Sat.’s Devo - A Bad Branch

Read: 2 Chronicles 21:1-23:21; Romans 11:13-36; Psalm 22:1-18; Proverbs 20:7
The Chronicles are snippets of the kings lives. Jehoram’s snippets are not good. Here are a few: he killed all his brothers - men who God said were better than him. He walked in the way of Israel’s kings. He married a daughter or Ahab and did evil. He died in pain as his bowels fell out. When he died no one was sad. He was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings. What a sad obituary.
All of his sons had been killed by raiders except his youngest whose name was Ahaziah. His mother was the infamous Athaliah who was the grand daughter of Omri. Omri was Ahab’s father making Athaliah Ahab’s daughter.
She raised him to do evil like Israel was doing. Ahaziah was counseled to go to war with Israel against Syria. Israel’s king, Jehoram was hurt in the battle and went home to heal. Ahaziah went to visit Jehoram because he was sick and while he was there Jehu was being used by God to bring judgment on the house of Ahab. He killed Jehoram and chased Ahaziah till he caught and killed him. Ahaziah was buried only because his father Jehoshaphat had honored the Lord.
When Athaliah got news that Ahaziah had been killed she rose up and destroyed all the royal seed except the infant, Joash who was stolen away by his nurse, Jehoshabeath. The nurse was Jehoram’s (king of Israel) daughter and also Ahaziah’s (king of Judah) sister and also the priest - Jehoiada’s wife. So you can see that the kingdom’s had become crazily inmeshed.
Jehoshabeath and her husband, Jehoiada raised Joash in the temple for six years while Athaliah ran the kingdom of Judah.
In the seventh year, Jehoiada gathered the captains of the army and the Levites that had been scattered in Judah and the chief of the fathers and brought them to Jerusalem. They covenanted that the son of the king should reign. They divided into three groups. Jehoiada armed the soldiers with weapons from the spoils of David which were kept in the temple and the Levites surrounded Joash as they brought him out of hiding. They crowned him, gave him the law and anointed him king. Everyone let out a shout and blew trumpets. When Athaliah realized what had happened she cried, “Treason”.
The officers brought her out and slew her outside the temple. Joash was led to the king’s house and placed on the throne. Now, they could cleanse the nation of Baal worship and restore worship to the House of the Lord.
This is such a picture of what will happen on the seventh day of God’s week. He will restore Jesus whose glory has been hid from the earth these 6,000 years and restore him to his rightful place.
In Romans, Paul compares the Jewish heritage as a tree. The roots and the tree was good. It was the branches that have the problems. Some of the branches that grew from Abraham’s tree were good and some bad. The bad ones got cut off and the Gentiles were grafted in. Paul warned them not to be snug because the health and lifespan of our branch has to do with our faith just like it did theirs.
Our Psalms is the one Jesus was referring his disciples to when he said the first verse on the cross. Selah.
Lord, may our branches be shade to the weary and health to the nations.