Joash’s Spiritual Encounter

Synopsis     2 Kings 13:10-19     9/11/2019

After King Jehoahaz died, his son became the new king. This was Joash.

Once again, the king of Israel and the king of Judah shared the same name. But this condition lasted for only a couple of years before King Joash, of Judah, died. After this, Amaziah became king over Judah.

As the prophet Elisha was sick and neared death, Joash came to see him. Elisha intended to bless the king before he died. So, he asked Joash to show him his bow. And he also asked him to shoot an arrow out of this window. Finally, he asked King Joash to pound the ground.

The king pounded the ground three times. But this displeased Elisha, who was hoping for a more forceful response. As a result, Elisha prophesied that Joash would decisively defeat Aram three times.

However, because of Joash lukewarm response, Aram would not be entirely defeated in Joash’s time.

Joash’s Spiritual Encounter

Elisha’s final encounter with the king of Israel was strange.

The strangeness isn’t that King Joash was upset at losing Elisha. For Joash was the son of Jehu, whom Elisha had installed as king. So, Joash’s despair makes perfect sense.

Still, this final meeting was strange. Specifically, Elisha asked the young king to perform certain strange, symbolic acts. These included shooting an arrow out of the prophet’s window. Additionally, Joash was directed to “beat” the ground with the remaining arrows. And somehow these symbolic actions represented the future of warfare against Aram, Israel’s archenemy.

However, the scene is not unlike a conversation that Elisha once had with his own servant. At one point, the Arameans decided to capture Elisha. And so, they surrounded his camp in the night. Gehazi, his servant, was worried at the prospect of being surrounded by the Aramean army. But Elisha prayed that God would open Gehazi’s eyes. And so, God did. And Gehazi was suddenly aware that an army of angels stood ready to defend Elisha. For a moment, the servant was given direct access to the unseen spiritual reality around him.

Like the servant Gehazi, King Joash failed to recognize the spiritual dimension of his encounter. Still, he obeyed to the best of his natural reasoning.

But the result was muted. He did not enter into the possibility that God had prepared for him because he failed to recognize the essentially spiritual nature of the encounter. More importantly, he failed to recognize that the spiritual reality of his situation is what determines the actual experience of his circumstances.

Spirit Before Actuality

I’m like Joash in this respect. I’m sometimes willing to obey even if I don’t understand. I go to mass even though I don’t understand every aspect of what’s going on. And this affords some positive outcome.

But God does not intend that I remain blind. He isn’t forever interested in my ignorant obedience. He intends that I learn. And He intends that I grow into the capacity to see the utter reality of the mass –  and especially the Eucharist. He intends that I grow from a basic trusting that is mediated by the insight of another. He wants me to experience a mature understanding of who the Christ is and what it means to the ordinary reality of my life to have access to him.

“Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” John 6:53

Cry of An Incomplete Repentance

Synopsis     2 Kings 12:24-13:9     9/10/2019

After reigning for thirty-nine years, King Joash of Judah was assassinated. He was killed by two of his own officials. One was named Jozacar and the other Jehobad. After this, Amaziah became king over Judah.

Meanwhile, Jehoahaz became king over Israel after his father, King Jehu, died. And King Jehoahaz reigned as king for seventeen years.

In the course of his reign, he sought out the Lord because the people of Israel were suffering so badly under the oppression of the Arameans. As a result, even though he was left with a very small military force, he was famous for God’s promise to send a savior, who would liberate Israel from Aramean control.

Jehoahaz died. And he was succeeded by his son Joash, king of Israel.

Cry of An Incomplete Repentance

Jehoahaz cried out to the Lord because of the suffering of the people. And God responded to this cry even though Jehoahaz never fully repented for the sins of the nation. Still, God sent a savior to relieve the nation from the oppression of the Arameans.

My Incomplete Repentance

I don’t come to God with clean hands. I am a sinner. And there are consequences that naturally follow from my sins. It’s like what’s written in Proverbs: “Their own folly leads people astray; [yet] in their hearts they rage against the LORD.” (Prov 19:11)

So, often I cry to the Lord for help in my moments of distress. And amazingly, I find substantial relief.

Yet, I find my repentance is always incomplete. Once the pressure of circumstances is relieved, I tend to revert. Sometimes, I openly wonder if God was really a part of the relief. Or, I question if there was really any connection between my unbelief and my suffering.

But God loves me anyway. He heals me despite my unbelief. And as I work through the experiences of my own life, this has become my confidence.

Let your life be free from love of money but be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never forsake you or abandon you.” Heb 13:5

Taking Care of the Temple

Synopsis     2 Kings 12:12-20     9/9/2019

King Joash took control of all temple maintenance and repairs. He made it a part of his administration to hire and manage the workers who conducted the work of maintaining the temple. After the temple had suffered many years of abuse by his forefathers and his grandmother, taking care of the temple had become his passion.

Sometime after the completion of the repairs, Jerusalem was attacked. King Hazael had sacked the Philistine city of Gath. And Jerusalem was a tempting target along his return route to Aram.

To thwart the attack, King Joash paid a ransom. He sent most of the wealth from both the temple treasury and his royal estate to King Hazael. The Aramean king accepted these and returned to Aram without actually fighting against the city.

Taking Care of the Temple

Joash was concerned for the temple. He had good reason.

It was, after all, his first home until he was aged six. And, it was also the traditional place where God’s presence dwelt with the children of Israel. It was the center of worship for the nation.

But the temple was also the “goose that laid golden eggs”. It was a source of revenue.

And the revenues were not limited to the sacrificial portions committed to the priest under the law of Moses. People traveled from all over the Mediterranean to worship God at the temple Solomon built. And so, as pilgrims arrived for feasts and other opportunities to worship, travelers became a regular source of that fueled the economy of Jerusalem.

For this reason, King Joash was even willing to give away most of his wealth in order to protect the temple from being sacked, and possibly destroyed, by an invading army.

Real Treasure Brings a Return on Investment

A basic concept in modern finance is that an investment should produce a regular return. It keeps on generating additional wealth. For the ancient Israelites, Solomon’s temple was like this.

But relationship with God is also like this. The value of knowing God is, by itself, a continuous return on investment.

“For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be” Matt 6:21

Joash Fixes the Temple

Synopsis     2 Kings 12:1-11     9/6/2019

Joash was only seven years old when he became king over Judah. He administered the kingdom well with the help of the priest Jehoiada.

Because he had been raised in the temple, Joash was passionate about keeping God’s house in good condition. So, he commissioned the priests to perform the necessary repairs. And, he provided additional money and resources for the purpose. He wanted the structure and the tools to be well maintained. 

But even after many years, it became apparent to Josiah there was a problem. The priests were not maintaining the structure. So, he brought the priests together. And they conferred about the problem. Eventually they all agreed that the priests would no longer be responsible for the condition of the temple. And, the resources formally given to them for this purpose would be given directly to tradesmen, who would perform the work.

Joash Fixes Temple

It seems pretty clear that Joash loved God. And, he loved God’s house.

Of course, he had been raised in the temple for his first six or seven years. So, this was his first home.

Accordingly, it’s no great surprise that he was frustrated by the priests. He gave them resources to keep the temple in good repair. But, they didn’t do the work. And they didn’t hire anyone else to do the work. They just kept the resources.

The priests did not share Joash’s passion to keep the temple in excellent repair. But he did not condemn them. Instead, he simply redirected the resources to affect the change he knew God wanted from him.

Not Everyone Shares Your Passion

I’ve learned to love God. And so, I want others to share this passion. More than that, I want them to participate in my passion. I want them to love God in the way I do.

So, it can be discouraging when they don’t. I feel the natural temptation to doubt the sincerity of their faith. And, I feel the temptation to mistake their indifference to my charismatic manner of passion with damnable “luke-warmness”.

But the call is to love. My calling is to love. More specifically, my calling is to love the one who is in front of me.

Not to judge. Not to enlist. And not to condemn.

“So Jesus said to them, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” They were utterly amazed at him.” Mark 12:17

Joash’s Covenant with the Lord

Synopsis     2 Kings 11:13-20     9/5/2019

King Joash was crowned when he was six-years old. His grandmother, Queen Athaliah, thought she had killed him when he was an infant. However, he was saved by his aunt and hidden in the temple until he could be crowned king.

But when he was crowned king, the people loudly rejoiced. They were surprised and elated that the new king had survived after all.

But unsurprisingly, the sounds of rejoicing brought Queen Athaliah to the temple to see what was happening. When she realized what had occurred, she declared the act to be treason. However, the priests and the military escorted her from the temple. Afterwards she was executed for usurping the throne.

Jehoiada the priest formed a new covenant between God and Joash, and also between Joash and the people. After this, the priests and the military leaders led King Joash to the palace. And there, he sat down on the royal throne to signify the beginning of his rule as king.

Joash’s Covenant with the Lord

As a priest, Jehoiada facilitated a new covenant between Joash and God. And so, covenant with the Lord was established by the priest in a traditional way. And yet, it was new and personal for the new king.

Covenant with the Lord

Jesus calls His offer for life and purpose and peace – a new covenant. And the truth is, many covenants came before this. So, how is this new?

The covenant defines the terms of my relationship with God. And these are new in at least two ways. The new covenant of Christ is a break from the covenants that came before it. In this sense, it is entirely new. It describes a new possibility of a relationship with the one true God of all creation. So, this kind of newness is resident in potential.

But the New Covenant is also new when I first encounter it. When I first discover its contents, I can say to myself, “That’s new.” And in this sense, everything changes for me personally.

“Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.” Luke 22:19

Synopsis     2 Kings 11:3-12     9/4/2019

Athaliah was acting queen over Judah. She was the mother of Ahaziah. And so, after he was killed, she attempted to kill all of his heirs so that she could rule unobstructed.

However, Ahaziah’s sister preserved the life Joash, one of King Ahaziah’s sons. She hid him in the temple with the cooperation of a priest named Jehoiada. They kept the young king hidden for six years. Finally, Jehoiada made a covenant with a military unit loyal to the king. Together, they developed a plan to reveal the young king to the people and to formally crown him in an effort to destroy the rule of Athaliah.

The military unit executed the plan perfectly. And so, Jehoiada the priest crowned Joash as king over the tribe of Judah.

Joash Hidden and Revealed

Joash was hidden in the temple for the first six years of his life. Much like the great prophet Samuel, he was raised by the high priest. So, during this time, he was formed in the very house of God.

It makes for curious imagery. During that six-year period when he was hidden, Joash was actually the King of Judah. 

Of course, for anyone actually living through the experience, it looked like Queen Athaliah was in charge. And that’s clearly what she wanted.

But God was still in control.

Hidden and Revealed

This work that’s going on inside of you is real. It’s more real than all the failures you’ve experienced. It’s more real than all the discouragements you’ve endured. And, it’s more real than the condemnations you’ve placed on yourself.

And just like Joash, in the fullness of God’s time, He will reveal. He will make plain the work He is accomplishing in you and through you. And all this for His purpose and His namesake.

“I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phil 1:6

Jehu: Beginning of the End

Synopsis    2 Kings 10:28-11:2     9/3/2019

Jehu destroyed the common practice of Baal worship in Israel. But he failed to restore the authentic standard of worship at the temple in Jerusalem. Instead, he continued to support the worship of God through the system of worship developed by King Jeroboam one-hundred years before.

It was at this time that the empire began to fall apart. Hazael, the king of Aram, persisted in taking more and more Israelite territory throughout the period of Jehu’s reign.

Meanwhile, back in Jerusalem, a woman named Athaliah had made herself queen over the tribe of Judah. Athaliah was the mother of King Ahaziah. When she realized that Ahaziah had been killed by Jehu, she attempted to kill every potential male heir to the throne. However, King Ahaziah’s sister hid one of his sons in the temple so that he would not be killed. The boy’s name was Joash.

Jehu: Beginning of the End

The author mentioned that “the Lord began to dismember Israel.” The kingdom was in a decline from which it would never recover. And the clear sense is that God had allowed this misfortunate trend toward destruction to occur because of the persistent faithlessness of the leaders.

The leaders of the northern kingdom had betrayed the people. Some had chosen to embrace the false god Baal. But others had continued the alternative system of worship invented by Jeroboam to prevent people from worshipping in Jerusalem.

The result was out of step with God’s purpose for Israel as a “kingdom of priests” and a “holy nation”. Israel was supposed to be a blessing for the rest of the world. But instead, its leaders used the nation as a device to achieve their own personal ambitions.

Beginning of the Beginning

The ruin of Israel is not the ruin of any other nation. And no, history doesn’t actually repeat itself.

The lesson here is to recognize our true calling. We are called to be ambassadors of the Authentic Community. We are called to faithfully serve as part of the Communion of Saints and to encourage others in this outrageously awesome community.

If my focus remains steadfast on our king, then everything else in this life will effortlessly find its appropriate place. 

“The LORD has made everything for a purpose, even the wicked for the evil day.” Prov 16:4

Jehu’s Massacre Purge

Synopsis     2 Kings 10:19-27     9/2/2019

Elisha directed the anointing of Jehu as king of Israel. So, Jehu had destroyed Ahab’s legacy by killing King Joram, his son, and all of the rest of his male descendants. He also killed Jezebel, Ahab’s wife, and many powerful members of Ahab and Joram’s court.

Afterward, Jehu set his sights on Ahab’s idolatry. He used a ruse to trick the priests and other idol worshippers who served the false god Baal. He told them to gather for a sacrifice honoring his becoming the new king. In other words, he pretended to believe in the false god.

This brought out the Baal worshippers. And so, they assembled for the special sacrifice honoring the new king. However, once everyone was assembled, Jehu made a final check to ensure that no one who served the God of Israel was present. And then, he had soldiers kill all the Baal worshippers in order to eliminate the offensive foreign god from the land.

After this, Jehu had the Baal temple demolished. He turned the sight into a latrine.

Jehu’s Massacre Purge

Jehu wanted to eliminate Baal worship in Israel. So, he massacred all those who practiced devotion to the false god. But, much as Elijah had experienced a generation before, his efforts did not bring lasting change.

It would take more than killing apostate people to convert the hearts of the Israelites to true love and devotion to the God of their father Jacob.

Forced Evangelization

There are few things more obviously counterproductive than attempting to force people into ascribing to a system of beliefs that yields no clear benefit to them.

God came to the children of Israel with goodness and beauty and truth. He offered them every possible good that any human being could reasonably hope for. And to the extent they overcame unbelief and enter into this, they enjoyed remarkable lives filled with success, peace, and joy. And the kingdom grew.

Evangelization is first dependent on living a life that would attract an objective observer. Here, Saint Francis’ admonition resonates: Friars should preach by their deeds. Of course, not in the absence of words.

But words proclaimed without the harmony of a life lived, ring hollow.

“They speak of the glory of your reign and tell of your mighty works, Making known to the sons of men Your mighty acts, the majestic glory of your rule. Your reign is a reign for all ages, your dominion for all generations.” Psalm 145:11-13

Jehu’s Complete Work

Synopsis     2Kings 10:10-18     8/30/2019 

Once anointed as king, Jehu wiped out the House of Ahab. He killed Ahab’s son, King Joram. And he destroyed all of the relatives of Ahab that he could.

His goal was to wipe out anyone related to Ahab and the worship of the false god, Baal. For, he perceived this as a stain that was corrupting the nation. And he feared this idol worship was making the nation weak and vulnerable.  

So, he enlisted the help of anyone who was willing. He even accepted the help and support of a foreigner named Jonadab. So, after departing from Ahab’s palace in Jezreel, Jehu made his way to Samaria, to finish the work of establishing his kingship.  

Jehu’s Complete Work 

Jehu was thorough and determined. No doubt, one of the reasons he was chosen was his commitment to completing the work before him.  

Completing the Work 

“Ora et Labora” means pray and work. The expression is generally associated with Benedictine monasticism.  

From them we learn to pray so that I might harmonize my spirit with the Holy Spirit. And we also learn to work in a way that allows me to harmonize my effort to the will of the Creator God who made me.  

“And I saw that there is nothing better for mortals than to rejoice in their work; for this is their lot. Who will let them see what is to come after them?” Eccl 3:22 

Jehu’s Anxiety

Synopsis     2Kings 10:2-9     8/29/2019 

In all, King Ahab is reported to have had seventy sons. These sons lived in Samaria. And most had been left under the tutelage of prominent men of the city. Accordingly, after Jehu had assassinated King Joram, each of these other sons represented a potential heir to the throne.  

Jehu recognized this threat to his authority. So, he wrote to the elders of the city. In his letter, he challenged them to pick from among Ahab’s children the one best suited to rule as king.  

But the elders were afraid of Jehu. Specifically, they feared retribution if they actually did what he suggested and named a new king. So, they didn’t name an heir. Instead, they simply refused to name anyone king.  

Accordingly, since they refused to name a king, Jehu directed them to kill all the heirs from Ahab’s line. In the end, the elders complied with this command. And eventually, they vowed their allegiance to Jehu alone.  

Jehu’s Anxiety 

Jehu lived in a time when the rule of law meant little. So, as the new king, he felt the need to destroy anyone who could make a rival claim for the throne.  

A king’s life is never secure. Even today, a king or queen lives in the constant awareness that someone may try to assassinate them in order to change the political establishment.  

Jehu recognized that being the king meant not only providing security for the people, but it also meant accepting the transfer of their anxiety onto him. A earthly king is never unaware of the danger around him.  

Anxiety in the Heart 

Anxiety is a strange business. It’s personal and destructive. And it plays on the specific limitations of being human.

I have a need to know that things are stable. And I need to believe that I can meet the challenges of this life. In other words, I need to know that I can cope.  

So, uncertainty and instability make me feel anxious. They tend to make me to worried. In other words, I feel fearful even when I’m not specifically threatened. And this tendency hijacks my ability to be present to my actual, given, circumstances.

So, instead of dealing with things as they present themselves, my imagination tends to run wild with my attention. As a result, in every situation I find myself imagining every evil outcome that could possibly happen.  

What’s worse, I dwell in the pain and sadness of the things that I have only ever imagined. Amazingly, I experience actual mental anguish over things that have not really happened simply because I fear they might. And all of this prevents me from fully entering into the possibility of my life because it distracts me from the people and things that are right in front of me. Anxiety distracts me from what’s actually given.  

Distilled to its essence, anxiety is simply the misuse of my mind. It happens when the natural fear mechanisms of my brain and body are improperly focused on what is not actually present.

Now, Jehu’s answer to this problem was to simply eliminate every threatening adversary. No adversaries means no anxiety. Of course, this is a response from physical and political power.

But modern alternatives still rely on this basic strategy. Only instead of killing all my imagined adversaries, I can simply self-medicate with drugs and alcohol to distract my attention away from the bad things that might happen. Or, I can watch my television. Or, I can do anything else that keeps the foreboding sense of threat away.

It’s little surprise that this is the way the world attempts to solve the problem of anxiety.   

But God has a different answer. The way of Christ is to accept what is given with an outward focus on the other. It is a commitment to the good of the other as I encounter the people actually in my life. And though this is a state of mind only achievable through the gift of the Holy Spirit, it has the very desirable potential to set me free from every anxiety.  

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.” 1John 4:8