my homeschool lecture: 2 Kings 11-13

Please remember this is geared towards 6-13 year olds who just completed a lesson on the following material. The 6 year olds always answer the questions. Always. And they can pronounce all the names, too.

Note: Ahab and Jezebel were evil rulers of Israel; Jehoshaphat was the godly king of Judah. Jehoshaphat's son Jehoram married Ahab's daughter Athaliah. They had a son named Ahaziah. When Ahaziah was killed (fulfilling prophesy) Athaliah attempted to kill all of the royal line so she could be the uncontested queen. Her daughter (or step-daughter) Jehosheba rescued the infant Joash (her brother, and child of Ahaziah). Jehosheba was married to Jehoiada, a priest who was Joash's council when he became king at 7 years old. After Jehoiada died, Joash lost his godly influence and began worshipping idols. Jehoiada's son Zechariah denounced him for it. Joash had Zechariah (essentially his foster brother, but really his nephew) stoned. Then Joash's council killed Joash for that murder. You can't find better drama anywhere.


Lecture:
We learned about three kings of Judah and Israel this week, Joash from Judah, and Jehoahaz and Jehoash from Israel. Through these three kings we are given a lesson on how God never turns His back on us. Please pay attention to see if you can find all three examples of how much God loves His people.

Can you remind me of a promise that God made to King David? God promised David that he would always have a descendant on the throne of Israel. After the kingdom divided, only Judah had a king who was related to David.

After Judah’s king Ahaziah was killed by Jehu, Athaliah, Ahaziah’s mother and the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, immediately tried to destroy the whole royal family so that she could be queen. What she didn’t know, was that Ahaziah’s sister, Jehosheba, took baby Joash and hid him in the temple for six years. Ahaziah was related to David through his father, Jehoram. Athaliah was not related to David. The people of Judah must have been so upset to think that maybe God didn’t keep his promise. For six years, Judah suffered under the hand of Queen Athaliah. When Joash was only 7 years old, the priest, Jehoiada, called all of the guards to come and protect Joash, and he anointed Joash king of Judah. All the people cheered and were happy to see a change in their country.

So God didn’t break His promise after all! Hidden away in the temple was a descendant of David who, for a while, was a godly king. God loved His people so much that he kept His promise, even though it looked impossible.

Was Joash a godly king for his whole reign? No, after Jehoiada, the priest, died, he started worshipping idols, and even killed Jehoiada’s son when he spoke against Joash’s idolatry.

We have two kings of the northern kingdom of Israel to talk about. Jehoahaz is the first one. Was he good or evil? Right, he was evil. He worshipped the golden calves that Jeroboam created, and so did the people of Israel. God allowed the nation of Aram to take away some of Israel’s land because of Israel’s sins.

But Jehoahaz realized that the Israelites’ misfortune must be caused by God and he prayed to God to help him and Israel. Even though Israel had turned its back on God, God still listened and helped them! The Israelites were able to escape from the powers of Aram and reclaimed some of their land. But they still worshipped idols and Aram finally destroyed most of Israel’s army.

But God came through for them for a while, while their king was faithful to them.

The second king of Israel we will talk about today is King Jehoash. Jehoash also worshipped idols, including Jeroboam’s golden calves. The rest of Israel followed in his idol worshipping.

The prophet Elisha died during King Jehoash’s reign. Jehoash went to visit Elisha and was so sad that Elisha was dying that he wept and cried out. Elisha told Joash that God would give Israel victory over Aram again. And He did. Again, God rescued Israel when they were sorrowful and remorseful.

What were the three times that God showed His great love for His people?
Joash was put on the throne of Judah, continuing the line of Davidic kings
Jehoahaz prayed to God for mercy for Israel, and God gave them a victory over Aram.
Jehoash wept for Elisha, and God gave them further victories over Aram.

Which of our memory verses applies best to the concept of God never forgetting us, even when we turn our backs to Him?

2 Timothy 2:13: If we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown Himself.

The land of Judah and the Israelite kings Jehoahaz and Jehoash all turned from God, but God remained faithful to them.

…

Who read through 2 Kings 13? What happened after Elisha died? Moabites came into Israel and disrupted an Israeli funeral. The dead Israelite was put into Elisha’s tomb and his body touched Elisha’s body. What happened? The Israelite came back to life. God continued to use Elisha even after his death.