His people made no funeral fire in his honor, as they had for his predecessors. 2 Chronicles 21:19
In the hit musical Hamilton, England’s King George III is humorously portrayed as a cartoonish, deranged villain. However, a new biography on King George said he was not the tyrant described in Hamilton or America’s Declaration of Independence. If George had been the brutal despot that Americans said he was, he would have stopped their drive for independence with extreme, scorched-earth measures. But he was restrained by his “civilized, good-natured” temperament.
Who knows if King George died with regret? Would his reign have been more successful if he’d been harsher with his subjects?
Not necessarily. In the Bible we read of King Jehoram, who solidified his throne by putting “all his brothers to the sword along with some of the officials of Israel” (2 Chronicles 21:4). Jehoram “did evil in the eyes of the Lord” (v. 6). His ruthless reign alienated his people, who neither wept for his gruesome death nor made a “funeral fire in his honor” (v. 19).
Historians may debate whether George was too soft; Jehoram was surely too harsh. A better way is that of King Jesus, who is “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Christ’s expectations are firm (He demands truth), yet He embraces those who fail (He extends grace). Jesus calls us who believe in Him to follow His lead. Then, through the leading of His Holy Spirit, He empowers us to do so.
Read: 2 CHRONICLES 21:4-7; 16-20 (NIV)
Jehoram King of Judah
4 When Jehoram established himself firmly over his father’s kingdom, he put all his brothers to the sword along with some of the officials of Israel. 5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. 6 He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. 7 Nevertheless, because of the covenant the Lord had made with David, the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David. He had promised to maintain a lamp for him and his descendants forever.
18 After all this, the Lord afflicted Jehoram with an incurable disease of the bowels. 19 In the course of time, at the end of the second year, his bowels came out because of the disease, and he died in great pain. His people made no funeral fire in his honor, as they had for his predecessors.
20 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. He passed away, to no one’s regret, and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
INSIGHT
- Who are you responsible to lead?
- How might you show both grace and truth to them?
First and Second Chronicles cover the history of the Jewish people and monarchy in the Southern Kingdom of Judah from the death of Saul until the Babylonian exile—the same period covered in 2 Samuel and 1–2 Kings. Written after the Babylonian exile, the author of 1–2 Chronicles (Jewish tradition identifies Ezra) seeks to assure postexilic Jews that though they were unfaithful, Yahweh remains faithful to His covenant. In 2 Chronicles 21:7, the chronicler affirmed that God kept His promise that there would always be a descendant of David on the throne (see 2 Samuel 7:12–17), a promise that has its final fulfillment in Jesus (Matthew 1:1).
PRAYER
Dear Jesus, I aim to lead others by following You. In Your name, I pray. Amen!!
Read: 2 CHRONICLES 21:4-7; 16-20 (NIV) | Bible in a Year: JEREMIAH 12-14; 2 TIMOTHY 1
