2 Kings 15:32

2 Kings 15:32 says, In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel began Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah to reign. In the second year of the reign of Pekah in Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah, or Azariah as he is also referred to as, began to reign in Judah.  Uzziah had reigned for fifty-two years and was a good king for the most part, but he was still only sixty-eight when he died.  Matthew Henry points out that none of the kings of Judah lived as long as David did, with the possible exception of Asa.  Neither were any of them referred to as men after God's on heart as David was.  I don't believe that our relationship with Jesus Christ determines how long we will live in this old sinful world, but I do believe that it will determine how much joy we have in life.  Verse thirty-three adds, Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok.  Jotham was twenty-five when he began to reign.  That was fairly young, but not as young as some, and he should have been mature by then.  As I have stated before, the age that we are when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord is not what is important.  It only matters that we do accept Him, and then we need to be totally obedient to Him for the rest of our life, but we will usually fail to do so.  Jotham ruled for sixteen years, which meant he was still fairly young when his reign ended.  Verse thirty-four continues, And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord: he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done.  Jotham continued to do what was right in God's sight as his father had.  As Christians, we need to set a good example for our children to follow and pray that they will do right in God's sight, which begins by accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord.  Verse thirty-five continues, Howbeit the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burned incense still in the high places. He built the higher gate of the house of the Lord.  The people of Israel were still offering sacrifices and burning incense in the high places though, which God had not ordained for them to do.  Jotham built a gate higher in the temple to make it easier for the people to come into the temple from the high places.  Matthew Henry says that since he could or would not stop the people from worshipping in the high places that Jotham was attempting to make it easier and more inviting for them to come into the temple instead.  We cannot modify the gospel to make it easier for people to accept, but at the same time we should present it in as appealing a way as possible under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Verse thirty-six states, Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?  Once more, we are told that the rest of the acts of Jotham, like all the others, were written in the chronicles of the kings.  I believe that God is going to make note of what we do as Christians and even though it will not affect our salvation, we will one day have to answer for our failures to be obedient to God.  Verse thirty-seven adds, In those days the LORD began to send against Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah.  During the time of the reign of Jotham, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah began to be at war with Judah.  Though we are told that God sent them, I still believe that it was more that He removed His protection from Judah.  After we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, though we will still face temptations, I don't believe that they will be sent from God.  Verse thirty-eight continues, And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.  After Jotham died and was buried with his ancestors, his son Ahaz became king.  As stated before, as Christians, our King, Jesus Christ will never change.