I'm pretty excited later this summer, my college roommates and I are going to spend a couple of days together in Connecticut.
! I haven't seen some of them in a long time.
And I am really looking forward to time together with them to renew our friendships and our relationships.
But as I've been reflecting on catching up with them, I got an email from one of them earlier that shared some really significant news in his life that I had no idea about.
And I realized how far our relationship had drifted apart in the sense of being together in a relationship on a regular basis.
Relationships need constant renewal, don't they?
This is true in our co-workers or the people we work with.
This is true in our friendships.
This is true in our marriages, in our relationships with our kids.
This is true in our relationships.
Wherever our relationships are, we often feel that the force draws us away from intimacy and closeness in our relationships.
Sometimes it's experiencing great loss.
And walking through grief isolates us from others.
Sometimes it's the busyness of life.
Everything that's right in front of me is so captivating and so important that I don't have time to look beyond.
Or I lose sight of some of these longer term or more important things of life.
Sometimes we just get distracted by new and shiny things.
Whether it be a new hobby.
Whether it be a new relationship.
Whether it be a new TV.
A new fire pit in your backyard.
Whatever it is.
New shiny things.
And sometimes we just plain get lazy.
We become complacency.
We get bored.
And it turns into neglect.
And all of our relationships will wither and suffer.
Unless we can continue to seek to renew them on a regular basis.
And so it is with our relationship with God as well.
We within our relationship with God need the same kind of renewal on a regular basis.
One of the phrases that came out of the Protestant Reformation was,
excuse my Latin if I don't say this rightly,
Ecclesia Reformata Semper Reformanda.
Translated, the church reformed, always in need of reforming.
That's a dynamic translation of it.
But I think it's helpful to think about when the Protestant Reformation happened,
there were two things that went on.
One was a reformation of the church to reestablish clarity in the gospel
so that we understood the Bible and Jesus and the means of salvation properly
in light of some ways in which the church before then had really wandered from that.
The church was renewed doctrinally.
And so the church reformed refers to that.
But then it says, but always in need of reforming.
The person who wrote this, I didn't even write down his name because he's some Dutch guy
and I would have butchered his name terribly.
But the guy who read this actually coined this phrase not for some sort of grand reformation of the church
where we need to tear it all down and build it up from nothing again,
but instead saying the church has been reformed in a renewal of doctrine and practice,
but what we need is God's ongoing work to reform our hearts
so that our hearts are captivated by the truths of the gospel
and by the worship of God and our lives are lived to serve and please Him and to bring glory.
And one of the fascinating things about this, and you'll see this as a thread through it,
is that always in need of reforming.
It is not a call for me to reform myself, but it is a cry and a recognition
that I need to be reformed or renewed in my relationship.
Some of us, like an old married couple, have been with God for a long time.
But maybe it's grown a little stale, a little cold, a little pro forma.
Our passage today speaks a lot about renewal, about renewal in our relationship with God.
It actually uses the word covenant a bunch to talk about a covenantal relationship with God.
We're continuing in our series, our preaching series in 2 Chronicles,
and we're going to look at 2 Chronicles chapters 23 and 24 today.
You can find it in your pew Bible on page 348, I believe.
And as we look there, let's pull out our Bibles so that we can read along as I read it,
as we go through the sermon.
But remember that this book was written to a group of people who had come back from the exile
of God's judgment on His people for their lack of reformation,
for their wandering away and their forsaking God.
And now God had brought them back and restored them to the land of Israel.
But they're asking, how do we go forward?
How do we not let that happen again?
How do we pursue a relationship with God and being God's people?
And one of the things that we see is they look back to the earlier stories to learn, right?
And as the writer of 2 Chronicles was writing, and he said,
I want you to look back and see what happened.
Look at the good places where God was at work and where people were responding rightly.
And look at the bad places where God was at work and people were ignoring Him
and doing other things.
More specifically, in the story of the kingdom of Israel,
the context has been in chapters 21 and 22,
we've seen the story of three bad rulers,
Jehoram, Ahaziah, and Athaliah.
We saw that this is the influence of the house that ruled the northern kingdom
that had no interest in following or serving God.
In fact, they followed other gods.
And at the time when we're going to jump into the story,
Athaliah sits on the throne.
She is the mother-in-law of the last king in the line of David who had died.
And so, this leads us to…
I'm just going to read this so that we can get a little bit of context.
Chapter 22, if you want to look back one chapter,
chapter 22, verses 10 through 12,
this is the context and the setup.
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 Jehoshabath, 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, Jehoshabath, 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.
And he remained with them six years,
hidden in the house of God,
while Athaliah reigned over the land.
And as we see this little story,
we see that the seed of renewal for God's people is planted.
So let's see what God has to teach us about that.
Let me pray and ask for God's help
as we look at our passage this morning.
So pray with me, if you will.
Lord Jesus,
Lord, we need your help this morning.
Lord, how often our hearts do grow cold.
We pray this morning that by your Spirit you would,
Lord, bring your winds of renewal
into our hearts and lives.
Lord, I pray that you would give us understanding
of this section of your word.
Lord, I pray that you would help me
to speak your truth as I ought to.
And I pray for us that we would sit under
and receive your word.
And Lord, that you would do your work
in our hearts
as we listen to your word today.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
The big idea of our passage this morning
is pretty straightforward.
It is, we will see the importance
of renewal in the relationship
of God's people.
The importance of renewal
in the relationship of God's people.
We will see it in three steps.
The renewal that revives devotion
to our King.
The renewal that clarifies
our practice of worship of God.
And a renewal that keeps us
from falling away from our God.
So, there's your outline
if you want to follow along.
The first thing we're going to look at
is at the beginning of chapter 23,
verses 1 through 15,
we'll see renewal revives devotion
to our King.
So, we're going to read that together
and then we'll look at it
for a few minutes.
2 Chronicles chapter 23, verse 1.
But in the seventh year,
Jehoiada took courage
and entered into a covenant
with the commanders of hundreds.
Azariah, the son of Jehoram,
Ishmael, the son of Jehohanan,
Azariah, the son of Obed,
Maaseah, the son of Adaiah,
and Elishaphat, the son of Zichri.
And they went about through Judah
and gathered the Levites
from all the cities of Judah
and the heads of the 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.
And the Levites shall surround the king
each with his weapon 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
and those who were to come on duty on the Sabbath
for Jehoiada the priest
did not dismiss the divisions.
And Jehoiada the priest gave to the captains
the spears and the large and small shields
that had been King David's
which were in the house of God
and he set all the people as a guard for the king
every man with his weapon in his hand
from the south side of the house
to the north side of the house
around the altar and the house.
Then they brought out the king's son
and put the crown on him
and gave him the testimony
and they proclaimed him king
and Jehoiada and his son anointed him
and they said,
long live the king.
When Athaliah heard the noise of the people
running and praising the king
she went into the house of the Lord
to the people
and when she looked
there was the king
standing by his pillar at the entrance
and the captains
and the trumpeters
beside the king
and all the people of the land
rejoicing and blowing trumpets
and the singers with their musical instruments
leading in the celebration
and Athaliah tore her clothes
and cried,
treason, treason.
Then Jehoiada the priest
brought out the captains
who were set over the army
saying to them,
bring her out between the ranks
and anyone who follows her
is to be put to death
with the sword.
For the priest said,
do not put her to death
in the house of the Lord.
So they laid hands on her
and she went into the entrance
of the horse gate
of the king's house
and they put her to death there.
Okay.
Old Testament narrative
is so much fun.
There's so much detail.
What is going on here?
So Jehoiada, right,
is the priest
overseeing the temple
in Jerusalem
where they worship God.
His wife is Jehoshaphat
who is the woman
who saved Joash
who is the son of the king
who has passed away
from being killed
by his grandmother
so that she could have power.
That was her.
She wiped out
all of the remaining rivals
to the throne
so she could take
the throne of Israel.
But God preserved that boy.
And six years later,
Jehoiada decided,
it is time.
And with the Lord,
he put a plan in place.
He carefully built support.
He pulled together
the military commanders.
He pulled together
the religious leaders
and the Levites
who were those
who served in the temple.
He pulled together
the fathers of the families.
So he gathered
a broad coalition
of the people of Israel
who wanted to see
a restoration.
And there's probably
an undercurrent here
of saying,
Athaliah was a terrible ruler
and people didn't want
her to keep going.
They wanted something new.
And Jehoiada took advantage
of this.
And it took shrewd planning.
There's a lot of detail
in here,
but basically what Jehoiada
was doing was picking
the perfect time
to pronounce this new king.
It was when there was
a change of guard.
So there was a guard
coming in
and there was a guard
going out
and he said,
everyone stay.
So he has twice
as many guards as normal.
And there are all
these people here
and it's on the Sabbath
so people are here
worshiping.
And he said,
at this time
we're going to set up
a cordon around the temple
and then we're going
to proclaim the king
in the middle of it.
And that's basically
what he does.
Right?
And Athaliah,
the sitting queen
at this point,
who didn't seem
very interested
it seems
in the house of the Lord,
she didn't go there
regularly
because,
as we will see,
she worshipped Baal.
She worshipped
in a different place,
a different God.
So she was probably
unfamiliar with
some of these shenanigans
that Jehoiada
was pulling off.
She shows up
and she yells
and says,
what's going on here?
Treason, treason,
which is so ironic,
right?
She who usurped
the throne
from her,
the rightful heir
who lived
and took it
for herself.
She who led
the people astray
in so many ways.
Her treason
against God
was far greater.
And yet here she is
crying treason,
treason,
and Jehoiada says,
no,
your time is done.
And the military
takes her
and they remove her
from the temple courts,
from the areas,
from the places
of worship,
and she is removed
and executed
for her rebellion
and for her unrighteous
taking of the throne.
In all of this,
the nation
was reverting
to a renewal
of what should have been.
The line
of the kings
of David
was being restored.
And did you notice
that there were
a couple of times,
you see it
in verse 23,
verse 1,
you see it again
in verse 3,
that Jehoiada
led in people
making covenants,
that is,
agreements
to renew
their relationship
with one another
so that they could
be God's people
and do what God
had called them
to do.
They were stepping
back into
a stream
of covenants
that go back
even further,
that go all the way
back to Father Abraham,
the one who God
made a covenant
saying,
I will make you
the father
of a great nation
and I will bless you
and your nation
and your people
will bless
the whole world.
It's the covenant
that God made
with the people
of Israel
through Moses
at Sinai
when he gave
the law
and said,
this is what it means
to be my people.
This is how you are
to live
as my people
and I will be your God
and you will be my people
for,
till the end of the earth
and I will establish you
and make you
to be a place
where I display my glory
and the covenant
that he made with David,
I will make your throne
an eternal throne
and this will be a kingdom
that will last forever
and one of your descendants
will sit
on this throne
forever.
And the restoration
of Joash
to the place of king
is a restoration
to the promises
of these covenants
to be God's people
in God's place,
renewing a way
to walk with God
and to have a relationship
with Him.
Now,
before we keep going
with this story,
let's stop and think,
how do we apply this
today?
right?
Now,
I always say this
but I'm going to say it again.
Israel,
the nation state of Israel
was God's people
expressed through
a political,
socio-economic reality.
They had militaries,
they had governments,
they had…
In the New Testament,
the church
is God's people,
becomes a transnational,
apolitical
movement throughout
all societies
in the whole world,
right?
And so,
we're not looking
to restore
a new king
to rule over politics
or a nation
or society
as the church.
We are looking
for the king
of the church
to be exalted
in the lives
of the church
so that we can be
God's people
throughout the whole world.
And we have that king
and his name is Jesus.
He is the descendant
of David.
He is the one
who came proclaiming
the kingdom of God
is at hand.
He is the one
who established
his kingdom
through his life
and death
and resurrection.
And this is the king
that we follow.
Or is it?
This is the question
we need to ask ourselves
as we think about
this passage.
Who is really
the king of our lives?
Who do we really trust
for protection,
for provision?
Who do we run to
for counsel
and wisdom?
Who do we bow
our knee to
and sacrificially follow?
Who do we devote
our lives
to pleasing
and serving?
Because this is what
kingship
at its best
is meant to be.
This is what
Mariadoc Brandybuck
saw in Theoden,
king of Roan,
in the Lord of the Rings
when he bowed his knee
before this old man
and said,
I will serve you
as your servant
because you are a king
worth following
and worshiping.
And we have someone
even better than that
in Jesus.
But it's so easy,
is it not,
for our heart devotion
to Jesus
to wane?
How easy it is
for our,
for us to look
to other places
than his saving power
and redeeming power
in our lives.
We look to our jobs
and our bosses
to provide for our
physical needs,
and so we end up
serving them.
we give our lives
to our academic mentors
or our loyalty
to our political leaders
and follow them
sacrificially.
We look not to God's word
or to the king of kings
and lord of lords,
but to podcasts,
news sources,
influencers on the internet
and others
to shape
how we think
what is good
and wise
and right
in the world.
And slowly
we become weaned
from Jesus
being really
our king.
But we need to be
reminded that
Jesus our king
came bringing riches
of an eternal kingdom
that far outweighs
it all.
And the security
of our salvation
in him
based not on our works
but based on his
gracious work for us
is beyond compare.
And the wisdom
that he gives
which is so unlike
the wisdom
of the world
is so great.
we may require
the careful planning
that Jehoiada did
to renew
our love for Jesus.
We may need
to cut out things
that rival him
in our hearts.
We may need
to turn off
voices in our heads.
We may need
to rededicate ourselves
to worshiping Jesus
more than all
to make him
truly the controlling
center of our lives
because he is a king
worth that kind of worship.
So we see that
in this story
there's not only
renewal of a devotion
to a king
but secondly
we see that
there's a renewal
that clarifies
the practice
of our worship
of God.
this is what
happens
as we get
to the end
of chapter 23
so let's read
that together
and look at it.
Starting in verse 16
of chapter 23
says this,
And Jehoiada
made a covenant
between himself
and all the people
and the king
that they should be
the Lord's people.
Then all the people
went to the house
of Baal
and tore it down
his altars
and his images
they broke into pieces
and they killed
Matan
the priest
of Baal
before the altars.
And Jehoiada
posted watchmen
for the house
of the Lord
under the direction
of the Levitical priests
and the Levites
whom David
had organized
to be in charge
of the house
of the Lord
to offer burnt offerings
to the Lord
as it is written
in the law of Moses
with rejoicing
and with singing
according to the order
of David.
He stationed
the gatekeepers
at the gates
of the house
of the Lord
so that no one
should enter
who was in any way
unclean.
And he took
the captains
the nobles
the governors
of the people
and all the people
of the land
and they brought
the king
down from the house
of the Lord
marching through
the upper gate
to the king's house
and they set the king
on the royal throne
so all the people
of the land rejoiced
and the city
was quiet
after Athaliah
had been put to death
with the sword.
So having presented
the king
and restored him
to his place
then Jehoiada
leads the people
to turn their interest
to the worship
of God
in the temple.
Right?
And this was the place
if you remember
going all the way
back to the Exodus
God said
I will be among you
and he manifested
himself
in very physical ways
and then he told Moses
build a tabernacle
which is a big tent
it's a movable tent
and that tent
with him
and God
when they stopped
God would show
and manifest
his presence
among them
and then further on
when they finally
returned to the promised land
and they built Jerusalem
they built a temple
and that temple
there was a
a special place
where God himself
manifested his presence
among his people
and one of the most
grievous things
that happened
in the exile
was that
you can read this
in the book of Ezekiel
the glory of the Lord
departed from the temple
and was no longer
among his people
and here
that's after this
historically
what you see here
is Jehoiada
renewing the worship
of God
while his presence
was still manifested
in the temple
notice that
the whole nation
is involved
this is not being led
by a few people
at the top
and everyone else
is just
I don't know
what's going on
but you see
the people
and the priests
and the king
were renewing
their covenant
with the God
and then they were
involved in this
transformation
where they went
and they tore down
the temple of Baal
the place that was
the center
of worship
of other gods
that should never
have been
and they killed
the priest
who led that
because he had led
the people astray
from worshiping God
and he renewed
the covenant
relationship
with the people
and he rebuilt
the temple
taking from
this false temple
all the riches
that had been lost
and renewing them
into the beauty
and the glory
of this physical
place
of the temple
they didn't just
rebuild the building
though
they rebuilt
the practices
it says that
he renewed
the Levites
in the offering
of sacrifices
and did you notice
as I was reading
how often he said
as David had done
or even as Moses
had done
this was a renewal
that was going
back to the old
practices
where they were good
where they were right
and remembering
what God
had already said
and saying
let's keep doing that
let's do that anew
because we haven't
done it for a while
if I
and so we see
this renewal
right
of the temple
they see this
renewal
of the worship
and remember
that the sacrificial
system
was one
that pictured
the gospel
for the people
of Israel
in the Old Testament
right
it showed
that
the importance
of sin
as an offense
to God
and the inability
to approach
a holy God
as sinful people
and God gave
this
this means
by which
that sin
could be atoned
for
through the death
of animals
right
in a momentary
way
the whole temple
system was meant
to show us
that we're sinful
people
and that we can't
just walk up
to God
and say
hey
how's it going
as a holy God
we don't
we don't have
the right
to do that
in fact
it would
incur upon
us
his wrath
against sin
and evil
but God
has made a way
for us to be
covered
and that's the
picture you see
over and again
by covered
by this blood
so that we could
again
draw near
to God
and again
worship him
as we ought
to
and one other
thing that's
really cool
is they renewed
the singing
did you notice
that
they renewed
the singing
that wasn't
just doing
rites and rituals
but was also
heartfelt praise
and adoration
glorifying
and bringing
and
proclaiming
the greatness
of God
if we read
ahead into
chapter 24
we're not
going to read
this
but 1
through 14
we see a
renewal
in another
way
because
what Jehoiada
ends up
doing
with Joash
is
gathering
taxes
to continue
to rebuild
the temple
and to renew
it
and
so
they
refresh
what had
been lost
during
the last
the reign
of the last
kings
they refresh
the temple
so that
it has
all that
it needs
to properly
do
the worship
that God
called them
to
and so
the second
pattern of renewal
is looking at
the renewal
of worship
and how do we
worship
God rightly
and in the
Old Testament
it was determined
this should be
at the temple
through the
priests
with the
sacrificial system
with the
praising
of God
as a part
of it
right
what about
us
today
how do
we
be renewed
in our
practice
of worship
well
that could
be a really
long sermon
series
but
here are
a couple
of thoughts
for you
one
way
that I
think
we need
to be
renewed
is how
we come
to this
gathering
on Sunday
mornings
how do
we come
to a
corporate
worship
time
together
because
we live
in a
consumer
world
and
often
we
think
what
am I
going
to get
out of
this
morning
am I
going to
be
entertained
intrigued
or drawn
in
some
of us
may
come
for
intellectual
rigor
and
sophistication
to build
up
knowledge
to learn
more
stuff
some
of us
might
come
for
an
emotional
experience
and for
the
feels
that God
is real
some
of us
might
come
for
community
and to
be
loved
and
connected
to
others
some
of us
might
come
because
we
know
it's
the
right
thing
to
do
and
all
of
those
are
good
things
right
all
of
those
are
good
things
and
I'm
glad
that
you're
here
this
morning
regardless
of
your
motivation
and
I
hope
you'll
come
back
but
when
God
calls
us
to
worship
together
he
calls
us
so
that
we
can
be
renewed
by
him
we
return
to
the
means
of
grace
that
he
has
given
us
the
word
of
God
the
practice
of
sacraments
the
fellowship
of
the
saints
these
gifts
so
that
we
might
remember
God
and
his
work
and
his
greatness
and
be
renewed
in
our
faith
we
come
so
that
we
will
see
God
that
we
will
remember
God
so
that
our
hearts
will
be
turned
to
him
again
in
adoration
in
devotion
in
knowledge
and
truth
and
we
pray
that
as
we
gather
here
at
Trinity
every
Sunday
that
God
would
be
lifted
up
in
our
midst
that
Jesus
our
King
would
be
seen
clearly
and
that
would
be
the
thing
that
would
make
you
come
back
week
after
week
after
week
so
as
we
gather
we
want
to
examine
our
hearts
why
do
we
gather
what
do
we
come
here
for
is
it
in
a
consumeristic
mentality
or
is
it
in
a
recognition
that
we
desperately
need
to
be
renewed
in
our
understanding
and
vision
of
who
God
is
on
a
daily
basis
the
other
thing
about
renewing
our
worship
is
that
we
need
to
recognize
that
worship
doesn't
just
happen
here
when
we
gather
together
that
is
not
a
biblical
we
often
call
this
our
worship
service
but
it's
not
our
worship
service
it's
our
corporate
worship
service
worship
is
something
that
we
do
with
all
of
our
lives
we'll
read
Romans
in a
little
bit
but
that
we
are
to
pour
out
our
life
in
all
things
as
an
act
of
worship
to
him
that
we
are
to
do
all
things
for
his
glory
that
is
to
please
him
to
honor
him
to
reflect
him
to
proclaim
him
so
we
don't
just
worship
God
here
we
do
worship
God
here
but
then
we
go
out
and
we
worship
God
as
we
wipe
noses
and
as
we
study
really
hard
and
as
we
go
to
the
work
of
whatever
the
work
is
that
God
calls
us
to
every
day
as
we
rub
shoulders
with
the
people
that
God
surrounds
us
with
every
day
we
think
how
do
we
worship
God
in
every
context
how
do
we
do
this
in
our
families
in
our
marriages
how
do
we
do
this
in
our
friendships
how
do
we
do
this
in
our
hobbies
in
our
recreation
how
do
we
worship
God
in
all
things
everywhere
because
this
is
what
God
has
called
us
to
do
and
so
our
worship
of
God
is
not
merely
in
our
gathering
but
also
in
our
scattering
renewal
!
Renewal
in
our
loyalty
to
our
King
and
the
worship
of
our
God
are
two
of
the
key
things
that
we
learn
from
this
passage
but
the
third
thing
is
in
the
end
of
chapter
24
starting
in
verse
15
where
we
see
that
renewal
keeps
us
from
falling
away
so
let's
read
this
passage
together
24
starting
in
verse
15
but
Jehoiada
grew
old
and
full
of
days
and
died
he
was
130
years
old
at
his
death
they
buried
him
in
the
city
of
David
among
the
kings
because
he
had
done
good
in
Israel
and
toward
God
and
his
house
now
after
the
death
of
Jehoiada
the princes
of Judah
came and
paid homage
to the
king
then the
king listened
to them
and they
abandoned
the house
of the
Lord
the God
of their
fathers
and served
the Asherim
and the
idols
and wrath
came upon
Judah
and Jerusalem
for this guilt
of theirs
yet
he
set
prophets
among
them
to
bring
them
back
to
the
Lord
these
testified
against
them
but
they
would
not
pay
attention
then
the
spirit
of
God
clothed
Zechariah
the
son
of
Jehoiada
the
priest
and
he
stood
above
the
people
and
said
to
them
thus
says
God
why
do
you
break
the
commandments
of
the
Lord
so
that
you
cannot
prosper
because
you
have
forsaken
the
Lord
he
has
forsaken
you
but
they
conspired
against
him
and
by
command
of
the
king
they
stoned
him
with
stones
in
the
court
of
the
house
of
the
Lord
thus
Joash
the
king
did
not
remember
the
kindness
that
Jehoiada
Zechariah's
father
had shown
him
but
killed
his
son
and
when
he
was
dying
he
said
may
the
Lord
see
and
avenge
at
the
end
of
the
year
the
army
of
the
Syrians
came
up
against
Joash
they
came
to
Judah
and
Jerusalem
and
destroyed
all
the
princes
of
the
people
from
among
the
people
and
sent
all
the
spoil
to
the
king
of
Damascus
though
the
army
of
the
Syrians
had
come
with
few
men
the
Lord
delivered
into
their
hand
a
very
great
army
because
Judah
had
forsaken
the
Lord
the
God
of
their
fathers
thus
they
executed
judgment
on
Joash
when
they
departed
from
him
leaving
him
severely
wounded
his
servants
conspired
against
him
because
of
the
blood
of
the
son
of
Jehoiada
the
priest
and
killed
him
on
his
bed
so
he
died
and
they
buried
him
in
the
city
of
David
but
they
did
not
bury
him
in
the
tombs
of
the
kings
and
those
who
conspired
against
him
were
Zabad
the
son
of
Shimeath
the
Ammonite
and
Jehoshabad
the
son
of
Shimerath
the
Moabite
accounts
of
his
sons
and
of
the
many
oracles
against
him
and
of
the
rebuffing
of
the
house
of
God
are
written
in
the
story
of
the
book
of
the
kings
and
Amaziah
his
son
reigned
in
his
place
well
this
is a
depressing
end
to
the
story
the
lack
of
renewal
leads
to
a
tragic
ending
Joash
started
well
he
partnered
with
Jehoiada
in
all
the
renewal
that
we
had
seen
but
then
at
the
end
when
Jehoiada
passed
away
Joash
fails
to
continue
to
pursue
renewal
he
invites
in
new
counselors
who
lead
him
astray
he
forsakes
the
renewed
worship
that
he
had
established
and
turns
back
to
the
worship
of
the
house
of
Ahab
and
the
people
of
Canaan
around
them
he
leads
the
people
away
from
their
relationship
with
God
and
God
has
not
forsaken
him
he
sends
prophets
and
he
reminds
them
and
he
finally
sends
Zechariah
the
son
of
Jehoiada
the
very
man
who
had
saved
his
life
Zechariah
says
because
you
have
forsaken
the
Lord
he
has
forsaken
you
when
we
do
not
pursue
renewal
disaster
happens
it
is a
tragic
thing
to
see
what
happened
to
his
life
and
we
are
reminded
that
renewal
is
not
something
we
do
once
but
it's
something
we
do
over
and
over
again
there
is
great
danger
in
thinking
that
we
have
arrived
with
God
and
the
chronicle
reminds
us
that
many
stumble
at
the
end
we
have
already
seen
it
with
other
kings
this
is
what
the
story
of
Asa
was
all
about
and
some
others
we
have
already
seen
we
may
begin
with
great
zeal
but
finishing
the
race
can
be
so
hard
some
of
you
have
more
years
than
I
do
and
know
this
even
better
than
I
but
there
are
particular
temptations
that
come
from
getting
old
we
can
become
complacent
that
allows
for
laziness
leads
to
neglect
as
we
experience
this
loss
and
trials
we
struggle
to
trust
God
as
much
as
we
used
to
and
intimacy
fades
as
we
get
older
and
we
feel
more
weariness
of
living
in
a
fallen
world
we
experience
greater
disappointment
when life
doesn't
turn out
the way
we
want
it
to
and
we
wonder
where
is
God
and
his
goodness
in
this
story
of
Joash
reminds
us
that
we
need
to
be
constantly
renewed
all
the
way
to
the
end
we
need
to
fight
the
battle
to
recognize
that
we're
never
just
set
oh
certainly
we
rest
in
the
grace
of
God
and
we
know
it's
not
by
us
that
we
are
renewed
but
that
we
are
constantly
in
need
of
renewal
and
here's
the
good
news
my
friends
that
God
is
already
at
work
and
that
God
is
a
God
who
wants
to
and
is
at
work
renewing
his
people
and
as
we
seek
him
and
depend
upon
him
and
remind
ourselves
that
we
can't
keep
ourselves
he
meets
us
in
this
covenant
of
grace
a
new
covenant
in
Jesus
and
this
is
the
great
hope
that
we
have
this
was
first
promised
in
fact
in
the
Old
Testament
the
prophet
Ezekiel
proclaimed
to
the
very
people
that
the
writer
of
Chronicles
was
thinking
about
to
encourage
them
by saying
even
though
the
glory
of
God
has
departed
the
temple
God
has
not
abandoned
his
people
and
so
in
Ezekiel
36
starting
in
verse
22
I'm
going
to
read
this
it's
a
fairly
long
passage
but
it's
worth
reading
in
its
fullness
for
this
is
the
hope
of
the
people
coming
out
of
the
exile
therefore
say
to
the
house
of
Israel
thus
says
the
Lord
God
it
is
not
for
your
sake
O
house
of
Israel
that
I
am
about
to
act
but
for
the
sake
of
my
holy
name
which
you
have
profaned
among
the
nations
to
which
you
came
and
I
will
vindicate
the
holiness
of
my
great
name
which
has
been
profaned
among
the
nations
in
which
you
have
profaned
among
them
and
the
nations
will
know
that
I
am
the
Lord
declares
the
Lord
God
when
through
you
I
vindicate
my
holiness
before
their
eyes
I
will
take
you
from
the
nations
and
gather
you
from
all
the
countries
and
bring
you
into
your
own
land
I
will
sprinkle
clean
water
on
you
and
you
shall
be
clean
from
all
your
uncleannesses
and
from
all
your
idols
I
will
cleanse
you
and
I
will
give
you
a
new
heart
and
a
new
spirit
I
will
put
in
you
and
I
will
remove
friends
this
is
the
hope
that
we
have
there
is
a
new
covenant
that
God
promised
to
these
Old
Testament
post
exilic
people
of
God
that
we
have
now
seen
the
fullness
of
because
this
new
covenant
that
God
predicted
where
God
would
change
our
hearts
where
the
very
meaning
of
what
it
means
to
be
God's
people
would
be
defined
by
being
renewed
in
our
heart
and
in
our
spirit
by
what
he
does
this
is
exactly
what
Jesus
has
done
for
us
do
you
remember
the
words
he
spoke
on
the
night
when
he
was
betrayed
he
said
this
cup
is
the
new
covenant
in
my
blood
for
the
forgiveness
of
your
sins
By
his
death
he
has
freed
us
from
the
power
and
guilt
of
sin
by
his
death
he
has
brought
to
us
a
new
life
and
in
his
resurrection
we
now live
with
him
in
this
new
life
indwelt
by
his
spirit
God
has
already
renewed
his
people
and
this
is
the
good
news
of
the
gospel
that
by
faith
as
we
receive
him
to
do
this
work
of
salvation
for
us
we
are
renewed
and
by
faith
we
walk
with
him
and
he
is
continually
renewing
us
over
and
over
and
over
again
and
so
Romans
12
calls
us
I
appeal
to
you
therefore
brothers
and
sisters
by
the
mercies
of
God
to
present
your
bodies
as
a
living
sacrifice
holy
and
acceptable
to
God
which
is
your
spiritual
worship
do
not
be
conformed
by
this
world
but
be
transformed
by
the
renewal
of
your
mind
that
by
testing
you
may
discern
what
is
the
will
of
God
and
what
is
good
and
acceptable
and
perfect
or
in
Ephesians
chapter
4
where
Paul
says
that is
not how
we
learned
Christ
assuming
that you
have
heard
about
him
and
were
taught
in
him
as
the
truth
is
in
Jesus
to
put
off
your
old
self
which
belongs
to
your
former
manner
of
life
and
is
corrupt
through
its
deceitful
desires
and
be
renewed
in
the
spirit
of
your
minds
and
to
put
on
the
new
self
created
after
the
likeness
of
God
in
true
righteousness
doing
in
his
people
he
is
renewing
us
and
the
English
translations
say
renew
your
mind
and
we
think
of
that
as
our
intellect
but
that's
not
the
right
understanding
of
that
it
is
the
renewal
of
all
of
who
we
are
our
minds
so we
might
think
rightly
and
know
rightly
about
who
God
is
and
know
his
kingdom
and
his
ways
properly
but
it
is
also
about
our
heart
to
love
what
bow
our
knee
to
no
other
than
that
it
is
God
moving
our
will
so that
our
hands
are
moved
in
obedience
to
all
that
he
has
commanded
us
to
do
this
is
what
renewal
looks
like
in
the
life
of
a
follower
of
Jesus
because
he
has
placed
our
spirit
his
spirit
in
us
because
he
has
given
us
a
new
heart
that
is
now
alive
to
him
so
that
we
can
do
all
of
these
things
friends
God
will
never
turn
us
away
when
we
turn
to
him
and
say
renew
our
hearts
help
us
Lord
and
may
we
run
this
race
with
perseverance
to
the
end
fixing
our
eyes
on
Jesus
this
is
what
we
learn
from
2nd
Chronicles
23
and
24
the
importance
of
renewal
in
our
lives
may
it
be
so
for
us
individually
may
it
be
so
for
us
as
a
local
church
may
it
be
so
for
the
church
universal
let's
pray
Lord
God
we
thank
you
this
morning
for
this
word
we
thank
you
for
all
the
ways
in
which
it
prompts
us
and
Lord
even
humbles
us
and
maybe
pricks
Lord
we
need
renewal
we
need
to
be
renewed
in
our
devotion
in
our
obedience
in
our
understanding
Lord
we
need
to
turn
away
from
the
ways
of
this
world
so
that
we
might
turn
back
to
you
and
live
in
the
new
life
that
you
have
given
us
help
us
Lord
to
do
this
we
pray
in
Jesus
name
Amen