9 But a prophet of the Lord named Oded was there, and he went out to meet the army when it returned to Samaria. 2 Chronicles 28
Oded is an interesting name, it means to Sustain, Hold or Lift Up and it also means Encourager. The first three words are a fairly good definition of what an Encourager does.
We’ve been looking at the Kings of Judah and their successes and failures in 2 Chronicles, but God brought His prophets alongside these Kings and their armies to counsel them. Oded came out to address a conquering army returning from Judah and he didn’t flatter them.
Oded told the soldiers that it was because, ‘the Lord, the God of their fathers was angry and He’d given Judah into their hands’, but apparently they’d gone way too far. They had killed 120,000 of their brothers, ‘in one day’ and taken 200,000 prisoners to become slaves.
10 And now you intend to make the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves. BUT AREN’T YOU ALSO GUILTY OF SINS AGAINST THE LORD YOUR GOD? 11 NOW LISTEN TO ME! Send back your fellow Israelites that you have taken as prisoners, for the Lord’s fierce anger rests on you.’ 2 Chronicles 28
Oded stood before this vast crowd and told them to send back the people of Judah and turn away God’s Judgement from Israel and Samaria. Four of the leaders in Ephraim also told the army that their prisoners couldn’t come there and bring guilt before the Lord. (They agreed and supported the prophet) So for once they heeded the word from the Lord, cared for the needs of their fellow Jews and returned them to Jericho.
In 2 Chronicles 18 we read the account of Micaiah the prophet of the Lord who was brought before Ahab and Jehoshaphat. He too stood alone while speaking God’s words to the Kings, but his words were rejected.
In 2 Chronicles 25 an unnamed prophet was sent to speak to Amaziah, King of Judah, whom he’d obeyed and dismissed the soldiers from Israel. God gave him success in battle, but then he brought back the gods of the conquered foe to worship in Judah. Once again God warned him through a prophet but this time he refused to listen and it led to his downfall. He never recovered his walk with the Lord.
Christians are sometimes called to, ‘Speak Truth to power’, or ‘Speak up for the Truth’. God is the God of Truth and the enemy and people of this world will often try and get us to compromise our stand for the Truth – it’s important that we don’t!
I believe I may have mentioned before a courageous young woman, the daughter of a friend, who was the only student in her class discussion who stood for the life of the unborn child. All her classmates and the teacher supported termination of the unwanted child. Like the prophets of old, Believers may have no option but to stand, sometimes alone, for the God of Truth. It may happen without warning and even within Church settings, but Heaven supports those who stand on the side of Truth.
God bless and keep you today and throughout the week ahead. Immanuel, He is with us.