READING FOR NOVEMBER 5, 2025: 2 CHRONICLES 22, JAMES 2, PSALM 117 2 CHRONICLES 22 This chapter can be confusing because of the commonality of the name Jehoram. We just studied about King Jehoram of Judah. He was assassinated by his servants, and his son Ahaziah was placed on the throne by the people. Ahaziah’s mother, Athaliah, was the daughter of Ahab and held a similar worldview to Ahab’s. She and her counselors were a terrible influence on the young king. Let’s choose our counselors carefully based upon their godly wisdom. This extends to the books we read and the media we view.
Ahaziah’s reign was a mere one year, but he was able to squeeze lots of evil into that short period. He allied himself with King Jehoram of Israel, his uncle, to fight the Arameans again at Ramoth-gilead. This was a bad idea when Kings Jehosaphat and Ahab did it before, and it was still a bad idea a generation later. Like his father, King Jehoram of Israel was wounded in battle. He was taken to Jezreel to recover. In a gesture of concern, King Ahaziah of Judah visited King Jehoram of Israel. Although visiting the sick is normally a good thing, as Jesus said in Matthew 25:43, it isn’t when the whole basis for the relationship is wrong.
During this visit they teamed up against “Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab” (vs. 7). While Jehu was busy destroying Ahab’s line, he also found time to kill the princes of Judah as well as King Ahaziah. Athaliah, Ahaziah’s mother and daughter of Ahab, did not seem overly grief-stricken. Instead, she murdered most of the royal children of Judah and claimed the throne for herself. Unbeknownst to her, Jehoshabeath, King Ahaziah’s sister, rescued Joash, Ahaziah’s youngest son. She hid him in the temple during six years of Athaliah’s reign in Judah. This unexpected twist certainly hints at some dramatic confrontation in our next chapter. This hard-to-follow plot has lots of human intrigue but is fully under God’s control. Doesn’t our current time seem similarly wild? Take heart. "Many are the plans in the human heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that will stand" (Prov. 19:21).
JAMES 2 This chapter is the clearest in the Bible regarding the sin of discrimination, in this case based upon social class. Christians need to treat all people with equal respect and likely need to be more intentionally loving towards those society tends to dishonor. The church has not always had a good track record on this point, much to our shame. James reminds us that it has usually been God’s practice to work through those the world finds insignificant. Jesus, himself, is called the cornerstone whom the builders rejected (Matt. 21:42). Let’s be particularly welcoming to those rejected by society.
READING FOR NOVEMBER 5, 2025 CONTINUED: JAMES 2, PSALM 117 James goes on to clarify that when we show favoritism, or discrimination, we are really violating the second great command to love our neighbor as ourselves. We also become guilty of other related commands, such as adultery and murder. They hang together. As redeemed Christians indwelt by the Spirit, we understand that freely obeying God’s commands offers us a life of maximum freedom from the bondage of sin as well offering the promise of eternal reward bestowed at the judgment day.
The remainder of this chapter has been the source of some discomfort for centuries. How do we reconcile the idea from verse 26 that faith without works won’t save us with Paul’s insistence in Ephesians 2:8-9 that “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast”? The traditional view is that saving faith always results in good works. It’s faith that brings works, just as first contracting a virus will later result in a fever. It doesn’t work the other way around. We can never earn or merit salvation apart from faith no matter how many good works we do.
PSALM 117 Here is a Psalm most of us could easily memorize in minutes. It’s not a bad idea. There are just a few thoughts. All of them are powerful. The command to praise the Lord begins and ends this Psalm. Reasons for this praise are found in between. First, the Psalmist reminds all nations to sing praises.
He knew what the research has now shown: “Singing lowers cortisol and relieves stress and tension; singing releases endorphins that boast energy; singing focuses the mind to be completely in the moment; singing even synchronizes heartbeats to improve social bonding; singing motivates people to serve others; singing increases levels of the protein Immunoglobulin A thereby strengthening the immune system; singing improves breathing and lessens the chances of a panic attack; singing is both an aerobic and upper muscular exercise. singing improves the parasympathetic nervous system to help heart rate, breathing, and digestion; and singing helps alleviate pain.”
Then God’s mercy is singled out for praise. Psalm 103:10 reminds us, “He [God] does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.” Finally, he reassures us that what was true about God then, is true about God now, and will be true about God forever. Those who teach that God’s truth has changed ignore this central teaching of the Bible, known as God’s immutability.
