Chest of Joash

I was excited to read about King Joash. Not too long ago I heard about Joash for the first time. Our pastor at the time introduced the “Chest of Joash” to our congregation. More about that in a minute. Joash became king at the age of seven. That is just bizarre to me. How can a man(child) really rule at the age of seven? Well, one way is by the instruction of a priest. I wonder if Joash somewhat looked at the priest Jehoiada as a father figure? Joash spent the first years of his life hidden in the temple of the Lord. And now Jehoiada has made Joash king. Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord but the sad part is that it only lasted as long as the priest Jehoiada was living.

Joash instructed the priests to use the money collected at the temple to make repairs. It doesn’t mention in this text when his fund-raising project began but by the twenty-third year of his reign the priests had not repaired the temple like they were told so Joash turned the project over to carpenters and builders, masons and stonecutters. According to 2 Chronicles 24:8 Joash commanded a chest be made and placed outside at the gate of the temple of the Lord. I had to check that out because here in 2 Kings 12 it didn’t sound like Joash’s idea. Anyway, this was how the temple was repaired and restored. All the money brought to the temple was put into the chest and when it was full they would take the money to pay the workers.

I don’t know about you but I am having a hard time keeping up with who is king of where and when. During Joash’s reign, Israel gets a new king. Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, becomes king and he does evil in the eyes of the Lord. The Lord kept Israel oppressed by Hazael king of Aram and Ben-Hadad his son. Hazael also went to attack Jerusalem but Joash appeased him with treasures from the temple of the Lord. Joash was assassinated by his own officials and his son, Amaziah became king.

Now back to Israel, Jehoahaz the king sought the Lord’s favor because of the oppression of the king of Aram. The Lord listened and provided a deliverer but the people did not turn away from their sins. While Joash was still king of Judah, Jehoash, son of Jehoahaz became king of Israel. During Jehoahaz’s reign Amaziah, son of Joash, became king of Judah.

Elisha is back on the scene but for only a short time. Jehoash went to see Elisha because he feared Elisha’s death. Elisha told him that he would have victory over Aram but because Jehoash struck the ground with his arrow half-heartly Jehoash would not defeat Aram completely. It sounds so strange what Elisha asked him to do but isn’t often that there are things we are asked to do that seem strange or unimportant, but later we find out why. Hindsight is 20/20. That is one main reason we should have the attitude that everything we do is for the Lord.

Speaking of strange; what did you think about the man whose body touched Elisha’s bones and was brought back to life?

Back to Judah, Amaziah is king and did what was right in the eyes of the Lord about like his father Joash did. The high places were not removed and the people still sacrificed there. Amaziah killed the officials that had assassinated his father Joash but because of the Law of Moses he did not wipe out their families. Amaziah defeated the Edomites and became proud. This led to his defeat and the wall of Jerusalem broken down by Jehoash. Amaziah had men conspire against him in Jerusalem so he fled to Lachish but was killed there. Then Azariah was made king. In Israel Jeroboam son of Jehoash becomes king during the reign of Amaziah of Judah. I don’t know about you, I had this thought of “oh no, not another Jeroboam.”

A Change of Plans

What is on your agenda for today?

I wonder if some of you are a little like me. When each day begins, in my mind I have a plan for how the day should go. I know the things that must be done (the A-list) and then there are always the B and C lists to follow. I usually have some built-in flexibility (a requirement for my 9-5 job), but sometimes I get rather grumpy and stressed when things don't go as I have planned. I'm learning that my conscience and life are more at peace when I practice better time management, saying "no" more often, and not procrastinating. I have more time to enjoy God, my family, nature, conversations with others, and generally gain more enjoyment from doing other daily activities.

I wonder what Jehu had planned for the day he was anointed as King of Israel? We know he was hanging out with other officers. Maybe they were sharing a meal, plotting for the next battle, maybe going to take a siesta. Whatever his plans were, they drastically changed upon his encounter with the prophet who had a message from God.

I believe we can learn from Jehu's experience that day:

He was anointed
God called Jehu to be the new king of Israel. There was no question when one of the prophets came with God's message and oil for anointing. Did anyone else think that Jehu's anointing stood out? We have only read of a few kings before him being anointed by God.
Lesson to learn: We are also anointed by God as believers in Jesus Christ. God has called us and has plans for us too!

He was willing and ready
Immediately, he told his fellow officers and began conspiring against Joram (previous King of Israel). We don't read about him questioning the prophet or trying to figure out why he was chosen. He was ready to act and he did. He recruited others to follow him, even those who were scouting for the enemy kings.
Lesson to learn: We need to be prepared to respond to God when he calls us. Are we ready to help with a meal, make phone calls to those God brings to our mind, respond quickly when people are hurting from natural disasters, go meet a friend who really needs to talk?

He remembered and trusted God's promises
In several situations, Jehu explained to others why certain things were happening. He knew of God's promises and that helped him and others understand what was going on and why things were happening. He knew of Joram's prophetic death on Naboth's land. He knew why Jezebel's body was torn as it was. He knew that all of Ahab's kingdom had to die. Jehu was paying attention to God's promises and Word (through Elijah).
Lesson to learn: We have at our fingertips a book full of God's promises. The Bible is God's Word to us today. Do we know it? Can we claim God's promises and explain them to others?

He shared his passion and for the Lord with others
He obviously knew Jehonadab and they shared a "ride" to Samaria. My NIV study notes say that Jehonadab was a leader of a conservative movement among the Israelites. (I know... politics even then!) Jehu and Jehonadab were together when Jehu destroyed all of Ahab's family in Samaria.
Lesson to learn: Are we confident enough of God's work to share with others? Do we actively do that when opportunities present themselves? What a blessing to share God's work with our spiritual brothers and sisters!

He rid the land of (some) sin
"Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel" (10:28). He killed all the ministers of Baal, destroyed the temple of Baal, and turned it into a latrine. (I believe that pretty much sums up what God thought of Baal worship.)
Lesson to learn: Maybe Jehu did not fully learn this lesson (more below), but we know that he aggressively eliminated a gross area of sin from the land. He literally killed those who were worshipping Baal and destroyed the Baal temple. We need to identify sin in our lives and aggressively obey God to allow Him to free us from that bondage.

Unfortunately, we also see Jehu's mistakes, but we can learn from those as well.

• He did not turn away from other sins committed by previous kings. The worship of golden calves continued.


• He was not careful to keep the law of the Lord with all of his heart.

May God keep us close to Him. May we be obedient to spend time with him... as one post this week emphasized... not only talking, but also doing plenty of listening. May we be ready to respond when God calls us to act!

I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Praise be to you, LORD; teach me your decrees.
With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth.
I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.
I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.
I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.
~ Psalm 119:10-16

Lord Heal Our Land

One of the sons of the Prophets wanted to go to Jordan and asked him to go with them which he did.  At Jordan, as they were cutting down trees, one of the workers axe head fell off into the water.  He went to the man of God seeking help to retrieve the borrowed axe head.  The man of God cast a stick into the water causing the iron to swim where he would be able to pick it up.

As I was reading this, I was thinking how many times do we need something but think the problem is too small to bother God with it so we try to take care of it ourselves.  God wants us to call upon Him for all things not just when the problem seems too big for us to handle.

When the Syrians came down to battle God was with Elisha.  He asked God to strike them blind and then Elisha led them to Samaria where God opened their eyes.The Syrians were fed and sent upon their way.  How great is our God that He can win battles for us without bloodshed, and to imagine the example set for us in how to treat our enemies.

Four leprous men decided because there was famine in the city that they would go to the Syrians camp and ask for mercy.  God once again caused the Syrians to retreat by making them hear horses and chariots that were not there.  The lepers found the camp empty and went into it and ate and drank.  They carried away silver, gold and raiment and hid it.   They then went back to the city to inform the king of the empty camp.  The king thought it was a trap.  One of his servants asked that they take a few people down to check it out.  They found it so and brought back the food and saved the city.

In Chapter 8 we find Jehoram the son of Jehosophat begins to reign as king.  Like so many kings before him, he did evil in the sight of the Lord.  The Lord had promised David that He would always give a light to him and his children.  So God did not destroy Jordan.  When Jehoram died, his son Ahaziah reigned.  Ahaziah also did evil in the sight of the Lord.

We see evil rulers all around us today.  The Middle East is in an uproar against their leaders.  Men who refuse to follow God.  It still amazes me how one can turn their back on the one who created them and loved them enough to give them the very strength to turn from Him.  God's blessing is so much greater than treasures here on earth.  God tells us if we turn from our wicked ways and serve Him, He will heal our lands.  Will we ever learn from history or will we continue to be like the Israelites of the Old Testament