Text: 2 Chronicles 22-24 & Various
We're taking a short break from our series on faithfulness.
In I Chronicles 16:8 it says, "Oh, give thanks for the LORD! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples!"
Our main text gives the story of Joash, a king of the southern kingdom of Judah. Remember, all of the kings in the northern kingdom of Israel were evil, while some of the kings of Judah were good. Joash started off as a really good king, but ended up a really bad king.
When the king of Judah died, Queen Athaliah usurped the throne. She had all the king's sons killed. Jehoiada, the priest, and his wife, Jehoshabeath, saved young Joash's life. They hid him until he reached seven years of age.
At that time, Jehoiada brought Joash to his rightful place of rulership. Queen Athaliah heard about it and entered the Temple saying, "Treason! Treason!" Jehoiada gave the order to kill her and anyone who followed her outside. This was accomplished, and Jehoiada directed the temple of Baal and its priest to be destroyed.
Now the Temple of God was in disrepair, so the Levites were instructed to quickly restore it. However, they did not follow instructions concerning timing. What happened? Although the worship of God was restored, not everyone agreed. So, they stayed quiet and waited for an opportunity to reverse things.
Think about roaches. When it's dark, they come out and operate under cover. If someone flips on a light, they scurry for their hiding places. That's pretty much how evil operates. When the light of God is shining, evil goes underground.
When Jehoiada died at the ripe old age of 130, some leaders came to King Joash and suggested they bring back the worship of Baal. Joash agreed with them. How does one so blessed, spiritually aware, and having a heart for the things of God get to such a place? When Jehoiada's son came to correct him, he had him executed. Imagine that - he killed the son of Jehoiada, the one who rescued and hid him from Queen Athaliah.
Who were these leaders who came to Joash? Perhaps they were the ones unhappy with following the Lord. Once Jehoiada died, they saw an opportunity to manipulate the king.
Evil lurks and creates situations with a goal that hides its true intent. Daniel, Gideon, and Jesus also came up against those who said one thing but had a hidden agenda.
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We can learn much from the Word of God and history, but maybe you're facing problems in your daily life. For solid Bible teaching that's relevant to the dilemmas facing all of us, come on out to Zoe Christian Fellowship on Sunday at 10:00 AM. We're located at 1111 Easton Rd. (Route 611), in Warrington, PA.
We look forward to sharing the love of God with you.
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