MIGHTY IN GOD

“So Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before the Lord his God” (2 Chronicles 27:6, ESV).

Jotham was the son of Uzziah, one of the kings who ruled the southern kingdom known as Judah. Israel was split at this time, with Judah in the south and Israel in the north.

Apparently Jotham ran the government of Judah while his father was incapacitated and when his father died he became king. Jotham was one of the few kings of Judah that the Bible has nothing negative to say about.

Here’s the backstory of Uzziah and his son Jotham.

 

Uzziah was a great king and ruled Judah for fifty-two years. The prophet Zechariah was Uzziah’s spiritual mentor and teacher and 2 Chronicles 26:5 tells us, “[Uzziah] set himself to seek God . . . and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper.”

Toward the end of Uzziah’s leadership of Judah something unfortunate happened. Verses15 and 16 say, “His fame spread far . . . till he was strong. But when he was strong, he grew proud to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God.”

Uzziah became proud and thought that he could meddle in the temple and redo how worship was being conducted. He decided that he would be the one to burn incense on the altar rather than the priests.

The moment the high priest saw what Uzziah was doing, he and his associates went to stop him. They pled with him to quickly get out of the altar area where he had no right to be.

Uzziah responded in anger (verse19) as if to say, “Just who do you think you are talking to? I’m the king! Now get out of my way.”

The moment Uzziah’s anger flashed forth, leprosy broke out on his forehead. The priests quickly rushed Uzziah out of the temple and into seclusion, as was required by the Law. Uzziah’s son, Jotham, took over the reins of the government, as his father was sequestered.

What a tragic end to a righteous life and kingship, but pride has a way of introducing tragedy into life.

Upon his father’s death, Jotham became the king and 2 Chronicles 27:6 became his lasting legacy: “Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before the Lord his God.”

I believe every Christian who is serious about his relationship with God has a desire to be the strongest believer he can be. This little story offers us a peek into how to cooperate in making that happen.

The word mighty in this verse is also translated “to be strong, powerful or resolute.”

The word ordered is sometimes translated “firmly established, prepared, in obedience.”

Another way to say this verse might be, “Jotham became a mighty man of God because he lived his whole life in obedience to the Lord; he did not deviate in any way.”

Is this kind of strength a supernatural gifting? Are some people predestined to be more righteous and strong than others?

I would say a hearty “no” to both of these questions. God doesn’t “gift” some people with strength and courage and others with weakness. Nor does He predestine some to be more righteous than others. Instead, God has given us the power to choose. Yes, He does know what is going to happen in your life tomorrow; after all, He is God but He restrains Himself and allows us to choose!

We have the power to choose how we are going to live our life out before Him. We have the power to choose how much we pray, how much we read and study the Word, how much we are going to allow the Holy Spirit to use us.

When Joseph (see Genesis 39) and Daniel (Daniel 1:8) refused to compromise but chose to be strong in their commitment to God, then God was free to begin the process of making them into “mighty men.”

Let’s talk briefly about this process of preparation.

Strength is brought into being by preparation. You only have to look to athletics to see that those who become champions are the ones who prepared themselves. The apostle Paul talked about running the race (see 2 Timothy 4:6).

Power is not the result of a momentary flash of God’s blessing (that’s a miracle) but the result of steady growth in Him, in His ways. It is the result of time, of the work of the Holy Spirit, of the experiences of a man of God who is desirous of growing in Him. A mighty man of God is the result of the tenacity of a committed spirit that says, “I may fail the first time and the second time but I will get up off the ground and keep going on. I will not quit, I will not stop.”

And this is not legalism! It is not legalism to firmly establish your ways before the Lord. A legalist has a clock in one hand, a Bible in the other hand, and a grimace on his face.

A man who has established his ways before the Lord has a Bible in one hand, nothing in the other — which is raised to God in praise — and a smile on his face!

Jotham finished well because he ordered his ways before the Lord his God.