The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

2 Kings 18:1-7, “Now it came about in the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah became king.

2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah.

3 And he did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done.

4 He removed the high places and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah. He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan.

5 He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him.

6 For he clung to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses.

7 And the LORD was with him; wherever he went, he prospered. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.”

Do you ever wonder where you were when you were the age of someone else, maybe someone famous? I’m guessing that most of us have wondered about that. Our passage says that Hezekiah became King of Judah when he was 25 years old. Our text says he then reigned for 29 years! What is even more important is that “he did right in the sight of the LORD.”

Those who hold serious positions of authority do well when they “do right in the sight of the LORD.” They do well when they fear the LORD and follow His leadership. Hezekiah commenced his reign as king by destroying Judah’s false gods—even those that Moses had made—because he trusted in the LORD! “he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments.”

Is it not possible that those who are younger are yet able to trust the LORD and keep His commandments? We could do with a few leaders who possess the spunk to follow the LORD. But where do we find them? We pray for them. Currently, they are in the LORD’s hands. He releases them to assist us when we show we’re ready to follow Him! If we’re not ready, we will ultimately suffer the consequences!

To be quite honest, I was recently challenged by someone who didn’t know he was challenging me. But I felt the brunt of his challenge and was all the better for it. Be ready to challenge others to follow the LORD! Be ready to accept His challenges, too. That’s how we grow spiritually!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom