2 Chronicles 21

“Moreover the Lord stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabians who were near the Ethiopians.  And they came up into Judah and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions that were found in the king’s house, and also his sons and his wives, so that there was not a son left to him except Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.  After all this the Lord struck him in his intestines with an incurable disease.  Then it happened in the course of time, after the end of two years, that his intestines came out because of his sickness; so he died in severe pain.  And his people made no burning for him, like the burning for his fathers.  He was thirty-two years old when he became king.  He reigned in Jerusalem eight years and, to no one’s sorrow, departed.  However they buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.” 2 Chronicles 21:16-20 (NKJV)

The book of Lamentations, found directly after the book of Jeremiah in Christian Bibles, is named “Echah” in the Hebrew Bible.  While the book is genuinely a lamentation over the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of its people, the word “echah” does not translate as “lament  .”Echah means “how” in Hebrew; more specifically, it is a question: “How?”  Therefore, the Hebrew mindset (in approaching the book of Lamentations) is not focused on mourning the loss but rather on how the loss happened, how it can be reversed, and how it can be avoided in the future.

We approach today’s chapter with the same question.  How could other nations ransack the king of Judah’s house and take away all his possessions?  Jesus addressed that exact issue.

“Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?  And then he will plunder his house.” Matthew 12:29 (NKJV)

How was the king of Judah bound?  He was bound by his promotion of idolatry.

“Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit harlotry, and led Judah astray.” 2 Chronicles 21:11(NKJV)

How could a king of Judah promote idolatry?  Because his father allowed it to fester.

“And he (Jehoshaphat) walked in the way of his father Asa and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord. Nevertheless the high places were not taken away, for as yet the people had not directed their hearts to the God of their fathers.” 2 Chronicles 20:32-33 (NKJV)

How will our nation return to the Lord’s favor, where we could sing, “God shed His grace on thee” with conviction?  We must first tear down the “high places” in our hearts, by repenting & receiving the grace of Messiah Jesus.  Then, we must seek God’s Word, obey it, and share it with others, so they, too, will repent.  That’s how!