PASTORS' DAILY DEVOTIONAL
Jun
27

Success

Jeff Weinkauf

Scripture
2 Kings 14:23-25
23In the fifteenth year of Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel became king in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. 24He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit. 25He was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Dead Sea,[e] in accordance with the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, spoken through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher.
Observation
At first the story of Jeroboam II looked to be just another in the list of kings who “did evil in the eyes of the Lord”. I will admit that sometimes these are very easy for me to move quickly past and dismiss. As I dig deeper into the details though, there are many amazing things that pop out of his story. First, Jeroboam was no ordinary king. He was the longest reigning king in Israel up to that point at 41 years (David had reigned 40 years, Manasseh would later reign 55 years). Second, he was politically Israel’s strongest king, having been able to restore its boundaries to nearly all they were during Solomon’s reign. His skills as a military strategist were evident as Israel grew to be the largest country on the Mediterranean coast. Third, this restoration of land had been prophesied by Jonah (of Nineveh & big fish fame) who with Amos and Hosea all where ministering at some point during the reign of Jeroboam II. There was a lot going on during those 41 years. If we had the entire story laid out for us I think it would be hard to not be impressed by Jeroboam II’s success. Interestingly though very little of the specifics of his accomplishments remain. One thing is clear, no matter how good he may have looked in the natural, with regards to things spiritual, he failed. Doing “evil in the eyes of the Lord”. 
Application
When it comes to measuring accomplishment, where am I relying on success as identified in the natural, vs success in the spiritual. Do I have areas where I need to take inventory to insure I haven’t allowed boundaries to blur? Who are my examples of Godly character? 
Prayer
God please help me to draw close to you, and to measure success with your scales. 

Devotions for June 27

2 Kings 13,14
2 Chronicles 25
2 Timothy 3

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