Day 187 – Athaliah (Southern Queen 6 years) & Joash (Southern King 41 years)

• Yet more murder is on the cards today as the Scriptures continues to share with us the self-destructive nature of the kings and queens, this time in Judah.
• Take another look at the timeline of the kings. Today we’re looking at Athaliah, who was wife to Jehoram and mother to Ahaziah. Remember that Jehoram had killed all his brothers, and earlier we read that Jehu had killed a number of royalty in Judah too. Now that Jehoram and Ahaziah are dead, Athaliah wants to be the queen. To do this she decides to destroy the rest of her family, especially Ahaziah’s children, her own grandchildren. Just take a moment to consider the barbarity of Athaliah’s actions!
• What brave thing does Jehosheba do in 2 Kings 11:2? How long is the young child Joash hidden for? Imagine what that must have been like. While Joash is hidden, Athaliah effectively became the queen, which must have been a tough time for many people.
• When Joash was 7 years old, what happened? How did Athaliah react? What happened to Athaliah?
• What good things happened at the start of Joash’s reign, under the wise guidance of Jehoiada the priest? Look at the end of 2 Kings 11, as well as the start of the passage in 2 Chronicles. Is Jehoiada a big influence in the (very) young king’s life?
• 2 Chronicles 24:17-25 details the wickedness that Joash did later in his life. What event caused the start of Joash’s move away from following God?
• What treacherous act did Joash perform when Jehoiada’s son rebuked him for his wickedness?
• Was Joash buried with the other kings? Who, perhaps surprisingly, was?

Joash was rescued from almost certain death when he was a baby. He was rightfully made king by the Levites, who helpfully killed his evil grandmother, Athaliah. He was cared for faithfully by Jehoiada, who provided wives for him and gave him wise advice. Through this careful upbringing, he did good by restoring the temple and removing the Baal worshippers from the city. But it seems that his heart was unchanged by these blessings from God, for as soon as he was away from his wise adviser he turned to evil. He was later executed as a murderer.

Read this paragraph carefully. Does your continued relationship with God depend on the influence of people around you (i.e. your family, church leaders, youth group leaders)? What will happen to that relationship when you are away from these people? True Christian living, that puts Christ number one and desires to put sin to death, is reliant on a changed heart that comes from a personal relationship with Jesus. A relationship with Jesus that’s only there to satisfy the encouragement of a youth leader or your parents is a relationship that may not have the right foundations. Challenge yourself today with a prayer that asks for Jesus to be your personal Saviour, and that you will seek to follow Him all your days.

When you next meet up with your mentor (me or Mel) make sure this is an area which you can talk honestly about, and spend time in prayer together about it.