Today in God's Word—March 2023
East Tallassee Church of Christ
March 5, 2 Chronicles 23
And all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And Jehoida said to them, "Behold, the king's son! Let him reign, as the LORD spoke concerning the house of David....Then they brought out the king's son and put the crown on him and gave him the testimony. And they proclaimed him king, and Jehoida and his sons anointed him, and they said, "Long live the king." - 2 Chronicles 23:3, 11
It was a dark time in the Southern Kingdom. Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel had begun to turn the hearts of Judah's kings and people from the time Jehoshaphat brought her into the royal family of Judah. Jehoshaphat sealed a treaty with Ahab and Israel by taking Athaliah to be the bride of his son and heir apparent Jehoram. After her husband died, Athaliah was her son Ahaziah's counselor. After Jehu killed her son, she seized power and proclaimed herself the queen. To solidify her hold on the throne, she killed all other possible heirs to the crown (including her own grandchildren.) During her reign over the next six years, she plunged the kingdom of Judah into the depths of Baal worship. Judah became as wicked as Israel. The priests, Levites and other faithful followers of the Lord had no say in the affairs of the nation, and were in danger at all times.
Judah needed a hero. Jehoida, the priest and his wife Jehoshabeath took heroic action to save the nation and the Davidic dynasty. Stage 1 of their heroism was secret. Remember that Jehoshabeath hid away one little boy, her nephew Joash when Athaliah was killing all potential rivals to the throne. Jehoshabeath and Jehoida then hid the boy in the temple for six years, waiting for the proper time.
After six years, Jehoida initiated the plan to restore the house of David to the throne. He gathered the Levites from across the country, along with the heads of Israel's houses that
were living in Judah. They formed a partnership with the royal guard to defend the temple and protect the young boy Joash. The plan was based on David's division of labor among the Levites and the original instructions God gave Moses and Aaron about the duties of the priests.
When all the preparations had been made, Jehoida bravely put the plan into action. They brought Joash out of hiding. The priests anointed him as king. They followed the instructions from Deuteronomy to give the king a copy of the law so he could read it, know it and walk in it. Just think how different Israel's history could have been if their kings had read and obeyed God's law!
When Athaliah came into the temple and saw what had happened, she cried, "Treason! Treason!” That was an ironic thing for someone to say who had seized control of the kingdom and proceeded to kill all known threats to her rule. But there stood the one who got away-- Joash, wearing David's crown. Jehoida ordered the guards to execute Athaliah and any who followed her. That was necessary to get the kingdom back on track and turn the people back to God.
So Jehoash began to reign when he was only seven years old. Just as Athaliah counseled her son Ahaziah to do evil, so Jehoida was Joash's mentor, teaching him to do the will of God.
God used the heroic actions of Jehoida and Jehoshabeath to get the kingdom back on track. They protected the boy for six years, and then acted with courage to restore the rightful heir to the throne.
It takes a courageous leader to turn a nation away from wrongdoing and back to God. That kind of leadership sometimes does its work by quiet, behind-the-scenes preparation and planning. It is not easy to take a stand and follow your convictions when the people all around you are going farther and farther away
from God. But whether it is in our families, our churches, our community or our nation, God can still use heroes who know what is right and have the courage to do it.
Copyright © 2023 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Comments