Day 332 – Discernment

2 Kings 8:16 Now in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Jehoshaphat having been king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat began to reign as king of Judah. 17 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 18 He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife; and he did evil in the sight of JEHOVAH.

 19 Yet JEHOVAH would not destroy Judah, for the sake of his servant David, as He promised him to give a lamp to him and his sons forever.

 20 In his days Edom revolted against Judah’s authority and made a king over themselves.

 21 Then Joram went to Zair, and his chariots with him. He rose by night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots; and the troops fled to their tents.

 22 Thus Edom has been in revolt against Judah’s authority to this day. Libnah also revolted at that time.

 23 Now the rest of the acts of Joram, and everything he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 24 Then Joram rested with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then Ahaziah, his son reigned in his place.

 25 In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, began to reign.

 26 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri, king of Israel. 27 He walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of JEHOVAH, like the house of Ahab, for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab.

 28 Now he went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.

 29 Then King Joram went back to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which the Syrians had inflicted on him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

God’s names:

JEHOVAH – Self-existent, Eternal

Yeshuwa – Jesus

Kurios – Supreme Authority, Lord

Iesous – Jesus

Christos – Anointed One, Messiah

Theos – Supreme Divinity

Pater – Father

Hagios Pneuma – Sacred, Holy, Mighty Wind, Breath, Spirit

God’s character:

Sovereign

You don’t need to look far to find people who bend or break the rules for their benefit. They also bring their friends and followers down with them until the law catches up with them.

Jehoram and Ahaziah were two kings who did evil against JEHOVAH and took the country down with them. Edom revolted against Judah’s authority and went to war with Judah. Libnah did the same. Jehoram died in the battle. Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, walked in the ways of the kings of Israel in disobedience to JEHOVAH. His reign lasted one year.

JEHOVAH refused to snuff out the lamp in Judah because of His promise to David. Instead, He brought judgment against Jehoram and Ahaziah in killing them.

Many Christians act like the disobedient kings of Judah and Israel. They read their Bibles and twist what it says for their benefit and lead others astray with them. It’s how cult religions form. They claim to know Yeshuwa as Savior and Lord but follow a doctrine contrary to Scripture. On the outside, they look like good upstanding people. However, inside, in the heart only Yeshuwa can see is a heart teeming with lies and delusions.

When you accepted Yeshuwa as Savior and Lord, He gave you the Hagios Pneuma and the power gifts to discern truth from lies. When you spend time in Yeshuwa’s Word daily, you can discern those who practice strange doctrine.

2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Kurios Iesous Christos and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christos had come.

 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above everything called Theos or that is worshiped, so that he sits as Theos in the temple of Theos, showing himself that he is Theos.

 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things?

 6 Now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.

 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.

 8 Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Kurios will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.

 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

 11 For this reason Theos will send them a strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they may be condemned because they did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Jehoram and Ahaziah, his son, led the people of Judah away from JEHOVAH through their ties with Ahab, king of Israel. It doesn’t take much to turn away from JEHOVAH. A simple suggestion, an alliance with a person who says the right things but acts contrary to what they tell you. When you read and study your Bible daily, you can discern the truth. You can see through the delusion and keep Yeshuwa in the center of your life.

Yeshuwa said you will know the truth and the truth would set you free.

John 8:32 “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

John 14:6 Iesous said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Pater except through Me.

Which way are you following? Who are you listening to? Is the Hagios Pneuma guiding you into the truth and giving you discernment to know the lie when you hear it?

The psalmist said he kept JEHOVAH’S Word in his heat to keep him from sin.

Psalm 119:11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You!

Is JEHOVAH’S Word in your heart? If so, you will know the truth, keep yourself from delusions, and walk in righteousness with Yeshuwa.

Let’s pray: Father, give me discernment in everything I hear and keep Your Word in my heart to keep me free from Satan’s lies and delusions. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Copyright © 16 December 2024 by Valerie Routhieaux