This chapter introduces Asa’s son Jehoshaphat as king of Judah.
“Jehoshaphat [Asa’s] son reigned in his place… The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments, and not according to the practices of Israel. Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand. And all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had great riches and honor. His heart was courageous in the ways of the Lord. And furthermore, he took the high places and the Asherim out of Judah.” (v1-6 abr)
Jehoshaphat was a God-honoring king who walked in the footsteps of David. He returned to the traditions of festivals, sabbath years, and Levitical teaching. He even removed all of the altars, temples and idols to false gods that his father Asa had allowed to remain.
Tradition (passing beliefs or customs from one generation to the next) can often be a very good thing – especially when that tradition is instituted by God. Judah returned to the traditions of David, and God caused them to prosper. They also cast out the unrighteous pagan traditions that had misled previous generations.
This time of year we often think about tradition – both new and old. We think of holiday traditions from when we were children, and maybe have created some new traditions for the next generation. Depending on which traditions we hold dear, this may end up being a difficult year. Most of us probably have Christmas traditions that we will have to postpone or cancel due to current health and safety restrictions.
Yet, we have great hope because some traditions are still accessible, and we have the ability to create new (possibly temporary) traditions. Most importantly, we can still enjoy the greatest tradition – the celebration of God sending us His Son.
I encourage us to remain anchored to traditions which are critical to our faith (like Jehoshaphat did), while loosely holding traditions that can be postponed (or maybe even cast out) if they are not critical to loving God, and loving our neighbors. Though it may be a physically distant Christmas, we can still be warmed and comforted in the spiritual traditions of our ancestors, continuing to love God and those around us. We also have countless blessings from God, including phone/video conferencing technology, so we can keep some of the relational traditions alive as well.
Father God, our Righteous Lord and King, we praise You for Your wonderful teachings. We long to walk in Your ways, and keep the traditions of our father David. May we continue in the paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake, and may we never forget the teachings of Jesus our Savior. We honor, glorify and adore You, forever and ever, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training