The book of 2 Kings Bible Study 15 –
Just for your thoughts:
Today's Need for Deteriorated Churches
The book of 2 Kings
Bible Study 15 –
There is a pressing need today for teachers who foster true devotion. When we observe the current condition of the Church, we can see that teachers like Jehoiada are urgently needed.
Who is this Jehoiada?
He was the husband of Jehosheba, who rescued young King Joash from Athaliah’s attempt to kill him and cared for him for six years.
The Bible records that as long as Joash followed the counsel of Jehoiada, he did what was right in the sight of God.
Jehoiada’s guidance directed the king, and through that, the people of the land were also led back to the Lord.
Joash followed Jehoiada’s counsel until Jehoiada died, and during that time the nation remained secure. Perhaps that is why Jehoiada lived for 120 years—an unusually long life for that time.
No one in his era lived that long except Moses, who lived 137 years. It can be assumed that God extended Jehoiada’s life because he recognized the spiritual need of the nation of Judah.
However, after Jehoiada’s death, Joash turned to worship idols and images. At one point, despite having a mighty army, Joash feared a relatively small Syrian army.
Out of fear, he gave away all the gold from the temple of the Lord to the Syrian king.
Lessons God teaches us through this incident:
1.In a time when Christians have lost their testimony among people and are being seen as insignificant or contemptible, there is a great need for teachers like Jehoiada who can guide the Church toward genuine spiritual growth.
2.Instead of focusing on teachings that fulfill worldly desires, we must raise believers who can stand as salt and light to this world. Only then can we reshape society’s perception of the Church, which has strayed from the Lord. This is the most urgent need today.
3.Instead of preaching only about material blessings from the Old Testament, today’s need is for biblical scholars who can expound the spiritual lessons those scriptures contain.
4.A Christian who lives with testimony is a walking epistle. He is a living version of the Gospel.
What many evangelistic sermons fail to achieve, the testimony of a single believer can powerfully communicate to the world.
Therefore, we are called to pray that teachers like Jehoiada will rise up in this generation—and that such faithful teachers will be granted long life for the sake of God's work.
In God’s service,
Ezekiel Shanmugavel