Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America

Tuesday after the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity Sunday

Posted on August 23, 2016 by Pastor Dulas under Devotions
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Scripture: 2 Chronicles 22:1-12 (NKJV)

1 Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his place, for the raiders who came with the Arabians into the camp had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, reigned. 2 Ahaziah was forty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri. 3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother advised him to do wickedly. 4 Therefore he did evil in the sight of the LORD, like the house of Ahab; for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his destruction. 5 He also followed their advice, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram. 6 Then he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which he had received at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Azariah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

7 His going to Joram was God’s occasion for Ahaziah’s downfall; for when he arrived, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab. 8 And it happened, when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, and found the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers who served Ahaziah, that he killed them. 9 Then he searched for Ahaziah; and they caught him (he was hiding in Samaria), and brought him to Jehu. When they had killed him, they buried him, “because,” they said, “he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart.”

So the house of Ahaziah had no one to assume power over the kingdom.

10 Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs of the house of Judah. 11 But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being murdered, and put him and his nurse in a bedroom. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah), hid him from Athaliah so that she did not kill him. 12 And he was hidden with them in the house of God for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

Devotion

Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, had been king of Judah. He walked in the evil ways of Israel in part because his wife was Athaliah, the daughter of the wicked Ahab. In the effort to secure his reign he slew his brothers and some of the princes of Israel when he became king. The Lord brought Arabians and others against Jehoram and his sons were slain, except for Jehoahaz, the youngest.

When Jehoram died of a horrifying disease of the bowels, Jehoahaz, also known as Ahaziah, became king. He too did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, getting entangled in an alliance with Jehoram (also known as Joram), the son of Ahab, king of Israel. The Lord used this situation to bring about an encounter with the over-zealous Jehu, who not only killed Ahaziah, but also many of his family members. Those who survived were slain by Athaliah when she seized the throne. However, one young son of Ahaziah survived—Joash, the sole remaining descendant of King David.

In the pain and confusion of life, as the often highly complex drama unfolds, we sometimes forget, if only briefly, who really is in charge. In this highly charged Old Testament account, God keeps His promise to David that there would always be a descendant on his throne.

We pray: Lord of Heaven and Earth, thank You for the testimony of the Gospel concerning Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, Who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Through Him we have received grace for obedience to the faith among all nations for His Name (Romans 1:2-5); In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

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