PRIDE destroys LOYALTY

                                            PRIDE DESTROYS LOYALTY

“But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the LORD his God and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense” (2 Chronicles 26:16, ESV).

King Uzziah began his reign “doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord.”  However with success came pride.  This pride led to his rebellion from the Lord.  Pride creeps up on us so subtly that we do not notice the change in ourselves.  And once pride has fully grown we have completely rejected following God’s commands are destroying everything good around us. 

Before we read about King Uzziah in 2 Chronicles, we will find ourselves flabbergasted by the disloyalty of one of the kings before him, King Joash.  He too started his Kingship ruling in the fear of the Lord but departed later on in his rule.  And as he rebelled against God he destroyed the very family that saved his life and brought him to power.  It is a great example to me in how pride in my life will prevent me from being a loyal man.  Like I said above, when pride creeps into your life it will cause you to destroy all things good in your life.  Below is an account of how pride will cause us to drift into something we never want to become.  May we all keep our eyes on Jesus Christ. 

Loyalty

            I’m going to challenge you to read 2 Chronicles 22-24.  I love reading 1-2 Kings and 1-2 Chronicles.  It shows us what happens when one rules righteously and when one rules with an evil heart.  It also shows us the downfall of men who loved God and how that damaged not only their personal lives but also the lives of the entire nation. 

            In 1 Chronicles 23 Joash is made King.  But Joash did nothing to become King.  In 1 Chronicles 22 we learn Joash’ life was saved from being slaughtered by the evil Athaliah.  Athaliah was the mother of the previous King Ahaziah.  Ahaziah was killed during battle.  His mother, Athaliah, promptly killed the entire royal family of the house of Judah so she could rule.  However, the wife of priest Jehoida, Jehoshabeath, saved a young baby boy, Joash, who belonged to the royal family, and hid him from Athaliah. 

            Do you see:  Athaliah wanted to kill the entire royal house so she could rule over Judah.  She succeeded but the baby that belonged to the royal family, Joash, was spared due to the work of the priest Jehoiada and his wife Jehoshabeath. 

            In 1 Chronicles 23 Jehoiada organized the revolt of the nation against the evil Athaliah and Joash is ordained at King at seven years old.  Joash owes everything to Jehoiada and Jehoshabeath.  Not only did they save him but also they organized the revolt of the nation against Athaliah and the approval of him as King.

            In Joash’ younger years as King, Jehoiada helped him make decisions and rule the people.  God was at the center of every decision as Jehoida sought the wisdom and counsel of the Lord.  The Bible tells us that during this time he “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.”

            But Jehoida died and Joash traded in the counsel of Jehoiada for the counsel of the evil princes of the nation.  They led Joash to abandon God and pursue other god. 

            AND HERE IS THE PART THAT BAFFLES ME—In my mind, even if Joash didn’t want to follow the ways of the Lord anymore, he still should understand that he owes everything to Jehoiada.  By the time Joash rebelled against the Lord, Zechariah, Jehoiada’s son, was a priest.  I want you to read what the Bible says:

“Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God, ‘Why do you break the commandments of the LORD, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, he has forsaken you.’” But they conspired against him, and by command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the LORD. Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah's father, had shown him, but killed his son. And when he was dying, he said, “May the LORD see and avenge!” (2 Chronicles 24:20-22, ESV)

            Can you believe that?  Joash owes his life to Jehoida.  But in his rebellion against God, in his pride, he murders Jehoida’s son.  Pride destroys man’s ability to be loyal.  I ask myself: “How could this happen?”  When a person gets so far away from God and so full of himself there is no end to the destruction he will cause, even to those whom he should be most loyal!

            I pray we guard our hearts and keep our eyes on Jesus Christ.  May our goal be that we “do right in the eyes of the Lord” all the days of our life.

“Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay. –” R. Zaccharias