First Presbyterian Church Fort Dodge

This morning while eating my Multi-Grain Cheerios, I finished reading 1 Kings. The end of the book finds the reader going through a cycle of descriptions about the various kings of Israel and Judah. In the typical way, verses 41 through 44 describe the reign of Jehoshaphat, a king of Judah. Verse 43 stood out to me this morning, spoonful of Cheerios in hand.

“In everything he followed the ways of his father, Asa, and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. The high places, however, were not removed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.”

Jehoshaphat doesn’t get much air time in the Bible. He fights in a war with the Israelite king, Ahab, and he seeks the council of the Lord. He really only gets about one chapter devoted to him. At the conclusion of his 25-year reign we get the above description.

Jehoshaphat did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but he didn’t remove the idolatry in his land. Jehoshaphat did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, BUT…

He’ll always have that disclaimer by his name. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but he didn’t follow through on that one thing. He left it unfinished. And we still talk about it today, 2,850 years later.

It’s that time of year again, you know. Ash Wednesday is coming soon. We are reminded that death comes to us all. Our days are numbered. With what difficult tasks are you hitting the snooze button?

I leave you with the lyrics of rapper, Eminem. Little did he know he was a theologian…

You better lose yourself in the music, the moment

You own it, you better never let it go

You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow

This opportunity comes once in a lifetime, you better

Blessings,

Austin D. Hill