2 Kings 11-12
A Brand Plucked From the Burning
Intro Wesley Story see
notes
Intro: At this point in our
study of the Book of 2 Kings the writer Flip/flop No. & So. Kingdoms
A)
B) Focus of Ch.11-12 is on
C) Now the Kings of
D) But in
1) One major mistake He sought an alliance with the
ungodly family of Ahab
E) His Son Joram married Ahabs daughter
Ath/a/lyiah
F) We see the Fruit of that union come into full force
in
1) Athaliah
ends up being a very wicked woman just like her mother Jezebel.
Thru the influence of
Ath/a/lyiah Joram turned from the Lord walked in the ways of Ahab
A)When he took over the throne he had all of his siblings murdered Secure himself on the throne
B) Well Joram died and his Son Ahazaih became King and
he was just like his father
C) When Ahaziah died we are
told in 2 Chron.22 that there was no one strong enough in Ahaziahs house to
retain the kingdom
D) SO Ath/a/lyah decided to fill the void. RDV.1
Ath/a/lyah seizes the throne
and murdered all of her grandchildren in the Process
A) Brutal picture of the depths of Human
depravity
She
was one wicked woman!
B) Instrument of Satan: Always a descendant of David
on the throne.
C) Thru her Satan attempted to wipe out the line of
David so that the Savior would not be born.
Down through the ages the devil has tried to eliminate
the Jews.
A) In
B) Haman, in the Book of Esther, attempted to
exterminate the Jews but was foiled.
C) Satan was behind each of these attempts.
1)Now here is this woman
Athaliah attempting to exterminate the line of David.
D) Although
she thought she had killed all of them, she missed one, as we are told
here. RD
V.2-3
Jeho/sheba was the ½ sister
of Ahaziah {different mothers 2 Chron. 23 Wife of Jehoiada the priest
A) She along with her husband was part of a godly
remnant in
B) We learn in this Chapter as well as in 2 Chron 24
Ath/a/lyah had promoted Baal worship in
C)But these 2 were part of that remnant that remained
true to the Lord
1) Always a remnant!
This little-known woman &
her husband had an important place in Gods plan of the ages.
A) Through their courage and ingenuity, they preserved
the royal line of David through which the Messiah would come.
B) They stand out to us as an example of a godly
couple that made a stand for the truth.
1) Courageous thing hiding little Joash
C) The Church needs couples like this today who will
make a Stand Model godly marriage
A) Make a Stand to save a Child
B) Little Joash would grow up in the temple
1) Church is a good Shelter
a) Kids from
the world
b) Drugs /
lust pursue righteousness
C) SO they hid little Joash
for 6yrs 6yrs they waited for the right time
1) For six yrs they endured this wicked woman
Tenacity is more than endurance. It is endurance combined with
absolute assurance and certainty that what we are looking for is going to transpire.
Tenacity means more than just hanging on, which may be only exposing our fear
of letting go and falling. Tenacity is our supreme effort of refusing to
believe that our hero is going to be conquered.
Chambers
Be Spiritually Tenacious
One reason Athaliah was able
to reign for six years was that no one
knew any alternative.
A) Many people live under the reign of Satan because
they dont really know there is a legitimate king ready to take reign in their
life.
B) King Jesus
RDV.4-9
Jehoiada
chose the Sabbath for the day of the coup, because that was the day when the
guards changed their shifts.
This would make it easier to assemble two groups of
guards at the temple at the same time without attracting attention.
RD V.10-12
The weapons he took of King
David were more than 200yrs old now.
A) Their use was symbolic rather than military.
B) Reminders of David. so that everyone involved would
recognize the significance of what they were engaged in.
C) This went beyond getting a wicked woman off the
throne this was about
1) Getting the rightful Family on the throne
the Testimony: The kings son had to come with the Word of God.
A)Joash appeared before the people holding the scrolls
of Gods Word.
B) Deuteronomy 17:18 says that the king should have
his own copy of the Scriptures.
This is the basis for the
British custom of presenting the monarch with a copy of the Bible during the
coronation service.
Monumental moment Autistic B ball player
RD V.13-16
So the over throw was complete the people rejoiced
they were tired of Ahaliah
RD V.17
This was a new movement in
the nation a priest rather than a prophet following Gods law to bring about
reformation
A)Jehoida makes a covenant between the Lord, the King,
and the People.
B) The People recommitted themselves to the Lord
1) Because
the central issue was not
C) Same is true for us Who is on the throne in your
Life.
D)What follows next are the reforms led by Jehoida
RD V.18- Ch.12 v.1-3
He
reigned forty years in
A) Joash fell short of full commitment and complete
godliness,
B)but he did advance the cause of God in the
C)
Except V.3 The high places were not taken away: 1) This indicates that Joash implemented a half-way reformation in
D) The people were so fondly and strangely addicted to
the high places
Secret sins out of
sight out of mind
A)But always there when you want to indulge the flesh
B) Problem with the kings they didnt deal with the
High places
1)Stopped short of total Holiness
Bb) And the Lord seems to acknowledge it over and over
reminder - THOSE
THINGS MATTER.
1) Little secret sins not a big deal
C) God mentions the high places over and over to say
to us What you do in secret matters
1) If it is good He says I will reward you openly!
2) Not good he sees and takes into account.
Now we are also told here that Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days in which Jehoiada the
priest instructed him:
A)This implies that when Jehoiada died, Jehoash no longer did what was
right in the sight of the Lord.
B)After the death of the godly high priest, Joash fell
into the hands of godless advisors who turned his heart to Canaanite practices.
C)
One thing Joash did do was institute the
repairing of the temple! RD V.4-5
A) Now the Priests were compensated thru
the giving of the people.
B) They oversaw the collections
1) Joash wasnt suggesting that they stop being
compensated but he wanted them to begin to set money aside for the temple
repairs
C) Problem was the Priest were taking the money that
was supposed to be used for the temple and using it for other things RDv.6-8
So Joash has to rebuke the
priest for their neglect of the temple
A)It is hard to believe that Jehoida would be guilty
of such a thing
B) But 2 Chron.24 tells us that he died at the age of 130 yrs old
1) So by this time he was an old man who perhaps did
not have the energy to lead this Charge
C) As I thought about this today: It made me think of
the things we know we are to do we put off
1) We say I will get to that tomorrow
D) News for you the older we get the harder it gets
follow thru on those things Less energy
1) Dont say tomorrow Seize
the Day! RDv.9-16
So godly responsible men were
chosen to over see the temple repairs and the funds invested.
A) Those supervisors were Chosen to distribute the
money to skilled workers who were responsible for the actual work
B) This whole process involved a major change in the
way that the temple was viewed.
C) It was not a private royal chapel under the
financial and personal control of the King
1) Nor was it a religious institution run by the
priest for their own benefit.
D) It was the house of God
it was the place where people met w/ the Lord
1) God wanted them to invest in it Financed thru
their giving.
E) And the Priest were to be supported thru the money
brought in from the trespass offerings
1) And the sin offerings
Well things were going well but at this point Joash
makes a Critical error. RD V.17-21
How could someone who
started so well end so bad?
A)Key When Jehoida died
B) Indication that Joash didnt have a deep
relationship of his own with the Lord
C) His walk was connected to Jehoida
What about you: A wife? A Husband?
A) A Parent
Kids leave the Church after they get older why?
B) Often dont have their own walks
C) For some people their
walks are attached to the ministry.
1) Serving and teaching doing good because it forces
them to be in the word
D) But then when they stop their study
1) Stop being in the ministry- Problem
E) There is no depth to their walks
Joash Rescued from Certain death
But so have we Make the most of it for Jesus!
They may never stop talking about what they witnessed Wednesday at
Greece Athena's final home boys varsity basketball game of the season.
And that would be a good thing.
Some in attendance at Athena's game against Spencerport will say
it played out like a Hollywood script; like "Rudy," or
"Radio;" stories about a long-shot and a water boy who inspired their
teams by not letting their shortcomings stop them from giving their all.
In what Jason McElwain did during the waning moments of the
"Senior Night" at Athena, there may be much more.
Jason is the trainer for the Athena varsity team. He is also
Autistic But he is a dedicated trainer.
So dedicated is Jason, he
has not missed a game or practice in the three years he's served the team.
Wednesday for "Senior Night," Athena coach Jim Johnson
had Jason suit up for the game. He sat excitedly on the bench in his school
colors, number 52; an acknowledgement of Jason's commitment to the program.
Athena moved to a comfortable 20-point lead against Spencerport.
With the home crowd calling and classmates waving signs of support, Johnson
called down the bench to number 52. Jason, headband and all, headed out onto
the court.
"I just wanted to score a basket," McElwain said.
"Im just sitting there saying `Let him score just one
point,'" his mom, Deb said.
With the help of his teammates, Jason stared down a shot from the
corner. The entire Athena bench and every person in the gym rose.
Jason missed... by six feet.
Moments later, Jason grabbed another pass and let it rain. The
shot, from beyond the three-point arc, swished straight through. In unison,
those in the gym screamed.
In the game's final four minutes, Jason shot five more times from
behind the three-point arc. He made them all. Each time, teammates on the bench
would hold their heads and scream, fans would stomp, tears would flow.
Jason scored 20 points. He set an Athena record with a half-dozen
three-pointers. His teammates and friends stormed the court. They raised him on
their shoulders... wide-eyed and in awe of what they had seen. They asked Jason
for his autograph.
" I was focused on the game. You gotta be focused on the game.
Not anything else," Jason said.