It's always good to see people smiling and laughing
and loving each other. For those watching online,
if you wonder why I'm just standing here, I'm
just watching people just smiling and loving
and still visiting with each other this morning.
It's good. Praise the Lord. That's a good thing.
It's now time for Children's Church. If we have
any children six and under that would like to
go to Children's Church, we should have somebody.
We've got a couple back there coming up front.
Just hang tight. For the rest of us, we will
be in second. 2 Chronicles 24. That's going to
be in the Old Testament, not to be confused with
2 Corinthians in the New Testament. 2 Chronicles
chapter 24. We're going to start in verse 24.
2 Chronicles. Chapter 24, verse 24 and 25. These
verses are not going to make a whole lot of sense
without the whole context, but the whole context
is a little too long to read through. I mean,
I'd be glad to. I would be glad if we just set
up camp and we could stay till three or four
today. But I'm guessing that most of the rest
of you probably don't want to do that. So we'll
just look at kind of the end of the story, and
then I'll tell you the rest of the story. And
I encourage you to go back and read this story.
Always, always go back and read God's Word. Don't
take anybody's word for it, not mine or anybody
else's. You always go back and read the Scriptures
and see what God's Word says for yourself. And
you pray about it and you read through it and
you read these words and you see these stories.
All of these stories, they have a point. Even
these Old Testament stories, they point us to
Jesus Christ. little nuggets of beauty in these
passages. And we see this story in 2 Corinthians,
or excuse me, 2 Chronicles 24. You also see the
same story recounted in 2 Kings chapter 11. You
see, it's a few different details, but Kings
and Chronicles, they both kind of cover the same
period in history. And so a lot of the things
repeat as you read through those books. And this
story is one of those. So we're going to read
these couple of verses, 2 Chronicles 24, verses
24 and 25, and then we're going to pray and we'll
get started. Although the Aramean army came with
only a few men, the Lord handed over a vast army
to them because the people of Judah had abandoned
Yahweh. the God of their ancestors. So they executed
judgment on Joash. When the Arameans saw that
Joash had many wounds, they left him. His servants
conspired against him and killed him on his bed
because he had shed the blood of the sons of
Jehoiada, the priest. So he died, and they buried
him in the city of David. But they did not bury
him in the tombs of the kings. Let's pray. God,
we come to you today. And I thank you that we
can come into your house and that we can look
at your word. And I pray that your Holy Spirit
would be in this place, dear Lord. We want you
to speak to us through your word. And I pray
that you free us of all the worries and the thoughts
and the distractions that are in our mind. God,
I pray that you take away any pride or any fear
that's within me today, dear Lord, that the words
I speak will be words that come from you, that
God, when I open my mouth, that your Holy Spirit
would speak through me and to me and to each
one of us here, dear Lord. I pray that as we
look at this scripture and think about this story,
that you help us to see ways in which it applies
to our life and how you make and speak to us
today. God, we come and we want to hear from
you, and I pray, God, that you would... Move
in our lives today. In Jesus' name I pray it.
Amen. Now here in these couple of verses that
we looked at, we see the end of the life of King
Joash. Now I'm sure that we're all familiar with
all of the kings in Israel and Judah, and we
know all about the stories. Well, probably not.
Even if we've read through the stories. There's
a lot of kings of Israel and a lot of kings of
Judah. And it's hard for us to really kind of
understand what's going on in this story. But
I've always been fascinated with this story.
I think it's a beautiful story that just speaks
to the goodness of God in the big picture. And
here we see the death of Joash. But we need to
go back in time a little bit. Now, when you begin
to read in the chapters before this and 2 Kings
and in Chronicles, we earlier on are introduced
to a couple of pretty bad folks. One is a king
of Israel, and his name is Ahab, and he has a
wife by the name of Jezebel. You may have heard
of Jezebel before. She was pretty evil. And ultimately,
Jezebel was killed by Jehu. And God had pronounced
judgment on the descendants of Ahab that Jehu
was going to kill those descendants and that
Jehu's family was going to sit on the throne
in Israel. And Jehu was also going to kill Jezebel.
And it was a pretty gruesome thing. She was evil
and God brought judgment on her. And when Jehu
approached her, it says she was sitting up in
the window and some of her servants was there.
And he said, chunk her down, boys. And they did.
They threw her down onto the ground and she was
splattered on the ground and said the dogs came
and ate her. And it was pretty gruesome. She
didn't even have a proper burial. And that's
an important theme for us to look at as we look
at. This story and the story of the kings before
this. Now, you may have noticed at the end of
the verse we read that it says that when Joash
died in verse 25, they buried him in the city
of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs
of the kings. Now, this is important because
how you were buried or where you were buried
was significant because it implied... what kind
of life you lived, whether you lived a life that
was worthy of an honorable burial or not. And
so we see in the story of Jezebel that she didn't
even get a burial. The dogs ate her. And here
we see in this story that Joash was buried in
the city of David, but not in the tomb of the
kings. Now, the good kings were buried in the
tomb of the kings, but there were some bad kings
that were wicked. And it specifically points
out that they were not buried in the tomb of
the kings. And we'll talk about why that is here
in a moment. And you say, why are we talking
about Jezebel? Well, we have to kind of start.
This whole story to me is kind of like a soap
opera. It is a lot of families interconnected
with each other. And it's a lot that goes on.
And it's hard to keep track of all the names.
And I'll try to keep it as simple as I can and
try to not mess up with who's related to who.
But Ahab, the scripture says, had a daughter
named Athaliah. Now, it doesn't specifically
say in the scripture that Jezebel was her mother,
but I believe the only wife we ever see of Ahab
in the scripture is Jezebel. And I think it's
fair to assume that Jezebel was, in fact, the
mother of Athaliah. Now, Ahab was the king of
Israel, but Athaliah ended up marrying the king
of Judah. God had already split the two kingdoms
apart. There was a whole story behind that. But
God had split the two kingdoms, and eventually
Israel was going to fall, and it happened not
long after all of these things with Ahab and
Jehu, the one who God used to bring the judgment
on Ahab and his family. His family became kings
and didn't last for long until eventually the
people of Israel were overtaken. the people of
Judah, God spared them because they did have
some good kings. Now, Israel never had a good
king. All of their kings were bad, every single
one of them. Judah had a few good kings, and
Judah was important because it was going to be
through Judah that the Messiah was going to come,
through the family line of David. Now, David
was a king, and his ancestors were going to follow
after him, and at some point, the scripture tells
us that that this son of David, this descendant
of David, was going to be the Messiah. And he
was going to come from Judah. And this story
shows us that that almost didn't happen. Almost.
Now, Athaliah married one of the kings of Judah
and had a son named Ahaziah. And he was an evil
son, just like... The rest of his family that
he'd come from was evil. And he also was killed.
And when Ahaziah was killed, his mother, Athaliah,
daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, did something that
was pretty horrible. She wanted to be the queen.
And so what she did was she had all of the sons
of Ahaziah killed. Their own grandmother sentenced
them to death. Now, she was the only queen that
Israel ever had, and she was not a good lady.
And she had all of her grandsons killed and put
to death so that she could become queen, except
for one. And Joash was spared by his aunt. His
aunt saw what was going on, and she took Joash,
and she hid him away, and she spared him. Isn't
that beautiful how God works? That Joash is that
link, that if Joash would have been killed, that
family line would have been killed off, but God
is so good and he kept that line of David. He
kept it alive, even through all the evil kings
that were around at the time. God was so faithful
that he spared Joash until Joash became a little
older. He was still a child. I believe he was
seven years old, the text says, when he becomes
king. Well, Athaliah is irate about this, that
Joash has somehow been spared. And Joash does
become king, and Athaliah dies, and her portion
of the story is done. And Joash's portion of
the story begins. And his story begins well.
He starts from a young age. And the husband of
the very aunt that had saved his life, Joiada,
he is a priest. And he begins to kind of pour
into Joash and begin to teach him the ways of
God. And Joiada is a good man. He is a righteous
man. He is a godly man. And he teaches Joash
good and right things that are of the Lord. And
Joash starts off very well. He starts off very
well, and he begins to see to it that the temple
is going to be rebuilt. And there are some people
that are supposed to be in charge of the work,
and they're not doing a good job. But Joash wants
to see to it that God's temple is rebuilt, that
God's people begin to get back to focusing on
God. This is a big problem we see throughout
the Old Testament with Israel and Judah is they
kind of ebb and flow, and they're close to God
for a while, and they're disobedient for a while.
And we can relate to that. Because we do the
same thing. Like there are seasons where we really
do good and there are seasons where we're disobedient.
And sometimes God got their attention and sometimes
God has to get our attention. But Joash was doing
good. He was excited about the Lord. He had been
taught right about the Lord. He was living for
the Lord. He started out as a good king for the
people of Judah. But then something happened
in his life. the one who had been taking care
of him and leading him in the right way, he died.
Now listen to what the scripture says about his
death. In 2 Chronicles 24, verse 16, it says,
Jehoiada died when he was old and full of days.
He was 130 years old at his death. He was buried
in the city of David. With the kings. Because
he had done what was good in Israel with respect
to God and his temple. Anybody catch where he
was buried? He was buried in the city of David
with the kings. Now this is an honorable burial.
I mean, to be buried with, he was not a king.
And so far as I know. I don't know that there
was anybody else who was buried with the king.
So maybe you can find somebody. I'm not saying
there isn't, but I'm not aware of anybody else.
And if you find somebody else, please tell me.
There possibly could be others. But whether he
was the only one or whether there were others,
we see here with this man of God that he was
honored in the way that he was buried because
he honored God throughout his life. And Joash
had done well as long as he was... mentoring
him and alongside of him. But when Jehoiada died,
the scripture tells us that Joash began to take
advice from others, and they didn't advise him
well. And pretty soon, Joash did not follow the
ways of God. And then we get to the end of Joash's
life, where he had totally gone... The wrong
way. And he's handed over to his enemies and
he doesn't even have an honorable burial. The
man who had mentored him and took care of him,
Jehoiada, he was buried with the kings. But Joash's
life, it's reflected to us that it took a turn
for the worst because of where he was buried.
At the end of his life, where did he end up?
Did he end up in a place of honor? Or did he
end up in a place of dishonor? And the scripture
says that he ended up in a place of dishonor.
Now, Joash's story, I believe, is a good warning
for us. Joash started well, but he did not finish
well. And because he didn't finish well, where
he went at his death was... Not a good place.
And so it is for us. How have we started? How
are we doing? How will we finish? It's a lot
of people in the world that start good, that
hear the word of God and know the word of God.
And maybe they have people in their life that
pour into them. And teach them in the ways of
God and in the word of God. And they do well.
And sometimes we end up getting off track. And
we end up taking advice and following people
that don't have God's interest in mind. And we
start making some bad decisions. And we find
ourselves in a bad spot. It's a miracle that
Joash survived. Of all the things that came before
Joash, of all the events that occurred when he
was a small child, just the fact that God had
took care of him and got him to this place was
a miracle. And maybe that's true for you and
I. That our lives are full of all kinds of details.
Some are good, some are bad, some are really
difficult. And yet here we are. Somehow today
we've... We're here and we're looking at the
Word of God. And I don't believe there's a coincidence
in that. I believe God works in every aspect
of our life. God knows everything that's going
to happen to us. God allows things to happen
to us. Now, we make decisions. And God, being
a gracious God, He doesn't force us to do what
He says. He gives us the option. He gives us
the choice. But sometimes we make the wrong choice.
Sometimes we choose poorly. Sometimes we choose
sin. Sometimes we choose disobedience. And even
though we may have started well, we may not be
running well. Galatians chapter 5 verse 7 says,
You were running well. Who prevented you from
obeying the truth? Maybe we're not so unlike
Joash. Maybe there's some people in our life
that we begin to associate with and they don't
care anything about the truth of God or about
living in obedience to God's Word. It's a good
chance that whoever we associate with, we're
going to be like them, for better or for worse.
If we associate with people who seek God and
love God and want to follow His commands, then
that's going to impact our life in a positive
way. If we seek people who are going to live
for the world and live for themselves and don't
care about right and wrong, then that's going
to impact us too. Because we're going to begin
to act like those that we associate with. If
we read the words of God and we read the words
of Jesus and we see the life of Jesus, then in
some way we should begin to act a little bit
like Jesus. There should be some love and compassion
and grace and mercy in our life. If we don't
read the words of God, then how can we live by
them? If we're not reading the instructions of
God, then whose instructions are we living by?
The instructions of the world? The instructions
of the devil? The instructions of wickedness?
And so Joash, he started well, but he did not
finish well. It's about how we finish. Some of
you may have watched Super Bowl 51 back in 2017,
I believe it was. Fantastic Super Bowl, if you
were a Patriots fan. The Super Bowl started off
for the Atlanta Falcons, who they were playing
against, started off as good as you could possibly
hope. With three minutes left in the third quarter,
the Atlanta Falcons were up 28 -3. All they had
to do was let the clock run out and have the
parade because they started so well. And in the
last 15 minutes of that ball game, their lead
went from 28 -3 to 28 -9 to 28 -12 to 28 -20
to 28 -28 until eventually they lost 34 -28.
They started well. But they didn't finish well.
They took their foot off the gas. They began
to get a little lax. What about you and I? Have
you started well? Sometimes we get a little lazy.
Sometimes we kind of know God's Word, but we
just become lazy in carrying God's Word out.
Maybe we become lazy in reading God's Word or
pay attention to God's Word. Well, for those
of us who have started running the race, then
let us be those today who shift our focus and
get in gear and point ourselves in the right
direction that we would finish well, that we
would not run the race in vain, but that we would
start following God and that we would finish
our life following God. So that when all is said
and done and the end of our life comes, that
we will be those who have an honorable death
in the presence of God, in the presence of Jesus
Christ. Maybe some of you today haven't started
running the race. Maybe you've never walked in
the way of God. Maybe you've been walking in
your own way. And maybe you know today that that
ain't worked out too good. We're pretty hard
-headed as humans. We like to do the same thing
over and over. And man, our lives can be falling
apart. And we say, I just don't know what's wrong.
And we just keep doing the same things over and
over. And we keep getting the same results. And
maybe in your life today, maybe you've never
followed the words of God. Maybe you've never
followed Jesus Christ. Because the very one that
God said was going to come. was his son, Jesus
Christ. He was going to be the Messiah that was
going to forgive our sins and save our souls.
And that was all part of God's plan. And man,
it was on the fringes of not being able to happen.
If Joash would have only been killed. But Joash
wasn't killed. He was spared. Because God's plans
were not going to be thwarted. And the Messiah
did come. And it's through Jesus Christ today
that he calls us to a better way, to a narrow
path, a hard path to walk, but a path that's
full of joy. Because the burdens that we have
lived under trying to do it our way, they are
so heavy. Man, they are heavy. But Jesus said,
if you're weary and burdened, you come to me
and I will give you rest. What a beautiful...
Beautiful scripture. I mean, that is one of my
favorite scriptures, as you would know, because
I say it all the time. But man, it is so good.
And I need to hear a lot. Maybe you don't. But
maybe you do, because maybe life is stressful
for you. And maybe the burden of life is stressful.
And things are just hard, and it wears you out
physically and emotionally. We get wore out.
And that's why Jesus' call to us is so beautiful.
He says, whatever your struggles are, whatever
your sins are, I just want you to come to me
and go and sin no more. And maybe some of you
today, you've never trusted in Jesus Christ.
Maybe today you just feel like you're missing
something and you feel the shame, you feel the
heartache of your sin. Would you just go to Jesus
today and just pray and ask the Lord to forgive
you? And just accept Jesus as your Savior. It
ain't no certain words you got to say. It ain't
no hoops you got to jump through. It's just you
got to give your heart to the Lord. Say, God,
with my heart, I love you. And I know you love
me. And I know I'm a sinner. And I know I need
to be forgiven. And I know that Jesus came to
do that for me. That's all it takes to follow
Jesus. That's it. That God wants our heart. And
when we follow Jesus, we've started the race.
And Lord willing, we start well. But I hope that
we finish well. And maybe for some of us today,
we have started the race. We've trusted in Jesus
Christ. We know who he is. But maybe we're not
running too well. Maybe we're not so unlike Joash.
Maybe things started good for us. Maybe we can
look back at our life and see that, man, it's
amazing that God got me through this point, through
all the things that should have got me. There's
no reason that some of us should be here, that
God has been gracious to us. He spared us from
our foolish decisions, and he saved us physically,
and he saved us through so much and provided
for us, and it's nothing but God that has brought
us here where we are. But maybe where we are
today, We're here, praise the Lord, but maybe
we're not where we need to be. Maybe there are
times people in our life that really poured into
us the word of God and taught us the things of
God and we lived according to those things and
we know the joy of that, but maybe we've lost
some of that joy because maybe we've gotten on
the wrong track. Joe Ash, he got on the wrong
track. He started off so good and so on fire
for the Lord. If you're on the wrong track today,
I've got good news for you. You can get on the
right track. You don't have to end your life
on the wrong track. You don't have to end your
life in sin. You don't have to live your life
in disobedience to God. God knows that we are
so weak. He knows that we are so weak. And yet
he loves us anyway, and there's forgiveness there
for you today. I want you to know that, that
God loves you, that Jesus loves you. He loved
you enough to forgive you of your sins the last
time you asked, and he still loves you that much
today, that he would forgive you of your sins
today if you would only seek him. Maybe today
you realize you are on the wrong path. What's
going to be said of you when you die? Will people
say nice things about you and mean it? I say
and mean it because at a funeral, everybody's
got to say something nice. But people know who
we are to some degree. People know what our life's
like. Will we be one who is like Jehoiada who
had an honorable burial? Or will we be one who's
like Joash that was buried but... not with those
of honor, not with those men of God, but with
the rest. The choices we make, the way we live,
will determine where we spend our life after
death, whether we spend it in the presence of
God or whether we spend it apart from God. I
don't know what hell's going to look like. I
don't know what hell's going to be like. But
I know it ain't going to be good. Where will
we be after death? That depends on the choices
we make. I hope today that we would choose Jesus.
And today, if you are one who has chose Jesus,
praise the Lord. If you're walking with him,
then you keep walking. If you've strayed off
the narrow path into that road that leads to
destruction, then praise the Lord. It's not too
late today. You're here. Man, God has brought
us here. Here he gives us his word. He gives
us this beautiful story. He gave Joash a chance.
He didn't make the most of it. What about you
and I? Let's pray. God, we come to you. We thank
you for this beautiful story. We thank you for
your word. We thank you for your example. And
I pray, dear Lord, that we would learn, God,
that we would not just be those who start good
and do pretty good for a while, but that we would
run the race with endurance, dear Lord, that
we would trust you and seek you. We thank you
for Jesus Christ for just showing us the power
of your love and your mercy and your grace that
even through this, dear Lord, you allowed King
Jesus to come through this bloodline. And it's
because of that we have reason to rejoice today.
If there's any that don't know Jesus, I pray
today that in this moment, they're repenting
of their sins, they're trusting Him. And for
those of us who do, God, I pray that we would
make sure we're running well. And I ask these
things in Jesus' name. Amen.