Ahaziah doesn’t get much ink in the Old Testament and the one story about him is contained in this chapter and is pretty bleak. He has an accident and fears for his life. He wants some answers; he wants a word from God. The sad part is, even though he is king of Israel -10 of the 12 tribes descendent from the patriarch Jacob –he has no idea who the Lord is. So desiring a word from God he sends messengers to a neighboring country to inquire of their god? It staggers me that Israel has fallen so far so fast. He doesn’t even attempt or think of inquiring of the Lord. He goes immediately to a false foreign god.
I have heard it said that faith is always one generation deep. If we steward faith well we can pass it on to the next generation but all it takes is for one generation to sever that chain and there is no faith to pass along.
Ahab, Ahaziah’s father, refused again and again to turn to the Lord despite the Lord’s repeated beckoning. In doing so he not only doomed his own fate, he severed any sense of or desire for the Lord in his son. Ahaziah pays dearly for his lack of faith (as all people without faith will do).
These thoughts prompted me to consider my faith, not so much for myself, but as a lens to the next generation. Am I living my faith in such a way that the generation after me sees my faith as genuine and authentic? Is my faith a living witness to Jesus and filled with such love and good character that it shines as an invitation for them to believe in Jesus, too?
There are no guarantees that the next generation will pick up the faith, but I want to live in such a way that I give them no excuse not to follow Jesus.
How about you???
Lord Jesus, Holy Father, please send the Holy Spirit to guide me into living an authentic and genuine faith in You. I pray this so that my life might be a living testimony to You. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
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