“After all this, the Lord afflicted Jehoram with an incurable disease the bowles… his bowels came out because of the disease, and he died in great pain.
Don’t ever let anyone tell you that this guy did not have a choice. Jehoram was the oldest son on king Jehoshaphat. King Jehoshaphat had many sons to choose from to be king after him but picked Jehoram because he was the oldest. Unlike his father, king Jehoram was not a godly man. To erase the issue of possibly loosing his kingship, he had all of his brothers killed. We read that the Lord had stirred up war all around Judah because of Jehoram and his ungodly behavior and leading Israel astray. He received a letter from Elijah the prophet telling him that the Lord was about to afflict him with this disease that would be the death of him. This part of the history of Judah reads like something out of the soap opera in today’s world.
Anyway, I read this and chuckled a bit because the Lord sure does have a sense of humor. As it turns out Jehoram’s whole family gets killed except for his youngest son Ahaziah. He was king only for a year before he died but his infant son Joash was taken by the wife of Jehoiada the priest and hidden in the temple of God and kept as a secret for seven years. Joash was crowned king at age of seven. What a drama.
What can gleam from all this drama? There is a remnant that the Lord will place in order to fulfill His purpose. One of my daughters was a remnant for her family. Amber found the Lord at a very young age despite a horrible family life. It would happen so that we would end up taking her in while she was in her teens right after high school. Her faith in the Lord never faltered but only grew stronger and stronger. Now she is huge blessing to her birth family and remains strong in the Lord while showing Jesus to her birth family every chance she gets. I am sure Joash had to hear all the bad things his father and grandfather had done and how the Lord moved against them. Joash is the remnant the Lord planned to get Israel back on the right track.
Without saying too much, your faith in Jesus and your testimony could be the spark someone needs to set their life back on track. Amber had a rough go of it for a while and still deals with the past, but her faith in the Lord is founded on the rock. The winds and storms of life come and go but because of her faith, she will stand. Where is your faith today? It could be the remnant of faith the Lord will use to turn someone’s life around.
Let It Go 
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