17TH JUNE 2022
GOD’S PROMISE IS ALIVE
Beginning in Genesis, we see that the central theme of the Bible is the promise of God. God has chosen a family of people through whom he wants the entire world to come to a saving knowledge of himself. And God promises to lead them to a new land, to provide for them, to save them from all those things that would destroy them, and eventually to send a deliverer, a Messiah. But these people have trouble believing God’s promises and often try to take things into their own hands. As a result of their disobedience and unfaithfulness, God’s promise is often threatened. Sometimes it comes down to one faithful person, but God continues to keep his promise alive, and from the story of Joash, we can see how he does it. God keeps his promise alive through a child. (11:1)
When the mother of the man who was king just before Joash saw that her son was dead, she determined to destroy all of the royal family so that the line of kings would be in her family. But that is not what God had in mind. God had already started the family line of kings, the same line through which the Messiah would come. So we read that an aunt hid baby Joash so he wouldn’t be killed. For six years she hid him in the temple and he became king when he turned 7. And it was through this child that God kept his promise alive.
Does this story sound familiar? Do you remember the story of Moses? The Egyptian pharaoh wanted all the Hebrew boy babies killed. But God saved Moses. Do you remember when Jesus was born? King Herod wanted all the baby boys killed. Joseph and Mary took him to Egypt and God saved him.
As you read this story in II Kings, you might observe that God doesn’t seem to say or do anything. We don’t hear his voice in the story. The prophets have disappeared. Does that mean that God is not at work? Where was God in this situation? Some of you are very aware that God is working in your life. You hear his voice; you recognize his work. To others it may seem that God isn’t saying or doing anything. Be assured that God is there, nudging, prompting, opening doors, working behind the scenes. He is at work even when you don’t see any visible evidence. Our story today reminds us that God keeps his promise alive in spite of human failure.
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