In 2 Kings 11-12, we read about the transition from King Ahaziah of Judah to his son, Joash or Jehoash (both spellings are used). After, Ahaziah died, his mother, Athaliah, declared herself queen and attempted to have all Ahaziah’s sons murdered. She nearly succeeded, but Jehoash was saved, and was brought up for six years by Jehoida the priest. After six years, Jehoida had Jehoash declared king, and Athaliah was put to death. At that time, Baal worship was also brought to an end by King Jehoash under the guidance of Jehoida. Jehoash was a good king and did what was right in the sight of the LORD, except he let the high places remain. During Jehoash’s reign, he repaired the Temple in Jerusalem. Toward the end of his reign, Jehoash also took the wealth of the Temple and gave it to Hazael, king of Syria as tribute. In the end, Jehoash was assassinated by his officials, and his son, Amaziah became king.
We read in 2 Kings 13 that Jehoahaz became king in Israel during the twenty-third year of Jehoash’s reign in Judah. As all the kings of Israel, he did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so the LORD kept them under the power of Hazael King of Syria and his son, Ben-hadad. Eventually, Jehoahaz had a change of heart, and called out to the LORD. Remember, no king of Israel had ever served the LORD faithfully, and yet, the LORD heard Jehoahaz’s cry and delivered them from the Syrians. After Jehoahaz’s reign ended his son, Jehoash became king in Samaria, and ruled sixteen years. He did evil in the LORD’s sight, but he did eventually defeat King Amaziah of Judah, even though King Amaziah was a good king. At this time Elisha became sick and was near death. He called King Jehoash to come to him. He instructed the king to shoot an arrow out the window, and Jehoash did. Elisha said this indicated Jehoash would have victory over Syria. Then he told Jehoash to strike his arrows on the ground. Jehoash struck them three times. This angered Elisha, because it meant Israel would only defeat Syria three times. Had he struck five or six times the defeat would have been total. What we learn from this brief encounter is even when we aren’t given specific instructions from the LORD, enthusiasm and passion are to be part of our response. As the chapter closes, Hazael the king of Syria dies, and is replaced by Ben-Hadad, his son. At this point Jehoash defeated the Syrians in battle three times, just as Elijah had predicted.
In 2 Kings 14, Amaziah becomes the King in Judah. He was a good king as his father had been, but as his father, he didn’t remove the high places, so people still sacrificed there. He retaliated against the officials who had assassinated his father, after he was firmly established in his rule. For some reason, Amaziah decided to battle against Israel. He sent messengers to Jehoash asking him to come out to face him. Jehoash warned Amaziah to stay at home, but he wouldn’t listen. The end result was a major defeat for Judah. Amaziah lived for fifteen years after the defeat, but in the end, he was assassinated and his son, Azariah, who was only sixteen, was put in place as King of Judah. In the fifteenth year of Amaziah’s reign another Jeroboam became king in Israel. He was king for forty-one years but did evil in the LORD’s eyes as had the first Jeroboam. Even though Jeroboam was wicked, the LORD showed compassion on Israel, because of His earlier promise not to blot Israel from the face of the earth. We see time and again how the LORD showed mercy to the people of Israel and Judah. They would have been destroyed far sooner if not for that great mercy. We see the same mercy in even greater measure in the coming of Jesus. We owe everything to God’s great mercy and grace!
As we turn to Matthew 9, we read the account of Jesus healing the paralytic, which we also read in Mark 2. Jesus demonstrated His authority to forgive sin, by healing the paralytic, which amazed everyone. Matthew next records his being called to follow Jesus. As in Mark’s account, we read that one of Matthew’s first actions as a disciple was to invite all his friends to a meal with Jesus. When the Pharisees complained Jesus was eating with sinners (a sign of welcome and fellowship), Jesus reminded them the healthy don’t need a physician, but the sick. What an important reminder for all of us! Next, John’s disciples ask Jesus a question about fasting, specifically why Jesus’ disciples didn’t fast. Jesus made it clear that fasting was for a time when He, the “bridegroom” wasn’t present. After this Jesus was called to the home of a “ruler,” (which in Mark we’re told was a synagogue ruler), to heal his daughter. The account is similar to that of Mark 5, including a woman touching Jesus’ garment as they were on the way to the ruler’s house to heal his daughter. The woman was healed, and the daughter raised from the dead, just as in Mark 5. Next, Jesus healed two blind men, and a man who was deaf and mute. The people praised God, but the Pharisees said Jesus cast out demons by the power of the prince of demons. Finally, Jesus looked at the crowds of people, and was filled with compassion for them. He told the disciples to pray for the LORD of the harvest to send workers into the harvest. Hold that thought, because tomorrow, we’re going to see who Jesus selected as the first workers in response to that prayer. Spoiler Alert: When we pray, God often uses us to answer the prayer!