Seize the Moment – Day 854
The Hope of a Baby!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, July 19.
King Jehu of the northern tribes of Israel brought great religious reform through the destruction of the house of Baal and the deaths of the royal family of Ahab and Jezebel. Seemingly caught up in Jehu’s reformation was Ahaziah, the king of Judah. But the political intrigue deepened in 2 Kings 11:1-2, when we learned that Ahaziah was the son of Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab:
When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she rose and destroyed all the royal offspring. But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and placed him and his nurse in the bedroom. So they hid him from Athaliah, and he was not put to death.
This is a family feud as Jehosheba defied her family of origin to rescue the last of the royal offspring, the remnant of the line of David. Her husband, Jehoiada, the Chief Priest, protected the baby by hiding him for six years and then led a rebellion against the wicked queen to return the rightful ruler to the throne of David (6-12). Just like Jehu had done in the northern tribes, Jehoiada, in the name of a baby, destroyed the house of Baal and its wicked priest in the southern tribes (13-18).
Their hope for a better future was placed in a child! Just like our hope is found in the coming of a baby. The angel proclaimed in Luke 2:10-11, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
Seize the moment and put your hope in Jesus, our Immanuel – God is with us (Matthew 1:23)!