“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” – Matthew 22:37

Scripture reading: Matthew 22:34-40; 2 Kings 3:1-3

As Elijah had to deal with Ahab, Elisha had to deal with Jehoram.

Jehoram means, “The Lord is exalted.” However, his life contradicted his name. He is better than Ahab, spiritually speaking, but he is still not where a king of Israel ought to be. He is not a faithful worshipper of, nor a firm believer in, the Lord. He removed the pillar of Baal, but didn’t fully turn his back on Baal. Elisha tells him to consult the prophets of Baal (3:13), suggesting Jehoram still had some familiarity with them. Later, Jehu, upon succeeding Jehoram, had to kill the Baal prophets that remained (10:18). Moreover, although Jehoram did not promote Baal like his parents, he still clung to the sin of Jeroboam.

He was an improvement, but God’s assessment is that he was bad. “He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.” That is the assessment we should concern ourselves with. The Lord is our standard, not the next guy or the last guy. God doesn’t grade on a curve. True, some sins are worse than others. But any sin warrants the wrath and curse of God. It is important to understand this because the sinful heart is always seeking new tactics to allow us to engage in sin. True worship that is acceptable to God is a hatred of all sin and a commitment to obey Him in all circumstances.

Suggestions for prayer

Ask God to help us see His intolerance of sin and to give us a desire to hear His “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Thank Him that Christ has died for all our unfaithfulness in His faithful obedience to His Father.

Reverend John van Eyk has served as Senior Pastor of Trinity Reformed Church (United Reformed) in Lethbridge, Alberta since 2017.