Filled with Light
Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD
as one party and the king and the people as the other, by which
they would be the LORD's people; and another covenant, between the king
and the people. Thereupon all the people of the land went to the temple
of Baal and demolished it. They shattered its altars and images
completely, and slew Mattan, the priest of Baal, before the altars.
Jehoiada appointed a detachment for the temple of the LORD. All the people
of the land rejoiced and the city was quiet, now that Athaliah had been
slain with the sword at the royal palace. 2 Kings 11:18-20
"The lamp of the body is the eye. If
your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if
your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light
in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be." Matthew 6:22-23
Piety
Walk with the
wise and you become wise, but the companion of fools fares badly. Proverbs
13:20
Study
Today’s first reading
presents to us the story of a relatively unknown person who figured in a few
stories from the Hebrew Bible. Jehoiada was
a prominent priest during the reigns of Ahaziah, Athaliah, and Joash.
However, he is not as well-known as many of the other towering figures from the
Old Testament (Abraham, Isaac, Solomon, and others).
God puts Jehoiada into a position to exert influence for the good of
God's people. Jehoiada's faithful action
earns him a spot in the annals of Judah's exemplary leaders because he rescued
the people from darkness and brought them back into a relationship with God.
Jehoiada faced the challenge that almost all of us face. That is, how do
we exert influence when we have so little power? After all, unless you are a
political leader, a pastor, a military leader, a corporate boss, or a handful
of other titles, you likely spend more time following the directives of some
leader over you than giving directions to those under you.[1]
Jehoiada and his wife Jehosheba
rescued Athaliah's one-year-old grandson, Joash, from Athaliah's
slaughter. For six years, they hid the sole surviving heir to the throne within
the Temple. Jehoiada was instrumental in the staging of the coup that dethroned
and killed Athaliah. Under Jehoiada's guidance, Baal-worship was renounced and
the altar and temple of Baal were destroyed.
After the jubilant celebration of regime change, Jehoiada must now get
onto the business of bringing the Temple back into order. This means restoring
the house of God to its central place in Judah's life after the neglectful
years of Athaliah. Jehoiada is
also noteworthy for the national covenant that he made "between him, and
between all the people, and between the king, that they should be the LORD's
people."
Action
When have you been faced with a situation where you have
felt powerless? How did you work to influence
the situation for the good?
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