Day Two: 'Breaking Free' Bible Study Observations

By Stephanie Parker

Today we got a glimpse into the life of Jotham, the son of Uzziah. Uzziah served the Lord until he decided to take matters into his own hands. He tried to take ownership of God's blessings and became prideful. Pride always comes before a fall... As a result of Uzziah's pride, he was stricken with leprosy at the end of his life and his legacy was that of a leper instead of a man of God.

The legacy we leave for our children can be so easily destroyed by our pride. What's more, the way we choose to live our lives directly affects the next generation. Think about it, as children, we consider the choices our parents made and we do one of two things, we either follow in their footsteps or we rebel against them (for better or worse). They say that children with parents that abuse drugs or alcohol are 3-4 times more likely to abuse a substance in their lifetime than a child whose parents abstained. Generational curses and blessings are very real and affect more of our lives than we may even realize.

Can you think of anything that has manifested in the way you live your life because of the actions or character of your parents?

In the days of Uzziah and Jotham, to become a leper was one of the most disgraceful lots in life. You were forced to live in seclusion and were considered cursed. Jotham had to have looked at his dad's life and conclude that he wanted no part of that latter part of his father's prideful decisions that led to him being ostracized and disgraced. So, thankfully, he chose to seek God (2 Chronicles 27: 2) ...But sadly the buck stopped with himself. He didn't allow his faith to affect his people.... he didn't want to ruffle any feathers and ask them to remove their high places where they worshiped their idols (2 Kings 15:35). The result, was a corrupt generation.

So my question for you is this. What happens if we don't destroy our "high places" or the "idols" in our lives and in the lives of our children? What happens if we only live our Christian lives in the confines of an hour of church on Sunday and don't allow God to invade every room of our hearts? What could the consequences be not only for us, but for our children? What legacy will we leave if we don't want to "ruffle any feathers" as a follower of Christ? For Jotham, his desire to not "ruffle feathers" resulted in a corrupt people who worshipped many God's instead of the one true God (2 Chronicles 27:2). Do you want that for your children? I know I don't.

Can you think of what some of your "high places" in your life are? We can often set people, or things up as our idols above God. I know that even before I was married, I set the idea and desire for a husband up above my desire for God. What resulted was me going into marriage with the idea that my husband would fill the role that only God could. It led to disappointment and discontentment until I put God on His rightful throne in that part of my life. You see, anytime we put anything or anyone above God in our lives, it will always leave us wanting.

So here are my questions for you today:
What high places do you need to tear down?
In what areas are you afraid to "ruffle feathers" for Christ?

God, open our eyes to the areas in our lives where we have knocked you off of your rightful throne. Forgive us for our pride and selfishness and our desire to control this life you've given us instead of giving you complete authority to control our hearts and lives. God let your Spirit work through us as we pour into the hearts of the next generation and give us a boldness to proclaim your name from all the high places in how we act and in what we say! Amen!

"Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers’ sin, to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commands." -Exodus 20:4-6

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Stephanie Parker has three main loves: God, her husband, Brett and her kids!  When Stephanie created the Zipadee-Zip in an effort to solve her daughter, Charlotte's, sleep issues, she never imagined that it would become a business.  She is incredibly grateful to God for how Sleepingbaby.com has grown and how it has enabled other families to get the restful sleep they need.   Stephanie's husband, Brett Parker assumed the role of CEO which has allowed Stephanie to focus on what she loves which is the creative side of the company, like product and print development.  After the Zipadee-Zip was featured on Shark Tank, Stephanie went on to create the book Shepherd's Treasure, a Christian alternative to Elf on the Shelf. In her free time, Stephanie loves to spend time with her family and friends.  Her hobbies include acting, singing, painting, learning and speaking foreign languages and going on adventures with her family!  You will find her all summer waterskiing, fishing and laughing with her family on the weekends.