Jehoahaz: A Cautionary Tale

Today in the One Year Bible, we read from 2 Kings 23:31-25:30. We read about Jehoahaz, and his story isn't a good one. He only reigns for three months, at the green young age of twenty-three. According to the writer of 2 Kings, he did what was evil in the sight of God (which means he really did some wicked stuff) and he was captured by Neco, the Pharaoh. He was thrown into prison in Egypt, where he died.

Not very interesting, was he? Kind of hum drum. We don't know exactly what he did that was so bad, but being a young man we can probably imagine. The boring usual. The kind of thing that the prodigal son probably spent his money on. Nothing new under the sun, right? Sex, food, luxury. Just feeling good, basically.

We should learn from him. We should take his existence as a cautionary tale, like the watermelon in the kid's book above. We should realize that filling our desires of sex, food, and luxury make us boring if we don't do anything else. The New Testament talks about this, too. James 4:3 says that we don't get what we pray for because all we ask for we want to spend on our desires. On our passions.

So when God gives you the opportunity, like He gave Jehoahaz, don't blow it on "desires and passions". Don't buy nicer cars and bigger houses and go eat at super expensive restaurants all the time. Don't go on dream vacations and spend all your money on luxury. Because you'll regret it if you blow all of the resources He gives you on yourself.

Invest it in other people. Those people are the only thing you get to take to heaven with you.

God, thanks for giving us cautionary tales.