2 Chronicles 28:12-13
Certain chiefs also of the men of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against those who were coming from the war and said to them, “You shall not bring the captives in here, for you propose to bring upon us guilt against the Lord in addition to our present sins and guilt. For our guilt is already great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.”
Tag: Standing Tall in Slouching Times
The above section is cut out of a story about King Ahaz , the Kin of Judah, who was not a good king. Here is what is already stated about him, earlier in this chapter:
2 Chronicles 28:2-3
... but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even made metal images for the Baals, and he made offerings in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom and burned his sons as an offering, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.
God will bring the Syrians to defeat him because of the above life style. The Syrians defeated 120,000 men of war under the command of Ahaz. When this happened, the men of Israel, in the north, decided to capitalize on Judah’s downfall and took captive 200,000 women, sons and daughters. Here is where we enter the story. When Israel could have been merciful to their brothers to the south, Judah, instead they took advantage of them. God gave them an opportunity to show kindness. They didn’t. These men in the above passage, however, did. They stood up to their brothers and stood tall for mercy and grace. They stood in the gap when no one else would. When we see others doing something wrong we can, and must, stand in the gap. They first had to admit their own guilt in this thing and then, stop the sin from growing. When we find ourselves in sin, making mistakes toward God and our brothers, the first step is to stop the current mistakes. The next step is to make sure we don’t join others, who don’t recognize their sin. We have to make sure we recognize the sin in our lives and then not join others. Making a stand for God in times of trouble is as simple as that. We have to confess and admit our sin and stop joining others in their sin.
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