2 Chronicles Chapter 13: Verses 6-7 (NLT)
Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, a mere servant of David’s son Solomon, rebelled against his master. Then a whole gang of scoundrels joined him, defying Solomon’s son Rehoboam when he was young and inexperienced and could not stand up to them.
2 Chronicles Chapter 14: Verses 2-4 (NLT)
Asa did what was pleasing and good in the sight of the Lord his God. He removed the foreign altars and the pagan shrines. He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles. He commanded the people of Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his law and his commands.
2 Chronicles Chapter 15: Verses 2-4 (NLT)
and he went out to meet King Asa as he was returning from the battle. “Listen to me, Asa!” he shouted. “Listen, all you people of Judah and Benjamin! The Lord will stay with you as long as you stay with him! Whenever you seek him, you will find him. But if you abandon him, he will abandon you. For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach them, and without the Law to instruct them. But whenever they were in trouble and turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him out, they found him.”
Today’s verses remind me of the difference we can make to someone else’s life, for good or ill, by the influence that we exert. The verses in chapter 13 perhaps explain Rehoboam’s behaviour at the start of his reign. He was young and inexperienced and found it difficult to withstand the bad influence of those around him. On the other hand, in chapters 14 and 15, we see that King Asa followed the good example set by His father, and also paid heed to the prophesy of Azariah. Doing so gave him the courage to set the right example to his subjects. We are also told that Asa remained faithful to God throughout his whole life. What a lovely testimony! We also read in chapter 15, that many Israelites moved to Judah when they saw that the Lord was with Asa.
How does the way that we live impact others? As Christians do we set a good example to others reflecting the way that a Christian should live – or are we too easily influenced by others who might want to lead us astray?
Azariah told Asa that if he sought God’s help, God would indeed be with him. We need to follow Azariah’s advice too.
Dear Lord,
I thank You that the best influence we have as Christians today, is the Holy Spirit in our lives as our teacher, comforter and guide. Help me to remember that my actions can influence others, so that I don’t behave in a way that sends them off in the wrong direction, or puts them off following You. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.