Daily Devotionals
Day by Day Devotional - Year 2 of 5
Devotional: October 19th

2 Chronicles 22:1-12

What a sad chapter this is! Ahaziah, on advice from his mother and from his relatives on Ahab’s side, joins up with Jehoram, king of Israel, and they go to war again against the Syrians. This fatal partnership leads to his "destruction" (v. 7). He dies a violent death.

Let us now go back in our story: Jehoram killed his six brothers (2 Chronicles 21:4). Then all his sons were slain by the Arabs, apart from the youngest one, Ahaziah (v. 1). Finally, in the third generation, once again only one descendant survives another massacre of the royal household: Joash, a little baby. How can these successive killings be explained? By the relentlessness of Satan trying to break the line of David which was to lead to Christ.

On the other hand how is it that every time, in spite of everything, one member survives – just one, and the weakest at that – but all the same, one descendant of the royal family? By the faithful grace of God! He keeps His promise which He made to David to give him always a light (2 Kings 8:19). This light is now nothing but a smouldering wick (see Matthew 12:20)!