History – 2 Chronicles 21-24

I think no one has mentioned this before – Chronicles emphasises more on the religious and spiritual aspects of Israel’s history, as opposed to the political, prophetic and moral emphasis of 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings.

Most believed that the Chronicles was written after the Jews returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile – so we can see that the records are written to help the people remember and recover their identity as God’s people.

As we read the Chronicles today, let us search ourselves and see… are we in anyway similar to the kings and people in those days…

Bible Passage:  2 Chronicles 21-24

We would have expected that after a good father like king Jehoshaphet, his son king Jehoram would be a godly king as well.  The fact could not be further from the truth.

Jehoram killed all his brothers and even some princes in Israel – to make sure that there was no threat to his throne.  He died a terrible death.  His epitaph was even more damning… “… and, to no one’s sorrow, departed.” (2 Chronicles 21:20)

His son Ahaziah was no better.  He did evil in the sight of the Lord and was killed.  And the crazy thing that happened after that was his mother, Athaliah (wife of Jehoram) took the throne and ruled Judah.

Her rule lasted 6 years before it was forcibly returned to the rightful king Joash.  Joash was a good king… initially.  His latter years was not marked with glory and he too was assassinated.

The Influence of a Woman

Pop Quiz:  Who was the most evil woman in the Bible?  Quick!

I think most of you would immediately think of queen Jezebel – wife of king Ahab, tormenter of Elijah.

But the main woman character in today’s passage can certainly give Jezebel a run for her money!

Queen Athaliah – wife of Jehoram, daughter of king Ahab and presumably Jezebel, mother of Ahaziah and grandmother of Joash.

She was around when Jehoram had all his brothers murdered.  And also when Jehoram “… walked in the way of the kings of Israel… for he had the daughter of Ahab as a wife…” (2 Chronicles 21:6).

When her son Ahaziah became king, it was she who advised him to act wickedly and so he did (2 Chronicles 22:3-4). And when Ahaziah died, she destroyed all the royal heirs of Judah (2 Chron 22:10) so that she might rule.

So you can see… she was W I C K E D !!

The influence of a woman can be a very strong thing.  Here, we see her influence affecting not only her husband, but her son and even grandchildren.

And even in our lives today, even as much as man will try to claim otherwise, woman has a great influence on the lives of her family and those around.

The only question for sisters is this… are you a woman of godly influence or a woman of ungodly influence?

The Influence of a Man

We have seen how the influence of a woman literally turned a whole nation upside down.

Now we shall see how the influence of a man turns a nation around.

Back in July when we were reading 2 Kings 1-5, I had talked about the need for spiritual mentors in church.  The positive influence of a spiritual mentor is evident in today’s passage…

Very often, the difference between success and failure in a person’s career is determined by whether he has been guided and nurtured by a mentor.  The same can be true in spiritual matters.

The extent to which a person matures spiritually and stays that way is often determined by the presence or absence of a spiritual mentor.

King Joash was a case in point.  As long as the godly priest Jehoiada was around to guide young Joash, the king ruled well and brought spiritual renewal to the land (2 Chron 23:16-24:16).

The influence of Jehoiada cannot be under estimated as Judah had lived through a period of Godlessness and selfishness.  But Joash knew what was right and what he had to do… thanks to Jehoiada.

But after Jehoiada died, Joash turned to wickedness, allowing idolatory to creep back in (2 Chron 24:17-18).  He even had Zechariah, the son of his mentor Jehoiada, killed! (2 Chron 24:22).  Joash eventually suffered a stunning military defeat, and was murdered by his own servants (2 Chron 24:23-25) – a tragic ending to what started out as a good reign.

Joash’s apostasy reminds us that leaders today need spiritual mentors and religious guidance if they are to stay on course.

If you are in a position of authority, who are you looking to for godly wisdom and counsel?

Even if you are not in authority, do you not think you also need someone to guide and counsel you spiritually?

And are you a man of influence?

So for reflection today… just consider the ways you can be an influence to others.

Let me start… and you can add to the list in the comments…

Influence 1:

By standing up for truth in a gentle and kind way.

The Lord’s servants must not engage in heated disputes but be kind toward all, an apt teacher, patient, correcting opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance and then knowledge of the truth and they will come to their senses and escape the devil’s trap where they are held captive to do His will. (2 Timothy 2:24-26)

Influence 2:

By exhibiting the sort of behaviour that ought to accompany sound teaching.

But as for you, communicate the behavior that goes with sound teaching. ….showing yourself to be an example of good works in every way. In your teaching show integrity, dignity, and a sound message that cannot be criticized, so that any opponent will be at a loss, because he has nothing evil to say about us. (Titus 2:1, 7-8)

Let’s hear from you…

Being Influenced…

I want to clarify before we go further that in my previous 2 points, I am not trying to say that a woman is of bad influence and a man is of good influence.

The basic premise remains this – we all can be influencers of spiritual faith.  The question is whether we are a good or bad influence? In this case, Athaliah was a very bad influence while Jehoiada was a good influence.

But what about the people who were being influenced?

I often wondered why is it that the Israelites always easily allowed themselves to be influenced by their kings to turn away from true worship to one of idolatory and sin.

But then when I think about myself and how easily I adopt certain thoughts, behaviours etc just because it is the ‘in’ thing or the prevalent feeling at that time, I realize that I am not that much different from the Israelites… and it is scary.

It’s scary to think that I can be easily influenced to do something without even realizing it.

Joash’s example also tells me that it is very important to stick to godly people… so that we can continue to be godly.

Again… much to think about and change in my life today.