‹ Back

1 Kings 22:43 "Jehoshaphat walked in all the way of Asa his father; he did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord; yet the high places were not taken away, and the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places."

 

Jehoshaphat was a pretty good king of Judah. He followed his father Asa's lead in doing what was right in the sight of the Lord, yet the high places, the altars to other gods, were not taken away during his reign, and the people still worshiped there. (Or at least they were not fully taken away, he did begin his reign by taking some of them down. (2 Chronicles 17:6)) 

 

We've heard that we all eventually become our parents, no matter how different we think we are. I think it is really hard not to do this, especially if we have good parents. We really only know their way of doing things, and if things have worked out for them, why would we seek alternatives? But our parents aren't perfect, so there is always room for improvement and growth. Sometimes we have to acknowledge and admire the good things they've done, but also look for places where we can do better.

 

Jehoshaphat had a pretty good dad and predecessor in Asa, but neither apparently were willing to take the necessary bold step of taking away all the people's false gods. The only person who could really do that was the king, so the people were left in their idolatry under both Asa and Jehoshaphat, which takes quite a bit away from the effectiveness of their reigns.

 

God is often asking us to be bold. He puts us in positions or circumstances where we have opportunities to do something great for Him, but we have to recognize those opportunities and take advantage of them. We can often miss them or think they are not as big a deal as they are, especially if our parents didn't see them or act on them. While honoring all our parents have accomplished, we should be willing to look at the places they might have been wrong, or may have missed opportunities to do greater good. Rather than just keeping a good thing going, we should build on their goodness to make something even better and more pleasing to God.