December 20, 2023
What does it say?
Jotham did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, so God blessed Jotham as he began a rebuilding program and subdued the Ammonites.
What does it mean?
The biographers of the kings of Judah and Israel rated the kings according to the degree that they did what was right in the Lord’s eyes. Even the most successful kings tended to fall short when it came to tearing down the places of idol worship in the highest hills in the country. From the short account of Jotham’s reign in this chapter, we see that overall, Jotham did what was right in the Lord’s eyes, but the people continued to worship the idols of the foreign gods in the high places. Even while God blessed Jotham’s rebuilding and military efforts, God was displeased with His people’s idolatry
How should I respond?
What would a short biography of your life include? Would the writer find you fully pursuing God? Would there be evidence that God blessed your pursuit of Him? Spend a few minutes taking a “spiritual inventory” of your life. What areas of compromise do you need to bring before the Lord in prayer? Talk to Him about it humbly and sincerely. Ask God to help you turn that part of your life around so you can follow Him without wavering. Choose to live today as if every motive and action were recorded for posterity.