II Chronicles 21:18-20 - “And after all this the Lord struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease. In the course of time, at the end of two years, his bowels came out because of the disease and he died in great agony. His people made no fires in his honor, like the fires made for his fathers. He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he departed with no one’s regret. They buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.”
What a strange scripture for a daily devotion! The Bible may be many things, but it is not boring and it is always inspired and useful for the Christian life. This sad epitaph to a king named Jehoram will be our inspiration for this day. King Jehoram was wicked in a variety of ways.
On the day he was anointed king, he systematically killed all of his brothers to keep them from taking his throne. Then he established idol worship in Jerusalem and the surrounding villages of Judah. Basically, he led people away from the Lord. So the Lord sent a prophet (Elijah) to tell him that he would die the terrible death described above.
But it’s what happened after his death that is our focus today. When Jehoram died, no one honored him, no one regretted his death, and they didn’t even give him a king’s burial. The result of not following God and living a life for him is that your relationship with others will be abusive and manipulative.
In the end, even if you are the king, no one will be sad you’re gone. The lesson? Live in a way before God such that when it’s your time to go, your life will be honored by those around you for the love and goodness you gave while you lived.
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