I awoke thinking of the time in Israel's history when the line of David, which was also the line of Messiah, was whittled down to just one boy hidden away in a back room.
"Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family of the house of Judah. But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king's sons who were about to be put to death, and she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram and wife of Jehoiada the priest, because she was a sister of Ahaziah, hid him from Athaliah, so that she did not put him to death." - 2 Chronicles 22:10-11 ESV
Those months and years Israel must have felt abandoned by God. David's throne was supposed to be forever. This child was kept a secret so most people had no idea David's dynasty was being preserved.
"And they went about through Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the heads of fathers' houses of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. And all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And Jehoiada said to them, "Behold, the king's son! Let him reign, as the LORD spoke concerning the sons of David. This is the thing that you shall do: of you priests and Levites who come off duty on the Sabbath, one third shall be gatekeepers, and one third shall be at the king's house and one third at the Gate of the Foundation. And all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the LORD. Let no one enter the house of the LORD except the priests and ministering Levites. They may enter, for they are holy, but all the people shall keep the charge of the LORD. The Levites shall surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand. And whoever enters the house shall be put to death. Be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out. The Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded, and they each brought his men, who were to go off duty on the Sabbath, with those who were to come on duty on the Sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss the divisions." - 2 Chronicles 23:2-8 ESV
Then when Athaliah was defeated and Joash was crowned king he was too young to really be considered competent.
"Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba. And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest." - 2 Chronicles 24:1-2 ESV
How could He lead? He was just a naive boy!
Joash was and is a type (picture that represents some aspect) of Jesus. Every hope was placed on one seemingly hidden person. Then once He is revealed can He really do the job in a dog eat dog world.
Yes, He can. All seems lost but it isn't. It looks like mankind will poison itself to death or push the planet past it's resources and let's face it... we could left to ourselves but there is a Messiah hidden in a back room that only a few priests knew about.
If you know Jesus then you know the world has a Saviour. What hope! What a sacred trust that is!
Our faith is an open secret. We have hope a folk who don't have it must see that little boy to believe that there can be a happy ending. This innocent One does have the wisdom to lead well. We don't have to resort to the wisdom of the world. Jesus' way is right and God approves of His innocent ways.
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