the Jigsaw of Joash #2

                  …the Rise and Fall of Athaliah

   “If you faint in the day of adversity,
your strength is small.”

Proverbs chapter 24 verse 10

 

   I hope you can remember the dramatic events leading up to this post?

   Athaliah, the daughter of the wicked Israeli King Ahab, married into the Judean monarchy. Through manipulation she controlled the reigns of her husband and then her son. Upon her son’s murder, she seized power, killing the remainder of her family, thus ensuring no possible competition.

   This evil lady- the Queen Mother and now supreme Queen- had destroyed the line of David, thus finishing and nullifying God’s promise to bless the whole world through David’s seed.  Or so it would seem…

 

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   Now, Athaliah’s daughter Jehosheba was very unlike her mother. Surprisingly she had married a priest (this was during a time when priests of the Lord were hated and rejected by the Kings and Queens). It must have taken great courage for the Princess to marry a mere Jewish priest. In fact, it is likely that her parents disowned her.

   During this period of Judean/Israeli history names beginning with either a ‘J’ or an ‘A’ seem to have been in fashion. Jehosheba’s husband was no exception: Jehoida the Priest!

    Its hard to imagine how difficult life must have been for Jehoida and Jehosheba. Jerusalem must have been filled with Baal-worshipers and leaders, corruption and cruelty. Their decision to follow the Lord God must have opened them to persecution and abuse.

   Seeing the courage and holiness of this couple helps  us to understand why they risked their lives to stop Athaliah’s massacre. When they discovered her attempt to eliminate the Royal family, they managed to rescue one young baby boy. Apparently, Athaliah had placed her victims together in one place, somehow Jehosheba got in there and snuck out with Joash, whom she then hid with his nurse in a bedroom. After escaping from the palace, they hid Joash (now the only surviving direct-descendant of King David) in the Temple for six whole years!

   When Joash was seven years old, Jehoida decided the time had come to act: he contacted the military leaders of Judah. It appears that Athaliah was distinctly unpopular- the commanders were eager to assist Jehoida in overthrowing the wicked monarch. You can read about the clever rebellion in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. To cut a long story short, the captains surrounded the Temple and the young King and had an impromptu Coronation! 

   Athaliah heard the racket of the ceremony (trumpets and shouts of “Long live the King!). She came to the Temple to see what was happening. Seeing Joash dressed up like a King and the Captains surrounding him, she tore her clothes and wailed “Treason! Treason!” (ironic for the woman who earlier had murdered almost the entire royal family).

  She was dragged into the palace via the horse’s entrance and killed unceremoniously by the soldiers.

    Wishing to start the new King’s reign well, Jehoida made an agreement with God: the people and the King would serve the Lord God and no-one else. The crowds rushed to the Temple of Baal and utterly destroyed it. In contrast, they set watchmen over the Temple of the Lord and offered sacrifices to God with singing.

  King Joash was marched to his new palace and throneroom!

“So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet after Athaliah had been put to death with the sword.”

 

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  So, what can we learn from Athaliah’s defeat and Joash’s rescue?

  Firstly, God never abandons his people and his promises never will fail. Read that last sentence again. That is the truth: God cannot and will not fail. He will never let his people be defeated.

  Secondly, ‘Be sure you’re sins will find you out.’ Look at Athaliah.

  Thirdly, the godly actions of seemingly weak and insignificant Christians can be used by God to change history. Because Jehosheba married a priest, and because that priest refused to abandon his God, that same God used them to preserve the line of Jesus Christ.

 

  So far this story could be straight out of a Disney film! Underdog boy is rescued from wicked Queen and eventually becomes a good King himself.

That’s all about to change….

  To find out more read the Jigsaw of Joash #3 (coming soon)

the Jigsaw of Joash #1 Summary Post

 

  Realising that my previous post- the Jigsaw of Joash #1- was, perhaps, tough reading, I have decided to write a short summary.

  the Jigsaw of Joash #1 aims to set the scene regarding the life of Joash.

  Joash was a King of Judah. Years before he was born, the Kingdom of Israel (originally ruled by David and then his son Solomon) had split. 10 of the 12 tribes rebelled against God’s chosen King and started the northern Kingdom of Israel. The 2 southern tribes formed the Kingdom of Judah.

  The Kingdom of Israel always had a rocky time. Eventually, after 7 Kings and 3 assassinations, Ahab became King. He was a wicked ruler, as were his sons. Ahab was killed, his wife was trampled to death, his elder son died due to disease and his youngest son was executed in a coup. His daughter, Athaliah, however, survived and married into the Judah royal family.

   Athaliah led her Judean husband/King astray badly. He acted wickedly and rejected the Lord God. After his death, she then manipulated her son, the new King, convincing him to assist her Israeli brother in a war against Syria. He was murdered after only 1 year, by an Israeli military commander.

   Finding herself the most senior female in the Judean royal family, Athaliah ruthlessly murdered her sons and grandsons, leaving her route to power clear. She seized the throne and became Queen of Judah.

   It would appear that the evil Queen Athaliah had utterly destroyed the ‘line of David’. The Lord God had promised to send a Messiah- or Saviour- who would be descended from King David. However, at this point in the story, it looks as if any hope of an annointed God-sent King has been exterminated.

   Looks can be deceiving….

   Read the Jigsaw of Joash #2 (coming soon) to discover what happened.

   (alternatively, and preferably too, turn to 2 Chronicles chapter 22 or 2 Kings chapter 11!)

the Jigsaw of Joash #1

…the world of Israel and Judah

A friendly disclaimer: This blog includes some confusing family trees. The 2 Kingdoms of Israel and Judah were joined together by the marriage of Athaliah. If you start feeling giddy from confusion, please have a look at the genealogy posted at the bottom of this post!

 

   ‘He shall build a house for my name. He shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will establish his royal throne in Israel forever.’
(1 Chronicles 22:10 ESV)

 

    Joash arrived to the throne of Judah in a dark and wicked age. The twelve tribes of Israel had split years before, after the rash actions of a foolish young monarch. The ten northern tribes rose up in rebellion against the ruling House of David (the line of the promised messiah and saviour of Israel). Judah, alongside her smaller neighbour Benjamin, stayed loyal to David’s grandson. War broke out between the North and South.

   55 years, 7 Kings and 3 assassinations later and Ahab was ruler of the Northern tribes: Israel. Encouraged by his wicked wife, Jezebel*, Ahab murdered and stole his way through his reign. 1 Kings describes Ahab as ‘more [wicked] than all who were before him’. Jezebel, for her part, bought Baal worship to Israel, along with its priests and followers; not stopping at this, she also attempted to exterminate the prophets of the Lord God.

  The bible tells us a story about Ahab. The King saw a neighbours vineyard and coveted it. Upon the owner’s refusal to sell, Ahab stayed in his palace and basically sulked. He refused to eat and moped in his bedroom. Jezebel saw her husbands unhappiness and arranged for the vineyard’s true owner to be arrested on a false charge and to be executed by the judgement of corrupt magistrates. Once this had happened, she seized the vineyard and its produce.

   Ahab was killed in battle and, a few years later, his wife Jezebel was thrown from a window, trampled by horses and then her carcass was eaten by dogs.

   The couple’s sons, Ahaziah and Jehoram, each took their opportunity at running Israel.

   Ahaziah lasted only 1 year and we don’t know much about Jehoram’s reign, except that he was as evil as both his brother and his father had been.

   Perhaps the most cunning and devious of the siblings, however, was a daughter. Athaliah managed something only dreamt of by her brothers- she managed to seize the throne of Judah….

 

Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Judah…

 

   As Ahab’s sons were worshiping idols and performing wicked deeds, Jehoram of Judah (not to be confused with Jehoram of Israel!) was leading his own people into wrongdoing. Upon the death of his godly father, he went out and massacred all of his brothers.

   He only reigned 8 years, but they were 8 years of wicked and foolish leadership. Led astray by his wife Athaliah- the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel- he built shrines to the false gods.

   During Jehoram’s reign, the vassalage of Edom revolted. Jehoram led his commanders and chariots against the revolutionary force, but, without the Lord on his side, suffered a devastating defeat. The western city of Libnah, stirred on by Edom’s success, also rebelled against Jehoram and his reign of wickedness. The book of 2 Chronicles records further raids and pillages by the Philistines and the Arabians, who plundered the capital and kidnapped the King’s sons and wives (except, unfortunately, his evil wife Athaliah).

  Because of his evil rule, the Lord bought a plague on Judah. Jehoram himself was killed by a ‘disease of the bowels’ which led to his intestines bursting forth; he ‘died in great agony’. The Judahites were glad to see him go, 2 Chronicles records:

“His people made no fire in his honour, like the fires made for his fathers… and he departed with no one’s regrets. They buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the Kings.”

  Despite Jehoram’s reign the Lord still kept his covenant with King David: there would always be a son of David on the throne in Jerusalem.

   After Jehoram came his son, Ahaziah (otherwise called Jehoahaz). Ahaziah wasn’t the oldest son, but his brothers had been killed during the Arabian raids. He was only 22 years old, and reigned 1 year. Sadly, like his dad, he was counselled by his wicked mother, Athaliah. Athaliah’s brother, also called Jehoram(confusing, I know!), was now King of Israel. Jehoram (of Israel) used his sister’s connections to convince Ahaziah to join him in a war against Syria.

  The Israel-Judean war against Syria provided to be the downfall of Jehoram of Israel (the son of Ahab) and also Ahaziah of Judah (the grandson of Ahab, on his mother’s side). Jehoram was badly wounded, he was rushed to the Israeli city of Jezreel. Ahaziah went to visit his recovering uncle and found himself stuck in the middle of an Israeli coup. Ordained by God, Jehu (the Israeli military commander) bought justice upon the house of Ahab by executing them all and seizing the throne. Ahaziah and his retinue were caught up in the rebellion and were also killed.

  Thus we reach the most alarming and shocking event in the whole affair.

  Athaliah, the late-King-Ahaziah’s mother**, had been secretly manipulating the Kings of Judah for 2 generations. Now, however, she saw the chance to become Monarch for herself. Like her husband had done, she murdered all of the remaining male royal family- sons and all.

  The entire line of David was extinct.

  Athaliah, the wicked Queen, had destroyed the promised line of the Messiah.

  The fore-promised Saviour and Annointed King had been thwarted by a power-crazed murderous woman.

  Could this be the case?

  Surely not?

  And…. where does Joash come into all this?!

 

  Find out in the Jigsaw of Joash #2  (coming soon)

  (alternatively you can read 2 Chronicles chapter 22/ 2 Kings 11!!)

 

 

*You’ve heard the insult Jezebel? This gives you some idea of who the woman was.

**also daughter of Ahab, wife of Jehoram of Judah, and sister of Jehoram of Israel!

the Jigsaw of Joash

…an introduction

  Those of you who read Eden to Heaven, my last post, may have wondered about the partial fulfilment of God’s promises which occurred during the height of the Israeli monarchy. Israel is a great and powerful nation, under mighty and wise Kings, with a complex and uber-spiritual system of sacrifices. What possibly could go wrong?

“Under God’s command, the Israelites capture Canaan, a land of milk and honey. The Israelites seek a man to be their King, God allows them one…Israel has a King, a Royal City, a Temple, a High Priest with sacrifices and a Land (all God’s promises appear to have been fulfilled). While they continue to worship God, he protects them from their enemies.”

    And yet, only a few centuries later, we find Israel conquered, the Temple destroyed, Jerusalem burnt and the people scattered across the east.

    Had God’s promises backfired? Did the ‘Jewish-experiment’ fail? Or had God been using Israel as a picture of a greater truth- a greater fulfilment (King, City, Temple and Nation)- still to follow?

   I think you can guess the answer!

   Nevertheless, I want to tell the story of one particular Jewish King. I want to examine the life and rule of Joash. Joash’s story is a typical Disney-style underdog story…until the end. I’m hoping that by taking a closer look at the Kingship of men, we can better understand why King Jesus had to humble himself and become a man.

   I plan to tell the Jigsaw of Joash in three parts. 

   Part 1, shortly to follow, will set the scene. As we examine the Kings and Queens who preluded Joash, including his father and grandfather, we will better understand the ‘who’ and the ‘how’ of our subject.

Eden to Heaven

 

   Here is a bible overview which I have used to help understand the basic outline of the Bible story. It certainly  isn’t exhaustive, there is much left unsaid. I have chosen to follow the basic theme of Sin-Salvation.

  If its any help, use it;  if not, discard it!

God’s Creation- Eden

God creates the universe, all things point to him and are for him. Man is the pinnacle, made in God’s image

The Fall: Mankind rebels against God and his Kingship. God promises that sin will be dealt with and that Satan- the deceiver of this world and enemy of God- will be crushed by a man.

God’s People- The Line of Abraham

God makes a covenant with a man- Abraham. Through Abraham’s descendants mankind will be blessed. God grants Abraham and his sons and grandsons a strong faith in his promises.

God’s Nation- Israel’s Journey

God renews his covenant with Abrahams descendants- now a multitude, albeit in captivity- and frees them from slavery to the Egyptian Pharaoh. God gives the Israelites a special name to call him, Yahweh, the Lord. He shows his holiness by giving them the Law.

The Israelites lack trust in God and regularly reject him and disobey him. They want to return to Egypt and are scared of continuing their journey into the land that God has promised them. God shows his mercy towards them by giving them a system of sacrifices, whereby an innocent lamb could be slain to atone for their sins.

God’s Nation- The Kingdom of Israel

Under God’s command, the Israelites capture Canaan, a land of milk and honey. The Israelites seek a man to be their King, God allows them one- with a warning about human pride. Israel has a King, a Royal City, a Temple, a High Priest with sacrifices and a Land (all God’s promises appear to have been fulfilled). While they continue to worship God, he protects them from their enemies.

As God warned, the Kings lead the people into wickedness and sin. They reject God and God’s laws. Enemies, both old and new, arise. This Kingdom cannot be the fulfilment of the Lord’s promises. Eventually, God sends the Israelites into exile amongst their enemies, but he promises that they will return one day. He also says that they will be a blessing to the places where they are exiled.

God’s Promises- The Exile

Even while in Exile, some of  the Israelites (or Jews) are given positions of responsibility and power in government. The Lord promises to establish a great new nation, with a great royal city, ruled  by a wonderful King. He also tells of someone who will be a sacrificial lamb, who will atone for the Israelites sins once and for all.

Judea (previously Canaan) comes under Greek and Roman control. God restores his people, partially, to Judea. The Temple is rebuilt and sacrifices restart, although much less grand than before. The people and their leaders lack real conviction or trust in God’s promises. They are bullied and crushed by Roman oppression.

God’s Salvation- Messiah

The man promised by God comes! He is the Son of God, the ‘Messiah’ (or anointed one). He is the sacrificial lamb, who will atone for the sins of Israel. The Lord Jesus Christ described himself as the way, the truth, the life. He is the fulfilment of the sacrifices, the temple, the high priest and the King. He died on cross, thus paying the punishment deserved by his people. He then proved that he was God, by rising from the dead and going to Heaven.

God’s people are a new ‘Holy Priesthood’ who spread the good news of Jesus Christ and the salvation of God. The promises to Abraham about ‘the whole world’ being blessed is fulfilled, as many non-Jews enter the Church (the spiritual family of which all believers and followers of Christ are part). Satan continues to attack them, but ultimately Jesus has won and Satan will be crushed, as was promised in Eden.

God’s Kingdom- Heaven

The Lord promises to return and judge the world. After this he will create the promised new and literal Kingdom (which already exists spiritually). He will rule over his people for all eternity from his royal city. This is the certain future in which we hope. We know that Christ will return in power and glory and will perfect all things.

 

Amen.

Warriors’ Code

   Sometimes reading through the Pentateuch, the first 5 books of the Bible, can be a difficult exercise. I have been following the Oxygen reading scheme this year, and have recently been reading Deuteronomy.

   In many ways, Deuteronomy is a re-run of earlier content in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, but the 5th book actually looks, in great depth, at the laws and statutes of God. As Christians we believe in following the 10 Commandments and the moral laws of the Old Testament. Many of the laws in Deuteronomy, however, are national laws given to the Israelites to wisely govern their nation. While these laws might not be 100% applicable to our everyday lives today, they still show us the heart and majesty of our Lord God who gave them.

    One law, repeated at least twice, really made an impression on me. It has three-fold consequences. This law concerns warfare. God knew that Israel would have to wage war in her future; he gave this law to be spoken when Israel had gathered together her army ready for battle,

“Then the officers shall speak to the people, saying,

‘Is there any man who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it.

And is there any man who has planted a vineyard and has not enjoyed its fruit? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man enjoy its fruit.

And is there any man who has betrothed a wife and has not taken her? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man take her.’

And the officers shall speak further to the people, and say,

‘Is there any man who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go back to his house, lest he make the heart of his fellows melt like his own.’”

(Deuteronomy 20:5-8 ESV)

   As I see it, this law shows both great power and also great love. On the one hand, no Israelite army needs to concern itself about numbers or the strength of its infantry. Why not? Because the Lord God is the General! The Lord is in the vanguard and is fighting for his people! Who needs to be afraid of chariots and horses, when the almighty Lord God is on their side! Israel did not need to be worried about building big armies or fielding powerful battalions: God is greater than any Division, Corps or Nation.

  The New Testament puts it like this, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

  The second result of this law is love. The Lord loves his people and doesn’t wish to see them in distress or suffering. The later repetition of the statute helps to confirm this,

    “When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be liable for any other public duty. He shall be free at home one year to be happy with his wife whom he has taken.”

(Deuteronomy 24:5 ESV)

   The Lord is not a cruel taskmaster, rather he wants those who love him to be happy and praiseful. Enjoying the simple and honest pleasures given to us by God, with thanksgiving and praise, is honouring to the joy-giver: God.

  But, there is a third and perhaps more startling side-effect of this law. There has to be someone who will go out to fight the enemy; the whole of Israel cannot simply go home! This law teaches real selflessness. It cannot have been easy to stand in the battle lines of Israel while your newly-married friend and your brother who had just closed his contract for a new house both went home. You would have the responsibility of fighting to defend the happiness of your brothers.

   Can we complain about God’s requirements? Can we complain about his law teaching us to be self-sacrificial? Hardly! The Lord Jesus Christ humbled himself and became a man. He gave himself up to be crucified on a cross- the most brutal of Roman execution tools. He self-sacrificed more than anyone else in the whole of history. Why did he do this? Because he loved us so much that he wanted our sins to be forgiven and our guilt to be destroyed.

   This law shows God’s power and might against even the most well equipped and trained warriors of this world; it shows God’s love for his people and his desire for their happiness; and it also shows the self-sacrificial love to be shown between Christian brothers and sisters.

   Deuteronomy can teach us something after all!

The Gamaliel Question

  This was a question posed to us at Church on Sunday about a Bible event, and it certainly gets the brain cells thinking! Please take this opportunity to vote in the poll on the right-hand side of the blog page.

  I shall set the scene…

  The Apostles have been preaching and teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout Jerusalem. The Sanhedrin, or Council, have arrested them and are deciding what to do with the gang.

  A wise chap called Gamaliel stands up and says,

    “So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice.”
(Acts 5:38-39 ESV)

   Do you see what he is saying? Basically: let them get on with it, if they are wrong then eventually they will fizzle out anyway, but if they are right then we shouldn’t be fighting them!

   My question…. Was Gamaliel wise in saying what he did?

   Here are a few contextual pointers to assist in your decision making:

• Just recently, 2 guys who had been trying to start rebellions had died and their rebellions had fizzled out and their followers left them. Maybe Gamaliel’s tactics worked?
• The Council, or Sanhedrin, was responsible for guiding the everyday Jews’ spiritual welfare, they had the important job of explaining the Bible (or the Law and Prophets) and teaching people what to do.
• Earlier that same week, the Sanhedrin had arrested the Apostles, and, miraculously, they had disappeared from the middle of the prison, without any guards noticing! But, instead of hiding, they went straight to the city centre (the Temple) and carried on preaching!
• The Sanhedrin did actually agree with Gamaliel and released the Apostles, but only after cruelly beating them first.

   So, here is your chance to vote! What do you think?