Queen Elizabeth II was 25 when she became queen of England on February 6, 1952. She has reigned from that time to the present which is 55 years. She will be 81 on April 21. In my whole lifetime, there has only been one British monarch. How much longer will she be queen? Her successor is Prince Charles who is already 58 years old. If and when he becomes king, he will not reign as long as his mother did and it is very likely that many of us, particularly those who are younger will see a queen and two kings in our lifetime.
We have been studying the kings in Chronicles and often we also have records of their age at ascension to the throne and how long they reigned. For example, last week we talked about Jehoshaphat who was 35 years old when he began to reign and reigned 25 years, which means that he was about 60 when he died. His son, Jehoram, was 32 years old when he began to reign, but only reigned 8 years, which means that he was 40 when he died. Ahaziah succeeded him at the age of 22 years, but reigned only 1 year. After him, his mother Athaliah took the throne, even though she had no right to it, and reigned for 6 years. Following her, Joash was put on the throne at 7 years old. He reigned for 40 years, which would make him about 47 at his death.
The story we will look at today is the story which takes place during the reign of Ahaziah, Athaliah and Joash. In a period of only 8 years there was 1 queen and 2 kings. Why such a quick succession? Some have suggested that, for the most part, those kings who followed God ruled much longer than those who were wicked. How was God at work at this time? What can we learn from this story?
Someone mentioned to me that they were enjoying the series on II Chronicles because the stories are like “Lord of the Rings” or something like that. They are stories of kings, battles, intrigue, defending what is right, victory of the right and defeat of what is evil. Our text for today is II Chronicles 22-24 and has to do with these kind of things, particularly things like defending what is right. Although it is a story which has to do with these three royals, it is primarily about a priest who served God in those days.
So let us look at the story in these chapters.
You may recall from last week that Jehoram followed Jehoshaphat as king and that he died, as we noted, “to no one’s regret.” After his death, Ahaziah became king. He was the youngest son of Jehoram and would not normally have been king, but because all of his brothers had been killed in a battle with the Philistines and Arabs, he was the next in line.
His mother was Athaliah and so he was of the family of Ahab who had been the ungodly king of Israel. In 22:3 it says that “He too walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother encouraged him in doing wrong.” That is not what we would normally expect of a mother, but this was a different mother. She had much of her parent’s evil influence in her and so also influenced her son in the same godless direction. One of the things which he did wrong was to join Joram, king of Israel, in a battle with Ramoth Gilead, the same mistake his grandfather had made. It was at this time that God had appointed a man by the name of Jehu to kill all the descendants of Ahab because of their great evil. Because Ahaziah was also of the family of Ahab and because he had gone to join Joram in Samaria, he was also killed after only one year on the throne. You can read more of that story in II Kings 8-12.
After his death, his mother Athaliah took the throne. In order to consolidate her position, she killed the whole royal family. One son of Ahaziah, however, was only one year old and his aunt, the sister of Ahaziah whose name was Jehosheba hid him, some suggest in a room where mattresses were stored. This aunt was married to a man by the name of Jehoiada who was high priest in the temple of God. When the coast was clear, they moved this little child to their apartment in the temple and hid him there. He was named Joash and was now the only true heir to the throne. I can imagine that hiding a child, especially as he got older, must have been a difficult thing to do. They were able to hide him for 6 years and when he was 7 years old, Jehoiada, the priest, thought that it was time for a coup against Athaliah and to proclaim Joash as king. After one Sabbath, he kept all the priests who were going off duty at the temple a little longer. Those who were coming on duty were also there. He also invited some members of the royal guard to come to the temple without their weapons. There were weapons stored in the temple which had been put there many years before when David was king. These men took these weapons, surrounded the temple and then within the temple surrounded Joash and proclaimed him king. We read in 23:11 that they “brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him; they presented him with a copy of the covenant and proclaimed him king.”
When Athaliah became aware of what was happened she screamed “Treason, Treason!” Jehoiada had told the guards that anyone who followed her should be killed and if she tried to come into the temple they should kill her before she got there because they should not kill her in the temple. This is what happened. They went out and killed her and all the people were glad that she was dead and that Joash was now king.
After this, there was a change. We read in 23:16 that “Jehoiada made a covenant that he and the people and the king would be the Lord’s people.” It was a time of spiritual renewal and restoration of the way God intended things to be. We read further that they destroyed the temple of Baal and killed the priest of Baal.
Although he was young, Joash was a good king because Jehoiada helped him reign. It was his passion to restore the temple building. It had been many years since it had been built and so was in need of repairs and under Joash those repairs were carried out. Under Joash, and because of Jehoiada’s influence, temple worship was regular and continued throughout that time.
After many years, Jehoiada died and after that Joash did not do so well. He listened to his officials and began to abandon the temple worship and the nation began to worship the Asherah poles and also idols. God’s anger rose up against the people and he sent prophets to warn them about the evil of what they were doing. One of those prophets was Zechariah who was Jehoiada’s son. When he warned them, they arrested him and at the orders of Joash, the king, he was put to death. Because of this, God sent the army of Aram, an army much smaller than that of Judah, against them and they defeated the army of Judah because God was not with them. In this battle, Joash was wounded. When a number of his officials saw him wounded, they conspired against him and killed him.
What happened in this story? Why the change in Joash? What can we learn about faithfulness to God from this story?
There are several verses in II Chronicles 24 which strike me. The first is 24:2 where it says, “Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years of Jehoiada the priest.”
During that time, there were two particular signs of faithfulness to God. One was the energy which Joash put into restoring the temple. His passion was the restoration of the temple, which speaks of a desire to see the purpose of the temple upheld. The temple was to be a place to meet God and it had been built by Solomon for this purpose. The other thing we notice is that during this whole time the sacrifices in the temple were regularly observed, as God had intended them to be. We read in 24:14, “…As long as Jehoiada lived, burnt offerings were presented continually in the temple of the Lord.”
What is quite clear, however, is that it was the influence of Jehoiada which made the difference in the behavior of Joash. Jehoiada had saved him from death by snatching him from his cradle and hiding him. It was Jehoiada who had influenced him powerfully in his early years and turned him towards God. Both II Chronicles 24:2, 14 show us that this influence continued as long as Jehoiada was around.
This brings us to the first lesson which this passage teaches and that is the power of a godly influence. Jehoiada was a man who was faithful to God and because he was so closely connected with Joash, he was able to influence him for good.
We need such godly people – both men and women - in the church as well. There will always be people who are weak in faith and struggle and as long as they are influenced by people who are godly, they will remain true to God. People of godly influence are very important to our Christian walk and also to the life of the church.
Characteristics Of A Godly Leader
What are the characteristics of such a godly leader? We see several important characteristics in the life of Jehoiada.
One was that he had a zeal for God’s will to be done. The reason that Jehosheba hid Joash, the reason that Jehoiada supported hiding Joash and the reason that he later led the coup to make Joash king was because he knew that it was God’s will that a descendant of David should be king over Judah. At the time when he made the covenant to set Joash up as king, he said in 23:3, “The kings son shall reign, as the Lord promised concerning the descendants of David.”
So today also those who will be godly leaders and examples of faith will need to be people who have a zeal for God’s will to be done. They will be people who have a zeal for holiness, a zeal that God’s name will be glorified and that it will be made known in all the earth.
Can you imagine the upheaval and fear which must have prevailed during the time when Athaliah was killing all the royal descendants? Can you imagine the power Athaliah had as she continued to reign. For Jehoiada to go against her by hiding Joash and later making a covenant to make Joash king must have taken tremendous courage. Even so today the person who will be a godly leader must have courage to stand up for God in the face of a world which opposes God and to remain true in a context in which even God’s people are sometimes lukewarm.
As Jehoiada made the covenant to put Joash on the throne, it must have taken some significant planning to know how to do it so that it would not fail. Of course, they did have God’s will behind them, but we can also see wisdom in the planning. So also in our day, those who are godly leaders will need to be people who are filled with the wisdom of God. Proverbs teaches us how we can be people of wisdom.
Another characteristic of a godly leader is that he must remain faithful to God. We see such faithfulness in Jehoiada as well in 23:16 where we read, “Jehoiada then made a covenant that he and the people and the king would be the Lord’s people.” His faithfulness arose out of his own heart, but was also communicated to the people around him and it was his heart’s desire to encourage others to faithfulness.
Finally, we see in Jehoiada a faithfulness to God’s word. In 23:11, when Joash was proclaimed king, he was given “…a copy of the covenant…” Jehoiada knew that if Joash was to be a good king he would have to spend time in the Word of God. Nothing has changed and today those who will be godly leaders will also need to be people who know that God has spoken to us in His word and that it is His word that is the primary means by which we learn and discern the will of God.
It is my joy to realize that many of you here today are such godly leaders. You are people who love the Lord, are faithful to Him, love His word and have the will and courage to stand for God’s way. You are valuable people in this church. Your influence is powerful. As others, particularly young people, watch you and see how you live, you encourage them with your faithfulness. Others are watching and following, so remain faithful! If you see one of these faithful godly leaders who has been an encouragement in your faith, let them know. We need such people and their influence in the church. We need to appreciate their influence.
I would like to challenge others of you to aspire to be such examples. It doesn’t matter whether you are in a position of influence or not. It certainly doesn’t matter whether you are perfect or not because none of us are. Being an example is about letting God mold you into His image. As the life of God fills your life, it will spill over into the lives of others. If you are satisfied to coast and live at a minimum level, you will never have the joy of influencing others towards God. Are you willing to let God use you? What a powerful influence you could have!
Some of you, especially young people, need to observe and follow such leaders. I would encourage you to find someone who has the characteristics mentioned above and follow them. Ask them to be a mentor or guide to you in your spiritual life. Observe how they live. Ask them how they live and why they live this way. If you do, God will bless you with strong spiritual growth.
The influence of a godly example is significant!
I used to think that if you got a teenager through high school without serious rebellion, they would be OK. Now I know that it is actually the first or second year out of high school in which young people are most vulnerable. They are on their own without the direct influence of their parents. It is a time when decisions are made about life’s direction. It is at this point that some reject their parent’s faith.
It seems to me that, although it happened much later in life, a similar thing happened to Joash. It was when the influence of Jehoiada was not in Joash’s life that he rejected God’s way.
We see this spiritual rebellion in II Chronicles 24:17,18 where it says, “After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them. They abandoned the temple of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and worshiped Asherah poles and idols.” Because of their guilt, God’s anger came upon Judah and Jerusalem. We read of that judgment in II Chronicles 24:24 which says, “Although the Aramean army had come with only a few men, the Lord delivered into their hands a much larger army. Because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers, judgment was executed on Joash.”
How did this spiritual failure happen to a man who seemed to be doing so well?
The first thing we notice is that soon after Jehoiada had died, Joash began to listen to his officials. These officials represented the culture of the people around Judah, the culture of pagans, the culture of the northern tribes of Israel. They flattered him and he became intrigued by their flattery and their influence and sadly, as it says in 24:17, “he listened to them.”
Although we would be accurate in criticizing Joash for being weak willed, we have to be aware that we too could easily be influenced by the culture around us. The culture in which we live has a much more powerful influence on us that we sometimes want to admit. I am not saying that we should reject the culture or hide from the culture, but we do need to be aware of the influence of the culture around us. If we are not aware that we are being motivated to sexual promiscuity, desire for more or marginalizing God, then we will be in danger of being seduced by the culture. We need to be aware and critical of the culture in the sense that we need to know it’s seductive power and reject that influence by a deep commitment to God.
I would speak particularly to the young people. I would challenge you to be fully aware of the different ways in which you are being shaped by the culture around you and evaluate and reject the destructive parts of that influence.
The second step in the path towards destruction was the rejection of the worship of God. In verse 18 we read that they “abandoned the temple of the Lord.” Remember that the temple had been built as a place to meet God and to worship God. By abandoning the temple, they were abandoning God. Joash forgot all that he had learned about God in this place. He forgot all the kindnesses which Jehoiada had shown him. This was a rather huge step away from following God.
I would suggest to you that we can fall into the same trap today. Some people are seduced by culture to the extent that they don’t have time for church any more. Whatever reason people have for not going to church, it is a significant step away from God. My heart goes out to those of you young people who move into the city. It is hard for you to find a church to attend. You don’t know people and some of the churches are too large and you get lost or too small and you get smothered. Yet not finding a church in which to worship God is a dangerous step that could be a path away from God.
Last week we saw the importance of worship as a weapon to defeat Satan. If you don’t go to church, you miss an opportunity to join with others in gaining victory through corporate worship.
In the story of Joash we see another step which was involved in his rebellion against God. In 23:11, we noted that when he was made king at age 7, God’s word was given to him. Throughout most of his life and reign, he had followed it. But now, he rejected it. When the prophets began to speak God’s word of warning to him, he did not listen. Even worse, when Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, gave a prophetic word from God, we read in 24:19-21 that Joash gave the orders to have Zechariah killed. We read in 24:22, “King Joash did not remember the kindness Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him but killed his son, who said as he lay dying, ‘May the Lord see this and call you to account.’”
Today there are so many forms of entertainment and it is very tempting to fill our lives with them. Sometimes it is hard to spend time reading the Word of God and it seems like a boring thing to do. Yet there is no other book in all the world that is God’s Word to us. Other books, other forms of media may be entertaining, but only God’s word can give us life. In spite of all the proliferation of media from ipod to DVD to magazines, it is still God’s Word that is the world’s best-seller every year. If we neglect the Word of God, we place ourselves in great danger of falling away from our faith. That is why I encourage young people to attend Bible school after high school. That is why all of us must take time daily to read and even study the Word of God!
The consequence of allowing himself to adapt to the culture, of neglecting the worship of God and abandoning the Word of God and so rejecting God was serious. God’s judgment came upon him. The text specifically says that the Aramean army was a much smaller military force, yet they defeated Judah. What was the reason for this defeat? II Chronicles 24:24 gives the answer. God was against them and did not help them and in fact helped the enemy to defeat them.
The Bible talks about enjoying the “pleasures of sin for a short time” in Hebrews 11:25. Sometimes the ways of our world look so attractive, but the word “short time” in this verse in Hebrews is real. Sin is only pleasurable for a “short time.” The rejection by Joash of the way of God resulted in his premature death under the judgment of God. Rejecting God, living in ways of rebellion against God, always, I will say it again, always leads to death. In the case of Ananias and Sapphira it led to immediate physical death. That does not often happen but it still always leads to death. Often that “death” is in the form of difficulty and trouble and brokenness. Always, the wages of sin is eternal death as it says in Romans 6:23.
Instead, let us learn the lesson from the life of Joash. Let us be aware of the potential influence of the culture around us. Let us give ourselves to worship and never neglect it. Let us fill ourselves with the word of God.
We may think that these warnings are relevant to the young people of this church and they certainly are, but remember, at this time Joash was not a young man any more. So the warning is to all of us. The call is to faithfulness!
Where do you find yourself?
If you have made it your life’s goal to be a faithful follower of God, and even if you know that you have not done it perfectly, but it has been and is your heart’s desire, be encouraged by the significance and importance of being a godly example. Keep on in faithfulness because God is using you to bless others.
Perhaps you feel weak and you know that you are susceptible to temptation and struggle. Then I would encourage you to find one of these godly examples and spend time with them and allow their lives, their conversations, their encouragements to feed you and strengthen you in your faith walk.
If you have slipped away from God or know that you easily could, be aware of the steps which lead in that direction and avoid them. Do not let the world squeeze you into it’s mold. Keep on worshipping and keep on studying God’s word. The path of rebellion is not worth it, it always leads to destruction.
May God help us to walk in faithfulness!
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