How Will We Be Remembered?

He (Jehoram) was thirty-two years old when he became king. He reigned in Jerusalem eight years and, to no one’s sorrow, departed. However they buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings. (2 Chronicles 21:20 NKJV)

Jehoram

Jehoram was remarkable for the evil that he did while reigning in Judah.  The first thing he did was to kill his brothers and the princes of Israel.  I suppose he thought that they were competitors to the throne.  He was chosen by his father, because he was the first born.  The first born in Scripture usually is set aside by God because the firstborn represents what we are by nature.  Yet, because of the couture of that day, the first born was the leader of the family when the father died; and they got a double portion of the inheritance.  But while God allowed Jehoram to reign, he judged him for the evil that he did.  The people that were his subjects were glad when he died.

How Do We Remember These Names?

Eve was deceived by Satan

Adam was not deceived but loved his bride and did not want to be separated from her.

Job was faithful while suffering

Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord and saved his family

Moses delivered the nation of Israel from bondage

David was a man after God’s own heart

Solomon was the wisest man in the earth but was led astray by foreign women

Ahab was a very wicked king

Jezebel was Ahab’s pagan wife and a very wicked queen

Daniel was faithful in a pagan land

These are just a few Old Testament names that immediately bring their good and bad reputations to mind when we say their names.  Hebrews 11 gives us a list of others.  

But What About Us?

Will the people that knew us say nice things about us at our funerals and mean it?  Will the Lord reward us for good at the judgment seat of Christ?  Will anybody really miss us?  Will our reputations be that we did evil in the sight of the Lord (and yes, professing Christians can do evil just as the religious leaders of the Lord’s day did).

The Lord Jesus

What do we think of when we hear His name?  Many use his name as a curse word.  The religious leaders called Him a deceiver (Matthew 27:63).  Many in our list above came to kill and to destroy.  Jehoram was one of those.  My Lord came to save.  

Please don’t ever speak evil of Him around me.  I show up at a meeting every Sunday designed to worship Him by remembering Him.  We who are saved are expecting His return.  To those of us who believe He is precious (1 Peter 2:7)

Bruce Collins

Meditation for the week of June 8, 2025

If you would like further conversation about the issues in these meditations, contact me at collinsbd@yahoo.com and I will try to accommodate you with a virtual Bible Study.