2 Chronicles 24:1-25:28
Romans 12:1-21
Psalm 22:19-31
Proverbs 20:8-10
Joash - what a story. Saved from death practically at infancy, and made king at the age of 7. A recipe for disaster, asking someone that young to take on such tremendous responsibility - but no, not in this case. Because Joash "did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years of Jehoiada the priest." Joash was a good king because he was guided by someone who was guided by the One King. How different would it have been, I wonder, if Joash had acted as though, as king, he already had all the answers, and didn't need Jehoiada's counsel?
As a parent, these are among my greatest fears - that my children will decide they have all the answers; that they will not heed counsel - not from their admittedly flawed parents, not from the others whom God might send them; that they will "confirm to the pattern of this world" instead of being "transformed by the renewing of [their] mind".
One might think that fear easy to dismiss…but one need only look around and realize how insidious the devil is. For the longest time, entertainment - one of the biggest addictions possible - has fed at the trough filled with movies about bumbling adults and parents and pure hearted children who know better, who end up saving the day. Today, some of the fruit that indoctrination has borne can be seen in colleges where students are ignorant of their ignorance, demanding not that they be taught what they do not know, but that their unfounded beliefs be confirmed.
Mind though - this is neither an intellectual nor emotional battle - it is a SPIRITUAL one. And when my worry threatens to turn into despair, remembering how even Joash, who when he had Jehoiada in his life led the kingdom in godly manner, could so easily be turned from the habits and the path of his youth when his mentor was gone, how wonderful to be reminded that wee can be "joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer"; that I can pray to God "do not be far from me; You are my strength, come quickly to help".
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