Jehoahaz Reigns in Israel

                                                                             2 Kings 13:1-9

 

October 11, 2021

 

 Jehoahaz Reigns in Israel

In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years.   He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from them.   And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them continually into the hand of Hazael king of Syria and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael.   Then Jehoahaz sought the favor of the Lord, and the Lord listened to him, for he saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Syria oppressed them.   (Therefore, the Lord gave Israel a savior, so that they escaped from the hand of the Syrians, and the people of Israel lived in their homes as formerly.  Nevertheless, they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, which he made Israel to sin, but walked in them; and the Asherah also remained in Samaria.)   For there was not left to Jehoahaz an army of more than fifty horsemen and ten chariots and ten thousand footmen, for the king of Syria had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing.   Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz and all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?   So Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria, and Joash his son reigned in his place.

 

How easy it is to lose sight of the heart of our Lord and our God in a fallen world.  Is the Church that different from Jehoahaz and the people of Israel?  Are you and I as followers of Christ keeping our eyes on Jesus?  Have we been molded by the world's deception?  Israel was the apple of God’s eyes, a chosen people, not because of anything special but because God chose them to be special people and He would be their King.

 

And He used Moses the meekest man to walk on the earth to lead His people out of Egypt, and God provided food that lasted as long as needed, clothes that did not wear out, and their shoes also, and yet after the fire from heaven by night to give keep them warm and the cloud by day, and the parting of the Red sea, so that they walked on dry ground, and watched God destroy the army of Egypt, they often wanted to go back to be slaves in Egypt.

 

After Jehoahaz sought the favor of the Lord and the Lord showed grace to him and Israel, the people never gave their hearts and minds to the Lord.  The Church keeps wanting to go back to Egypt, they want to put trust in men and government, and yet many who are faithful are crying out to our Father and God for mercy, will the Church go the way of Israel?

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice