2 Kings 11:1-3
August 17, 1997
by J. David Hoke
We all love children, especially little babies, even though they have been described as being a creature with a loud noise at one end and no control at the other. That may be true, but we love them anyway. They bring us joy just to watch them coo and make little faces. It gives us hope to think that they might grow up to be someone who makes a real difference in the world, or someone who accomplishes something really significant. Politicians like to say that our children are America’s future, and they are right. Each generation of leaders are the children of a former generation. Children are important.
They are also very funny at times. Art Linkletter used to say, "Children say the strangest things," and they do. They are totally uninhibited and say whatever is on their mind. Here are some of my favorite quotes from things kids have said.
"God loves everybody, but He never met my sister."
"I would like to go to heaven some day because I know my big brother won’t be there."
"Noah’s wife was called Joan of Ark."
"Lot’s wife was a pillar of salt by day, but a ball of fire by night."
And my favorite, "Christians can have only one wife — this is called monotony."
While we may laugh at children as they are growing up, how they turn out is no laughing matter. All of us have a deep and abiding desire to see our children and our grandchildren become happy, successful and secure. It would be nice if we could hold that positive picture in our minds. But the unfortunate truth is that all is not right everywhere for our children.
Unless you’ve had your head in the sand for the past fourty years, then you must be aware that there is a battle raging, and the family is in the crosshairs. It is a battle for the destruction of the traditional family; and more particularly, for the minds of our children. As we move toward the end of the 20th century, a wide coalition of anti-family forces are working together to bring down the family. The bedrock of stable family living is being steadily chipped away. Seeing this decay of stable family life, so-called social engineers seek to redefine the family, as if they invented it in the first place. They want us to accept the abnormal as normal, the undesirable as inevitable.
The attacks against the family come on many fronts—from a radical feminist ideology to the promotion of a hedonistic lifestyle; from the abortionists to the drug dealers. Even in the halls of government you now hear an activist agenda promoting promiscuity, homosexuality, and the legalization of drugs. This is really a battle for the minds and souls of our children.
We all should have a very real and personal interest in this issue, whether we have young children or not, because it impacts everyone. So what can we adults do in light of this situation to help our children be all God wants them to be? Our text today gives us a real example to follow.
When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family. But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes, who were about to be murdered. She put him and his nurse in a bedroom to hide him from Athaliah; so he was not killed. He remained hidden with his nurse at the temple of the LORD for six years while Athaliah ruled the land. (2 Kings 11:1-3)
The passage before us gives us an instructive memoir in the story of Jehosheba, Athaliah, and Joash. In Israel, there was an evil king by the name of Ahab. He was married to an even more evil woman by the name of Jezebel. Among other things, that union produced an offspring—a girl by the name of Athaliah. At this time, Ahab was the King of Israel in the North, and Jehoshaphat was the King of Judah in the South. Seeking to form an alliance between the two divided kingdoms, Ahab and Jehoshaphat arranged the marriage of Ahab’s daughter, Athaliah, to Jehoshaphat’s son, Jehoram. This would prove to be a marriage made in hell. You see, the Northern Kingdom of Israel had already been led astray through the wicked efforts of Jezebel and King Ahab. Primarily through Jezebel’s influence, Israel had been led into the worship of Baal. Through Jezebel’s aggressiveness and Ahab’s acquiescence, Israel had been led into rank idolatry. Their daughter, Athaliah, who was made after her mother’s image, would begin to lead Judah astray as well.
Athaliah was a wicked woman. To read her story is to become convinced that she was at least as wicked as her mother, Jezebel. However, Jezebel is pointed to in Scripture as the epitome of wickedness, because her blatant campaign not only promoted idolatry, but sought to rid Israel of the worship of Jehovah altogether. Jezebel mounted a campaign to destroy all of the true prophets of God. Because of this, she was considered the more evil of the two. This is why she was used in the book of Revelation as a symbol of the harlot church.
But Athaliah was not far behind. She was indeed a wicked and heartless person. She influenced her husband, Jehoram, to kill all of his brothers. After Jehoram’s death, her son Ahaziah became king for a short while. When he died, her love for power caused her to try to have all of her grandchildren killed, for they were the rivals to the throne which she wanted.
But there happened to be a faithful woman in that day. She was a woman with vision, a woman prepared for that very hour. Her name was Jehosheba. She was married to a godly man, to the high priest, Jehoiada. Upon hearing of Athaliah’s evil plot to kill all the royal offspring, Jehosheba took her life into her own hands and stole into the palace. She stealthily made her way to the nursery, where she found one of the king’s infant sons, Joash, with his nurse. Jehosheba, in a bold act of heroic bravery, stole the infant, Joash, hid him with his nurse, and finally brought them into the Temple itself where Joash was raised in secret outside the murderous grasp of Athaliah.
The story goes on to reveal that young Joash was raised in secret for six years by Jehosheba and her husband, the high priest, Jehoiada. When young Joash was seven years old, he was brought forth and proclaimed as king. The devil’s plot had been to rid Judah of any descendant of David, and thereby thwart God’s plan to bring forth a Messiah. God had promised that through David’s seed the Messiah would come. The death of Joash would have rendered that promise impossible to fulfill. Joash was the last remaining descendant of David who could sit on the throne. The devil wanted to kill him. He saw an opportunity to destroy the plan of God. But God thwarted Satan’s evil plan and Athaliah, when she protested, was killed at the very coronation of King Joash. This had all been made possible through the heroic efforts of one godly woman married to a godly man. If Jehosheba hadn’t rescued Joash, Athaliah would have destroyed him. Thank God for Jehosheba.
At this point, you may be starting to understand the title to this sermon: "If Jehosheba doesn’t get him, Athaliah will." You see, the parallel I am seeking to draw is that if we do not go after those who are such easy prey for the enemy, they will be destroyed. One view is that Athaliah is a symbol of the devil and all of his evil devices directed against our children. Jehosheba is a symbol of the Church, of all godly parents and people who want God’s best for our children. Young Joash is a symbol of those children who are such easy prey for the enemy. If Jehosheba doesn’t get them, Athaliah will. If the Church doesn’t reach out to children, if godly parents do not train their own children, if concerned Christians do not touch the lives of our children, then Satan will seek to capture their minds and hearts and destroy them. If Jehosheba doesn’t get them, Athaliah will.
What we have here is an interesting moral. The moral of this story is that children are important. Sometimes, we forget just what is vested in the future of our children. God has a purpose for each life. Every child is important. It is indeed more than a cliche that "today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders." Like young Joash, we might have a prince here, who will one day be a king. You can be sure that the devil knows this, and you can be equally sure that he is employing every effort to seek to destroy those young princes and princesses before they come to power. The devil would like nothing better than to corrupt the minds and hearts of our children. He would like nothing better than to immobilize them insofar as their potential is concerned. The decisions our children make today will impact their possibilities for tomorrow.
The attack comes on many fronts. If the enemy can’t kill our children through abortion or emotionally devastate them through family strife, he seeks to pervert them through peer pressure and conformity to the world. We have been asleep for too long. Now, many Christians are starting to wake up. We are starting to see just how important it is to teach our children well and early. We must share Christ with them at the very earliest opportunity. We must make ministry to our children and youth an integral part of the Church’s outreach, if our children are to survive these pressures.
We must understand that our text today is not just a nice story. Ministry is not just a worthy endeavor. What we have before us is the call to an imperative ministry. It is a ministry which must be performed and we must do it. But what exactly must we do and how are we to do it?
Firstly, we must see clearly that the primary responsibility lies with the parents. Dad, mom, God has graciously lent you that child. He has placed in your hands the stewardship of raising that child in a godly home. You bear the primary responsibility for the spiritual welfare of your children. You see, it’s not enough to merely provide a home, clothes, food to eat, a good education, music lessons, wholesome activities, and the like. All of those things are good, but if you have to choose between some of them and a spiritual emphasis for your child, it is far better to leave off some of those things rather than neglect the spiritual life. I want you to understand, your children need spiritual training far more than they need music lessons. Your children need to understand the priorities of Christianity far more than they need Little League. Your children need Christian training far more than they need to go to the best school. Many parents have spent their lives trying to provide the best for their children, only to find out that because they neglected the spiritual dimension, their children never established a relationship with God. Moms, dads, you must train your children in the way of the Lord. You must, by your lips and your life, let them know that Jesus is the most important person in your life. The burden rests, firstly upon your shoulders.
Secondly, however, the burden rests upon the Church. We must clearly see that it is our calling to preach the Gospel to all people, including children. It means we must not only reach our children, but the children of others outside this church. If we don’t, who will? And as it was for Jehosheba, we will find that risk is involved. She risked her very life to snatch young Joash from the jaws of death. Let me ask you: is the danger any less real for our children today? "Oh," you may say, "there are many years left. They’re just children. There is plenty of time to turn to Christ." Is there really? Statistics show that most people make a decision for Jesus Christ before they are out of their teenage years. And many make decisions earlier than that. As a matter of fact, some if not reached early, will not be reached at all. What better time to come to know the Lord Jesus Christ than in your youth? I want you to know that our children do not have to spend years being devastated by the work of Satan. They can come to Jesus as children. Jesus said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me." Like young Timothy, they can know Him from their youth. It is the Church’s responsibility to do everything in her power to see that goal accomplished.
So we must take whatever risks are necessary. We must do whatever we can to reach out. We must be creative, and most of all, we must be relevant. Our programs of ministry must be sharp and attractive if we would throw a net over those children for whom Christ died. We must reach out to them and their parents with ministries and methods which are inviting and exciting if we are to get them.
And then when we get them, we must teach them. Jehosheba brought Joash to the Temple. And that is precisely where we need to bring children. We must bring them into the house of God. And then we must teach those young and eager and inquisitive minds the truth about Jesus Christ.
Here, we see the power of our Pioneer Clubs and our Sunday School, which is for all ages, but especially suited for children. We must catch a vision much like that which D. L. Moody had when he went out to Chicago and started what became one of the largest Sunday Schools in America. Incidentally, in Philadelphia there was a Sunday School which equaled Moody’s. It was run by John Wanamaker, the successful merchant. Moody and Wanamaker both looked for children, to bring them to Sunday School. They knew the importance of sharing the Gospel with young minds. D. L. Moody cared, and children flocked in droves to hear him talk about the simple truths of the Gospel. At that time, D. L. Moody didn’t believe he was capable of teaching adults. He had just become a Christian himself. But he could teach children, he thought, and he did. Many a child was won to Christ because D. L. Moody cared enough to reach out and bring them in. And because of that, God expanded his ministry and he became one of the greatest evangelists ever.
Those of you who work in Sunday School and Pioneer Clubs ministry—you are our modern day Jehoshebas. It is your task to train these young minds and to lead them to Jesus. It is not merely a job—it is a divine privilege, granted you by God. Never view it as babysitting, or just activity time. It is a time where spiritual truths can be imparted. It is a time where young princes and princesses can be molded for greater service. None are too young to be challenged to take a step towards Jesus. If Jehosheba doesn’t get them, Athaliah will.
Who knows what prince, what doctor, what lawyer, what scientist, what senator, what president, what pastor, what mighty man or woman of God there might be in your class? Susannah Wesley had nineteen children. John was among the last. By that time, she could have easily made the excuse of being too tired or too burdened to care for the spiritual needs of her children. But she did not. It was because of her faithfulness in Christian instruction that John and Charles Wesley changed the face of English society for Jesus Christ. A Sunday School teacher by the name of Mr. Edward Kimball was faithful to witness to a young man in his class, a shoe clerk named D. L. Moody, and one of the greatest evangelists of all time was the result. It may be because of your faithfulness that some young soul won to Christ in your Sunday School class may change the course of human history for Jesus Christ.
If Jehosheba doesn’t get him, Athaliah will. If the Church doesn’t reach out, the devil will. The devil is — so we must. And by God’s grace, we will!
Let me encourage you to enlist today, as a modern day Jehosheba, willing to take the risk to reach out and touch the lives of one of these leaders of tomorrow, today.
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