Wednesday, July 27
He “threw off restraint”
Scripture: 2 Chronicles 27-28, Psalm 87, 2 John
2 Chronicles 28:19 For the Lord humbled Judah because of King Ahaz of Judah, who threw off restraint in Judah and was unfaithful to the Lord.
Observation
King Ahaz of Judah was a disaster. During his reign, he practiced and encouraged idolatry, including sacrificing his children as burnt offerings. He was attacked and oppressed by multiple nations, but instead of repenting and turning to the Lord, he increased his unfaithfulness and worshipped the gods of the nations who had defeated him.
He “threw off restraint.” This Hebrew verb means, “to let free, to make someone go out of control, to allow to run wild, to leave unattended.” Ahaz ignored the moral and spiritual boundaries God had ordered and led the way in living without restraint…with disastrous results.
Application
It seems to me that we are increasingly throwing off restraint. The traditional moral boundaries are falling. Language that was unacceptable when I was a kid can now be heard anywhere and is worn on t-shirts. Sexual boundaries are almost non-existent. Common civility and decency has given way to road rage and rants. Drug and alcohol abuse is steeply increasing and celebrated, and selfishness is applauded. I saw yesterday that a pastor was robbed during a service—not of the offering, but of more than $1 million of jewelry he was wearing! I could go on.
It makes me wonder if God’s judgment is about to fall on us as it did on Ahaz and Judah.
What’s to be done? Change starts with us. We need to be the change we want to see. We need to live within the boundaries God has given—obey His commands, do His will—and we will flourish. God’s laws are meant for our good, and God’s ways are better than ours. We throw off restraint to our own harm.
Prayer: Lord, help me, help us Your people, to joyfully accept Your ways and live within the restraints, the boundaries that are good for us.