History is piled on top of history in this fabled land, and also “grace upon grace” ( Jn 1:16 NASB). I’m not sure we could call it a selective memory, but how glad we should be to know the things God does “remember” and the things He doesn’t. “Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and […]
Have you prayed without an answer? Pray again! Have you sown without fruit? Sow again! There were ten kings between Jeroboam and Joash of Israel. Under normal circumstances, the deeds of Jeroboam would be long forgotten. If we go back that number of rulers before Queen Elizabeth, we’d come to William of Orange! But in […]
It’s one thing to defeat the big, bad foe on the battlefield, quite another to vanquish the idol inside. We’re introduced at the beginning of 2 Kings 13 to another time link in history’s chain. Earlier we read that “by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash,…the priests had not repaired the damages of the temple” […]
Jehoash warns us that we can carefully invest our whole lives, but lose it all at the last. Watch out! Years went by. Jehoash supposed that the work he had commanded to be done was making progress, repairing “the damages of the temple” (2 Ki 12:5). This was to be funded by revenue coming into […]
There’s a Jehoash (or Joash) in both Judah and Israel. We’ll use Jehoash for Judah and Joash for Israel. The last verse of 2 Kings 11 and the first verse of 2 Kings 12 reveal a remarkable coincidence. “Jehoash was seven years old when he became king” (11:21). “In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash […]
The world still awaits its Athaliah moment. Instead of crying “Treason!” it will be “Alas! Alas!” (Rev 18:10). The reign of wicked Athaliah was a painful time for Judah. The people had no idea that hope lay hidden in the unused temple. But “in the seventh year Jehoiada sent and brought the captains of hundreds—of […]
King-killing has a long history. If you can’t vote them out, you carry them out. But this is different! Regicide is the purposeful killing of royalty. This had marked Jehu’s life from the moment he was anointed by Elisha’s emissary. But the story of this man exposes a glaring flaw in many who declare their […]
Men and nations who execute God’s judgment are nonetheless also judged for their actions. Leaving the Jezreel Valley behind, Jehu and his execution squad headed south for Samaria, capital of Israel and the stronghold of Baal worship. An unfortunate group of 42 travelers met him en route. They were “the brothers of Ahaziah king of […]
All families impact society for good or ill. Ahab’s family were so vile that their house must be razed. The recording of brutality in the Bible is not unwarranted. This is not the gratuitous violence of a Hollywood movie. It’s there to show the horrific consequences of human evil. As Jehu approached Jezreel, Jezebel the […]