Fri.’s Devo - The End of Ahab’s Dynasty

Read: 2 Chronicles 21:1-23:21; Romans 11:13-36; Psalm 22:1-18; Proverbs 20:7 After Jehoshaphat died, his son Jehoram ruled. He had his other six brothers killed as well as some of the leaders of Judah. He reigned only 8 years but led Judah into the sins of Israel. He was the one who had married Ahab’s daughter and was as evil as Ahab. *** The Edomites who had been under Judah’s control rebelled and crowned their own king. Libnah also rebelled and Jehoram was not able to get them back because he had abandoned the Lord. *** God sent Jehoram a message written by Elijah. God rebuked Jehoram for abandoning him and for killing his own brothers who were better than him. So the Lord was going to hit his family and his nation with a terrible blow. He would suffer an intestinal disease that would end in a painful death. *** God stirred up the Philistines and the Arabs to fight him. They plundered Jerusalem and the temple and took his wives and all his children save Ahaziah. *** He did get a terrible intestinal disease that finally killed him after suffering for two years. When he died, his people did not honor him. No one was sorry he had died. *** Azariah had been Jehoram’s youngest son and only reigned a year after Jehoram died. His mother was Athaliah, granddaughter of Omri who had been Ahab’s father. She was evil and encouraged Ahaziah to do evil. He was advised to join Joram of Israel in his war against King Hazael of Aram at Ramoth-gilead. King Joram was wounded in the battle and went to Jezreel to recover. Jehoram went to visit him and while he was there Jehu rode into town determined to kill Joram. God had appointed Jehu to end the dynasty of Ahab. Jehu also killed some of Judah’s officials and Ahaziah’s relatives. Jehu found Ahaziah hiding in Samaria and killed him also. *** When Ahaziah died, there were no men in his family capable of ruling so Athalia killed all the royal family so she could rule. Ahaziah’s sister took his infant son Joash and hid him in the Temple where he was raised by the priests until he was seven. *** In Athalia’s seventh reign, the priests planned a coup against Athalia with all the other priests. They stationed guards around the Temple and brought Joash out of hiding and crowned him king and yelled “Long live the king!” When Athaliah heard all the noise and saw the people running she ran to see what was happening. She saw Joash crowned as king standing in the place of authority by the pillar at the Temple entrance. She cried “Treason!” *** The priests told the commanders of the troops to take her in front of the Temple and kill any one who tried to stop them. She was to be killed outside the Temple. They took her to the entrance of the Horse Gate and killed her there. *** The priests renewed their covenant with the Lord to worship him alone. They went and tore down the temple of Baal and its altars. The priest of Baal, Mattan was killed in front of his Baal altars. *** Jehoiada, the high priest put the priests and Levites in charge of the Temple of the Lord and charged them to follow the Lord according to the law. *** They placed Joash on the throne and rejoiced and there was peace. *** In Romans, Paul gave a sobering point that the Jews were a branch that was cut off because of their unbelief and the Gentiles were grafted in . In the same way, if the Gentiles refuse to believe, they can be cut off also. The Gentiles were the wild branch grafted into a cultivated tree. This was against nature but God did it. In the same way he can graft in the cultivated branch back into the root. This is exactly what was promised. One day the Jewish nation will return to the Lord and be grafted back in. It is all for his glory. *** Lord, we are eternally grateful for being grafted into your root. May we bring you honor and be a beacon for your Jewish branch that they may see the light and come home.