2 Chronicles 21:16-20: a reflection

16The LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and of the Arabians who are beside the Ethiopians; 17and they came up against Judah, broke into it, and carried away all the possessions that were found in the king’s house, including his sons and his wives, so that there was no son left to him except Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons. 18After all this the LORD struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease. 19In process of time, at the end of two years, his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness, and he died of severe diseases. His people made no burning for him, like the burning of his fathers. 20He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. He departed with no one’s regret. They buried him in David’s city, but not in the tombs of the kings.

This passage records the grim end of King Jehoram, whose reign had been marked by idolatry, violence, and the forsaking of God. Invaded and stripped of his possessions and sons, struck by a lingering illness, he dies after only eight years on the throne. And the epitaph the account gives him is one of the saddest in Scripture: He departed with no one's regret. No one was sorry to see him go; his people made no mourning for him; he left no love behind.

Notice that stark summary of a life: he departed with no one's regret. Jehoram had held great power, but he had used it for himself and against God and others, and when he died, no one grieved. His was a life that blessed no one, that left behind no love or gratitude, only relief at its ending. Whatever he had gained in his years of power, he had not gained a single heart that was sorry to lose him.

That sobering epitaph is not meant to frighten us, but to turn us toward a better way of living. A life can be spent so entirely on oneself, so lacking in love toward God and others, that its passing brings no grief. But a life poured out in love, in kindness, in blessing others, is missed and mourned, because it gave something to those it touched. Ask what your life is leaving behind: love and gratitude, or only yourself. Live so that you bless those around you, so that your life gives something to others rather than only taking. A life of love is missed when it ends; spend yours in loving God and others, so that you leave behind not indifference, but gratitude and love.

Lord, King Jehoram, who used his power for himself and against you and others, died with the saddest of epitaphs: he departed with no one's regret, leaving no love behind. Turn me from that way of living toward a better one. A life can be spent so entirely on oneself, so lacking in love toward you and others, that its passing brings no grief. But a life poured out in love, in kindness, in blessing others, is missed and mourned, because it gave something to those it touched. Help me ask what my life is leaving behind: love and gratitude, or only myself. Help me live so that I bless those around me, so that my life gives something to others rather than only taking. Let me spend my years loving you and others, so that I leave behind not indifference, but gratitude and love. Make my life a blessing to those it touches.