Advent Journey - Following the Seed From Eden to Bethlehem Sampel

Day 19

CLOSE CALL

Ahaziah (40), Joash (41), Amaziah (42), Azariah/Uzziah (43), Jotham (44) 

It was a dismal decline for Judah. 

Fending off outside enemies, fighting with Israel (northern kingdom), and there was always internal chaos - conspiracies, assassinations, take-over attempts. Business as usual for power-hungry, fear-driven monarchies.  

Amazingly, the transfer of the Seed was never disrupted. 

Unlike in the north (Israel) where kings bounced around from tribe to tribe, southern kingdom rule stayed within the tribe of Judah. 

And while family succession for Israel occasionally hit a dead end - with no son to succeed the throne -  Judah always seemed to find a way to pass the Seed. We’re learning to expect that with God’s Seed strategy, right? 

There were some close calls, though. 

For example, Ahaziah (son of Joram) reigned for a single year, before being assassinated by the king of Israel. This assassination was ordained by God. (Just because Ahaziah was in the line of the Seed, did not guarantee God’s protection.)  

Then Ahaziah’s mother, Athaliah, killed the remainder of the royal family—including Ahaziah’s sons! (Yes, she murdered her grandbabies!)

But what about the Seed?

Thanks to God’s sovereignty, Ahaziah’s sister rescued Ahaziah’s one-year old son, baby Joash, and stole him away. She hid the baby Joash in the temple for six years while Athaliah was ruling as queen! 

The queen was eventually assassinated by a priest (another God-orchestrated death), and Joash assumed the throne as a seven-year-old kid. Unbelievable! That’s called protecting the Seed.

Joash went on to be a good king – “doing what was right in the sight of the Lord.” However, he turned toward evil in his later years.  

Joash’s son Amaziah followed a similar path. He started with a “good king” legacy, but he too turned away from God later in life. 

(Notice the pattern of many kings – start good, finish bad.)

Next in line of the Seed was Azariah (Uzziah) and Jotham. Both were mostly good kings. 

Meanwhile, something sad was about to happen up north for Israel.

After nineteen straight evil kings, Israel was invaded by Assyria. Its people were deported, bringing the end to the ten northern tribes. They scattered and never returned to their identify as individual tribes or even as a kingdom.

Meanwhile Judah’s captivity was coming soon, too. It was roughly one hundred fifty years away. They would also be exiled… but God had a plan for their eventual return. 

And why did God plan a return for Judah and not for Israel? Of course, because of the Seed.

Reflections: 

How does a seven-year-old become a king? And how does a seven-year-old with such wicked ancestors (and no parents because they were killed) grow up to be a righteous king that seeks to follow God?

Discuss how Joash’s aunt must have raised baby Joash to prepare him to be a king, and more importantly, to become a faithful child of God.