Daily Devotional

In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, became king in Samaria, and reigned forty-one years” (2 Kings 14:23). 

Did you know that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), cataracts cause almost 48 percent of the blindness in undeveloped countries today? This largely curable condition remains the top target of the WHO “Global Initiative to Eliminate Avoidable Blindness.” 

During the reign of Jeroboam II, Israel was suffering from severe spiritual blindness. The first king of the divided kingdom, the original Jeroboam, had set up a cult of golden calf worship. Jeroboam II followed in his predecessor’s footsteps. He, like the first Jeroboam, didn’t want his people going off to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to God because he feared they might reunite with Judah and cause him to lose his throne. Giving in to his greed and hunger for power, he encouraged the worship of the golden calf and also supported the worship of Baal. 

For some time, the people of Israel had been persecuted by many of the surrounding nations. Even though Israel had turned away from God, He blessed the Israelites with good gifts. He intervened through the military strength of Jeroboam II to defeat some of their enemies and to restore much of the land they had lost. He also sent the prophets Amos, Joel, and Hosea to encourage the Israelites to abandon their idols and return to the worship of the true God. 

Sadly, their warnings went unheeded. Instead of looking to God, the people were accustomed to looking to their king for guidance. They embraced his apostasy and gradually became blind to the truth. Eventually they were taken away as captives by other nations. 

No one but God should ever be our high leader. He is our eternal King, and our eyes should look to Him. Keeping our focus on the Lord will remove the cataracts of sin and allow us to see things clearly. 

Our Saviour, please heal any spiritual blindness in us today and help us to look only to You for guidance. 

For Further Study: 2 Kings 14:23–29; Ps. 95; 123; Luke 4:18