2 Kings 11.14 14 And when she looked, there was the king
standing by the pillar, according to the custom, and the captains and the
trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and
blowing trumpets. And Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, “Treason! Treason!”
(ESV)
Athaliah was the mother of Ahaziah and Ahaziah was the
grandson of Jehoshaphat, one of the great kings of Judah. But Ahaziah didn’t
walk with the Lord, he decided it was better to follow the religious interests
of the northern kingdom. As a result he was assassinated by Jehu, the king of
the northern kingdom who was anointed to wipe out Baal worship among the people
of Israel. When Athalia saw her son was dead she nabbed the throne for herself
and out of revenge started to kill off the entire royal family of Judah.
What she didn’t count on was Jehoash surviving the
slaughter and when he was seven years old he was crowned king in place of
Ahaziah and that didn’t sit well with Athalia who’d used her power and
influence to cement the rulership of the Kingdom of Judah as her own. Now she
had competition and the competition had protection. So when she
saw her gig was up she cried, “Treason! Treason!” And the competition took her
out and cut her down with the sword…
Two observations:
1.
Royalty isn’t always what it is made out to be.
Power isn’t always that easy to come by or to hold onto.
2.
It only matters when you cry, “Treason! Treason!”
if God is listening.
Athaliah was an evil, ambitious person, and she grabbed
the throne against the promise of God. Her dad was Omri, king of Israel, and he
was an idolatrous piece of work. The nut didn’t fall far from the tree in this
instance. Having the crown doesn’t mean having the blessing of God. Crying
treason means nothing is God isn’t listening.
The child of God has this promise: God is listening…
always. Probably one of my greastest gaffes of omission is simply not praying.
I will say I’m learning more and more to open my mouth and my heart and let it
fly toward heaven. My homeland is in as big a mess as ancient Israel and at the
rate we’re declining it’s hard to tell where it will all end. Not a big deal
until one remembers children and grandchildren who are growing up into such an
evil time as ours. (This new grandson of mine causes me to be concerned about
the godlessness that is around him…)
Athaliah thought her power and position would protect
her. Wrong. I forget God’s power will protect me and he promises to protect my
children’s children. How stupid can I get not to pray?
Father God, it is all in Your hands: my life, my kid’s
lives, and the lives of their kids. So I am crying out to You for their
blessing and protection according to Your word; because of Your promise. I know
You’re listening. Help me to not fear, but to pray – and not to procrastinate,
but to pray today – amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment