"Power to Help, Bring Down, Give"
“Power to Help, Bring Down, Give”
Blessings Folk!
Read the following passage.
Ask the Lord to reveal the Truth He has for you.
Then, we’ll focus on a couple of things.
2 Chronicles 25
5 Moreover, Amaziah assembled Judah and appointed them according to their fathers' households under commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds throughout Judah and Benjamin; and he took a census of those from twenty years old and upward and found them to be 300,000 choice men, able to go to war and handle spear and shield.
6 He hired also 100,000 valiant warriors out of Israel for one hundred talents of silver.
7 But a man of God came to him saying, "O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the LORD is not with Israel nor with any of the sons of Ephraim.
8 "But if you do go, do it, be strong for the battle; yet God will bring you down before the enemy, for God has power to help and to bring down."
9 Amaziah said to the man of God, "But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the troops of Israel?" And the man of God answered, "The LORD has much more to give you than this."
10 Then Amaziah dismissed them, the troops which came to him from Ephraim, to go home; so their anger burned against Judah and they returned home in fierce anger.
Obviously we are jumping into the middle of a story…
Amaziah is King of Judah, the southern Kingdom.
He gathers 300,000 choice men for battle.
He then hires 100,000 warriors from Israel, the northern Kingdom.
But, a man of God - unnamed - comes and tells King Amaziah…
- do not let the army of Israel go with you
- the Lord is not with Israel
- the Lord is not with any of the sons of Ephraim
Point 1
Do not go with those whom the Lord is not with.
A principle of life, business, etc.
(Why was the Lord not “with Israel”? Their first king, Jeroboam, had set up a false religious system whereby to worship God. Jeroboam thought he had a better way than the way designed by God. Israel worshipped God with false worship. They also worshipped pagan gods. Much of the professing “church” today does likewise.)
Then the man of God tells him…
- but if you do go, do it, be strong for the battle...yet…
- God will bring you down before the enemy...for
Point 2
God has power to help and to bring down!
Think on that.
God has power.
God builds up and God tears down.
Amaziah responded as many would - “but, what about the money I’ve paid them”?
Amaziah was concerned about the resources he had invested.
Should he let the silver, no small amount, go?
Could he let the silver go?
What would people think?
I love this response of the Lord through the man of God.
Point 3
The Lord has much more to give you than this.
Selah.
We are so distracted by the cares and concerns of the world.
We are so oriented around material provision and gain.
The truth is the Lord has much more to give us than the things we usually pursue.
Amaziah followed the word of the Lord.
He dismissed the troops from Israel. (They were filled with fierce anger. Why? They had their payment. They wanted battle so as to gain the spoil of battle!)
As for us….
Will we follow the Word of the Lord, especially a corrective directive such as Amaziah received?
Are we willing to be the “man of God” who brings the Word of the Lord?
Will we live pursuing the “much more” that the Lord has for us?
Remember…
Do not go with those whom the Lord is not with.
God has power to help and to bring down.
The Lord has much more to give you than this.
How exciting!
Quick reminder…
You may/may not know that many of our local Bible study times are available for viewing online in a redacted version.
These are short videos that give the gist of the lesson.
The earlier ones were usually 8-10 minutes long...usually one video per lesson.
Recently I refined the format.
Now, they are usually 3-4 minutes long with several videos per lesson.
Smaller bites.
Greater truth.
You can view them at a couple of place…
Blip.tv - http://alabamaprecept.blip.tv/ (Click “Episode Archive” for all programs available. They are in order of most recent back to oldest”
YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/jubileeprecept
You can also view the “Answers” program - http://answers.blip.tv/
As well as “Prayerline” - http://prayerline.blip.tv/
Blessings!
Press on!
Be obedient and faithful!