| THE GREAT REFORMERS |
| Profiles in courage: the heroic kings of Judah |
| "The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you." 2 Chronicles 15:2 |
| In 1954 Senator John F. Kennedy knew he would spend at least six months flat on his back. Surgeons were about to begin work on him to correct an old war injury. How could he best spend his time? Kennedy decided to use those "idle" hours to research the most courageous individuals in American history. The idea for a book was born. Profiles in Courage went on to win the Pulitzer Prize and become a bestseller. Kennedy's study of courageous people inspired the young senator to model his own life after them. Courage in Judah The book of 2 Chronicles can be seen as a kind of "profiles in courage" for the nation of Judah. The vast majority of kings flunked the courage test. But a few exceptions did stand out, and 2 Chronicles dewlls on them. This book records a form of courage different from what John Kennedy had in mind. Judah was drifting further and further away from the worship of the true God. It took great couage to fight against that trend and call for a return to the law of Moses. Therefore these kings excelled not so much because of military or political strength, but because of their faithfulness to God. All the great reformers described here took over in difficult times. They helped stop, at least temporarily, their nation's tragic slide away from God. Asa: Cleaning Up the Land (chapters 14-16) Asa inherited a country full of crime and anarchy. He led a wildfire revival, with the whole nation uniting behind him in a huge celebration in Jerusalem. Yet Asa became cocky in his later years: he jailed a prophet of God and lived out his last days plagued by war and by disease. He did much good, but |
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