2 Chronicles 11:13-17: a reflection

13The priests and the Levites who were in all Israel stood with him out of all their territory. 14For the Levites left their pasture lands and their possessions, and came to Judah and Jerusalem; for Jeroboam and his sons cast them off, that they should not execute the priest’s office to the LORD. 15He himself appointed priests for the high places, for the male goat and calf idols which he had made. 16After them, out of all the tribes of Israel, those who set their hearts to seek the LORD, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the LORD, the God of their fathers. 17So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong for three years, for they walked three years in the way of David and Solomon.

When the northern kingdom turned to idolatry, the priests, Levites, and all who set their hearts to seek the LORD left their homes and possessions to come where they could worship him rightly, showing what it means to set the heart on seeking God above comfort. The Levites left their pasture lands and their possessions, the account says, and came to Judah and Jerusalem; and after them, out of all the tribes, those who set their hearts to seek the LORD came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to him. When the kingdom where they lived turned to idolatry and drove out true worship, these people did not simply stay for the sake of their homes and possessions. They set their hearts on seeking God, and left much behind, their lands and possessions, to go where they could worship him rightly. Seeking God mattered more to them than comfort and possessions. This shows setting the heart on seeking God above comfort and possessions. Set your heart on seeking God above comfort and possessions. Those who truly seek God will leave much to worship him rightly. Do not let homes and possessions hold you from seeking God. Let seeking God matter more to you than comfort.

Notice what these people were willing to give up in order to seek God. They lived in the northern kingdom, which had turned to idolatry and driven out the true worship of God. To seek and worship God rightly, they would have to leave: to give up their homes, their lands, their possessions, and move to where God was truly worshiped. And that is what they did. The Levites left their pasture lands and possessions; and all who set their hearts to seek the LORD came to Jerusalem to worship him. They counted seeking God as worth more than their comfort and possessions, and left much behind for it. This holds a searching example. To set our hearts on seeking God may cost us something; it may mean giving up comfort, convenience, even possessions, for the sake of worshiping and following God rightly. The question these people answer is whether seeking God matters more to us than our comfort and what we possess. They set their hearts on seeking God, and were willing to leave much behind for it; their comfort and possessions did not hold them back. We are called to a similar setting of the heart: to value seeking and worshiping God above our comfort and possessions, willing to give up much rather than let comfort hold us from seeking him. We do well to set our hearts on seeking God above comfort and possessions, willing to leave much behind to worship and follow him rightly. Set your heart on seeking God above your comfort and possessions. Those who truly seek God will give up much to worship him rightly. Do not let comfort and possessions hold you back from seeking God. Value seeking God more than what you would have to leave for it.

That is worth taking to heart, for setting the heart on seeking God may cost us comfort and possessions, and we do well to value seeking him above them, as these people left much to worship God rightly. We can let comfort and possessions hold us back from fully seeking God; but these people left their lands and possessions to seek and worship him. Seek God above all. Do not let comfort and possessions hold you back from seeking God; set your heart on seeking him, willing to leave much behind to worship and follow him rightly. Set your heart on seeking God above comfort and possessions, willing to leave much behind to worship and follow him rightly, as when the northern kingdom turned to idolatry the priests, Levites, and all who set their hearts to seek the LORD left their homes and possessions to come where they could worship him rightly, the Levites leaving their pasture lands and possessions and all who set their hearts to seek the LORD coming to Jerusalem to sacrifice to him; for when the kingdom where they lived turned to idolatry and drove out true worship, these people did not simply stay for the sake of their homes and possessions but set their hearts on seeking God and left much behind to go where they could worship him rightly, seeking God mattering more to them than comfort and possessions, which holds a searching example, since to set our hearts on seeking God may cost us something and mean giving up comfort, convenience, even possessions for the sake of worshiping and following God rightly, the question these people answer being whether seeking God matters more to us than our comfort and what we possess, and they set their hearts on seeking God and were willing to leave much behind, so that we are called to a similar setting of the heart, valuing seeking and worshiping God above our comfort and possessions and willing to give up much rather than let comfort hold us from seeking him, so that we do well to set our hearts on seeking God above comfort and possessions.

Lord, when the northern kingdom turned to idolatry, the priests, Levites, and all who set their hearts to seek you left their homes and possessions to come where they could worship you rightly, showing what it means to set the heart on seeking you above comfort. The Levites left their pasture lands and their possessions, the account says, and came to Judah and Jerusalem; and after them, out of all the tribes, those who set their hearts to seek the LORD came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to him. When the kingdom where they lived turned to idolatry and drove out true worship, these people did not simply stay for the sake of their homes and possessions. They set their hearts on seeking you, and left much behind to go where they could worship you rightly. Seeking you mattered more to them than comfort and possessions. Show me what these people were willing to give up in order to seek you. They lived in a kingdom that had turned to idolatry and driven out the true worship of you. To seek and worship you rightly, they would have to leave: to give up their homes, lands, and possessions, and move to where you were truly worshiped. And that is what they did. They counted seeking you as worth more than their comfort and possessions, and left much behind for it. This holds a searching example. To set my heart on seeking you may cost me something; it may mean giving up comfort, convenience, even possessions, for the sake of worshiping and following you rightly. The question these people answer is whether seeking you matters more to me than my comfort and what I possess. They set their hearts on seeking you, and were willing to leave much behind for it. Take that to my heart. Keep me from letting comfort and possessions hold me back from fully seeking you; help me set my heart on seeking you, Lord, above comfort and possessions, willing to leave much behind to worship and follow you rightly, valuing you more than what I would have to give up for you.