2 Chronicles 25:9 And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel?… The subject brought before us in the text is the weighing of consequences. 1. In a certain sense it is the doing of a fool to disdain consequences; and it is the glory of a rational being that he can calculate, and weigh, and be guided by, consequences. 2. And yet there are cases in which to resolutely refuse to take into view what may be the consequences of our conduct, is heroism; is Christianity in its highest and noblest development. Such was the case with the three Jews in Babylon; Moses; Paul. 3. Amaziah's history will make it plain to us, when we should weigh consequences and be guided by them; and when we should disregard them, and refuse to take them into account at all. He was not wrong in naming the money loss to the prophet. He was wrong in regarding this difficulty as a fatal objection to his obeying God's command. He not only states his difficulty, but seems disposed to act upon it. 4. This brings us to the great principle which should guide all wise Christian people in regard to the consideration of consequences. Wherever we are sure that duty leads, wherever we are sure God bids us go, then that way we should go, whatever and however painful the consequences may be. In all other cases a prudent Christian man will weigh the consequences of what he may think of doing, and be guided by the consideration of them. 5. To disdain consequences is not to be done in a boasting, vainglorious spirit. The true proof of a man disdaining consequences is that he should disdain them, not when they are in the distance, coming, but when they are present realities; when they are come. 6. The prophet's reply to the king's difficulty is worthy of being laid to heart: "The Lord is able to give thee much more than this." This means that it is worth our while to obey God's will; that though at first we may lose by doing so, we shall gain more than we shall lose. This truly is not a disdaining of consequences; it is a fuller and truer weighing of them. It is to look further on: it is to throw eternity into the scale of duty and interest. (A. K. H. Boyd.) Parallel Verses KJV: And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, The LORD is able to give thee much more than this. |
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