You can Change the World

A Series on Women in the Bible
 (Use the link below to read the verses.)
2 Kings 11:1-12

 [God worked in and through the lives of countless women in the Bible. These women played significant, if not critical roles in the Lord’s plan of Redemption. In this series, we will look at the faithfulness of some of these God fearing women.]

 

² But Ahaziah’s sister Jehosheba… took Ahaziah’s infant son, Joash, and stole him away from among the rest of the king’s children, who were about to be killed. She put Joash and his nurse in a bedroom, and they hid him… so the child was not murdered.        NLT

 

Jehosheba was a hero who, at great risk to herself, not only saved the life of a prince, but also preserved the covenant line of David. It was a time of political intrigue, prophetic cleansing and social upheaval. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. Jehosheba’s story started long before this.

 

The Lord made an covenant with David that his lineage would result in an eternal kingdom. Following the death of David’s son Solomon, the nation of Israel was divided into two; Israel in the north and Judah in the south.

 

From that point forward, the kings who ruled both nations were rated good or bad, depending on whether they were faithful to the Lord. The book of 1 Kings closes with a great conflict between Elijah the prophet and Ahab, the king of Israel.

 

Joram, who was the son of Ahab, eventually became king of Israel. At the same time Ahaziah, who was related to Ahab by marriage, was the king of Judah. Like Ahab, they both did evil in the sight of the Lord.

 

Meanwhile, the prophet Elisha sent another prophet to anoint Jehu as the king of Israel with the mission to destroy the house of Ahab, including Joram the king. Once anointed, Jehu did just that by killing both Joram and Ahaziah.

 

When Athaliah, the mother of King Ahaziah, learned that her son was dead, she began to destroy the rest of the royal family which included the children of Ahaziah; her own grandchildren.

 

Jehosheba was the sister of Ahaziah. When she learned of the plot to kill all the children, she rescued Joash, her brother’s son and her nephew. Seven years later, a plan was developed to bring Joash to power as the king of Israel.

 

In so doing, they averted Athaliah’s attempt to destroy the house of David which was a direct attack on God’s redemptive plan. Jehosheba’s quick actions helped change the world.

 

The Lord will provide you and me opportunities to do the same thing; to change the world. We may not change the world on a global scale, but our actions can change the world of another individual. Just like Jehosheba did.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams