The Two Boy Kings

There were many kings over Israel from the days of Solomon until the time when they were carried away captives to Babylon. The kingdom was divided soon after Solomon’s death, and a king reigned in Jerusalem over the kingdom of Judah, and another in Samaria over the kingdom of Israel. There were a few kings who tried to follow that which was right, but the most of them were men who were given to idolatry, and who did not help the people to remember the true God. The Lord sent them prophets to remind them of Him, but they were often driven away or ill treated. There were a few good kings of Judah, such as Asa and Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah, and among them were two who became kings when they were very young.

When Ahaziah, King of Judah, was killed, his mother, who was a wicked woman, killed all his sons, that she herself might be queen. All but a baby boy who was hidden with his nurse in the temple, and tenderly cared for by the good high priest and his wife for six years. Then when he was seven years old the priests and the Levites brought out little Joash and anointed him king. They formed a guard all about him, and when the high priest had crowned him there was a great cry around the temple of “God save the King.”

The old queen heard this and came to see what it meant. When she saw the little Joash standing by a pillar with a crown on his head she cried out that the people were plotting against her.

The people did by her as she had done by her grandsons-they took her life.

Then there was great rejoicing. The house of Baal was torn down, and the Lord’s gold and silver brought back to the temple, and the good high priest began the worship of God in the temple after the manner of former days.

When Joash was old enough to understand he longed to make the temple beautiful again, for it was falling into decay, so he called for money throughout his kingdom. Everyone was asked to drop a silver piece in the chest that was set at the temple door, and more than enough was brought to re-build the temple, and while the high priest lived the king worshipped there with all the princes of Judah, but as soon as he died they went back to idol worship, and killed the new high priest in the court of the temple because he told them that the Lord would bring great trouble upon them. And so it came to pass in less than a year the Syrians came and killed the princes, and took away the gold and silver treasures of the temple. Joash himself became very sick, and his own servants took his life as he lay helpless.

It was quite different with little Josiah. He was only eight years old when he was crowned King of Judah, and he had no one so good as the high priest Jehoida, who was the teacher of Joash, to help him to do right. Even the holy writings that were given to Moses were lost, and the people did not ask to hear them read. But the Lord had not allowed His word to be destroyed, and when Josiah was having the temple repaired the high priest found the rolls of parchment on which the law was written, and sent it to the king by a servant of the king who was a writer. Josiah was full of interest in the ancient book, and wished to know what was in it, and his servant read it to him.

When he found that he and his people were not living as God had commanded in the law, he sent to inquire of the Lord what He would have them to do, and they went to Huldah, the prophetess. She told the king’s messengers that a great calamity would fall upon the kingdom because they had turned away from the true God, but because the king’s heart was tender and full of desire to follow the Lord, it should not come during his lifetime.

Then the king called all the chief men of Judah, and the people of the city, both great and small, with the priests and the Levites, to the Lord’s house, and there he read in their hearing the word of the Lord. It was like a new book to the most of them, but they were ready to follow the king in making a solemn promise to the Lord to do His commandments, and bring back the true worship.

So they had a great feast of the passover, to which all the people came with offerings, and there was no passover in all the history of the kings of Judah and Israel that was like this one that was held in the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah.

After he had prepared the temple for worship, and had destroyed the altars of the idols, he went out to meet the King of Egypt in battle and was killed, and there was a great mourning for him in all the land, for he had been a good king-kind to his people and faithful to his God. Jeremiah the prophet made a great lamentation for him, for he knew that one of Josiah’s sons would be the last king of Judah, and that for their sins the people would be driven out of their own land to be captives in Babylon for seventy years.

http://kids.ochristian.com/Children-in-the-Bible/The-Two-Boy-Kings.shtml

An Exercise in Faith

“He went out to meet Asa and said to him, ‘Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you’.” — 2 Chronicles 15:2

Asa had a great start. The third king of Judah, he did what was “good and right in the eyes of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 14:2). His shining moment came when he was the underdog in a battle against Zerah the Cushite, with his million men and his three hundred chariots.

Asa did what any good God-fearing King would do. He prayed: “ . . . LORD, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, LORD our God, for we rely on you” (2 Chronicles 14:11). And in expressing his total reliance on God, he indeed merited miraculous salvation.

That’s when Azariah the prophet relayed this message to him:  “The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.” Azariah explained to Asa that if he continued to rely on God, then he would continue to be victorious over any enemies that came his way. But if he strayed from the Lord, then surely, God would abandon him in kind. Asa was encouraged by these words, but later seemed to forget them.

After more than a decade of peace, Asa found himself confronted by the threat of war once again. This time it was his own brethren – the northern kingdom of Israel – who provoked him. Asa reacted very differently than he did when facing battle with the Cushites.

Instead of another heartfelt prayer, Asa relied solely on the help of men. He made an alliance with the King of Aram, and together they were able to defeat the Israelites. Asa was victorious but he was also chastised by the prophet Hanani for not having proper faith. Indeed, Asa was to pay a heavy price for his faithlessness.

A few years later Asa developed a disease in his feet – a disease that ultimately spread and claimed his life. Jewish tradition teaches that because Asa did not rely on God when he faced battle, it was as though he had no feet. He had no faith, and so he had nothing on which to stand. Since he did not make use of his spiritual feet, his physical feet were taken away.

The story of Asa is a tragic one. It reminds us that faith is something that needs to be cultivated throughout our lives. When we are young, it can be easier to believe in God and His providence. Then life happens, and it can get harder. Sometimes it’s because of our success that we forget God, and sometimes it’s because of our defeats that we cause our faith to falter.

Having faith is not like running a sprint; it’s a marathon. We need to exercise our faith right up to the finish line.

http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/an-exercise-in-faith-2

Word to the Wise

^“The king answered them harshly. Rejecting the advice of the elders, he followed the advice of the young men and said, ‘My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions’.” — 2 Chronicles 10:13-14

There was no great moment of drama when the kingdom of Israel was split into two. There was no spectacular event that caused the rift that had been prophesied years earlier. Though it came about suddenly, just after King Solomon died and his son Rehoboam began to rule, it was the result of unintended consequences.

The people of Israel had approached their new king with a request to ease the heavy burden of taxes that Solomon had levied upon them. Rehoboam’s harsh response had repercussions that he had not expected. Just like that, most of the kingdom broke away, leaving the new king with only Judah and Benjamin within his jurisdiction. This was a historical moment; one that would have ramifications for the rest of time.

If we zoom in on the defining moment that set the wheels in motion, we find at the heart of the matter a choice that Rehoboam had to make. It wasn’t about whether or not to lessen the burden of taxes, but whose advice to listen to and take. First, Rehoboam had consulted his elder advisers who had recommended that Rehoboam yield to the peoples’ request as a sign of goodwill and a promise of good things to come.

But then Rehoboam conferred with a group of young men who had grown up with him. Their recommendation was completely the opposite. Rehoboam’s decision to go with the advice of the young over the old is ultimately what led to the disastrous split in the nation of Israel.

There is a story told about a famous rabbi who found himself sitting next to an atheist on an airplane. The two had a very cordial conversation about evolution and creationism. All the while, the rabbi’s son kept coming to check on him, bring him water, and ask if he needed anything. The atheist couldn’t help but notice and he asked the rabbi how he had been able to raise such an unusually respectful child in today’s irreverent society. His own son was nothing like that!

The rabbi explained that because he and his son believed that the world was created by God who then revealed Himself to man, his son saw him as being one step closer to revelation, to wisdom, and one step closer to God. He gently explained to the atheist that since he and his son believed in evolution, his son saw him as one step closer to being an ape!

Rehoboam made a grave mistake when he discounted the wisdom of those with more years and experience than himself. It cost him dearly. We can learn from Rehoboam, and when given the opportunity, seek the advice of those who are older and wiser.

http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/word-to-the-wise-2