Speaker 1: Life Audio. For more resources to help you in your
Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at Bible Study Headquarters
Speaker 1: dot com. You're listening to the Chapter a Day Audio Bible.
Speaker 1: I'm John Stangi, and today we're in Second Chronicles, chapter
Speaker 1: twenty seven, and we'll be reading from the Message. Jotham
Speaker 1: was twenty five years old when he became king. He
Speaker 1: reigned sixteen years at Jerusalem. His mother was Jerushah, the
Speaker 1: daughter of Zadok. In God's eyes, he lived a good life,
Speaker 1: following the path marked out by his father Usiah. Unlike
Speaker 1: his father, though, he didn't desecrate the Temple of God,
Speaker 1: but the people pushed right on in their lives of corruption.
Speaker 1: Jotham constructed the upper gate of the Temple of God,
Speaker 1: considerably extended the wall of the Ofel, and built cities
Speaker 1: in the high country of Judah, and forts and towers
Speaker 1: down in the forests. He fought and beat the king
Speaker 1: of the Ammonites. That year. The Ammonites turned over three
Speaker 1: and a quarter tons of silver and about sixty five
Speaker 1: thousand bushels of wheat, and another sixty five thousand bushels
Speaker 1: of barley. They repeated this for the next two years,
Speaker 1: Jotham's strength was rooted in his steady and determined life
Speaker 1: of obedience to God. The rest of the history of Jotham,
Speaker 1: including his wars and achievements, are all written in the
Speaker 1: royal annals of the Kings of Israel and Judah. He
Speaker 1: was twenty five years old when he became king. He
Speaker 1: reigned for sixteen years at Jerusalem. Jotham died and was
Speaker 1: buried in the city of David. His son Ahaz became
Speaker 1: the next king. Let's pray, Lord, we thank you for
Speaker 1: your word, and we thank you for the privilege of
Speaker 1: being able to look at it together today. And Lord,
Speaker 1: as we look at this portion of scripture, you give
Speaker 1: us a picture of Jotham, and you tell us that
Speaker 1: his strength was rooted in his steady and determined life
Speaker 1: of obedience to you. Lord. It appears that he was
Speaker 1: a man who realized that you were the source of
Speaker 1: strength that he needed, and he trusted in you, and
Speaker 1: he relied on you, and you supplied the strength that
Speaker 1: he needed to rule and reign in Jerusalem. Lord, we're
Speaker 1: grateful that we have examples like this, and we pray
Speaker 1: Lord that we would be reminded by it to live
Speaker 1: a life that's rooted in your strength and characterized by
Speaker 1: obedience to you. That is the fruit of genuine faith
Speaker 1: in your son Jesus Christ. We know Lord that just
Speaker 1: as Jesus was about to ascend back to Heaven, he
Speaker 1: spoke to his disciples and told them that it was
Speaker 1: their mission to teach others to obey what he taught.
Speaker 1: And Lord, we pray that our lives would be characterized
Speaker 1: by faith in your son Jesus Christ and obedience to
Speaker 1: his teaching. We know Lord that the strength for this
Speaker 1: is something that you supply, and we're grateful that we
Speaker 1: can come to you in faith, knowing that that's a request,
Speaker 1: that that's a prayer that you are more than eager
Speaker 1: to answer. Thank you, Lord for your love for us,
Speaker 1: Thank you for blessing us as you choose to do so.
Speaker 1: And we pray Lord that throughout the course of this
Speaker 1: day that you would grant us your wisdom and that
Speaker 1: we would walk with you faithfully in the midst of
Speaker 1: all things. We thank you Lord for all these things,
Speaker 1: and we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.