Thursday, September 2: 2Kings 10-Lingering sin.

Jehu does so much right but he stumbles at one point and it costs him and Israel dearly. Jehu fulfilled the decreed punishment upon Ahab’s family, killing everyone. Jehu rids the land of all the prophets of Baal, a despicable god, a great and faith-filled work. However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit--the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan (29).

This lingering sin of Jeroboam would be the undoing of Israel. Jehu moved closer to the Lord but never could close the gap and live faithfully. The sin of Jeroboam was so firmly embedded in the life of Israel that it was never dealt with…

Sin can be that pernicious. When we allow particular sins to linger, it is as if they send tap roots so deep in our lives that we never deal with it.  We consider it part of our life. The northern kingdom, according to the historical record, never dealt with the sin of Jeroboam. It became part of the fabric of their lives.

I am not sure that we can deal with lingering sins (sins passed on to us from previous generations) alone. But we are not alone. God has given us the Holy Spirit and part of the Spirit’s work is to uncover and root out pernicious sin. But this is a task with which we must cooperate. The Spirit will not override our will. Instead He invites us to deal with these lingering sins by revealing them to us and aiding us, if we obey, in the surgery necessary to get rid of it.

This is a life-long journey of sanctification… cooperating with God as He shows us the sin which so easily entangles us.

This journey begins with honest self-assessment as we sit with the Holy Spirit and allow God to probe our heart, our motivations and our actions. And it continues through repentance, confession and transformation…

O, God, set Your gaze upon me and search me. Reveal any wickedness in me, then cleanse me with hyssop and I will be clean. Wash me and I will be whiter than snow…

I cannot do this on my own. Only with Your help can I grow to be more and more like Jesus, as long as I live this side of eternity.

I hand my life over to Your gaze and Your sanctifying work… in Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

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