The Destruction Of A Legacy - Daily Devotional September 17th 2009

Daily Bible Reading - 2 Kings 24-25, Ezekiel 13, Luke 9

The Destruction of a Legacy

All of us have something we are living for, whether good or bad. The thing we fail to realize though is that what we are living for not only effects us but it effects those around us and even those who will come after us years later. Having the perspective of living for how things affect you now is a selfish an narrow perspective that leaves danger lurking for countless generations. What you do now can either destroy legacy or leave a legacy.

In 2 Kings 24 we see a continuation of the destruction of a legacy. 2 Kings 24:8-9, "Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done." What a pathetic site this is! Could you imagine talking with your friends and they ask you how long you were king and you say, "um... well... 3 months". Look at when this all started though. It started with his father doing evil in the sight of the Lord so therefore Jehoiachin did evil in the sight of the Lord and the destruction of a legacy continues.

It however not just destroyed him and his own personal legacy but look at what it did to the rest of the nation and to the house of God, 2 Kings 24:10-14, "At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it, which Solomon king of Israel had made,and Jehoiachin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself and his mother and his servants and his officials and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign and carried off all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had foretold. He carried away all Jerusalem and all the officials and all the mighty men of valor, 10,000 captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained, except the poorest people of the land."

The destruction of a legacy always starts with what you are giving yourself up to. You see all the people mentioned here that went into captivity and all the destruction that took place in Jerusalem and against the house of God happened because "Jehoiachin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon". You see what you give yourself up to will eventually take you over and what takes you over will eventually run and rule your life. Because Jehoiachin gave himself up to the enemy the enemy took control and continued to destroy a legacy. Even though he had done evil in the sight of God, imagine if he would have fought back and made a stand in that moment. He may not of saved his own life but he may have saved a legacy. But when you're only living in the now I guess you do not think about that.

Galatians 5 paints the picture of a battle going on between the Spirit and the flesh and states that whichever you one you give your self up to will control you. Galatians 5:16, "So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves". Galatians 5:19-21, "When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!"

We have the opportunity today to change the legacy we are leaving. If we give ourselves over to the enemy (flesh) like Jehoiachin we will destroy a legacy but if we continue to give ourselves up to the the Spirit of God then old things are passed away and behold all things have become new. Let's stop the destruction of a legacy today and go after God with all our heart.

Tomorrows Bible Reading - 1 Chronicles 1, Ezekiel 14, Luke 10

Dream Big
Ben