Abdul Hakkeem

[Jotham] did what was right in the eyes of the Lord … But the people still followed corrupt practices … Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before the Lord his God. 2 Chronicles 27:2, 6 Two things get our attention in these two verses. First, the people were walking in corrupted ways. Isaiah 1–6, which corresponds to that period, gives us more details. There we read that God did not want His people to come and offer sacrifices with a semblance of piety, then go back home and live totally differently, even offering sacrifices to idols. Second, and despite that, Jotham ordered his ways before God. What was the result of all this? First, God used Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, son of Remaliah, as a discipline against Judah because of their ways (2 Ki. 15:37). But we read none of that under the reign of Jotham because he did that which was right, and it would have been a stain on his character. All the troubles were described under the reign of his son, who was also co-regent over the kingdom at that time. Second, we read that Jotham became mighty because of his personal faithfulness. There is something very beautiful in this because, despite the state of the people, Jotham persevered in doing that which is right before God. We find the same encouragement for us in 2 Timothy 2:19: “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” Even if things around us are going badly, not only in this world but even among those who call themselves Christians, Paul exhorts Timothy—and the Lord exhorts each of us—to depart from iniquity, that is, injustice, everything that is unrighteous to God. But not only to withdraw from iniquity, but to positively “pursue righteousness” (2:22). This is still the desire of the Lord for us today that, despite the state of things around us, each of us would have in his heart, out of love and devotion for our Lord Jesus, to do as Jotham did: to continue in doing positively that which is right before God, and withdrawing from that which is unrighteous before Him.