Joash, the Boy King, Tuesday

0:00Hello, friends. Welcome to the SeenPod for Kids. Thank you for joining me today, as we spend time with our friend Jesus. Spending time with Jesus is the best way to start your day. Let's begin our time together, praising Him. I think this is such a happy song, not just because of the tune, but because it talks about sunshine and spring, happiness, hope, and love. Those are such happy thoughts, and that's what we can have when we give our hearts to Jesus and let Him live inside of us. More glorious and bright than closing an ear can sign.

1:05For Jesus is my Lord, oh, there's sunshine as it's sunshine. When the beast more happy than it's wrong, when Jesus shows us smiling face, there is sunshine in the soul, there's lightness in my soul today, and hope and praise in love for blessings when she needs me now. For joy is laid up above, oh, there's sunshine as it's sunshine. When the beast more happy than it's wrong, when Jesus shows us smiling face, there is sunshine in the soul.

2:12We have a pretty sad story today, yeah, but you'll have to find out in just a minute. First, let's pray, asking for God to be with us. Lord, as we learn what happens when people don't follow you, when they don't love you, we can see that your ways are best, that you love us, and you care for us, and you call us to come to you, to turn to you. Help us to do that today, as we study. Give us your understanding in Jesus name, amen. Jehosephat died, and his son Jehorm, who had married Atholaya, remember, she's the daughter of wicked Ahab and Jezebel. He was now the next king of Judah, so that makes her, now this wicked woman, his wife, his queen. Do you think that she helped Jehorm to love an obey God, just like his father, Jehosephat had? No, what did he choose to do? Let's look at 2nd Chronicles, chapter 21,

3:20verse 6. So we're going to 2nd Chronicles, chapter 21, and then looking at verse 6, here we go. It's in the Old Testament, you have first and second kings, the book of first kings, and then the book of second kings, and then you have the book of first Chronicles, and then you have the book of second Chronicles. So we want 2nd Chronicles, chapter 21, and then verse 6. It's about halfway through the book. Second Chronicles, yep, verse 21, or chapter 21, and then verse 6. Let's see what that says. And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for he had the daughter of Ahab as a wife, and he did evil in the sight of the Lord. So who did he follow? Did he follow his father and his father's footsteps?

4:21No, he followed in the footsteps of Ahab. He did evil in the sight of the Lord. There were already many people in the kingdom of Judah who were still worshiping idols. Why is that? Just look back a little bit. We're going to 2nd Chronicles, chapter 20. So I only have to turn one page going backwards. 2nd Chronicles, chapter 20, and then verse 33. Oh wait, I didn't even have to turn a page. Verse 33. Uh-huh, this is what is the problem. Okay, let's read 2nd Chronicles, chapter 20, verse 33. Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away, whereas yet the people had not directed their hearts to the God of their fathers. The places of worship, of idols, and bale, they hadn't been taken away, and so the people had not

5:24directed their hearts to the God of their fathers. That's that, isn't it? Neither Jaharam nor his son Ahazaya, who became the king after he died, helped the people to change. They just kept following the footsteps of Ahab. They turned away from God. God could not bless them, but things got even worse after they died, because wicked Ahalaya decided that she was going to be the ruler. She's like, you know what, my dad was a king, and I can be a queen, and I'm going to rule my husband may have died, but I'm still the queen mother, and I'm going to be in charge. And so she wanted to make sure that nobody would take her throne from her. So you know what she had that she ordered done? She ordered that everyone would be killed who had some kind of connection to the throne, and that even included her own grandchildren. She killed her grandchildren so that she could be safe on the throne. But one escaped. One little baby grandson had been saved, and he was safely

6:31hidden in the bedroom of his aunt Jahoshaba, King Jaharam's daughter. He was safe in her rooms. She had married the high priest, Jahoida, and they lived in one of the apartments of the temple, close to the Queen's palace. And I hid in baby's name. It was Jewish. Since Jahoshaba was the sister of baby Jahosh's father, she was really his aunt, and Jahoida was his uncle. How long did they keep baby Jahosh? Hidden there in the temple with them. Let's look at 2nd Chronicles, chapter 22, verse 12. 2nd Chronicles, chapter 22, verse 12. And he was hidden with them in the house of God for six years. Well, I thought I had rained over the land. They hid him there for six years. Maybe some of you are six years old.

7:33From when you were born to now, that would be about the time when little Jahosh was hidden. That period of time, that's a long time, isn't it? Six years. You know Jahoida, he was the high priest and he loved God. Do you think that little Jewish learned to love God too? To obey his 10 commandments? To have faith and to trust in God? I think so. That's what you're learning too, aren't you? As you study and read and learn and hear these stories, you're learning about God. And I hope you're learning to love him too. Let's pray. Lord, we love you so much. And we're so thankful for these stories. Even though this one was very sad today about Atholaya killing all of her grandchildren, thank you for preserving the one Jahosh, so that he could come to the throne and help your people to follow you. As we learn more

8:35about his reign as king in the future in the coming days, we just pray that you will help us to make those choices today, tomorrow, the next day, to love and follow you in Jesus' name. Amen. Psalms 41-8 I'd be like to do it well, oh my God, and your love is within my heart.

9:35I'd be like to do it well, oh my God, I'd be like to do it well, oh my God, and your love is within my heart. I'd be like to do it well, oh my God, I'd be like to do it well, oh my God, and your love is within my heart. The song chapter 40 verse 8. It's hard to find good quality, affordable homeschool curriculum to help parents capture the interest of children and youth, leading them to give their hearts to Jesus. But my Bible first has done just that. You can check out the material at www.mybiblefirst.org or on Facebook and Instagram at mybiblefirst.

10:50If you have enjoyed this program and would like to find others like it, go to startingwithJesus.com. The materials for this devotional podcast are used by permission from my Bible first. Visit their website at www.mybiblefirst.org to get your own copy. For more information about this episode, check out the description box below.