Daily Devotional

-June 5, 2021-

-Fearing The Lord With Faithfulness And Loyalty-

“And he commanded them saying, ‘Thus you shall act in the fear of the Lord, faithfully and with a loyal heart.”

(2 Chronicles 19:9).

Israel was split into two kingdoms during the reign of King Rehoboam: Israel and Judah. Israel was composed of ten tribes and Judah of two, which was comprised of Judah and Benjamin. In Israel, called the Northern kingdom, the people forsook the Lord, worshiped idols, and all their kings were evil. In the Southern kingdom, there were some godly kings and they did seek the Lord for various periods of time, but then they too turned to idols. The Lord brought both kingdoms into captivity because of their sin.

Jehoshaphat was one of the good kings. He lead reforms in Judah and directed the people to seek the Lord and trust in Him. The Levites in Israel left the Northern kingdom under King Jeroboam to go to Judah because of all the evil things going on, as did other godly people in Israel.

When there is spiritual decline, we must leave and go to where the Lord is honored, and where the Word of God is followed and obeyed. We should sit idly by while our church is not preaching the gospel and teaching the Word. We must leave and find a Bible believing church.

King Jehoshaphat of Judah not only suggested or encouraged those in his kingdom to follow the Lord, he commanded them. He told them, “Thus you shall act in the fear of the Lord, faithfully and with a loyal heart.” He not lead merely with words but by example. In 2 Chronicles 20:18 it says, “And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.” He and the people took a stand for the Lord by bowing before the Lord and obeying and honoring Him.

In our days, there are so few men of God who are standing for Christ and the truth. There is so much compromise, and so many churches have watered down the message of Scripture. As in the days of old, there is a small remnant of churches and believers fully committed to Christ. God sees the hearts of all people and He wants us to follow Him with true commitment and steadfastness.

Fearing the Lord is reverencing Him, putting Him first, seeking and doing His will, walking with Him, and serving Him. Faithfulness and loyalty are rarely seen in today’s world. The Lord desires that we follow Him consistently day after day, no matter what the circumstances. Jesus must be Lord of all or He is not Lord at all. We may be in the minority, but we will be on God’s side.

May the Lord help us to stand for Him, on His Word, and live godly lives. We cannot compromise our beliefs. Let us fear the Lord and have faithful and loyal hearts.

Have a blessed day following Christ and being examples to those around us. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean