DEVOTIONAL 11/21/2021
2 Chronicles 21
18 And after all this the LORD smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease.
19 And it came to pass, that in process of time, after the end of two years, his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness: so he died of sore diseases. And his people made no burning for him, like the burning of his fathers.
20 Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years, and departed without being desired. Howbeit they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings.
Jehoram was a king of Judah, the son of Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 21 1). Jehoshaphat had an association with king of Israel Ahab (2 Chronicles 18 1), who was the husband of cursed Jezebel (1 Kings 16 31). Jehoshaphat was one of the kings that showed some efforts to obey God’s commandments, although he was not so perfect with them.
2 Chronicles 17
3 And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim;
4 But sought to the LORD God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel.
2 Chronicles 20
32 And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and departed not from it, doing that which was right in the sight of the LORD.
33 Howbeit the high places were not taken away: for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers.
In contrast to his father, Jehoram walked in the way of sin due to his marriage with the daughter of Ahab.
2 Chronicles 21 6 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, like as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife: and he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD.
2 Chronicles 21 11 Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, and compelled Judah thereto.
Also, Jehoram behaved as a cruel character when he killed his brethren.
2 Chronicles 21 4 Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself, and slew all his brethren with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel.
As a consequence of his iniquities, Jehoram was punished by God with a gruesome disease.
2 Chronicles 21 15 And thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day.
Indeed, Jehoram was so young when he died. He was only 40 years old at that time and ruled Judah for merely 8 years. God is the Creator and Owner of our bodies. He can invent any kind of incurable disease to punish disobedient humans. No matter how advanced the medicine of the land is, new or strange diseases can emerge. We should not underrate the medical team in Jehoram’s time. We can assume that the king had many qualified physicians in his house, but none of them was able to suggest anything to cure him. When God has determined, no one can fight against His will. If Jehoram had repented earlier, there might have been a chance for him. We can postulate from the passage that the disease and the death of Jehoram were so grotesque that people in Jerusalem refused to give him a proper closure. The passage stated that he “departed without being desired” (2 Chronicles 21 20).
In conclusion, we are vulnerable under God’s hands. If God allows us to live, we live. We have to be extremely careful in our conduct and live sanctified lives so that He may have mercy on our fragile bodies. Defying God’s commandments attracts injury and sickness.
Photo was by Anna Shvets from Pexels. Image is only for the purpose of illustration. https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-woman-doctor-health-4226258/
Sam Christian
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Vocabulary and grammar checks were done with the help of Collinsdictionary.com, Microsoft Word, and Google Docs.
The Bible used is the King James Version by Hendrickson Publishers. ISBN 978-1-59856-461-7. Some texts were inspired by boldfaced words and reference systems from this Bible book.
Photo was by Anna Shvets from Pexels.
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