The Woman of Samaria

The Woman of Samaria. We can learn so many things from her story. We could spend four weeks in this chapter of Scripture.  It is so rich and full of wisdom. I know it is a lot of verses to read, but please take the time right now to do so. 

John 4:1-42 

Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), He left Judea and went away again into Galilee. And He had to pass through Samaria. So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 

There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” She said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?” Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” 

The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.” He said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.” 

At this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why do You speak with her?” So the woman left her water pot, and went into the city and said to the men, “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?” They went out of the city, and were coming to Him. 

Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.” 

From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.” So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. Many more believed because of His word; and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.” 

New American Standard Bible (NASB) 

Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation 

  

My husband is a cattle farmer.  One of the ponds in the pasture is spring fed.  It is a very large pond, full of fish, turtles, snakes, and who knows what else.  It is the source of water for the cows in that pasture.  We have never had to worry about those cows having water, because that pond is always refilling itself.  This past year, a levee broke at that pond.  As quick as you could blink, the pond was empty.  All of that fresh water was gone.  Jeremy had to have someone come with a bulldozer and repair the levee. Once that levee was repaired, the pond began to refill itself.  As long as there are walls to hold the water, this pond will always be full.  There is a spring under the ground that is always flowing with water.  Even if the levee breaks again, we can repair the wall and still have a pond full of fresh water. 

Jesus talked to the woman of Samaria about the water that springs up to eternal life.  Just like the water in our pond, it will never run dry. Once we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, we will always be full of the Holy Spirit.  He will never, ever leave us.  He will be with us until the day we go to Heaven, and then we get to live forever in His presence.  But, just as Jesus was explaining to the Samaritan woman, we have to drink the water.  We have to accept Jesus.  We have to take that step of faith. When we do, we will always have Him. We will always be full of that fresh water of salvation, and we will never thirst for Jesus again. 

Once Jesus explained that to the woman, she began to have a taste for who Jesus was, but she still didn't quite get it.  She thought that He was a prophet. She was confused because of her background as a Samaritan. The Samaritan woman said to Jesus in John that for the history of the world, people have worshipped God where she was.  But now, the Jews say that you have to go to Jerusalem to worship God. She had a bad taste in her mouth for all of this.  Jesus tells her that there will come a time – and that time is now – when it doesn’t matter where you worship.  1 Timothy 2:8 says, "Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension."  Jesus also tells her that it does matter who you worship.  He tells her that she worships what she doesn't know – the false gods, the idols, and God the Father. To understand more about the Samaritans and their idol worship, look at 2 Kings 17:24-41. 

There is a lot we can learn about true worship from this passage of Scripture.  True worship is not just singing songs. It is an inward act of the soul, loving God so much that you are willing to do anything to show that love.  I love to worship through music.  I always have. But I have to remind myself that music is not the only way to worship. 

Jesus shared the truth with the woman of Samaria. She then took the truth and shared it with the men in the village.  The Scripture tells us that many were saved because of the woman at the well.  There is a lesson to be learned here about the harvest.  Even if the language of the Scripture is confusing in those specific verses, the message is clear.  We are to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We are to tell His truth to all men.  I do have a desire to share Jesus with others.  That is one of the main reasons why I write this blog.  I want others to know Jesus, and to know how to discern the truth of His Word for themselves.  I hope that you take advantage of the opportunities around you to share the truth of His Word to others.   

There is so much more in this story that we could talk about.  But for me, the two main lessons were about true worship and about sharing Jesus with the world.  I want to worship God with all of my heart and soul, and I want others to know about Him and how wonderful He is.  I hope you have those same feelings.  I hope that you can take the message of Jesus with you every day, everywhere you go. 

Huldah

Today's study of Women of the Bible takes us to 2 Kings 22:14-20 and 2 Chronicles 34:22-33. The woman we are going to talk about is Huldah. Huldah was a prophetess, and here is the Scripture from 2 Kings:

14 So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter); and they spoke to her. 15 She said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, 16 thus says the Lord, “Behold, I bring evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read. 17 Because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods that they might provoke Me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore My wrath burns against this place, and it shall not be quenched.”’ 18 But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the Lord thus shall you say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel, “Regarding the words which you have heard, 19 because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares the Lord. 20 “Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place.”’” So they brought back word to the king. 

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Here is the story of Huldah from 2 Chronicles:

22 So Hilkiah and those whom the king had told went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, the keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter); and they spoke to her regarding this. 23 She said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, 24 thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am bringing evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the curses written in the book which they have read in the presence of the king of Judah. 25 Because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore My wrath will be poured out on this place and it shall not be quenched.”’26 But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus you will say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel regarding the words which you have heard, 27 Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares the Lord. 28 Behold, I will gather you to your fathers and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place and on its inhabitants.”’” And they brought back word to the king.
29 Then the king sent and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 The king went up to the house of the Lord and all the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites and all the people, from the greatest to the least; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord.
31 Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant written in this book. 32 Moreover, he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand with him. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. 33 Josiah removed all the abominations from all the lands belonging to the sons of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel to serve the Lord their God. Throughout his lifetime they did not turn from following the Lord God of their fathers. 

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

I love when the Scripture repeats itself. It gives us so much more clarity on the things that we are reading and studying. I love to read the cross references that my Bible lists, and I typically do this every time I study Scripture. I encourage you to look at the cross references when you study. Sometimes (a lot of times) the Scripture is not clear to us when we read it the first time. If we take the time to re-read what was unclear, read the text that comes before and after the unclear portion, and read the cross references, we can begin to make sense of the Word of God. We have to study the Word of God. Just reading the text without absorbing the meaning will not help us develop our faith in Jesus Christ. We have to know what the Scripture says so we can live out its meaning.

Huldah was a prophetess doing the work of the Lord. She is prominent in this story, and it is justifiable that we classify this as a study of the women in Scripture. But the real key player in this story is Josiah the King. He was a King who wanted to do what the Lord would have him to do. He wanted to serve the Lord, and he wanted to lead his kingdom to do the same thing.

When the people who were restoring the temple found the Word of God, Josiah was humbled and frightened by the things that he read. When was the last time that you were humbled and frightened by God's Word? When was the last time that true conviction came over you for the way that you were living? We love to think about God as the God who loves us, but we have to remember that He is God! He will not stand by and let us live our lives the way we want, with no regards for Him. We must humble ourselves before God, and live the way that He has set out for us.

Josiah said that the wrath of the Lord was great against the people of Israel for the way that they had been living. Josiah recognized God's anger and judgement of sin. He feared for himself and the people of Israel because of the way his ancestors and forefathers disobeyed the Word of the Lord.

In the 2 Chronicles account of this, it mentions the curses. These curses are most likely the ones laid out in Deuteronomy 28:15-68:

15 “But it shall come about, if you do not obey the Lord your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
16 “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.
17 “Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
18 “Cursed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.
19 “Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
20 “The Lord will send upon you curses, confusion, and rebuke, in all you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken Me. 21 The Lord will make the pestilence cling to you until He has consumed you from the land where you are entering to possess it. 22 The Lord will smite you with consumption and with fever and with inflammation and with fiery heat and with the sword and with blight and with mildew, and they will pursue you until you perish. 23 The heaven which is over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you, iron. 24 The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust; from heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.
25 “The Lord shall cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you will go out one way against them, but you will flee seven ways before them, and you will be an example of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 Your carcasses will be food to all birds of the sky and to the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten them away.
27 “The Lord will smite you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors and with the scab and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed. 28 The Lord will smite you with madness and with blindness and with bewilderment of heart; 29 and you will grope at noon, as the blind man gropes in darkness, and you will not prosper in your ways; but you shall only be oppressed and robbed continually, with none to save you. 30 You shall betroth a wife, but another man will violate her; you shall build a house, but you will not live in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but you will not use its fruit. 31 Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat of it; your donkey shall be torn away from you, and will not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you will have none to save you. 32 Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and yearn for them continually; but there will be nothing you can do. 33 A people whom you do not know shall eat up the produce of your ground and all your labors, and you will never be anything but oppressed and crushed continually.34 You shall be driven mad by the sight of what you see. 35 The Lord will strike you on the knees and legs with sore boils, from which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.36 The Lord will bring you and your king, whom you set over you, to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone. 37 You shall become a horror, a proverb, and a taunt among all the people where the Lord drives you.
38 “You shall bring out much seed to the field but you will gather in little, for the locust will consume it. 39 You shall plant and cultivate vineyards, but you will neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm will devour them. 40 You shall have olive trees throughout your territory but you will not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives will drop off. 41 You shall have sons and daughters but they will not be yours, for they will go into captivity. 42 The cricket shall possess all your trees and the produce of your ground. 43 The alien who is among you shall rise above you higher and higher, but you will go down lower and lower. 44 He shall lend to you, but you will not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you will be the tail.
45 “So all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the Lord your God by keeping His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. 46 They shall become a sign and a wonder on you and your descendants forever.
47 “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things; 48 therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things; and He will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.
49 “The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose language you shall not understand, 50 a nation of fierce countenance who will have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young. 51 Moreover, it shall eat the offspring of your herd and the produce of your ground until you are destroyed, who also leaves you no grain, new wine, or oil, nor the increase of your herd or the young of your flock until they have caused you to perish. 52 It shall besiege you in all your towns until your high and fortified walls in which you trusted come down throughout your land, and it shall besiege you in all your towns throughout your land which the Lord your God has given you. 53 Then you shall eat the offspring of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters whom the Lord your God has given you, during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will oppress you. 54 The man who is refined and very delicate among you shall be hostile toward his brother and toward the wife he cherishes and toward the rest of his children who remain, 55 so that he will not give even one of them any of the flesh of his children which he will eat, since he has nothing else left, during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will oppress you in all your towns. 56 The refined and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground for delicateness and refinement, shall be hostile toward the husband she cherishes and toward her son and daughter, 57 and toward her afterbirth which issues from between her legs and toward her children whom she bears; for she will eat them secretly for lack of anything else, during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will oppress you in your towns.
58 “If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the Lord your God, 59 then the Lord will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, even severe and lasting plagues, and miserable and chronic sicknesses. 60 He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt of which you were afraid, and they will cling to you.61 Also every sickness and every plague which, not written in the book of this law, the Lord will bring on you until you are destroyed. 62 Then you shall be left few in number, whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, because you did not obey the Lord your God. 63 It shall come about that as the Lord delighted over you to prosper you, and multiply you, so the Lord will delight over you to make you perish and destroy you; and you will be torn from the land where you are entering to possess it. 64 Moreover, the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known. 65 Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul. 66 So your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life. 67 In the morning you shall say, ‘Would that it were evening!’ And at evening you shall say, ‘Would that it were morning!’ because of the dread of your heart which you dread, and for the sight of your eyes which you will see. 68 The Lord will bring you back to Egypt in ships, by the way about which I spoke to you, ‘You will never see it again!’ And there you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer.” 

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

These curses aren't referred to very often, and yes, we are now under grace instead of under the law. (Thanks be to Jesus Christ!) But we cannot neglect what the whole Bible says. We cannot just pick out the portions that we want to read, and forget everything else. God listed out these curses to the Israelites as consequences to their sin. These were things that could and would happen to the people if they chose to disobey God. Josiah heard these curses and feared for himself and the people of Israel. Josiah knew that the people had been unfaithful and disobedient to God. As soon as Josiah heard these things, he immediately humbled himself before God.

Just as God is a God who judges, God is also a God who shows mercy. Through the words of Huldah, Josiah learned that God would have mercy on him and the people of Israel. Josiah would not have to witness the destruction and consequences that God would give to the nation for disobeying Him.

Look at Deuteronomy 28:1-14. This is what would happen if the people chose to obey God.

28 “Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God:
3 “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.
4 “Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.
5 “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
6 “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7 “The Lord shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways. 8 The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you. 9 The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways.10 So all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will be afraid of you. 11 The Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, 14 and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. 

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

God commands our obedience and blesses us for obeying Him. However, if we choose to disobey God, we have to accept the consequences. But 1 John 1:9 tells us

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

God will forgive us for our sins, if we humble ourselves before Him and ask for forgiveness. God is a God of mercy and love. Humble yourselves, dear sisters. Serve the Lord with all of your heart!

Athaliah and Jehosheba

Today's Women of the Bible study is about Athaliah and Jehosheba, a mother and step-daughter pair.  These women lived in a time of Israel's history that was violent and dreadful, a time when the leadership of the nation did not want Israel following God Jehovah, and instead wanted them following god Baal.  The kingdom was a divided kingdom at this time, and in order to get a true understanding of what happened, we need to dig into a little Bible history.

Jezebel was an evil queen in 2 Kings who brought intense Baal worship to the nation of Israel.  She was married to Ahab, who allowed the Baal worship to happen (among other things).  These two people were extremely evil, and the nation of Israel suffered because of them.  As things happen, Ahab and Jezebel pass away (check out Jezebel's death in 2 Kings 9:30-37).

Jehu was anointed King of Israel by Elisha the prophet in 2 Kings 9.  Jehu was commanded by God to strike down the house of Ahab.  There were 70 sons of Ahab, and they were all killed under Jehu's watch.  This story is found in 2 Kings 10.

Ahaziah became King of Judah.  We are going to get the rest of our story from 2 Chronicles 22 and 23.  Start by reading 2 Chronicles 22:1-9.

22 Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place, for the band of men who came with the Arabs to the camp had slain all the older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign. 2 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And 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 was his counselor to do wickedly. 4 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 walked according to their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to wage war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-gilead. But the Arameans wounded Joram. 6 So he returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which they had inflicted on him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. And Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.7 Now the destruction of Ahaziah was from God, in that he went to Joram. For when he came, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab.8 It came about when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he found the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers ministering to Ahaziah, and slew them. 9 He also sought Ahaziah, and they caught him while he was hiding in Samaria; they brought him to Jehu, put him to death and buried him. For they said, “He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with all his heart.” So there was no one of the house of Ahaziah to retain the power of the kingdom.

Ahaziah was not a son of Ahab, but he was a son-in-law.  So, he was not under the original command of Jehu's to be killed.  However, Ahaziah "walked in the ways of the house of Ahab".  Also in that verse we learn that Ahaziah's mother Athaliah "was his counselor to do wickedly".  Let's stop here for a moment.  I have a 5 year old son and a 2 year old daughter.  I do not have to counsel my children for them to do wickedly.  They act bad enough on their own.  We all do!  We all have a sin nature.  It is a natural thing for us to do wrong.  As a mother, I have to teach my children what is right, and work hard with them on a daily basis to make sure that they do the right thing.  I don't have to worry about my children doing wrong - they will do that.  What I have to worry about is making sure that they learn the right thing, and understand that doing the right thing is the way to act.  Eventually my children will be old enough to understand that they are sinners, and that Jesus Christ died to save them from their sins.  Eventually they will understand that the reason I work so hard for them to know and do the right thing is because we are commanded by God to do the right thing.  And once we give our hearts to Jesus, we want to do the right thing.  Eventually my children will be old enough to put the pieces together and make sense of what I as their momma tried to teach them, and hopefully they will do the right thing and act the right way to please the Lord, not please their momma.  Eventually.  But until my children are old enough to know and understand what Jesus Christ did for them, it is my job to teach them.  And it is a job that I do not take lightly.  I want nothing more than for my children to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and to honor Him and serve Him with their lives.  I want to make sure that I lead them in that direction daily, and one of the most basic ways that I can do that is to teach them right from wrong, and to show them what it means to act good instead of wickedly.

Ahaziah's mother Athaliah lived her life completely opposite of that.  Instead of teaching her son right from wrong, she encouraged him to be wicked.  I cannot begin to imagine how wicked they truly were.  I know how bad my children can be without encouragement.  I cannot begin to picture how bad they would be if I encouraged them to act that way.  Athaliah was a bad, bad person, and she helped her son to also be a bad, bad person.  "He did evil in the sight of the Lord", and his death and destruction "was from God".  Remember how I said that Jehu was not commanded to kill Ahaziah because he was not of the house of Ahab?  Ahaziah was associated with the house of Ahab. Jehu was given the opportunity to kill Ahaziah, and he took advantage of that opportunity.  You can read about Ahaziah's death in 2 Kings 9:27-28.

We know that Athaliah is evil, but just in case you were wondering just how evil, you can read about it in the next verse in 2 Chronicles.

10 Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she rose and destroyed all the royal offspring of the house of Judah.

If my son had been killed, I would have been beside myself in grief.  Not Athaliah.  She saw an opportunity to become Queen of the land of Judah.  In order to take advantage of that opportunity, she had to kill all of the royal offspring.  These were her sons and grandsons that she killed.  She was an evil, selfish woman, who thought she could get in the way of God's redemptive plan for His people.  She was killing off the line of Judah.  Fast forward many years and see that Jesus Christ's lineage came from this line (check out the lineage in the first chapter of Matthew).  If Athaliah had been successful in her plan, she would have wiped out the lineage of Jesus Christ.  Of course, God was not going to let that happen.  He used the step-daughter of Athaliah to save His people.  Read 2 Chronicles 22:11-12.

11 But Jehoshabeath the king’s daughter took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and placed him and his nurse in the 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 would not put him to death. 12 He was hidden with them in the house of God six years while Athaliah reigned over the land.

 Jehoshabeath (known as Jehosheba in 2 Kings 11) was the sister of Ahaziah.  She took Ahaziah's son named Joash (sometimes known as Jehoash) and hid him in the temple of God.  The temple of God was the last place that Athaliah would have ever stepped foot.  She was an avid worshiper of Baal.  She would have never gone into the holy temple of God, thus making it the most perfect hiding spot for the baby Joash to be hidden.  Jehosheba was the wife of Jehoiada, who was the priest at that time.  In all of the Baal worship that was happening in the land, this couple still worshiped God Jehovah.  Jehosheba had faith in the True God of Israel.  She risked her life to save the life of this baby.  She went out and did something that took so much bravery, but was with the intent to save the kingdom and show her faith in God.  We don't hear anything else about Jehosheba throughout this story, but we do hear a lot about Jehoiada.  I can imagine that as this story turns from wickedness to goodness that Jehosheba was alive to witness it all.  I can imagine that she was so happy and proud of her husband Jehoiada and her King Joash.  I can imagine that as she helped hide this baby and raise him in the temple that she continued to tell him that God was going to use him for good.  Think about the contrast between Athaliah, who counseled her son to do wickedly, and Jehosheba, who had faith and trust in God, and helped raise Joash to have that same faith.  Relate this back to what I said about being a mother.  It is my job to make sure that my children know who God is.  I cannot save my children, they have to make the decision to accept Christ on their own.  But I can lead them in that direction.  I must lead them in that direction.  And that is what Jehosheba did.

The rest of this story unfolds in 2 Chronicles 23.

23 Now in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took captains of hundreds: Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son of Johanan, Azariah the son of Obed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri, and they entered into a covenant with him.2 They went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the heads of the fathers’ households of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. 3 Then all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And Jehoiada said to them, “Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as the Lord has spoken concerning the sons of David. 4 This is the thing which you shall do: one third of you, of the priests and Levites who come in on the sabbath, shall be gatekeepers,5 and one third shall be at the king’s house, and a third at the Gate of the Foundation; and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the Lord. 6 But let no one enter the house of the Lord except the priests and the ministering Levites; they may enter, for they are holy. And let all the people keep the charge of the Lord. 7 The Levites will surround the king, each man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever enters the house, let him be killed. Thus be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”8 So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And each one of them took his men who were to come in on the sabbath, with those who were to go out on the sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss any of the divisions. 9 Then Jehoiada the priest gave to the captains of hundreds the spears and the large and small shields which had been King David’s, which were in the house of God. 10 He stationed all the people, each man with his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, by the altar and by the house, around the king. 11 Then they brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him, and gave him the testimony and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and said, “Long live the king!”12 When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came into the house of the Lord to the people. 13 She looked, and behold, the king was standing by his pillar at the entrance, and the captains and the trumpeters were beside the king. And all the people of the land rejoiced and blew trumpets, the singers with their musical instruments leading the praise. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and said, “Treason! Treason!” 14 Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds who were appointed over the army and said to them, “Bring her out between the ranks; and whoever follows her, put to death with the sword.” For the priest said, “Let her not be put to death in the house of the Lord.” 15 So they seized her, and when she arrived at the entrance of the Horse Gate of the king’s house, they put her to death there.

 16 Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king, that they would be the Lord’s people. 17 And all the people went to the house of Baal and tore it down, and they broke in pieces his altars and his images, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. 18 Moreover, Jehoiada placed the offices of the house of the Lord under the authority of the Levitical priests, whom David had assigned over the house of the Lord, to offer the burnt offerings of the Lord, as it is written in the law of Moses—with rejoicing and singing according to the order of David. 19 He stationed the gatekeepers of the house of the Lord, so that no one would enter who was in any way unclean. 20 He took the captains of hundreds, the nobles, the rulers of the people and all the people of the land, and brought the king down from the house of the Lord, and came through the upper gate to the king’s house. And they placed the king upon the royal throne. 21 So all of the people of the land rejoiced and the city was quiet. For they had put Athaliah to death with the sword.

"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission."

 This story pretty much unfolds by itself, so I am not going to put much explanation to it.  I do want to point out a few things, though.   The last verse says that the people rejoiced and the city was quiet because Athaliah was dead.  For the six years that she reigned the people were in torment.  Once again, I cannot imagine what life was like back then.  I can't imagine the evilness in the land.  It must have been bad, though, because once Athaliah was dead, the land was quiet.  The people could finally rest.

The other thing that I want to point out is the events of verses 16-18.  As a nation, the people were coming back to the Lord.  In verse 16 Jehoiada made a covenant with the people.  They verbally committed to following the Lord.  But just making a verbal commitment isn't everything.  In verse 17 the people acted on their commitment.  We are known by our fruits.  We cannot just say that we love the Lord and serve the Lord without showing it through our actions.  And finally in verse 18 the people sang and rejoiced.  We need to make sure that we praise the Lord!  We must rejoice!  We owe God so much praise and adoration, and we never need to neglect it.

Thanks be to God that He used Jehosheba to save His people.  As we finish this study, there is so much that we can apply to our lives.  The obvious things - don't be like Athaliah!  But also, the subtle things - be open to doing God's work.  Have faith that God is going to fulfill His plans, and be willing to do whatever it takes to serve Him.  Be like Jehosheba, and serve the Lord no matter what!