The Faithful God of Sinners

I bet there have been som good seasons and some bad seasons in your life. I bet there were some really good and really bad seasons in your life. Are you still here? Guess what that is: God's faithfulness. 

In the long chapters of the 1 Chronicles' Geneology section, we come to the royal line of David's sons through Solomon who had the privilege of sitting on the throne of Judah as the nation slowly ebbed into pagan idolatry. 

I know it is not exactly stirring literature but it holds a wonderful truth.

1 Chronicles 3:10–17 (ESV) The son of Solomon was Rehoboam, Abijah his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son, 11 Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son, 12 Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son, 13 Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son, 14 Amon his son, Josiah his son. 15 The sons of Josiah: Johanan the firstborn, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum. 16 The descendants of Jehoiakim: Jeconiah his son, Zedekiah his son; 17 and the sons of Jeconiah, the captive: Shealtiel his son,

Consider some of these names. 

Solomon
Asa
Jehoshaphat
Joash
Hezekiah
Josiah

These were good men who served the Lord and though they had their flaws, the longitudinal testimony of their life was faithfulness to God's Word.

Now consider these names:

Rehoboam
Joram
Jotham
Ahaz
Manasseh
Amon

These men were trainwrecks, leading Israel further and further into apostasy, idolatry, and eventually captivity. 

Guess what I notice. There are more wicked kings than righteous kings. The inevitable result of such odds is the eventual deterioration of a society with no hope of return. Many ancient peoples no longer exist because humanity has a tendency to destroy itself. Ever meet a Philistine or Hittite? Of course not. 

Yet the hope of Israel was not in the number of their righteous kings versus their wicked kings. The hope of Israel was in the promise of God to provide through David THE righteous king. You see, Jesus descends from this list as Matthew shows us on the first page of his gospel. And though these men all had flaws, and though some were good and some were horribly evil, their lives were used to accomplish God's purpose on the Earth. 

This is good to remember in a divisive political season. No matter who may seem to be "king" at the time is really a tool in the hands of God. God's will on the Earth prevails no matter who seems to be most powerful.

This is also good to remember when you're having one of your really bad days. If God could sustain Israel through their bad decades, He can help you out of your bad days or weeks or years. His faithfulness is what saves sinners. Nothing more, nothing less. God is always faithful to sinners because sinners are all He can find. 

And that means your good days and your bad days can accomplish God's purposes on the Earth - to glorify His Son and His faithfulness. To remind the world that only Jesus saves and that we are what and who we are because He is faithful to bring us to completion. 


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