ROOTED - Thursday, March 19, 2026

2
Kings 12:2; 13:2

 2   And
Jehoash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all his days,
because Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 2 He
(Jehoahaz) did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and followed
the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin; he did
not depart from them.

Reflection:
Doing right and evil

Written By: Pastor Jesse Caro

I
find myself, as I read through the stories of these kings, anticipating if the
next king will be good or bad. The Bible wastes no time getting to the point
with each new king the book of Kings introduces. A quick genealogy is stated
(the father and mother) and the number of years the king reigned is affirmed.
After these two things, a statement is made. There are two options: the king…
1) did what was “right in the eyes of the Lord,” or he 2) did what was “evil
in the sight of the Lord.” After this the author may add another
explanatory comment: “not like” or “like” his father (or, occasionally, another
notable person, like David).

The
Scriptures, in this regard, asserts whether the king was good or bad in the
introduction. The reader knows, immediately, what to expect. And the
announcement is the same, using the clearest language possible… they did what
was right, or they did what was evil… in the sight of God. We know from this whether
the king tore down the high places and destroyed the worship of false gods, or
they established the worship of false gods. It strikes me that the Bible does
not play much in the middle. We will see no language that makes unhelpful
categories. We don’t read, “they kind of followed God” or “most of the time
they honored the Lord.” No… it is pretty cut and dry. And this reminds me that Jesus
gives us a call similar to that of Joshua’s “choose you this day whom you will
serve.” Jesus says, “no man can serve two masters!”  The choice is plain and uncomplicated: do evil
or right in God’s sight. Choose him or false gods, but there is not a middle
ground.

Prayer

Lord,
may we, your people, do what is right and good in your eyes, forsaking the
heart idols that often steal our affections.