The Feed Mill

Today’s Bible Reading: 2 Kings 15-17

Today’s Devotional: 2 Kings 15:1-7

Another good king of the Southern Kingdom of Judah we see has come to the throne, Azariah also known as Uzziah. As with Azariah now we saw with Jehoash and Amaziah, he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, especially when it came to things that were close and personal to himself, but he did not fully walk out the Lord’s Heart and desire for his life and those things that were outside of the immediate interactions of his day-to-day life. Azariah did not seek to encourage and help others to have the same things which distracted and drew them away from a Biblically prescribed relationship with the Lord removed from their lives.

Instead Azariah left others to continue to walk as is seemed right in their own hearts and minds, Azariah did not seek to serve others by helping them to lift the heavy burdens and distractions from their lives. This lead Azariah later in life to be prideful and boastful in being his own strength and by his own work which he was able to approach and have a relationship with God that no one else had and no one else had obtained the ability to go own their own by their own works before God. This is the central teaching of legalism, to be made right and to grow spiritually by something you can do and steps you take in order to grow in favor and position with the Lord instead of just spending time with Jesus and allowing Jesus to do the supernatural work of sanctification in our lives, these are step programs and you having to correct or do something in order to get right with God except by Grace and Grace alone.

The Lord then shows Azariah and gives and example for us of what justifying and obtaining a standing before God by our own strength and by steps or programs that we do, what it leads to, that it will only lead to death and our prideful isolation from the congregation and removing our self out of fellowship with other Believers.