He Died to No One's Regret

What a sad title that is. We find this verse in 2 Chronicles 21:20 speaking of a king in the southern kingdom of Judah whose name was Jehoram. Jehoram was the son of a very good king, Jehoshaphat, who had ruled for 25 years. Jehoram's rule spanned only 8 years.
We find the Lord's commentary on Jehoram, spoken through the prophet Elijah in 2 Chronicles 21:12-15:

“This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: you have not followed the ways of your father, Jehoshaphat or Asa king of Judah. But you have followed the ways of the kings of Israel, and you have led Judah and the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves, just as the house of Ahab did. You have also murdered your own brothers, members of your own family, men who were better than you. So now the Lord is about to strike your people, your sons, your wives and everything that is yours, with a heavy blow. You yourself will be very ill with a lingering disease of the bowels, until the disease causes your bowels to come out.

Wow. He inherits the kingship. And leads the people astray spiritually to worship idols. He turns their hearts (and his) away from the Lord. This is always the first step toward heartache and choices that will lead to even more pain. He goes on to kill his own brothers. Whether this was out of fear, or envy, or paranoia, we are not told. We are only told they were better men than he. Here’s one of those many instances in scripture… why Lord? Why would you allow that? We, as often is the case, are not told. He brings pain to his own people. He dies a painful death and no one was sorry when he died.

Alone, in pain, without God, and without hope. And nobody regrets his expiration. I’m a fan of the hard passages in scripture. They challenge us, make us think, asking us to reflect on the sadder side of life (and they rarely make great Christian’s t-shirts. How about a coffee mug that reads, "His bowels came out and nobody cared”?) They probably would sell as quickly as the t-shirts Jobs wife put out: “Just curse God and die." Hmm…. maybe Nike tweaked their slogan off of that.

So where are we going with this? Fair question… this blog is supposed to be encouraging :)
Jehoram marked out his own path. He was captain of his ship. He was not going to serve the Lord as his father did! That fact is pointed out early as he aligns with wicked King Ahab by marrying one of his daughters. Daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. Great life choice….
The point is, he turns away from the Lord. Again and again we see this recorded in Scripture and always with dire consequences.

My friends, walk with Jesus today. Keep your eyes on the Lord. Continue in his word and in the fellowship of like-minded men and women. Serve. Love. Show kindness. You and I will face a lifetime of being tempted to walk away from the Lord. I pray we never do. As Micah puts it, “Act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God”. As Jesus simply said: “Follow me.” Or Paul, as he said later on, “Follow me as I follow Christ”.

Walking away from the Lord for whatever reason is a dark, dead end. The Christian life is largely about perseverance, trusting God in both the darkness and the light. Jehoram died to “no one’s regret." That is a painful epitaph. Do not let it be yours.