Cracking the Gentleman’s Code

‘Under his direction the altars of the Baals were torn down …These he broke into pieces’ 
2 Chronicles 34: 4(NIV) 

2. Breaking the Altars of the Fathers 

When a seed is planted it goes through the process of germination in order for it to start growing. First the root, then a shoot will come up, through time it will develop and produce after the seed. A seed always produces after its own kind. The Greek word for producing after your own kind is allos, meaning another (of the same kind). In the same way that families are referred to as family trees, generations are a derivative of the seeds planted by predecessors . This illustration is somehow indicative of generational patterns. It takes one generation to plant a seed that will yield fruit that generations to come will reap from it. What you see manifesting in the fruit, is indicative of the seed that gave foundation to the tree. Matthew 7:17 states ‘…every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit’ NIV. When you look at the fruit of your family tree, What do you see? Is the fruit good? What legacy have you inherited? What legacy are you leaving behind? The tree is judged by the fruit it bears. 
I once watched a show where John Turnipseed was featured. His story was that 34 members of his family were incarcerated at a point for murder. Imagine fathers, sons, uncles, brothers and nephews from the same family in prison. Some of the other family members who were not in prison were involved in prostitution, some on drugs, and some were even pimps. After he got born again, he started reflecting on the family he came from. In his immediate family he went to prison, his father, his son as well as his grandson. He started praying for his family and over the years some changed their ways, descendants were finishing high school and the ones in prison received salvation. He might not have inherited a good seed, but he used the principles of God’s word to change the trajectory of his family. 
Just contemplate on the legacy you have inherited and the one you are establishing through the decisions you make daily. ‘For every tree is known by his own fruit’(Luke 6:44). The choices you make will have consequences for now and generations to come. What seed are you planting now and what fruit will be yielded from it? 
 

When reading the book of Chronicles and Kings you come across different Kings of Israel. Some yielded good fruit, some did not. Their reigns are documented as a lesson to the children of Israel of what happens to kings that follow the ordinances of the Lord and those that didn’t. Some of the kings chose to follow foreign gods and their end was so wretched. God took offence at the sacrifices they made on an altar that was set apart for Him. When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, He said ‘You shall have no other gods before me’ (Ex 20:3). God was explicit that He alone is God and should me worshipped. No foreign altars should be established. Why do altars matter to God?