I recently watched a movie where a rather conniving cousin almost thwarted a would-be king. It was a holiday romance with a royal twist: a riddle that needed to be solved to ensure the rightful heir was installed on the throne. The riddle was solved by a precocious young woman who, you guessed it, marries the new king.
But on the way to their happily ever after, they did stumble. Lies that had been told for generations came to light, and for a while, it seemed that there was no unwinding what had been done. Deception threatened their happiness in multiple ways, but a clue hidden in the riddle unlocked the victory for the true king.
This section of 2 Chronicles shares some ideas with that plot: a series of familial murders threatened to keep a rightful king (Joash) from the throne until a precocious princess stepped in to save the day.
The stories of Jehoram, Ahaziah, Athaliah, and Joash are hard to read. Jehoram inherited the throne but killed all his brothers to ensure it would be his. He was a terrible king who didn’t honor the Lord. He “built high places in the hills of Judah, and he caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves, and he led Judah astray” (2Chronicles 21:11). The Lord sent the prophet Elijah to tell Jehoram that he would die of a horrible intestinal illness. Then his son Ahaziah became king, and he led the people toward idols and away from the Lord. After his death, Ahaziah’s mother, Athaliah, took over and killed all of Ahaziah’s heirs to prevent them from stealing the throne from her.
Except that Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, took Ahaziah’s infant son, Joash, and hid him in the temple for six years. Like Moses in the reed basket, a baby was saved to carry the promise forward. Jesus was saved when His family fled to Egypt, and Herod sought to kill all the baby boys under two years old.
So goes the family of Jehoram, and so goes Israel. Israel kept forgetting God, worshiping idols, and breaking God’s law. And while God showed His judgment to them and they suffered through exile, God left a remnant of hope through the line of David. A good king—a forever king—King Jesus was promised. Through all the mess, tragedy, and epic family drama, God kept His promise to Israel and established His forever kingdom through their True King.
This devotional was updated on March 22, 2023 at 11:04 a.m. An earlier version of this devotional incorrectly identified Jehoshabeath as Ahaziah’s daughter.
It just shows that all the wickedness in our world now is not new. God keeps reaching for the lost and saving. Jesus is the answer to all of this and even in the Old Testament, God is pointing to a more perfect way.
I want to thank everyone that commented and are praying for me. It literally brought tears. I am humbled.
My takeaway this morning is ‘God always makes a way’!! Praising Him for His way and praying for all us waymakers!! Happy Wednesday sisters.
Amen
I agree we need strong leadership, led in faith! Joining you all in prayer!
GM- I am thankful for the devotion that explains the scripture a little better for my scrambling mind, it felt like reading back in history class a little! The verse that stood out was, like some of you said, was that nobody cared when he died. Wow. That’s harsh. Can you imagine no one caring when you died, or even glad? I’ve long thought that I may not do GREAT things by the world’s standards, or even in our church circles…but I do know that I AM here to sew into my son and grandchildren, and my husband, and all those I come into contact with in everyday life! Those are things that I can do for the kingdom of God and make an impact. When I die, I want people to say…She LOVED JESUS, and lived her life that showed that! It’s not such an easy thing to do in today’s crazy world. Christians are being scorned and demonized that we are bad, and being squeezed to the outskirts of mainstream. Better get ready for it, the world as we knew it is changing quick unless there is a major turn. It can happen, but Jesus did tell us the world would hate us so it shouldn’t shock us, yet it does after growing up in the 70’s and 80’s (I was in the bible belt). Let’s stay strong. We have God on our side!!
I got good news with my foot, that I can use the boot only and start eliminating the crutches slowly! What a difference it makes already!! Praise God!! I was sad that Prison doesn’t allow crutches, so I thought I wouldn’t be able to go to the prison ministry for the next 5 weeks! But now I will be able to continue going (after today!) Praise God!! Thank you for your prayers!!
-“but for the sake of the covenant the Lord had made with David, he was unwilling to destroy the house of David since the Lord had promised to give a LAMP to David and his sons forever.”
Thank you Lord for keeping your covenant in the midst of evil. Thank you for sending your son to be our Lamp. May we let his light shine in the midst of turmoil in this world and our lives.
Praying for you!