Day 171, Chronological Bible Study Timeline. Map. Go to today’s Bible reading (use your browser arrow to return): 2Kings 3:4-27; 1Kings 22:42-46; 2Chronicles 20:31-34; 1Kings 22:50; 2Chronicles 21:1-3; 2Kings 8:16-25; 2Chronicles 21:4-20; 2Chronicles 22:1-6; 2Kings 8:26-29
A Little Yeast
Many who have made bread know that just a little yeast mixed in with a batch of dough makes it grow much larger. So it is with our lives—sometimes the little things we do, good or bad, can affect those of future generations in big ways. Children are always watching.
A mother was preparing a ham before baking. Before she put it into the pan, she cut off both ends. Seeing this, her daughter asked her why she did it.
“I don’t know. My mother used to do this, so I do it,” she answered.
Later, this girl asked her grandmother why she had cut the ham before putting it into the baking pan.
“I don’t know,” replied the grandmother; “that’s the way my mother showed me how to do it, so that’s the way I did it.”
The girl’s great grandmother happened to be there with them, and so she asked her great grandmother why she had cut the ham off both ends before putting it in the pan for baking.
“Because I did not have a baking pan big enough for the ham to fit in it,” was her reply.
We smile and laugh at this story, but our children are always watching and copying what we do. Sometimes this is good, and sometimes this is not good. Good King Jehoshaphat of Judah joined in ventures with bad Israelite kings, and his sons later copied his example to the harm of their nation.
Jehoshaphat helped the kings of Israel fight their battles and allied with them. Perhaps he did this to maintain good political relations with Israel, their sister nation. The problem with Jehoshaphat’s thinking was that he was helping an ungodly nation. Israel was following wicked kings, and God was using wars with other countries to discipline them.
After joining Ahab in his final battle (for Ahab died),
Jehu the seer, the son of Hanani, went out to meet him [Jehoshaphat] and said to the king, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Because of this, the wrath of the LORD is upon you. There is, however, some good in you, for you have rid the land of the Asherah poles and have set your heart on seeking God” (2 Chronicles 19:2-3, NIV).
Do we help people in any situation just because they are our neighbors, friends, or relatives? In most cases, it is good to help, but we must be careful not to enable ungodly practices or allow ungodly alliances to affect our lives; a little yeast affects the whole lump.
In today’s chronological Bible reading, Jehoshaphat has not learned his lesson. We see Jehoshaphat once again joining in battle with the king of Israel (Ahab’s son, Joram) and also the king of Edom. When they run short of water in the desert wilderness, Jehoshaphat insists that they seek help from Elisha, the prophet of the LORD.
When they met with him, however, Elisha was not happy to receive them.
Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What do we have to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother.” [the Israelites and Edomites were idol worshippers]
“No,” the king of Israel answered, “because it was the LORD who called us three kings together to hand us over to Moab.”
Elisha said, “As surely as the LORD Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you or even notice you” (2 Kings 3:12-14, NIV).
Despite Jehoshaphat’s unwise alliance, God is gracious to these three kings—he miraculously provides water for their armies. As the sun glints on the surface, it looks like blood! This optical illusion fools the Moabites into thinking the Israelites have fought and slaughtered each other.
But when the Moabites came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and fought them until they fled. And the Israelites invaded the land and slaughtered the Moabites.
They destroyed the towns, and each man threw a stone on every good field until it was covered. They stopped up all the springs and cut down every good tree. Only Kir Hareseth was left with its stones in place, but men armed with slings surrounded it and attacked it as well. (2 Kings 3:24,25, NIV)
If God allows us grace, we should not take it for granted. We should not test the LORD’s patience as Jehoshaphat did. Future generations may see our little compromises with evil and copy them. Next time, God may not be so gracious with us or those who follow us.
After King Jehoshaphat dies, his son, Jehoram, begins his reign. However, he does not follow Jehoshaphat’s righteous path, but leads the nation of Judah to follow the idolatry and corrupt practices of King Ahab of Israel, for he married his daughter (2 Kings 8:16-18, NIV).
One of the first things Jehoram does is to kill all of his brothers to remove competition for the throne. Because he continually does evil in the eyes of the LORD, God brings many enemies upon the kingdom of Judah. Afterward, the LORD afflicts Jehoram with an incurable disease of the bowels (2Chronicles 21:16-18, NIV). King Jehoram dies in terrible pain. He also dies in disgrace; no one wants to come to his funeral, and his subjects do not bury him with the other kings of Judah.
The results of Jehoshaphat’s compromises and unwise alliances do not just affect his son; they also affect his grandson, Ahaziah. “Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri [a wicked king of Israel].” Ahaziah follows the evil ways of his father, and the wicked counsel of Ahab’s advisers, to his undoing (2 Chronicles 22:2-4, NIV).
Like his grandfather, Ahaziah is encouraged to go to war alongside Joram, the king of Israel. Joram was wounded in the battle, and Ahaziah visits him. In our next Bible study, we will see how his friendship with Joram becomes disastrous for him.
Discussion
How can little things that we do act like yeast in the lives of future generations?
Should we always help our friends, neighbors, and relatives? Under what conditions, if any?
What little things can we do to affect the next generation in positive ways, spiritually speaking?
Focus Verse
1Corinthians 5:6 (NIV) “Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?”
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Looking Ahead: Should we Avenge Wrongs done against us? Find out in our Next Lesson.
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