Topic: Almost Revival
The rise to the position of king is a fascinating one for Joash (Jehoash) (II Kings 11). Upon the death of her son, Athaliah (the mother of King Ahazia) had the remaining royal family killed and set herself upon the throne. But Joash’s great aunt had snuck him out as an infant with his nurse. They hid for six years in a secret place at the Temple of God.
When Joash was seven years old, the priest Jehoiada staged an uprising against the wicked and idolatrous grandmother and placed Joash upon his rightful throne. The temple of Baal in the city was destroyed, the priest of Baal was put to death, the covenant was re-established and proper temple worship was re-established.
It looked as if another golden age was coming to the kingdom of Judah. It looked like revival was coming. The plans had been laid, the process had begun but then something went wrong.
2 Kings 12:2 “Jehoash did right in the sight of the Lord all his days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him.”
2 Chron 24:17-18 “After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them. They abandoned the temple of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and worshiped Asherah poles and idols. Because of their guilt, God’s anger came upon Judah and Jerusalem.”
As long as Jehoiada was around to guide him, Joash did okay. Not perfect but okay. It seems as if there’s little conviction in King Joash. It wasn’t possible for Jehoiada to make a commitment on behalf of the king. The king needed to dedicate himself to the Lord. I don’t believe he ever really did. And as soon as Jehoiada is gone, Joash is easily led astray by those who wanted him to turn against the Lord to reinstate idol worship.
Joash was a follower, and that can be okay if you’re a follower with personal dedication to the Lord. But following without dedication is a recipe for a life of confusion.
The same danger exists for us today. It’s tempting to follow the crowd or even to follow a charismatic leader. The danger is when neither the leader nor the followers have a personal dedication to the Lord.
A leader may impart a vision under God’s anointing of what God wants to do so that the people are inspired to make those changes, but I believe revival has never and will never happen where people seek to follow the leader without personal dedication to the Lord.
See you Sunday!
Dr. Scott Kallem