Preached November 13, 2011
from
2 Kings 23:30-34, and various passages
King Jehoahaz’ story teaches us that the only life the Lord blesses is one that is devoted to a humble dependency on Him.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
As we turn again this morning to our study of the Kings of Judah, we enter into a sad phase of their history. The next four kings we’ll be considering were the last ones to reign in Jerusalem. They were all ungodly men. And after their reigns, the only other king of the royal lineage of King David that would ever again reign in the city of Jerusalem would be the Lord Jesus Himself on the day of His glorious return.
Today, we consider the first of those last four kings—King Jehoahaz. He only reigned over his people for a remarkably short time—just three months. But for as short as his reign was, there is a surprising amount of information that God gives us about him in His word. And in looking at what God tells us about him, we discover a spiritual lesson—the importance of which greatly exceeds the shortness of his reign.
So; in order to share the lesson of King Jehoahaz’ life to you, I’m going to ask that we look together at the four key passages in the Old Testament that tell us about him.
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The first passage that I ask you to turn to is found in 1 Chronicles 3:15; and it has to do with . . .
1. HIS NAME.
The name that he is given in the historical portion of the Scriptures is Jehoahaz; and this was most likely the name that his godly father King Josiah had given him. That name, in Hebrew, has a wonderful meaning—”Jehovah is his Sustainer”. I can’t but imagine that he was given that name to continually remind him of what his father himself had learned—that the God of Israel truly sustains and keeps a faithful hold on those who put their trust in Him. What a good name that would been to have as he grew up—”Jehovah is his Sustainer”.
But as it turned out, that’s not the name that God called him by. In 1 Chronicles 3:15—in the Scriptural record of the family tree of King David—we find these words: “The sons of Josiah were Johanan the firstborn, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, and the fourth Shallum.” That last son—Shallum—is none other than the king his father called “Jehovah is his Sustainer”. We encounter that unusual name for Jehoahaz in only two places in Scripture—here, and at the end of God’s verdict of Jehoahaz’ reign in the book of the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 22:11-12). God did not call him “Jehovah is his sustainer”; because he was not characterized by a trust in God to sustain him. Rather, God called him Shallum—which means “retribution”; because he was characterized by punishment and recompense for a wicked and rebellious heart.
I wonder if this might not be a good time to stop and ask: What name would God know you by? After all, the truest thing that can be said about you is what God says about you. Does God know you as someone who trusts in Him and depends upon Him? Does He know you as someone who has placed your faith in His Son Jesus Christ; and as someone who depends upon His grace for your salvation? Does God look upon you and say, “Jehoahaz”, that is, “Jehovah is his or he Sustainer”, because you live a life of humble trust in His sustaining grace? Or does God—who always calls things as they really are—call you by some other name?
May God help us to live in obedient trust and dependency upon Him; so that, at the end of our story, He does not have to call us “Shallum (“retribution”), because we had to suffer the consequences of not living a life of dependence on Him.
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So then; from the very beginning, we’re told something important about this man Jehoahaz—that he did not live up to the name his father gave him. He was not someone who allowed himself to be sustained by God; but was rather “Shallum”—that is, someone who, in the end, suffered retribution and recompense for sin.
Let’s turn, now, to the historical record of the Bible; and see what it tells us about . . .
2. HIS REIGN (2 Kings 23:30-34).
And the best place to go for the details of that reign is is 2 Kings 23:30-34.
The story of Jehoahaz’ reign begins with the tragic death of his father Josiah. Josiah, as you may remember, was a very good and godly king. The kings that were immediately before him were so ungodly, and had led the people into such wickedness, that God had made up His mind to bring punishment upon the people of Judah. But early in his life, Josiah sought to walk in the ways of his great predecessor King David. He worked hard to cleanse his land of the idols and pagan altars that previous kings had set up, and to turn the hearts of his people back to a faithful worship of God. Because of his submission to God and his reverence toward God’s word, the Lord told him, “Surely, therefore, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place” (2 Kings 22:20).
But as you also may remember, godly Josiah’s last act was one of rashness and pride. He sought to meddle in affairs that were not his own; and he recklessly tried to pick a fight with Pharaoh Necho, the king of Egypt. As a result, Necho slew him in battle; and the people mourned greatly at the death of their great king Josiah. And then, we’re told in 2 Kings 23:30; “And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in his father’s place.”
Now; if you pay careful attention, you might begin to put some of the details of Jehoahaz’ story together. Do you remember, in the last passage we had looked at—where we were told of the sons of Josiah? Do you remember where Jehoahaz was in the birth-order? He was the youngest of four brothers. Two of those other brothers—Jehoiachin (the second-born) and Zedekiah (the third-born)—both later became kings of Judah. But it was not either of them that became king first. It was Jehoahaz. And do you notice who it was that the Bible tells us placed him on the throne? We’re told, “And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in his father’s place.” He was, in other words, not the choice of his father Josiah, but was the ‘people’s choice’ for king.
As we read on, we see . . .
Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done (vv. 31-32).
Here, we’re told about his mother. Her name was Hamutal. She is also mentioned in 2 Kings 2:18 as the mother of Jehoahaz’ brother Zedekiah, when he became king. And it may be that something of the nature of Hamutal’s influence on him is hinted at when we’re told that “he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.” This means that, immediately upon the commencement of his reign, the young king Jehoahaz completely rejected the godly ways of his father Josiah, and embraced instead the wicked ways of the kings who had brought the nation down into idolatry and sin. It’s not hard to see Hamutal’s influence on her sons as a negative one; because the same thing is said of her other royal son Zedekiah—that he “also did evil in the sight of the LORD . . .” (2 Kings 24:18).
Now; why would the people choose Jehoahaz over his older brothers? It may be that he had been selected because it was thought that his placement on the throne might convey a strong opposition to the king of Egypt. It may be that it was done through the influence of his mother. It may be that it was because of both. But as we read on, we find that his enthronement didn’t succeed. No more than three months after he was placed on the throne, we’re told:
Now Pharaoh Necho put him in prison at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a tribute of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. Then Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and changed his name to Jehoiakim (vv. 33-34a).
What a shockingly abrupt end to his reign! And what’s more, we’re told, “And Pharaoh took Jehoahaz and went to Egypt, and he died there” (v. 34b).
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Now; Jehoahaz’ reign was so short that it seems insignificant. You’d think that there wouldn’t be much more to say about it than that. But the fact is that God has a very important spiritual lesson for us to learn from the short story of Jehoahaz. God had much more to say about Jehoahaz in some of the prophetic passages of Scripture.
So; let’s move now from the historic passages to the prophetic ones. Turn with me to the 19th chapter of the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel; and let’s consider what God says about . . .
3. HIS UPBRINGING (Ezekiel 19:1-14).
You remember Jehoahaz’ mother, don’t you? Her name was Hamutal. Did you know that the whole 19th chapter of Ezekiel is devoted to her? In it, we find out what was in her heart as she sought to raise her two royal sons.
In verses 1-4, we read of what she sought to do with her son Jehoahaz. God spoke to the prophet Ezekiel—the prophet who ministered during the times of those last four kings—and told him,
“Moreover take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, and say:
‘What is your mother? A lioness:
She lay down among the lions;
Among the young lions she nourished her cubs.
She brought up one of her cubs,
And he became a young lion;
He learned to catch prey,
And he devoured men.
The nations also heard of him;
He was trapped in their pit,
And they brought him with chains to the land of Egypt’ (Ezekiel 19:1-4).
It’s amazing how God tells us, through Ezekiel, exactly what happened. Hamutal was a ‘lioness-like” woman. She may have been a lioness; but we’re told that she lay down “among the lions”. And she brought up her sons to be “lion-like” leaders. She brought up one of them—Jehoahaz—and he became “a young lion” at the age of 23. She taught him to be an aggressive king. “He learned to catch prey, and he devoured men.” But it didn’t last for long. Within just three months time, the Gentile nations heard of him; and like a lion snared by the trappers, he was “trapped in their pit”. Pharaoh Necho brought him with chains to the land of Egypt. His reign was over.
And notice then how the ambitious nature of Hamutal, his mother, was revealed. We’re told;
“‘When she saw that she waited, that her hope was lost,
She took another of her cubs and made him a young lion'” (v. 5).
This would speak of Jehoahaz’ elder brother Zedekiah, who later became king. Just as she had sought to do with Jehoahaz, she raised Zedekiah to be a “lion-like” leader.
“‘He roved among the lions,
And became a young lion;
He learned to catch prey;
He devoured men.
He knew their desolate places,
And laid waste their cities;
The land with its fullness was desolated
By the noise of his roaring'” (vv. 6-7).
But like Jehoahaz, Zedekiah was also captured—this time, by the Babylonians.
“‘Then the nations set against him from the provinces on every side,
And spread their net over him;
He was trapped in their pit.
They put him in a cage with chains,
And brought him to the king of Babylon;
They brought him in nets,
That his voice should no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel'” (vv. 8-9).
It was with the capture of Zedekiah that the God-appointed reign of the kings of Judah was brought to a close—until the time in the distant future when Jesus, the Son of David, would return to this earth, resume that reign, and rule over His people in Jerusalem. And so, God closes with these words to those four final kings about their ambitious mother Hamutal:
“‘Your mother was like a vine in your bloodline,
Planted by the waters,
Fruitful and full of branches
Because of many waters.
She had strong branches for scepters of rulers.
She towered in stature above the thick branches,
And was seen in her height amid the dense foliage.
But she was plucked up in fury,
She was cast down to the ground,
And the east wind dried her fruit.
Her strong branches were broken and withered;
The fire consumed them.
And now she is planted in the wilderness,
In a dry and thirsty land.
Fire has come out from a rod of her branches
And devoured her fruit,
So that she has no strong branch—a scepter for ruling’” (vv. 10-14a).
There’s no doubt about it—she was a remarkable woman. She was strong like a lioness. She was a ‘towering tree’—and was “like a vine” in the “bloodline” of her sons. She sought to make them into great leaders. But in the end, what a sad and tragic story that it was. And it was proven true in real-life history. Thus Ezekiel says, “This is a lamentation, and has become a lamentation” (v. 14b).
Now; can you see from this what was at the root of Jehoahaz’ failure? He had been trained—by his strong, ambitious, and lioness-like mother Hamutal—to be a king who relied on the power of the flesh. He was trained by her, after the ambitions of her own heart, to be a mighty leader according to the principles and values of this world—trained to be a tough and intimidating and strong monarch according to the standards of human wisdom and political might. He was schooled in the ways of the kings of men. But he was not schooled in God. He was not trained to live in the kind of humble dependency upon the power of the living God that makes men useful to Him.
He was not taught to live the only kind of life that God can bless and use—a humble, God-dependent life.
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Now; there’s one more thing that God said about King Jehoahaz in the Scriptures. Please turn with me to Jeremiah 22; and let’s look together at what God tells us about . . .
4. HIS FAILURE (Jeremiah 22:1-12).
Jeremiah was a prophet who was very active in the lives of these four remaining kings. God sent him to speak a word to the last of them—King Zedekiah. But it was a message that was—as it were—meant to be overheard by all of them.
God tells His servant Jeremiah:
Thus says the LORD: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates! Thus says the LORD: “Execute judgment and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong and do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place” (Jeremiah 1-3).
That would have been a good message for young Jehoahaz to heed at the beginning of his reign. He had been placed on the throne immediately after the reign of his godly father. He would have seen first-hand how God blesses those who depend upon him. He could have chosen the path of humble dependency.
Furthermore, God tells him;
“For if you indeed do this thing, then shall enter the gates of this house, riding on horses and in chariots, accompanied by servants and people, kings who sit on the throne of David. But if you will not hear these words, I swear by Myself,” says the LORD, “that this house shall become a desolation” (vv. 4-5).
God expresses Himself strongly here, doesn’t He? If Jehoahaz would humble himself before God, God would bless the nation. But if he would not heed what God says, God swore by Himself that the royal house over which Jehoahaz reined would be made a desolation!
God truly wanted to bless Jehoahaz and his people:
For thus says the LORD to the house of the king of Judah:
“You are Gilead to Me,
The head of Lebanon . . .” (v. 6a).
Gilead was a beautiful place—covered with forests and mountains capped with snow. It was symbolic to God of what He wanted the whole land to be.
“Yet I surely will make you a wilderness,
Cities which are not inhabited.
I will prepare destroyers against you,
Everyone with his weapons;
They shall cut down your choice cedars
And cast them into the fire” (vv. 6b-7).
And many nations will pass by this city; and everyone will say to his neighbor, ‘Why has the LORD done so to this great city?’ Then they will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshiped other gods and served them'” (vv. 8-9).
Sadly, the blessing that God longed to pour out on His people was not to be. Jehoahaz would not listen. He would not humble himself before God. He would follow after the counsel and training of his mother instead. And so; God tells the people not to bother weeping for Jehoahaz’ father Josiah. He says;
Weep not for the dead, nor bemoan him;
Weep bitterly for him who goes away,
For he shall return no more,
Nor see his native country (v. 10).
And look at what, in the end, God calls Jehoahaz. He doesn’t call him “Jehovah is his Sustainer”. Instead, God calls him by the name that was true to his character—”retribution”.
For thus says the LORD concerning Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, who went from this place: “He shall not return here anymore, but he shall die in the place where they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more” (vv. 11-12).
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As you can see, then, the seemingly-insignificant reign of King Jehoahaz has a very significant lesson to teach us. It’s one that touches each of our lives in a very practical way. It’s one that is set before us in the words of our Lord, when He Himself said:
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples” (John 15:1-8).
Let’s not follow follow the example of Jehoahaz. Let’s not pattern ourselves after this world’s methods. Let’s remember what the life of King Jehoahaz is meant to teach us—that the only life the Lord blesses is one that is devoted to a humble dependency on Him.
And in the end, may it be that God will call us “Jehoahaz”—and not “Shallum”.