The Jews had been taken captive because of their disobedience. Here, they return to the Promised Land and begin to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. They begin with the Temple—the place of worship. Later, Ezra restores spiritual purity to their obedience. Finally, Nehemiah rebuilds the walls for protection.
The story follows Israel as a nation. However, the nation can be used as a type of an individual. As in the case with Israel, an individual can receive the word of God, become a child of God, and then rebel against His commandments. An individual can reject God’s judgment against their sin and make things even worse. Hebrews 12:5-11 can help you make this comparison. Follow the story of the rebellion and punishment of the nation of Israel as if they represented one person.
Joash (Jehoash) became king at the age of seven and reigned for forty years. He did well most of his reign until Jehoiada the priest died. At this time, he followed the princes of Judah to his destruction. Joash is one of many kings in the history of Judah who began well but turned from the Lord late in his reign. He even went to the point of murdering the son of the one who had saved his life and put him on the throne. We must all strive to continue faithful to the Lord to the end of our days.
What would you do if I told you that there was someone that lived really close to you that was out to get your family? It’s not necessarily going to be an obvious attack but maybe a subtil one. It might even be so subtil that you may sit there and watch it happen and not even know that there has been an attack. Now, what would you do if I told you that most of the time the thing that is going to harm you may already be in your home? Tonight we want to take a look into the word of God at something that God hates but most Christians live with.
By looking at the names of the Lord in the scriptures, we can see some of His different attributes. God gives Himself these names so that we may learn a little more of who He is and so that our faith may be increased to trust in Him. Are you trusting in the LORD JEHOVAH?
