Dad Devotional Day 19
A Price to be Paid
2 Chronicles 25
This is the Sunday School lesson of Jesus; He came and took all of the penalties due to us, because we are unable to pay these penalties ourselves. Jesus is murdered in our place and enables us to go to heaven. This, we are told is ultimate forgiveness. What kind of forgiveness is this? Is the cross really a get out of jail free card? Let’s look at a story from the ancient kingdom of Judah and shine a light on forgiveness.
A young king starts out as a decent leader, following the cultural laws set in place by Moses hundreds of years before. He assumes the throne due to his father’s recent murder. After finding the killers, he condemns them to death. By all other cultural standards of the day, the murder’s family would also be put to death. But this is not the common practice in Judah. Moses established a new practice hundreds of years before, protecting the families of the accused and signified a break from surrounding cultures.
Then one day, king goes to battle against his enemies. In other cultures, it is accepted practice to hire mercenaries in order to augment your army. The king has a large army, but in the famous words of Stalin, “quantity has a quality all its own.” So, he hires more men from another kingdom. The king veers away from his culture and follows the culture of other pagan kings. The wonderful thing about a cultural norms are we all know when they are violated. But it takes a uniquely strong individual to speak up when a leader violates them.
As the king is preparing for battle, an average guy approaches him. The scripture never records his name, instead only refers to him as a man of God. He has the common sense of a grandfather and says, “Your Majesty, these troops from Israel must not march with you, for the Lord is not with Israel — not with any of the people of Ephraim. Even if you go and fight courageously in battle, God will overthrow you before the enemy, for God has the power to help or to overthrow” (2 Chron 25:7). The king has already paid these mercenaries. He is going to lose all of the money and make a bunch of greedy soldiers very irate. He finds himself at odds with his own culture and has a choice to make.
The king accepts the counsel and disbands the mercenaries. As anticipated, they are furious for losing the prospect of the spoils of war. On their return home, they attack town after town killing and looting as they go. Three thousand civilians are murdered. The price paid for inviting these men to the battle is enormous. But the king wins his battle and kills many of his enemies. The king is forgiven for breaking the culture God established in the kingdom. Though he receives his victory, he still pays a price for making a choice against it.
Christ actions on the cross are more than forgiveness. They reestablish a and fulfill a culture we are meant to follow. God forgives our sins because of Christ’s sacrifice. But we play a part in this sacrifice. Christ death and life are the culture we must seek to live in. When we sin, we are living outside of His culture and we, like the king, pay a price for this choice. Christ is not a ‘get out of jail free card’. He is a green card, verifying our permanent residency in His culture. Christ’s message on the Cross is; we are set apart and different from all other cultures.
