Scripture

Our verse for today comes from 2 Kings 15:5, ” Then the Lord struck the king, so that he was a leper until the day of his death; so he dwelt in an isolated house. And Jotham the king’s son was over the royal house, judging the people of the land. “

Background

College football season is always a great relief to many people, especially those who don’t care too much for professional baseball or NASCAR. For them, once basketball ends, it’s a long, dry spell until kickoff. But this offseason has been especially painful, for the news has been littered with scandal and wrongdoings among several well-known universities. Those covering the stories and dealing with the problems are ecstatic to finally be talking about quarterbacks and touchdowns instead of investigations and improprieties. But one thing that has been said regarding these schools, teams, administrators and players has always been true. When you pursue the high-profile athlete, or desire the ultimate in success, or skirt that fine line of acceptable and questionable, you are going to get what you bargained for.

Application

King Azariah became king of Judah when he was sixteen years old. Imagine going from high school to being the first pick in the draft and making the most money in the league. That’s how Azariah started off. And he reigned for fifty-two years. For some of you, that may evoke memories of George Blanda or Phil Niekro, still playing in the league when they were practically old enough to have their grandchildren on their teams. But Azariah made a compromise. Like his modern-day public figures, he was on top but traded it for a bad decision. He kept the pagan worship sites so the people could continue offering sacrifices and burning incense. So God struck him with leprosy, relieved him of his official duties, and gave the keys to his son. Now king only in title, he had the better part of fifty years to let his skin and his son remind him of the consequences of compromise. It usually doesn’t seem like such a big deal, especially in comparison to all the other good we might be accomplishing. Azariah thought that being king and mostly following the Lord was close enough. But he was wrong. And so are we when we compromise where we shouldn’t. So know the difference, and be different, for Christ’s sake.

Charge

As we seek Him today, get off of that slippery slope before you end up at the bottom of the hill. Let God have it all and receive all of His peace. Leave the sin and the problems for someone else.

Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words