2 Chronicles 22:1-6: a reflection

1The inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his place, because the band of men who came with the Arabians to the camp had slain all the oldest. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned. 2Ahaziah was forty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah the daughter of Omri. 3He also walked in the ways of Ahab’s house, because his mother was his counselor in acting wickedly. 4He did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, as did Ahab’s house, for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his destruction. 5He also followed their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram. 6He returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which they had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. Azariah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

The brief reign of Ahaziah is a study in the ruinous influence of bad counsel. He walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, the passage says, because his mother was his counselor in doing wickedly. And it repeats the point: he did evil, for they, the house of Ahab, were his counselors after his father's death, to his destruction. Ahaziah followed their counsel into a disastrous alliance and an early death. The people he listened to, his mother, his relatives, shaped his path, and shaped it toward ruin.

Notice how directly his counselors shaped his fate. Ahaziah did not simply choose evil in a vacuum; he was counseled into it, by a mother and relatives who advised him toward wickedness, and their counsel led to his destruction. The company he kept and the voices he heeded formed him, drawing him down a path that ended in ruin. Who advised him determined, in large part, where he went.

That is a sobering reminder of the shaping influence of the counsel and company we keep. The voices we listen to, the people whose advice we heed, the company we surround ourselves with, shape us, for good or for ruin, more than we often realize. Ahaziah was ruined by heeding wicked counsel. Consider who is counseling you, whose voices you are letting shape your decisions and your direction. Surround yourself with those who will counsel you toward God and good, not away from him, and be wary of the influence of voices that would draw you toward wickedness. The counsel we heed and the company we keep shape our path; choose them with care.

Lord, Ahaziah was ruined by heeding wicked counsel, following his mother and relatives into evil that led to his destruction. Make me wise about the counsel and company I keep. Help me see how the voices I listen to, the people whose advice I heed, the company I surround myself with, shape me, for good or for ruin, more than I often realize. Surround me with those who will counsel me toward you and toward good, and give me discernment to be wary of voices that would draw me away from you. Keep me from being formed toward ruin by bad counsel. Let the voices that shape my decisions and direction be ones that lead me closer to you.