READ: 2 Kings 11:17-12:2 (or the extended passage
of 2 Kings 11 & 12
(17) Jehoiada now
made a covenant between God and the king and the people. They were God's people. Another covenant was made between the king
and the people.
(18-20) The people
poured into the temple of Baal and tore it down, smashing the altar and images
to smithereens. They killed Mattan the
priest in front of the altar.
Jehoiada then stationed sentries in
The Temple of God. He arranged for the
officers of the bodyguard and the palace security, along with the people
themselves, to escort the king down from The Temple of God through the Gate of
the Guards and into the palace. There he
sat on the royal throne. Everybody
celebrated the event. And the city was
safe and undisturbed--they had killed Athaliah with the royal sword.
(21) Joash was seven
years old when he became king.
(1) In the seventh
year of Jehu, Joash began his kingly rule.
He was king for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Gazelle. She was from Beersheba.
(2) Taught and
trained by Jehoiada the priest, Joash did what pleased God for as long as he
lived.
THINK: Read the passage again slowly, trying to
picture the priest Jehoiada and his young pupil, Joash, who becomes one of the
few good kings of Judah.
(1) What about Jehoiada do you most
admire or dislike?
(2) How would you like, or not like,
to resemble Jehoiada as a teacher and leader?
(Think of a teacher as anyone from whom others learn, and think of a
leader as anyone who finds others following him or her. Even in friendships, sometimes one friend is
the teacher and the other is the student, although they may not realize it.)
In
this day and age, I appreciate anyone who is capable and willing to pick a hard
to place to stand and stay there. It
takes courage to do the right thing, especially when it becomes uncomfortable. So, when I see someone able to do that, even
fighting against the odds to stand there, and remain steadfast, I cheer them
on. THAT is what I admire about
Jehoiada. In a time when the nation of
Israel had basically turned her back on God, there as a man who would not. This man went on to be a teacher to one of
the last good kings of the Israel.
In
response to question #2, my kids come to mind.
I pray that I am setting a good example for them. There've been times when I've had my
doubts. For sure, they will have plenty
to tell their future spouses or a therapist about all the times I've messed
up. But, I hope that they can always say
that, when I did them wrong, I always made an effort to right that wrong and
that I did so without making excuses, or without trying to justify or
rationalize my errors in a desperate attempt to look less guilty or to make
myself feel better.
PRAY: Pray for people who look up to you--either
for good or bad. In that case, you are
their teacher and leader. Ask God who he
is asking you to reach out to as an informal teacher or leader. Or you may want to simply pray about what you
pass on to others.
Dear
Heavenly Father, there are days when I am painfully aware that I do not put
forth the example you prefer. Some days,
I don't even put forth the example I would prefer. But Lord, I pray that, on those days, I would
not diminish terribly your name in the eyes of those that desperately need to
see you. I ask forgiveness for when I've
led others astray. I pray for the wisdom
to know when to speak and when to listen.
I pray for the words to say that I might honor you, and for the
appropriate actions to take when something more than words are required, and I pray
for discernment to know the difference.
I pray for strength not to act when I shouldn't. I pray for the courage to act when action is
necessary.
LIVE: Sit in the quiet with God, holding before him
those who follow you or look up to you.
You might wish to ask God, "What do I need to know about myself as
a teacher or leader?" Ideas might
not come to you right away. Note those
that do, and keep watch for them in the coming days and weeks.
If
you are a parent, then you already have an idea who your followers are. But, what you may not have realized yet is
that your children's friends, if they visit often, could also be your
followers. It never occurred to me until
my kids were in high school, and one of my daughter's friends remarked about
how cool it was that we had "rules and stuff." For her, it was a given, and sometimes an
annoying one. But for her friend, who
seemed to have no curfew, and who frequently was locked out of his house, it
was a novelty. Not long after making
that remark, this young man found out that his family was about to move, and he
asked if he could come stay with us. It
didn't happen for a number of reasons, not the least of which comes down to the
fact that moving is just a part of military life, and for whatever reason, God
decided this young man needed to be born into a military family, and with that,
comes having to move.
Take
a look around. See who's watching
you. Maybe you teach Sunday School. Are the siblings of your students watching
you? Are their parents? Are you a crossing guard? Are you employed outside the home? There are probably many more people watching
you than you think? Likely, there are as
many people watching you as you are watching.
If that's the case, then isn't it also likely that your sphere of
influence is much larger than you think?
Isn't it possible that you are affecting many more people than maybe you
thought when you initially read this passage?
Keeping that in mind, what example are you setting?
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