The Child of the Promise; Is 7-10

May the mumbling commence!

When we are surrounded, who do we look to for rescue?  When Ahaz, king of Judah, was being surrounded by the kings of Samaria and Aram, he refused to look to the Lord for a sign.  Read about it from Isaiah 7:10-17 –

Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, "Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights." 

But Ahaz said, "I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test." 

Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also?  Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.  He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right.  But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.  The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah – he will bring the king of Assyria."

Ahaz did not want to put the Lord to the test.  It sounds noble, doesn’t it?  These were the same words that Jesus would speak to the devil during Jesus’ temptations in the desert.  But these words of Ahaz were not the correct ones.  Ahaz was being tested.  The Lord wanted to see if he would come to the Lord for rescue.  Ahaz failed – epically. 

The word of the Lord that followed is familiar for the Christmas season – “The virgin will be with child and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel [God with us.].”  What was the reason for the testing of Ahaz?  Read from Isaiah 10:1-4 –

Woe to those who make unjust laws,

to those who issue oppressive decrees,

to deprive the poor of their rights

and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,

making widows their prey

and robbing the fatherless. 

What will you do on the day of reckoning,

when disaster comes from afar?

To whom will you run for help?

Where will you leave your riches? 

Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives

or fall among the slain.

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.

The Lord was testing Ahaz and the people of Judah because they were committing injustice and oppression.  They were depriving the poor of their rights and justice from the vulnerable – the widows and the fatherless.  As for the impending disaster, whom will Israel turn to, to whom will Israel run?  Unfortunately, the time of testing did no good.  The Lord’s anger was not averted nor was the strong hand of justice removed. 

The pattern continues today.  Trials from the Lord come, and we look everywhere except where we should be looking – to the Lord.  The promise of God has not changed – indeed, it has been fulfilled in Jesus.  Read the reminder from Isaiah 9:6-7 (another Christmas passage):

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

Of the increase of his government and peace

there will be no end.

He will reign on David's throne

and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it

with justice and righteousness

from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out

Without God, Mission Impossible; Is. 6, 2 Chron. 28

May the mumbling commence!

It is frightening to stand in the presence of the living God.  Ask Isaiah, and he will tell you.  Read the response of Isaiah to being in the Lord’s presence from Isaiah 6:5-10 –

"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty." 

Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.  With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." 

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"

And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" 

He said, "Go and tell this people:

'Be ever hearing, but never understanding;

be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' 

Make the heart of this people calloused;

make their ears dull and close their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

hear with their ears,

understand with their hearts,

and turn and be healed.’"

Have you ever thought you were hot stuff and then ran into someone much better than you?  Did that person embarrass you in front of your friends?  You probably were singing the blues to.  “Woe to me!  I am ruined.”  Not only am I unclean I am also living in the midst of people who are unclean. 

Just when we recognize the filthy nature of our attitudes that guide our thoughts, words, and actions, the Lord provides a painful cleansing.  How about a glowing live coal touched to your lips?  No thanks?  A glowing coal removed the guilt from Isaiah’s lips.  And, once guilt is removed, the Lord challenges Isaiah to action.  “Whom shall I send?”  And Isaiah responds, “Here I am.  Send me.”

It is way too easy to accept a mission without reading the fine print.  Think about it.  How many times have you signed agreement to terms of usage of a product without carefully reading all the fine print?  I have done it more times than I would like to admit.  After all, there are pages and pages of it.  What did Isaiah commit to? 

Here is the message that God put on the mouth of Isaiah: hear but don’t understand, see but not perceive, hear but don’t comprehend.  In this way, they will not respond, turn, and be healed.  Isaiah was going to a tough audience with a message they did not wish to hear! 

No wonder he immediately asks God, “How long?”  Can you and I speak the message God puts on our hearts even before a tough audience, who will be hearing a message that do not want to hear?  Wouldn’t it be easier to beat some sense into them?  If we do, then we will be forgetting our own sinful nature.  Read from 2 Chronicles 28:9-15 –

But a prophet of the Lord named Oded was there, and he went out to meet the army when it returned to Samaria. He said to them, "Because the Lord, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, he gave them into your hand. But you have slaughtered them in a rage that reaches to heaven.  And now you intend to make the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves. But aren't you also guilty of sins against the Lord your God?  Now listen to me! Send back your fellow countrymen you have taken as prisoners, for the Lord's fierce anger rests on you." 

Then some of the leaders in Ephraim – Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berekiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai – confronted those who were arriving from the war.  "You must not bring those prisoners here," they said, "or we will be guilty before the Lord. Do you intend to add to our sin and guilt? For our guilt is already great, and his fierce anger rests on Israel." 

So the soldiers gave up the prisoners and plunder in the presence of the officials and all the assembly.  The men designated by name took the prisoners, and from the plunder they clothed all who were naked. They provided them with clothes and sandals, food and drink, and healing balm. All those who were weak they put on donkeys. So they took them back to their fellow countrymen at Jericho, the City of Palms, and returned to Samaria.

May we not increase our sin in this way!  Though they are our enemies and the enemies of the Lord, they still deserve to be clothed, feed, watered, and healed.  Their weak should be carried, and all of them should be guided home.  May it be so! 

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out

Preaching to the Enemy; Jonah 1-4

May the mumbling commence!

Are you running from God because you fear that your enemies or those you count as outcasts might have the potential for repentance?  Do you realize that repentance before a compassionate God means they will be forgiven – even if some of the offenses that they committed were against you?  Jonah struggled with these issues when the Lord asked him to preach at Nineveh.  Jonah knew the potential for repentance and forgiveness.  He experienced just such potential as he was running from the Lord’s command.  Read from Jonah Chapter 1:

But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.  The captain went to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish." 

Then the sailors said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity." They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 

So they asked him, "Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?" 

He answered, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land." 

This terrified them and they asked, "What have you done?" (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.) 

The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?" 

"Pick me up and throw me into the sea," he replied, "and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you." 

Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before.  Then they cried to the Lord, "O Lord, please do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O Lord, have done as you pleased."  Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.  At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him. (Verses 5b-16)

Though the crew was heathen, they knew the sanctity of human life.  They had already thrown over their cargo and probably sailed on this trip at a loss, but then they tried to return to land instead of throwing Jonah overboard.  Only at the most perilous conditions did they obey the word of Jonah and throw him overboard.  But, before they did this, they asked forgiveness for taking Jonah’s life.  When the seas grew calm, they feared the Lord and offered sacrifices unto Him.  In many ways, the ship crew was more faithful to the Lord than Jonah.

Jonah, after a time in a big fish, finally succumbed to the will of the Lord for his life.  Jonah went to Nineveh to preach repentance.  I wonder how much Jonah’s heart was in his preaching.  His only recorded proclamation was, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.”  It seems like a half-hearted attempt that encouraged ignorance.

But the entire city (including the livestock) went to the Lord repentant.  They knew their sins – even if Jonah did not declare them.  They gave up their evil ways and violence.  And the Lord had compassion on them.  Jonah was furious.  Like a sulking child, he waited to see what he thought would be the eventual destruction of Nineveh.  He waited under the shade of a vine that miraculously came up one day only to wither the next day.  Read the Lord’s instruction to Jonah through this lesson of the vine:

"You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight.  But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?"  (4:10b-11)

We are called to be faithful to the Lord – regardless of the outcome we might prefer.  May we not complain when we see those who persecute us and make our lives miserable standing alongside us forgiven.  God has forgiven our sins – those things that we do outside the will of God.  Why should we begrudge the forgiveness of those who have sinned against us?  Each one of us belongs to the Great Creator.  Let us trust in the wisdom of righteousness of our Lord.

Enough mumbling for today…

Peace Out

Idolatry = Adultery; Hosea 1-3

May the mumbling commence!

Idolatry equals adultery.  The Lord asked a difficult thing of the prophet Hosea.  The Lord asked Hosea to marry an adulterous wife.  Read about it in these passages from Hosea Chapter one:

When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, "Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord." (Verse 2)

Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, "Call her Lo-Ruhamah, for I will no longer show love to the house of Israel, that I should at all forgive them.  Yet I will show love to the house of Judah; and I will save them – not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but by the Lord their God." 

After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son.  Then the Lord said, "Call him Lo-Ammi, for you are not my people, and I am not your God. 

Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living God.'  The people of Judah and the people of Israel will be reunited, and they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel. (Verses 6-11)

Just as we began to learn with the Ten Commandments, there is a close connection between idolatry and adultery.  The nations of Israel and Judah were going to other gods and showing their love to them rather than to the Lord.  When Hosea and Gomer had children the Lord named the children to illustrate the growing separation between God and His people.  Lo-Ruhamah means “not loved” in Hebrew.  Could you imagine a woman named “not loved”?  And my wife thought some of the names I thought up for our son were bizarre!  Lo-Ammi means “not my people” in Hebrew.  What a handle for a young man!  I think I will stick with my given name – Matthew!  Even so, the Lord continues to shower His people with gifts that they misuse and refuse to acknowledge come from Him.  Read Hosea 2:8 –

She has not acknowledged that I was the one

who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil,

who lavished on her the silver and gold –

which they used for Baal.

If our relationship with the Lord can be compared to a betrothal, then what would a healthy marriage look like?  Read about what it will be like when all other attractions dissolve and only the Lord is left:

"In that day," declares the Lord,

"you will call me 'my husband';

you will no longer call me 'my master.' 

I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;

no longer will their names be invoked. 

In that day I will make a covenant for them

with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air

and the creatures that move along the ground.

Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land,

so that all may lie down in safety. 

I will betroth you to me forever;

I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. 

I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord. (2:16-20)

So, let’s leave behind the Baals of our lives and embrace the one true Lord.  Embrace the righteousness, justice, love, compassion, and faithfulness of the Lord.  Let’s acknowledge what the Lord does in our lives even though we are too often unfaithful to Him.  Let us show it in our faithfulness to our loved ones even when they betray us – it will be a reflection of God’s love to the world.  As the Lord commanded Hosea, "Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes (3:1b)." 

Enough mumbling for today… 

Peace Out

A Little Too Close to Home; Amos 2-6

May the mumbling commence!

Today, we read from the prophet Amos.  Amos begins his book of prophecy denouncing the nations that surrounded Israel.  It is easy to pump our fists and rejoice at the comeuppance of those around us.  The United States rejoices at the troubles of Al Qaeda.  But, let’s bring it a little closer to home.  We may rejoice at the defamation of other religions – like Islam.  Let’s bring it a little closer yet.  We may rejoice at the defamation of other Christian denominations; we may claim that we have it right while the other denomination is patently wrong.  Now, let’s bring it even closer to home.  Even within denominations, there is division and rancor around some controversial topics – like human sexuality and the institution of marriage.  Those who do not judge as we do are patently wrong.

In the same way, Israel must have been shouting the amens to begin with; but Amos then turned to Israel.  And the detail was excruciating.  It is demoralizing when the microscope gets placed squarely on you.  Injustice and gross excess were the call of the day for Israel.  Read some passages from Amos 2-6:

            They sell the righteous for silver,

and the needy for a pair of sandals. 

 They trample on the heads of the poor as upon the dust of the ground

and deny justice to the oppressed. (2:6b-7)  

"They do not know how to do right," declares the Lord,

"who hoard plunder and loot in their fortresses." (3:10)

           

I will tear down the winter house

along with the summer house;

the houses adorned with ivory will be destroyed

and the mansions will be demolished," declares the Lord.  (3:15)

You trample on the poor

and force him to give you grain.

Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,

you will not live in them;

though you have planted lush vineyards,

you will not drink their wine. (5:11)

You lie on beds inlaid with ivory

and lounge on your couches.

You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves. 

You strum away on your harps like David

and improvise on musical instruments. 

You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions,

but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. (6:4-6)

Sounds like the lap of luxury, doesn’t it?  Look around you.  Are not these words true for some who live in the United States these days?  But Amos tells them that it is the road to destruction.  In Amos chapter four, the Lord reviews the plagues that He has sent of Israel.  All of them were intended to cause Israel to return to the Lord and repent of their wickedness, but none of the plagues were successful with this goal.

God calls us to seek Him.  What does seeking God ask from us?  Read from Amos 5:14-15 –

Seek good, not evil, that you may live.

Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. 

Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts.

Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.

If we seek good not evil and maintain justice in the courts, then we will heal the blight of our worship that the Lord detests when justice is absent from our midst – “Let justice roll like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! (5:24)” 

Enough mumbling for today… 

Peace Out

Pride Comes Before the Fall; 2 Chron. 26

May the mumbling commence!

Pride comes before the fall.  It is not good to read you own press – so to speak.  The negative will discourage you, and the positive will inflate your ego and your head.  If we allow the latter to happen, we will find ourselves attempting acts of service for the Lord not meant for us.  We will believe our fame and fortune entitles us to whatever we want to do.  Read a cautionary tale for 2 Chronicles 26:16-21 –

But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.  Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in.  They confronted him and said, "It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God." 

Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord's temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead.  When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him. 

King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house – leprous, and excluded from the temple of the Lord.  Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.

There are a number of relevant questions we should ask ourselves.  How do we respond when we are at the top of our game?  How do we respond when our Christian brothers and sisters call us to task for inappropriate ministry tasks?

When King Uzziah became leprous, the disease of his poor attitude became readily apparent to the priests of Judah.  The priests isolated him for the rest of his life.  Uzziah’s son, Jotham, reigned in his place.  AND Uzziah was excluded from the temple of the Lord.

Pride and arrogance separates us from the Lord.  Let’s remain humble before the Lord.  Our accomplishments and good deeds are nothing but filthy rags in the sight of the Lord.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Know the Lord's Protection; 2 Kings 6

May the mumbling commence!

Even when we feel surrounded by an enemy or obstacle that is overwhelming, we should take solace – if we are being faithful to the Lord.  Because if we are being faithful to the Lord, then there will be more for us than against us.  I pray that our eyes may be opened to the protection that the Lord provides us.  My prayer is also that we may not use this knowledge to crush the opposition (If that were our goal, we would cease to be faithful to God.) but to nourish our enemies – attempt to transform enemies into friends and lead them to the safety of faithfulness to the Lord.

Read a passage from 2 Kings Chapter 6:

When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" the servant asked. 

"Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them."

And Elisha prayed, "O Lord, open his eyes so he may see." Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 

As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, "Strike these people with blindness." So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked. 

Elisha told them, "This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for." And he led them to Samaria. 

After they entered the city, Elisha said, “Lord, open the eyes of these men so they can see." Then the Lord opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria. 

When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, "Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?" 

"Do not kill them," he answered. "Would you kill men you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master."  So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel's territory. (Verses 15-23)

Open our eyes that we may see the way of the Lord and the protection that comes from following His way faithfully – which sometimes means that we feed our enemies and let them return home.  A kind act can defuse animosity.  Let us trust in the Lord and His guidance.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Our Little Faith and Possession Multiplied; 2 Kings 4

May the mumbling commence!

Whatever we have, the Lord will multiply exponentially when we walk in His ways and devote our lives unto Him.  Read the story of Elisha and the widow from 2 Kings 4:

The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves."

Elisha replied to her, "How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?" "Your servant has nothing there at all," she said, "except a little oil." 

Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few.  Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side." 

She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring.  When all the jars were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another one."

But he replied, "There is not a jar left." Then the oil stopped flowing. 

She went and told the man of God, and he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left." (Verses 1-7)

I have nothing… except a little oil.  How often do we claim to have nothing to offer?  Quite a lot, I think, when we feel in desperate need for help.  Yet, when the widow came to Elisha, Elisha asked her what she had.  That may seem cruel, but it is an invitation to faith and an invitation to open her eyes and see the answer to her prayers.  Answers to prayer rarely come as they are expected, so the answers must be searched for during and after our times of prayer.

The widow had a little oil.  So, Elisha commanded her to canvass the neighborhood for empty jars.  Not only did the widow have something that she thought was of little use but the neighbors also had something that they thought had little use.  But, when the community gathers together to support a vulnerable family, God does miraculous things.  That little but of oil kept flowing until all the empty jars in the neighborhood were filled.  Then, the oil was sold, and the money was used to pay her debts and to give her and her sons plenty to live on.

So, what do you have to offer to God?  Stinginess will mean death and defeat.  Generosity and sharing your gifts will mean abundance.  The choice is ours to make.  Let us give freely and trust in the Lord.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

A Good Hiding Place; 2 Kings 11, 2 Chron. 23

May the mumbling commence!

Where is the best place to hide something or someone from somebody?  The best hiding place is where that person rarely goes.  I remember a story from a former workplace of mine.  I once worked at an auto rental and used vehicle sales place.  My immediate supervisor told me a story about a former employee.  Part of the chore of cleaning a returned rental car was to clean out and check the glove compartment.  This supervisor was convinced that the employee was not doing this part of the chore, so he secretly placed a twenty-dollar bill in the glove compartment of a returned rental.  After the employee cleaned the vehicle, the supervisor checked the glove compartment and found the money right where he left it.

Where would someone hide something from you?  Could someone hide paper money from you in your Bible?  Could someone hide a Christmas or birthday present from you at the church building or in your church mailbox where you claim to have membership?  I ask these questions because of the Scripture passage from 2 Kings Chapter 11.  Read some of it below:

When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family.  But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes, who were about to be murdered. She put him and his nurse in a bedroom to hide him from Athaliah; so he was not killed.  He remained hidden with his nurse at the temple of the Lord for six years while Athaliah ruled the land…

When Athaliah heard the noise made by the guards and the people, she went to the people at the temple of the Lord.  She looked and there was the king, standing by the pillar, as the custom was. The officers and the trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her robes and called out, "Treason! Treason!" 

Jehoiada the priest ordered the commanders of units of a hundred, who were in charge of the troops: "Bring her out between the ranks and put to the sword anyone who follows her." For the priest had said, "She must not be put to death in the temple of the Lord."  So they seized her as she reached the place where the horses enter the palace grounds, and there she was put to death. 

Jehoiada then made a covenant between the Lord and the king and people that they would be the Lord's people. He also made a covenant between the king and the people. (Verses 1-3; 13-17)

The evil queen Athaliah seized her opportunity for power.  Athaliah sought to kill all her son’s children – HER GRANDSONS!  But Aunt Jehosheba stole Joash away – who must have been just a young baby.  Where did she hide Joash?  Jehosheba hid Joash with his nurse in the temple of God.  For seven years, Joash and his nurse were safe in the temple of the Lord!

Athaliah neglected the temple of the Lord in favor of the temple of Baal.  The temple of the Lord had fallen into disrepair.  My prayer is that the Church of Jesus Christ never suffers from neglect – neither the physical building nor the people.  Remember: The people rejoiced at the death of Athaliah and the new kingship of seven-year-old Joash.  May our spiritual leaders and political leaders lead us to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jehoiada immediately began to repair proper worship to the temple of the Lord.  The Chronicler tells us about this in 2 Chronicles 23:18-19 –

Then Jehoiada placed the oversight of the temple of the Lord in the hands of the priests, who were Levites, to whom David had made assignments in the temple, to present the burnt offerings of the Lord as written in the Law of Moses, with rejoicing and singing, as David had ordered.  He also stationed doorkeepers at the gates of the Lord's temple so that no one who was in any way unclean might enter.

Let us be after the heart of God, like David and Jesus.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out