Devotionals

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It's refreshing to read the books of Kings. The author of the two Biblical books distills matters down to essentials. He sums up the reigns of the kings of Judah and Israel by saying whether they did right in the eyes of the Lord or not. At times, greater detail is provided, but often the events and accomplishments that matter to others are only briefly alluded to.

For example, one king named Omri whose reign was dismissed quickly by the author of Kings with these words in 1 Kings 16:

But Omri did evil in the eyes of the LORD and sinned more than all those before him. 26 He walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit, so that they provoked the LORD , the God of Israel, to anger by their worthless idols.
27 As for the other events of Omri's reign, what he did and the things he achieved, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? 28 Omri rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria. And Ahab his son succeeded him as king.


Yet, from non-Biblical sources it becomes clear that this man attained some respect from other nations. He conquered Moab, settled on Samaria as the capital of the northern kingdom, and established a reputation as a brilliant, but ruthless military leader. For years after his death, the Assyrians called Israel 'the house of Omri.'

All of those achievements, and the respect he earned in the eyes of others, meant nothing in the end. The Bible dismissed his reign briefly, for he did evil in the eyes of the Lord.

How much stock, though, do we place on those things that matter little or nothing in the eyes of the world? Do we look more favorably on doctors, lawyers, and successful businessman who achieve good things in the eyes of many because they have this worldy status? Or, do we see the things that matter in God's eyes? More, what do we seek for our own lives?

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