I was on a ministry trip to Thailand last week. Thailand is a country ruled by a king, and the king of Thailand is the richest man in the world, so the royal power is strong, but socially, its a matriarchal society, so family order is not strong, and sexuality is the most confusing thing in the world. I hope the seeds of the gospel of redemption are sown here. Weve been meditating on the text about guarding the royal seed, and guarding the royal seed means that we shouldnt get excited and overexcited and then drift away with the ups and downs. I want the whole city to be at peace, as the text says, so that we can enjoy the joy of salvation. Lets THINK together about what it takes for the whole city to be at peace.
First, sometimes we need to do the true rebellion.
Joash, the one remaining royal seed, came to the throne after six years in hiding. As a priest, Jehoiada knew that it was not Gods will that Athaliah should be king after killing all the children of Davids line, but if he had rebelled right away, they would have all died. The cross is wisdom, and wisdom is timing: I should not do things in my own blood. Now its Gods time, and the people finally shout their kings hurrah. Hearing the hurrahs, Athaliah enters the temple of the Lord for the first time, a place he usually ignores. But when she sees the 7-year-old king, her stomach turns, she rips her clothes to shreds and screams, 'Treason!' Instead of killing her right away, Jehoiada orders the centurion to take Athaliah out of the line and execute her on the royal horse path. The whole nation revels in the rebellion, even though they are not supposed to kill people in the temple. Athaliah is the only one who is upset and angry. If everyone else is rejoicing and Im the only one shaking in my boots because I think its treason, I have to wonder if Im wrong. The reason shes been put to this miserable death is because shes not one with the saints who are rejoicing and rejoicing in the temple, unlike David, who loved the temple, the house of God, so passionately. She could be repenting right now, but she still doesnt recognize Joash and she still ignores him, and thats why she has to be executed now. You cant say, 'Cruel!' because you dont hear the redemptive voice. You have to be able to obey for six years because youre scared, but then rebel in the seventh year. I obeyed to my husband and to my in-laws saying 'yes' and was afraid that he would divorce me, but when I believed in Jesus and the heavens opened up, I said, 'If you dont go to church, I will get divorced!' and I did true rebellion, so my husband was saved and I could do QT Mission and church. The one who can do true rebellion is the one who can rejoice with the laggards in the temple. When we give the application so that we can do true rebellion in the community, and we do it together, the whole city can be at peace. We have a mission to make the whole city at peace.
Second, we have to establish a covenant.
The first thing Jehoiada did when he set up a king in rebellion was to get both the king and the people to make a covenant with God. You have to have a covenant with God to have a good relationship. The most important thing in a marriage is to establish a covenant, and the bride and groom have to be in a covenant with God, and God has to be in a three-way covenant, and if its just the two of them, its going to be backwards. You have to let go of the illusion of marriage and just go with the desire to get people to believe in Jesus. In verse 18, when the whole people covenant to be Gods people again, they begin to voluntarily get rid of the Baal that was holding them captive. The absence of the dreaded Athaliah that keeps us in hiding symbolizes the salvation the Lord has given us. After we have thoroughly destroyed the altars and idols in Baals temple, we kill Baals priest, Molech. The word Mastodon means gift, and in killing the idol, Im killing my greed for the gifts of the world over God. And establishing a covenant with God is a QT, and if we dont remind ourselves of the covenant, well just build another shrine and another idol, so I need to do a redemptive QT, recognizing that I am Gods creation.
Third, we need to be loyal to my role.
Joashs coronation began in the temple, and now its time for the grand finale. Jehoiada leads the king in with his revolutionary allies, the centurions, and the whole people. The community of bodyguards has won the hearts of the whole people. We have an Athaliah in every home who holds the throne. Sometimes its a grandparent, sometimes its a spouse, sometimes its a parent, sometimes its a child, but they leave their parents because they cant get to the throne. The throne is just a scarecrow of Satan, and only when Jesus comes and sits on the throne is there peace. Joash is only 7 years old when he sits on the throne, so Jesus enthronement seems insignificant and ignored. But faith is unconditional, and through weaklings like 7-year-old Joash and 98-year-old Jehoiada, the whole city is at peace. The key words in todays text are joy and peace. 'peace' means 'the tumult and strife are over'-the result of Gods restored order. When everything is where it should be, according to Gods will, there is peace.
This is a story shared by a saint whose whole castle was at peace. A son came home drunk one day and said, 'I love my family. Im happy,' and he said that his parents believed in Jesus, which had a great influence on him, especially because his father was bankrupted that made him not to go down a bad way. The sons confession made me feel that God understood his suffering. The daughter was also depressed and divorced, and she was stuck in the community, but she became part of the community and met her husband, and now she lives with him. The daughter-in-law and son-in-law also have grandchildren. The father-in-law said that it is very difficult for him to accept his wife, who doesnt put her shoes in order, but he is willing to accept her as she is. Isnt this the secret of peace in the whole castle?
In order for the whole castle to be at peace, we should be able to practice true rebellion. I should obey because of salvation, not because obedience is an idol, and I must make a covenant with God to kill my love of gifts and be loyal to my part. May we be that one man, Jehoiada, and may we be at peace with Jesus, in the name of the Lord.
