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Athaliah · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: But when Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her
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  Speaker 1: son was dead, she rose and destroyed all the seed
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  Speaker 1: royal of the house of Judah. 2 Chronicles 22.10 Dear God,
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  Speaker 1: through the life of Queen Athaliah, I will make sure
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  Speaker 1: that as I step into my position of leadership, I
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  Speaker 1: will not be motivated by power, prestige, or position. Instead,
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  Speaker 1: I will do everything within my power to make sure
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  Speaker 1: that everything I do is motivated by love. I will
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  Speaker 1: not seek leadership merely to gain power over others or
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  Speaker 1: to revel in a smug feeling of superiority, but will
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  Speaker 1: focus my motive to meet the needs and grow the
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  Speaker 1: cause of your kingdom. Increase your godly character in my life.
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  Speaker 1: Fortify the walls of my faith so that my pursuit
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  Speaker 1: will be one of love and service to others, which
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  Speaker 1: ultimately leads to you being glorified, God. I'm ready and
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  Speaker 1: willing to step up and to be used to show
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  Speaker 1: people the magnitude of how much you love them. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for making prayer a priority in your day.
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  Speaker 1: To learn more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story.
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  Speaker 1: Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: Athaliah In our last story, Jehu was used by God
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  Speaker 2: to rid Israel of evil. He killed Jezebel and all
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  Speaker 2: the remnants of King Ahab. He also toppled the temples
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  Speaker 2: of Baal along with all its followers. Jehu killed thousands
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  Speaker 2: in the name of a truly free Israel, but the
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  Speaker 2: process claimed his heart. Eventually, he succumbed to his own
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  Speaker 2: inner evils and strayed away from God. Jehu would forever
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  Speaker 2: be honored by God for what he did. But his
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  Speaker 2: time as king was marked with suffering, and the kingdom
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  Speaker 2: of Israel shrunk under his rule. Now we peer into
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  Speaker 2: the life of Athaliah and get a better understanding of
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  Speaker 2: how Judah and Israel descended into further dysfunction and pain,
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  Speaker 2: inspired by the books of 2 Chronicles and 2 Kings.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible
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  Speaker 3: in a Year podcast. But before we begin, I want
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  Speaker 3: to let you know about a unique e-book that's yours
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: to download absolutely free today. It's called Breaking Free from Stress.
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: And my prayer is that it will help you conquer
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  Speaker 3: the daily tasks and pressures and burdens that bring stress
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: in your life. Download your free copy of Breaking Free
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  Speaker 3: from Stress today by visiting jackgram.org slash stress. That's jackgram.org
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  Speaker 3: slash stress. In our last time together, we learned how
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  Speaker 3: Jehu cleansed Israel of Ahab's family, and brought judgment upon
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  Speaker 3: those who carried out his evil and idolatrous legacy. Though
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  Speaker 3: Jehu did great things for the Lord, he failed to
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  Speaker 3: hold fast to God all the days of his life,
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  Speaker 3: and as a result failed to fully witness to God's
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  Speaker 3: glory throughout his lifetime. Today we look at Athaliah, the
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  Speaker 3: daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, whose marriage to Jehoram, the
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  Speaker 3: king of Judah, had disastrous consequences on the southern kingdoms.
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  Speaker 3: once again leading Judah into idolatry and unfaithfulness and disobedience
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  Speaker 3: to God. So, listen now to the Word of God.
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  Speaker 2: The kingdom of Judah was thriving under King Jehoshaphat. He
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  Speaker 2: ruled with a fear of the Lord and a genuine
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  Speaker 2: love for his people. Surrounding nations respected him, his people
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  Speaker 2: loved him, and he had the Spirit of God resting
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  Speaker 2: on his soul. For all Jehoshaphat's triumphs as king over
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  Speaker 2: Judah He made one fateful mistake, a mistake that would
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  Speaker 2: alter the course of Judah and Israel for several generations.
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  Speaker 2: Jehoshaphat learned to broker peace with many surrounding nations, yet
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  Speaker 2: there was still disdain between Judah and their sister nation Israel.
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  Speaker 2: In an attempt to broker peace, Jehoshaphat betrothed his son
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  Speaker 2: Jerome to the daughter of Ahab, Athaliah. Athaliah was the
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  Speaker 2: daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. Ahab's corrupt mind and Jezebel's
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  Speaker 2: wicked heart had seeped their way into their daughter. Athaliah
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  Speaker 2: had the seductive qualities of her mother. Her silver tongue
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  Speaker 2: lured Yerom into straying away from the Lord. All of
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  Speaker 2: Jehoshaphat's positive influence began to melt as Athaliah spun webs
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  Speaker 2: of lies around her husband's mind. Jehoshaphat eventually passed to
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  Speaker 2: be with his forefathers. His life was celebrated as one
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  Speaker 2: of Judah's truest kings. However, Yerom had no such legacy.
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  Speaker 2: He and his wife practiced ancient pagan rituals. Their selfish
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  Speaker 2: and lewd practices trickled down into the culture of Judah.
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  Speaker 2: King Jehoshaphat had such a peace with God that he
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  Speaker 2: was able to stand in the face of vast armies
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  Speaker 2: without fear. King Yerom had no such peace. His mind
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  Speaker 2: was clouded with paranoia and pride. In an attempt to
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  Speaker 2: secure his legacy forever, he killed all six of his brothers.
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  Speaker 2: Corruption drenched his thoughts, and Athaliah reveled in her husband's
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  Speaker 2: downward spiral. Elisha, the prophet, kept a close eye on
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  Speaker 2: the king of Judah. He watched as Athaliah sewed lies
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  Speaker 2: into the fabric of Judah. He watched as Yoram secured
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  Speaker 2: his line by murdering his brothers. Elisha knew the heart
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  Speaker 2: of God. He knew that a king's heart eventually reached
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  Speaker 2: the heart of his people. He sent King Duram a message, saying,
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  Speaker 2: You have caused the people of Judah to fall into
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  Speaker 2: false worship. You have slain your brothers, good men who
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  Speaker 2: served the Lord. Because of this, you and your sons
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  Speaker 2: will be blotted out from the kingdom. Slowly, Judah's prosperity
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  Speaker 2: and favor shifted. With each battle, Judah tallied more and
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  Speaker 2: more lost. Nations that were once at peace with Judah
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  Speaker 2: began to take away more and more land. Yerom felt
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  Speaker 2: his kingdom slipping away from him. To add to his woes,
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  Speaker 2: Yerom was plagued with a crippling stomach illness. For two years,
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  Speaker 2: he writhed in pain. Each night, he screamed for mercy. Eventually,
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  Speaker 2: Yerom and all his sons perished by the same illness.
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  Speaker 2: All his sons, but one. Nobody mourned for Yerom's death.
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  Speaker 2: He was a corrupt man and brought nothing but sorrow
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  Speaker 2: to the people of Judah. There was hope for his son, Ahaziah.
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  Speaker 2: Hope that he could restore the heart of David and Jehoshaphat.
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  Speaker 2: Hope that he might rise above his father's sins and
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  Speaker 2: reach out to God for guidance. However, King Ahaziah was
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  Speaker 2: also muddled by the doctrine of his mother. Athaliah tutored
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  Speaker 2: her son in the ways of Jezebel. She weaved his
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  Speaker 2: wicked heart like a tapestry. Eventually, Ahaziah went to visit
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  Speaker 2: his uncle, the king of Israel, who had been wounded
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  Speaker 2: on the battlefield. There he met Jehu, who sent a
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  Speaker 2: sea of arrows to drown him in blood. So Athaliah
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  Speaker 2: found herself a widow and childless. Her husband and her
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  Speaker 2: sons were weak. Their minds and hearts were malleable and
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  Speaker 2: easy to sway, but not hers. Athaliah had a will
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  Speaker 2: of iron. She was the daughter of Jezebel and Ahab.
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  Speaker 2: She would find a way to remain in power. Athaliah
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  Speaker 2: knew that only men from the line of David were
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  Speaker 2: chosen as rulers over Judah. As long as the line
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  Speaker 2: of David lived, there would be a possibility to be overthrown.
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  Speaker 2: So Athaliah conspired to kill all of her grandchildren. Anyone
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  Speaker 2: with David's blood running through their veins would feel the
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  Speaker 2: cold iron of her dagger. Athaliah conspired with a few
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  Speaker 2: of her servants, not knowing that a child of God
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  Speaker 2: stood in her midst. Athaliah's daughter peered into her mother's
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  Speaker 2: chambers and listened. She heard of Athaliah's plan to murder
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  Speaker 2: the line of David to gain power. Athaliah's daughter was
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  Speaker 2: married to the high priest Jehoiada. Together they worshipped God
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  Speaker 2: and served the people of Judah. She would not allow
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  Speaker 2: her mother to murder her child. Before Athaliah sent her
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  Speaker 2: guards to murder her grandchildren, her daughter grabbed her baby, Joash,
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  Speaker 2: and hid him in the temple of God. Tears streamed
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  Speaker 2: down her face as she held her son close. In
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  Speaker 2: the distance, she could hear the boots of Athaliah's men,
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  Speaker 2: each one of them scattered throughout the city to find
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  Speaker 2: the descendants of David. All the small children were killed,
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  Speaker 2: all but Joash, who was held safely in the arms
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  Speaker 2: of his mother. Athaliah stood proud in front of the
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  Speaker 2: people of Judah, confident she had slain all the descendants
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  Speaker 2: of David. She stood proud as the new ruler of Judah.
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  Speaker 2: For six years she corrupted the nation with the sins
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  Speaker 2: of Jezebel. All the while, Joash was kept safe with
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  Speaker 2: his father in the temple of God. For seven years
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  Speaker 2: he remained there and studied the word of God. Meanwhile,
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  Speaker 2: the people who still worshipped the Lord became restless for
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  Speaker 2: a king. Jehoiada, the high priest, and Joash's father gathered
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  Speaker 2: the trusted leaders and elders of Judah together. They all
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  Speaker 2: conversed in secret about Queen Athaliah. They spoke of revolt.
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  Speaker 2: They spoke of rebellion. This is when Jehoiada felt comfortable
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  Speaker 2: to ask the question, The people paused for a moment.
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  Speaker 2: They nodded in agreement. We would make him king, of course,
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  Speaker 2: they shouted. Jehoiada nodded and got up from his seat.
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  Speaker 2: He went into the other room and brought in his
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  Speaker 2: seven-year-old son. Joash stood shyly in front of the crowd.
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  Speaker 2: This is Joash, your next king. Gasps filled the room.
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  Speaker 2: There in the temple, they bowed to the Lord's preserved
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  Speaker 2: hope for Judah. Together, the elders devised a plan to
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  Speaker 2: bring Joash in front of the people. They rallied troops
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  Speaker 2: who were not loyal to the queen and ushered Joash
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  Speaker 2: forward in front of the people. His father anointed his
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  Speaker 2: head and placed a crown on his head. The people
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  Speaker 2: erupted in praise to God in honor of their king.
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  Speaker 2: The sounds of applause, music, and laughter echoed through the city.
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  Speaker 2: It woke the slumbering Athaliah. She looked out her window
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  Speaker 2: to see what was happening. She beheld citizens running through
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  Speaker 2: the streets in praise of their new king. Her blood
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  Speaker 2: began to boil with hatred. All she had built had
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  Speaker 2: begun to crumble. All the murder and lies had been
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  Speaker 2: for nothing. She would not admit defeat easily. She rallied
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  Speaker 2: some of her guards and stormed the Temple of God.
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  Speaker 2: There she saw the seven-year-old Joash sitting upon his throne.
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  Speaker 2: She cackled towards him, then lifted her finger.' Treason!' she screamed.
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  Speaker 2: Her voice was broken and without control. Her eyes revealed
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  Speaker 2: an inner madness. Her hunger for power had driven her insane.
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  Speaker 2: Joash was just a child and unable to truly rule
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  Speaker 2: on his own. Jehoiada and the elders stood behind him.
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  Speaker 2: They were pillars of strength and guidance for him. With
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  Speaker 2: resolute strength and God, they stood their ground. Take her
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  Speaker 2: away from here, they ordered the guards. To Athaliah's surprise,
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  Speaker 2: her men did nothing to help her as she was
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  Speaker 2: swept away out of the temple. They dragged her to
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  Speaker 2: the horse corral.
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  Speaker 1: And executed her without a spectacle.
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  Speaker 2: Slowly, the hearts of Judah began to heal. They tore
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  Speaker 2: down the idols in the city and renewed a culture
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  Speaker 2: of worship.
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  Speaker 3: As we open today's passage, we're reminded of the righteous
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  Speaker 3: reign of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. His heart was like David's,
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  Speaker 3: and he earnestly sought to be close to the Lord
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  Speaker 3: and to lead his people to do the same. His
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  Speaker 3: rule was marked by success and a glorious time in
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  Speaker 3: Judah's history. But in his efforts to secure peace with
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  Speaker 3: the northern kingdom of Israel, Jehoshaphat had united with Ahab
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  Speaker 3: through the marriage of his son Jehoram to Ahab and
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  Speaker 3: Jezebel's daughter Athaliah. Athaliah was cut from the same cloth
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  Speaker 3: as her evil parents and was deeply involved in pagan
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  Speaker 3: worship and idolatry. So when Jehoshaphat died and left a
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  Speaker 3: flourishing kingdom for Jehoram to rule, things took an unfortunate turn.
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  Speaker 3: Athaliah's influence upon Jehoram was stronger than Jehoshaphat's, and soon
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  Speaker 3: the royal couple brought back the pagan rituals that poisoned Israel,
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  Speaker 3: and of which Jehoshaphat had worked so hard to rid
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  Speaker 3: from Judah. But as Jehoram discovered, when we turn from
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  Speaker 3: God to other sources of power and peace, we will
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  Speaker 3: end up with neither. Rather than peace, Jehoram was tortured
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  Speaker 3: by insecurity and fear, which in the end left him
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  Speaker 3: powerless to resist even the gravest of sins, like the
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  Speaker 3: murder of his six brothers, whom he feared were after
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  Speaker 3: his throne. Elisha, the great man of God, watched as
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  Speaker 3: all of this transpired. He saw the evil that was
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  Speaker 3: growing in Judah and sent word of God's judgment to Jehoram.
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  Speaker 3: His sins had not gone unnoticed. And as a result,
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  Speaker 3: God was going to wipe out the king and his sons.
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  Speaker 3: Just as the prophet had said, Jehoram and his sons
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  Speaker 3: all died. The last of which was Ahaziah, the king
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  Speaker 3: who we learned died when Jehu came to power. Ahaziah
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  Speaker 3: and Israel's king, Joram, both died at the hand of Jehu.
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  Speaker 3: Athaliah was left without a husband or any children. But
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  Speaker 3: rather than being fearful for her future or turn to
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  Speaker 3: God in repentance of her own sins, Athaliah doubled down.
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  Speaker 3: She saw the threat to her power, David's line, and
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  Speaker 3: proposed to destroy every descendant of King David. This included
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  Speaker 3: her own grandchildren. We could view this as simply the
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  Speaker 3: evil plot of a woman hungry for power and unwilling
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  Speaker 3: to repent. But we know that there was something much
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  Speaker 3: deeper going on here. There was a spiritual battle taking place,
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  Speaker 3: a cosmic war. Our greatest enemy, the the Lord Jesus
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  Speaker 3: as Messiah through David's line. Seen in that light, Athaliah's
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  Speaker 3: plot to wipe out David's lineage was the work of Satan,
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  Speaker 3: who seeks to kill, steal, and destroy. But God's plans
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  Speaker 3: are impossible to stop. And even as Athaliah plotted death,
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  Speaker 3: one of God's servants was in her midst. And in
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  Speaker 3: 2 Kings 11-2, here's what we find. But Jehoshibah, the
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  Speaker 3: daughter of King Joram, the sister of Ahaziah, took Joash,
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  Speaker 3: the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among
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  Speaker 3: the king's sons who were about to be put to death.
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  Speaker 3: And she put him and his nurse in a bedroom.
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  Speaker 3: Thus they hid him from Athaliah so that he was
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  Speaker 3: not put to death. Queen Athaliah's reign of terror lasted
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  Speaker 3: six years. And in the seventh year, Jehoshibah revealed that
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  Speaker 3: her son Joash was alive, as is the line of David.
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  Speaker 3: His father Jehoda, the priest, anointed the child as king,
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  Speaker 3: and the seven-year-old child was placed under strong protection. The
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  Speaker 3: people were quick to welcome a new king, as Queen
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  Speaker 3: Athaliah had brought them nothing but pain and suffering. And
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  Speaker 3: when she tried to seize the child to kill him,
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  Speaker 3: her guards refused to help her. Instead, she was taken
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  Speaker 3: to a stable and executed. Though the plans of Satan
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  Speaker 3: may seem to prevail for a time, God will always
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  Speaker 3: accomplish his will and his purpose. And so this child,
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  Speaker 3: the anointed one, Joash, carried on the line of David
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  Speaker 3: and ushered in an era of peace and obedience to God.
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  Speaker 3: As a result of Jehoshibah's faithfulness to God, the child
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  Speaker 3: was preserved and God's plan carried on, and one day
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  Speaker 3: the Messiah would indeed come through the line of David.
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  Speaker 3: Lord God, we remember today that no plot against you,
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  Speaker 3: no plan against your work and your will will ever prosper.
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  Speaker 3: We're reminded of this today through the life of Joash
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  Speaker 3: and the bravery, the courage of his mother to preserve him.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for doing your will and accomplish your purposes
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  Speaker 3: in our lives. We know that we have a destiny
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  Speaker 3: with you and our destiny is found in our relationship
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  Speaker 3: through our Lord Jesus Christ with you, our God and father. Amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: Before we go, I want to let you know about
• 17:34
  Speaker 3: a unique ebook that's yours to download absolutely free today.
• 17:38
  Speaker 3: It's called Breaking Free from Stress. And my prayer is
• 17:43
  Speaker 3: that it will help you conquer the daily task and
• 17:45
  Speaker 3: pressures and burdens that bring stress into your life. Download
• 17:49
  Speaker 3: your free copy of Breaking Free from Stress today by
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: visiting jackgram.org slash stress. That's JackGraham.org slash stress.