Bible Passage:  2 Kings 11

Just about 4 years ago, another blog author shared on this chapter (no, that wasn’t me) and shared about how two people who were only mentioned in such a small portion of the entire Bible could have such a huge impact on the life of one boy.

And I could not agree more with the fact that such actions could have an impact on another. And today’s sharing shall be like a reminder to us on a very important topic regarding shepherding the flock…

Making An Impact

Do you remember other people in the Bible who were only mentioned in the Bible in just a few verses, but from whom we could actually learn some very valuable lessons? These were the people whose actions either directly or indirectly helped another person.

In this chapter, the two people in this category were Jehosheba and Jehoida. The former saved Jehoash from certain death and the latter paved the way for the young lad to become king and to eliminate the evil Athaliah.

But although these two individuals were only mentioned for a while, let us not ignore the fact what they did took quite a bit of courage, effort and even time (they had to keep Jehoash hidden for 6 years). I think that they also knew that Athaliah wasn’t a suitable candidate for “World’s Greatest Leader”, and that that was not the will of God for her to be ruler. And so, they acted on it quickly and at the right times.

For us today, with regards to the younger generation, we are living in a time when we are being faced with constant dangers. Although these dangers might not include being killed by a crazy lady, we are in the midst of constant spiritual warfare, whereby the devil is always throwing temptations at us to make us fall and “kill” us. And while the more spiritually matured ones might be able to cope with them, the younger generation or the “babes” of the faith are probably more susceptible.

For these people, we should strive to be the “Jehoshebas” and the “Jehoidas”. I would also think that we had our own “Jehoshebas” and “Jehoidas” before. When they are going through a period of trials and tribulations, and as brothers and sisters in Christ, it would be good if we good provide some help and support for them, to be their pillars of strength in times of need.

I don’t think we would need to do things like saving them from an Athaliah, or make them king, but some simple examples could be to give them encouragement, praying for them or praying with them, help provide for their physical needs and look out for their faith. Whatever it may be, we have this duty to ensure that the younger ones will be strengthened in the faith and not fall away.

And not only that, but we should also do so with love, and not expecting anything in return from anyone.

I have shown you in every way, by labouring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’…

– Acts 20: 35

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren…

– 1 John 3: 16

Perhaps, we won’t literally need to lay down our lives for the brethren (Jehosheba and Jehoida did face risks of endangering their own), given our situation in Singapore today. But I think the main point is that in order to help the younger ones, we need to sacrifice a part of our lives, or rather, our time. For example, to continually keep Jehoash hidden and taken care of for 6 years, Jehosheba had to keep it going for 6 years too! It wasn’t just about dumping him in a room and leaving him in there.

Likewise, when we provide spiritual support to another, it should not just be about sending him/her a Bible text via Whatsapp and end there. It is a process that could last as long as a few years.

May we always look out for each other in the faith, and that we always consider others in our prayers, so that we all can complete the race of faith in one piece…

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