors to take the throne.

Bad advice seldom seems so to those who are listening to the “voices of reason.” It’s easy to follow the wisdom of the world. This is how “everyone” thinks. This is what “we all” should do. There are many voices in the world and they clammer for our attention. They often drown out the “still small” voice of God. They seem “reasonable” to the eyes of flesh. The Apostle Paul reminds us that:

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:5-8 ESV)

God’s ways require God’s wisdom to perceive the rightness or goodness of those ways. His ways are not our ways, so we fail to understand that when our ways conflict with His, ours are not going to succeed. We think that we know what we are doing and how we should proceed. We follow “common sense” and “business principles” in the work of the Lord. We operate in the “flesh” and the Bible tells us that this cannot please God. God does not want us to operate foolishly or rashly, but, when we follow His lead, we will find that the way of faith often goes against the prevailing wisdom of the world.

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. (1 Corinthians 1:21 ESV)

For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Corinthians 1:25 ESV)

So, we return to the original question: Who has your ear? Whose voice gets your attention? Are you listening to the wisdom of the world, or are you listening to the voice of the Spirit speaking in the Word of God?