Daily Devotional

“He was thirty-two years old when he became king. He reigned in Jerusalem eight years and, to no one’s sorrow, departed” (2 Chronicles 21:20). 

It’s a rare person who doesn’t want to be appreciated, in this life and at the end of life. On the island nation of Taiwan, Liu Jun-Lin, now 33, is hired by families to show up at the funerals of people she never knew just to mourn and weep. She says that when she sees the grieving relatives—who may not have any tears days after a loved one has passed on— the emotion helps her cry on cue. 

The eight-year reign of Joram, also known as Jehoram, would have been difficult for even Liu Jun-Lin to mourn. When he became king, Joram didn’t want any competition: He killed his brothers—along with the other princes of the realm. 

And while Joram could have yet turned to God and repented of this sin, the new monarch ran in the other direction. He “walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for he had the daughter of Ahab as a wife; and he did evil in the sight of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 21:6). It was only because of God’s promise never to eliminate the lineage of David that the Lord did not wipe out the entire family. 

Joram’s follies and rebellion cost his people of Judah dearly: Occupiers invaded, taking every member of his family except his son. Joram’s fatal illness, prophesied by Elijah, ended his life and his reign. But no one mourned his passing. Not one! 

God isn’t mocked. The unrepentant will not enter heaven, and they may be forgotten or cursed at their passing. Joram’s example is a sobering lesson of what happens to those who rebel against the living God. 

Lord, keep me close to You, to walk in Your paths always and to honour Your name.