As one reads through the chapters of the books of 1st and 2nd Kings, a sadness can creep over the soul. Again and again we read the common cycle of repentance and revival, departure from God, rampant sin, idol worship, judgment, war and calamity, back to repentance and revival. Something in particular stood out as I read 2 Kings 16:7-9 this past week. Here's the text:
7 Ahaz sent messengers to say to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, “I am your servant and vassal. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.” 8 And Ahaz took the silver and gold found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria. 9 The king of Assyria complied by attacking Damascus and capturing it. He deported its inhabitants to Kir and put Rezin to death.
Once again there is fighting among the people of God. And once again a king, of the land of Judah, which God has chosen to bless the earth, is offering a pay-off to avoid defeat at the hands of an enemy. This really ticked me off. As I continued to meditate on it, I realized why this bothered me so. Because this is a direct parallel for much of what I see every day, especially in my role as a pastor, happening in the lives of many people whom I love very much. You see, Solomon had built an amazing dynasty for the Israelite people. His rule was powerful and prosperous - without compare! And here, years later, after surrendering themselves spiritually to false Gods, they now surrender physically to their ungodly neighbors. The nation of Israel is nearly bankrupt, cowering in a corner, pawning off the temple gold to bribe another country for the promise of protection. Solomon, as God's servant, had provided an inheritance that was more than sufficient to secure Israel, provided they would continue to walk closely with the Father. Abandoning the Living God, however, in favor of dead idols, they scorched themselves with sin, from which they refused to repent. Now, instead of advancing the Kingdom with their inheritance, they are squandering it on corrupt security contracts.
Friends, this still happens in the spirit today. Jesus died to secure our claim of a spiritual inheritance that is powerful and prosperous - truly without compare! When we divert our affections from the Living God, we start fighting with one another, dividing God's Kingdom, and exposing ourselves to the enemy's games. We misappropriate our faith; and then sin and fear take over. Shame then whispers, "you are out of grace, and the hammer is about to fall," and so we start handing our spiritual inheritance over to the enemy - bribing him in the hopes that he will just leave us alone. You know, "prodigal" literally means "wasteful." These prodigal pay-offs we make cause us to use up the resource of His life within us, just trying to stay alive. We medicate ourselves with gossip and materialism. We escape into the hills of entertainment and social media. We end up with not nearly enough of the Spirit's fruit leftover to feed others, not nearly enough power to pray effectively, not nearly enough energy to advance His Kingdom in the earth. Beloved, don't squander your inheritance. Just repent. Ask God to forgive your wanderings and invest yourself into His presence through prayer, feasting on His word, and the intimacy of worship. Put an end to the prodigal pay-offs and recapture the power of being a child of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You will find a fresh prosperity, experience a tangible love and unity with others, and the Lord Himself will be your Fearless Protector.
Forever panning for gold,
Chris Liotta
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