If You Were King? - 2 Chronicles 19 - 27

We all face decisions in life, and sometimes outright dilemmas! In each situation is what we do informed by our faith and walk with Jesus. What do we do in scenarios where we have power - perhaps outright power? This week we will look at several of the kings in 2 Chronicles, and ask 'What would you do if you were king?'.

What if you were told that a vast army was coming against you, as Jehosophat was in chapter 20. You could gear up for war, form alliances ... or run! Would you make calling on God your first priority? Jehosophat did this, and God sent a prophet to remind him that 'the battle is not yours but God's'. God had it covered - though they marched out in war formation, when it came to the crunch the people didn't have to do any fighting. Potential world conflict is in the news right now ... but in our own lives we may face conflict or attack in all kinds of ways. How do we handle it?

Power dynamics can be subtle or overt. Do you 'get what you want' by crushing everyone else around you? King Jehoram comes to power (chapter 21) and immediately has all his brothers executed - there was no way any of them were going to threaten his kingship! This seems extreme to us (because it is extreme!), although back in the day it was typical behaviour for a newly crowned king. Yet that does not excuse it. The way of Jesus was to lay down human/earthly power, and that should be our way too. Think about the groups, teams, even family relationships that you are in - how do you handle these power dynamics?

We all have a choice of who we partner with, and some partnerships are more significant and important than others. King Jehoram of Judah chose to marry the daughter of King Ahab in neighbouring Israel (the original kingdom of David/Solomon had long since split). Yet Ahab and family were bad influences - they had definitely given up on God which affected everything about them. Inevitably this lady influenced Jehoram for the worst, and things went bad. Do you look for a true value-match in the significant partnerships you make?

How subversive are you? If you see wrong or even atrocity around you are prepared to quietly take action for that which is right? In chapter 22 & 23 we have the king Jehoram's daughter stuck in an awkward position: her dad dies, and her brother (the natural heir) gets killed, and there are people trying to kill off all his children as well - people led by Athaliah (one of Jehoram's wives). You could run away of course, or sit on the side-lines. But this lady decides to take action! She manages to hide away one of the sons - baby Joash. She waits seven years and then Joash is brought out to be made king. Athaliah cries 'treachery', but the people turn against her. Sometimes we have to be quietly subversive for kingdom purposes!

Sometimes situations in life feel like a numbers game. Perhaps we have pretty good resources, but more would always be welcome! This is especially true when facing hardship or conflict. In chapter 25 Amaziah has worked hard to get the Judah national army in good shape, but war looms and so he hires in extras from neighbouring Israel. But on the march towards battle a prophet tells him to send the hired help back .. for they are not truly on God's side (and remember these kind of battles are "God's battles" - learn from Jehosophat above!). Amaziah takes this advice and God gives victory. Hopefully we do not need to march into military conflict, but we should still consider carefully the everyday partnerships we enter into - especially those 'hired in'. Do the values truly align, and are we depending on them more than we are actually depending on God?

From these five episodes we see a range of principles demonstrated - principles that are applicable to our normal everyday lives just as much as a king of a nation with ever-present threat of internal or external military conflict. I think we can draw out five principles as follows:

1. Seek God's help in the face of battles & difficulties (remember God fights for us, the real battle is in the spiritual)
2. Don't establish what you do on bloodshed (no need to squash your enemies, let God fight for you)
3. Seek alignment in your values for your closest relationships / partnerships
4. Quietly hold on to and hold out for what is right (eventually you may have to go public, but it starts with quiet decisive action)
5. Don't rely on 'hired hands' to be the ones to further God's business (this is not saying you cannot have partnerships, but work out the key crunch aspects and stick with God's people for those key tasks in God's calling)