Scripture
Quote
It is better to be alone than in the presence of bad company.
~Booker T. Washington
Jehoshaphat was one of the better kings of Judah. He and his father Asa are the only two good kings back to back. Jehoshaphat was a man who respected God and the prophets but for some strange reason he became friends with king Ahab of Israel. Israel never had a good king but Ahab was the worse of the lot. He was a bad influence. Jehoshaphat had strong convictions which Ahab’s influence never corrupted but the friendship lead to a royal wedding. Jehoram, Jehoshaphat’s son married Ahab’s daughter Athaliah {afflicted of the LORD}. This means, the house of David was compromised and corrupted by the evil house of Ahab. Athaliah was a pagan like her mother Jezebel {unchaste}. She was a witch and a staunch worshiper of Baal. She made Baal worship the state religion in Judah. Nothing could be more out of character with the house of David.
The story does not end with the pagan daughter in law: Jehoram and Athaliah had a son whose name was Ahaziah and he eventually becomes the king of Judah. He began to reign at age 22 and did exactly what his mother told him to do. He was the grandson of both Jehoshaphat and Ahab. Meanwhile, his uncle was king of Israel {Joram}. Joram was wounded in battle and was recovering in Jezreel. Ahaziah goes down to visit his uncle and never returned. The LORD gave Jehu instruction to purge the house of Ahab and since Ahaziah was of that house, Jehu had him executed before he could return home. Instead of grieving the death of her son, Athaliah {the most evil woman in scripture} has all her grandsons executed and declares herself the ruling monarch. The next six years was a reign of terror and it all goes back to Jehoshaphat’s friendship with Ahab. The end result is fifteen straight years in which the evil house of Ahab has control of Judah’s throne. How difficult was it to get Baal worship out of Judah? How difficult would it be to get liquor out of Hartselle? There’s your answer; compromise leads to corruption and corruption leads to total destruction. Judah had two great kings, both puritans, and neither of them could purge the land of Baal worship. It took the Babylonian captivity to get Baal out of the Jews.
DBC has a softball team this year. It is a fellowship team. They got blistered the first night they played but won last night. I want to see this team play. They have 11 catchers and two pitchers. The rest are too old to play the field. Some can hit but can’t run. This team is bound to be entertaining.
Unbelievable weather. Our corn is growing like weeds. The warm weather has really helped. The grass is also growing.
The lunch following the SENIOR ADULT service on May 7th is for everyone, not just Senior Adults and it is not free for anyone. Senior Adults have to buy tickets just like everyone else. You can order Sunday from Mandy. I think it is 6 or 7$, it is not much. June and I may buy tickets for the 80 and up but the rest are on your own.