“Treason! Treason!” Queen Athalia shouts. But it is too late; soldiers surround her and she is taken out of the temple. Outside the temple, she is killed. Why did this happen? When Queen Athalia took the throne as queen, she had taken a role that was only for the line of King David. Do you know what she did with the line of David? She killed all of them ... At least, that is what she thought.

But God protected the line of David, the line through which the Messiah would be born. If Athalia, this evil assistant of the devil, would have had her wish, the Lord Jesus could never have been born! But our mighty Lord was in control. Our mighty God rules over all things — in your life, too. We can trust Him. Let’s see how He is in control in Joash’s life.

A lady rushes by; she seems in a hurry. Where is she going? She is going to the children’s room of the palace. This lady is Jehosheba, and she is married to Jehoiada, the high priest. She talks to the nurse of a little prince. Joash is his name. He is one year old. Jehosheba and the nurse with Joash rush out of the palace. They go to the temple. There Jehosheba hides little Joash and his nurse in a special bedroom. They close the Lord’s temple, and Joash is safe, protected by the Lord.

For seven years, Joash grows up in secret. Queen Athalia doesn’t know he lives. Now, seven years later, Jehoiadah the high priest is crowning the little king. What a special celebration! He has instructed the temple guards to protect the king. When Athalia hears the shouts for joy, she comes to the temple. And what she sees makes her very upset. She calls out: “Treason! Treason!” She knows that she cannot be queen anymore; she knows she stole the throne. But the Lord gives it back to the line of David — and to the line of King Jesus.

The people and the king make a covenant with the Lord: they promise to serve him alone. The people are relieved. The first thing they do is to take away the idols of queen Athalia. “Away with them! We have a king from the line of David, as the Lord promised. Therefore, the Lord must be served!”

The young king fears the Lord. Jehoiadah the high priest is a wise father-figure to him. Joash wants to repair the temple because during Athalia’s reign the temple was not kept up. Joash talks to the priests about it, but they do not listen. The priests are not honest. They want the money for themselves. After a long time, Joash asks what has happened to the temple repairs. He makes a big collection box, in which the people can put their money so that the temple still can be repaired.

Joash feared the Lord, but not all his life. Jehoiadah the high priest grew old — 130 years old — and was close to dying. He did much good for Joash and the people of Judah. No doubt he said to Joash: “King Joash, keep serving the Lord!” But years passed and Joash forgot the Lord. He started serving idols. How sad! He began so well! Zechariah, the son of Jehoiadah the high priest, went to the king. “Your Majesty, you need to serve the Lord.” But Joash doesn’t want to listen. Instead, he told some servants to stone him.

What began so well, ended so sadly. The Lord spared Joash’s life. He helped Joash repair the temple. Yet, Joash turned his heart from the Lord. He died a sad death.

What a warning, children, to serve the Lord alone! He is God; He protected the line of King Jesus! And if Jesus was not born, you could never be saved. But Jesus did come, and He is the only Savior from sin. Through His Holy Spirit, He can give you a desire to serve Him — and keep you serving Him to the end!

Review Questions:⤒🔗

1. Joash was seven years old when he became king and served the Lord. How old are you? Are you serving the Lord?
2. Why was it so important that Joash was kept alive?
3. What did Joash do at the end of his life? How do we need to serve the Lord?