You Can Lead A Horse To Water, But...

 

Isa 1:1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

Isaiah prophesied during the reign of these kings in the southern kingdom of Judah, and I thought it might be instructive to get a feel for the backdrop of these “words from the Lord.” Last time we talked about the military genius Uzziah who was eventually done in by pride, today let’s look at the next king…Jotham.

Jotham was another “good” king in the lineup of the kings of Judah, We are told that he “did what was right in the sight of the Lord.”  “But still the people acted corruptly.” Ahh, now we begin to see the necessity of Isaiah calling the people to repentance. Two good leaders so far during Isaiah’s time, and yet the people acted corruptly. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink!

 

Under Jotham, new fortified cities were built, the Ammorites were defeated, and the national treasury was in good shape. What was the secret to Jotham’s success? We find it in 2Ch 27:6, “So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the LORD his God.”

 

Simply put, he didn’t make his plans and THEN asked God to bless them, rather, he took his plans to the Lord in prayer and waited on His guidance. STRONG lesson there for you and I! This lesson is affirmed for us in in Pr 16:1-3, “The preparations of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.  2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the spirits. 3 Commit your works to the LORD, And your thoughts will be established.

 

Next time you’ve got some plans bursting forth in your mind, why not take the time to run them by the Lord? Then wait and see how things unfold. Isa 28:29  says this about the Lord and His guidance, He is: wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance.

 

Plans are all about tomorrow, aren’t they? Then why not put them in the One who holds tomorrow in His hands: “Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. (James 4:13,14)