Are You A Good Example To Follow

Bible has many examples of people who we can learn from

The two men I want us to study are:

1. Jehoiada

2. Joash

Jehoiada

Jehovah-known; the father of Benaiah, who was one of David’s chief warriors (2Sa 8:18; 20:23).

The high priest at the time of Athaliah’s usurpation of the throne of Judah. He married Jehosheba, or Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram (2Ch 22:11), and took an active part along with his wife in the preservation and training of Jehoash when Athaliah slew all the royal family of Judah.

Jehoiada lived 130 years (v. 15), by which it appears that he was born in Solomon’s time, and had lived six entire reigns before this.

A man who intervened and did God’s work to bring about God’s purpose and plan.

He looked after the younger generation

He risked his life and the life of his family

As a priest, he wanted restoration for God’s temple

It is the greatest honour to do good in our generations

2 Chron 22:2-3

v2 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri.

V3 He too walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother encouraged him in doing wrong.

Although His father and grandfather were also corrupted by the house of Ahab,

Jehoiada encouraged and spurred Joash on to do what was right

A mentor

He didn’t look for his own glory

Temple in a really bad condition

Baal worship and Ashera poles

How can the Lord of light live with Baal who is all darkness?

How can the Lord of righteousness be in the presence of evil?

The Temple was made for restoration of sin; confession = restoration

And yet it still applies to us today but within us.

1 Cor 6:19

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

Urgency to examine our lives; I believe God has shown me things that people are doing here.

I know there is someone who has occult dealings knowingly or unknowingly and I know who and God knows. I’ve known from the middle of December and I’m waiting on God for the moment to deal with it.

People think it’s fun to read tarot cards, astrology, get in touch with nature, fortune tellers lucky charms, anything superstitious etc.

Even our day and months are from pagan gods.

Very dangerous; a foothold, it brings God’s judgment

Our children are exposed to films and books containing the occult, which is viewed as innocent children’s fun

¨ Harry Potter

¨ Making up spells in school as part of the Literacy lesson

How can we protect the younger generation?

Together they set the Temple straight.

We can too.

Jehoiada finished his course with honour he did all he could do

Look at his reward:

2 Chron 24:15-16

Now Jehoiada was old and full of years, and he died at the age of a hundred and thirty.

He was buried with the kings in the City of David, because of the good he had done in Israel for God and his temple.

He had a Kings funeral.

Joash

A sad account of the apostasy of Joash. God had done great things for him; he had done something for God; but now he proved ungrateful to his God and false to the oath he made before Jehoiada.

Here is someone bought up and trained in the Temple and the things of God

What made Joash fall into apostasy?

The very same things that we face today; especially our youth

¨ Pressure from others to conform

¨ The need for spiritual experience

¨ Getting in with the wrong crowd

¨ Exploring things which should be left alone

¨ Lack of spiritual guidance from older generation

Joash not only gave them permission to do it, he also joined with them. The king and princes, who, a little while ago, were repairing the temple, now were tearing it down; those who had pulled down groves and idols now served them.

Man is so inconsistent and there’s little confidence is to be put in him!

How many people do things out of character?

Joash was given wrong information about Zechariah by the princes.

We hear about our young people who kill:

Telegraph reports: April 08

§ Murders of children by other children have tripled in three years, as more of the nation’s youth get drawn into a deadly world of guns and knives.

§ The number of killings in which both victim and assailant were under 18 has jumped from 12 in 2005 to 37 last year, according to a new study.

§ The research paints a picture of a country where youth-on-youth violence is spiralling as the Government struggles to rein back the increasing number of children turning to gangs and falling into a life of drugs. It reveals: