2 Chronicles 15:7 [Your Work Shall Be Rewarded]

[Things to Meditate On]

1. Just as people in this world work diligently to receive a reward if they can, spiritually also we must understand through the Scriptures what the reward given by God is, and we must strive diligently to obtain that reward. In fact, the reason we must labor all the more for this reward is that the reward Jesus will give us is far more precious than anything this world can give (2 Corinthians 3:7-9, Proverbs 8:11).

Proverbs 3:13-15 “13Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. 14For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. 15She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.”

Philippians 3:7-14 “7But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 8Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord... 14I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

2. Through Azariah the son of Oded (2 Chronicles 15:1), God encouraged King Asa, saying, “Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak.” Through this word, God caused him to remove the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and caused the people of Judah and Benjamin to turn back to God and seek Him again. In the same way, we also must strengthen our hearts with the word of God, remove everything that has exalted itself above God, and not hesitate to turn back to God and seek Him. Then, as the word says, our work will be rewarded (verse 7).

2 Chronicles 15:10-15 “10So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11And they offered unto the LORD the same time, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep. 12And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; 13That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. 14And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets. 15And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about.”

1 Chronicles 28:9 “And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.”

3. Jesus also said, “he that seeketh findeth” (Luke 11:9-10). In other words, if we do not seek, we cannot find. Therefore, just as people in this world diligently search in order to obtain treasure, we must seek Jesus even more earnestly. This is because the true treasure for us is Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:4-7).

Proverbs 2:4-5 “4If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; 5Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.”

Proverbs 8:17 “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.”

[Decision and Application]

Like King Asa, who strengthened his heart when he heard the words of the prophet Oded (verse 8), we must now strengthen our hearts with the word of God, and we must continually seek Jesus so that our hands do not become weak. In truth, people are often busy trying to obtain the things of this world that they like, yet they are often not so toward God. Therefore, God spoke the following through David.

Psalm 14:2-3 “2The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. 3They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

If we do not seek God in this way, then later, when we regret it too late and try to seek Him, God may not meet us.

Proverbs 1:24-28 “24Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; 25But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: 26I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; 27When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. 28Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me.”

Therefore, so that our relationship with God will not become like this, we must truly discern where the most precious life for us is, choose wisely, and walk in that way.

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 “19I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: 20That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

Amos 5:4-6 “4For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live: 5But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought. 6Seek the LORD, and ye shall live...”

As these words say, we must no longer set our eyes on vain things and go around seeking them, but we must know that our precious life is in Jesus (John 14:6) and seek Jesus. We can find Jesus in the Scriptures, which were written by the inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16), and by seeking and finding Jesus in the Scriptures, we can obtain life.

John 5:39 “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”

1 John 5:11-12 “11And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”

Therefore, just as Asa, Judah, and Benjamin made a covenant to seek God and did seek Him, so that God also was found of them and gave them rest round about (2 Chronicles 15:12-15), if we also strengthen our hearts, let not our hands become weak, and earnestly seek Jesus, then Jesus also, according to His word, will surely meet us and give us peace and life. Therefore, while He gives us the opportunity now, we must labor and strive to seek Jesus earnestly (Isaiah 55:6).

Psalm 42:1-2 “1As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. 2My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?”

Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

Amen.