During the Revolutionary War, a rag-tag army of colonists stood against the largest and most powerful army and navy in the world. The small band worked out a plan to mark the movement of troops from one place to another by placing a lit candle in a hurricane globe in different places within the windows of homes and businesses that were located along the main roads. A lit candle signified and open road. A road occupied by the enemy was a dark road. The soldiers marched in rows along dusty trails, but they saw no light around them. They were surrounded by a hatching plot that would eventually force them to flee in their ships back to their native land.
Today, believers are nervous as we sustain public losses to same sex marriage, and an “un-Biblical world view” seems to be marching toward sponging out all of the retained truth of God's Word from the public square. The church has many a depressed believer that thinks God is somehow being beaten up in modern America. We forget that we are not wrestling against what it looks like we are. Some are responding by putting greater emphasis on political change. Are we ready before the believers renew their own commitment to the Word and each other?
Key Principle: God is working a plan, and has a great enemy that is trying to thwart the plan. Self interested, unbelieving people are the enemy's minions. Yet, God has marked a lighted path toward restoration.
Ten Principles of Restoring God's Redemptive Plan in the Public World
Recognize the battle is against God's plan: When an evil power saw an opportunity, she ruthlessly acted out a dark plot that destroyed many (11:1). These attacks were empowered by an enemy greater than the power figure, and were directed at bigger agenda than they appeared to be. The killings were brutal in themselves (a grandmother that killed her own grandchildren), but particularly aimed at David's line – an attack on the redemption plan of God (cp. 11:10).
Take heart! God is working in more people than we see: As the darkness fell, God placed people in key places that would not have been suspected to have the backbone and to stand out – but quietly God used them (11:2). This daughter of Joram was both the half sister of Ahaziah and the wife of the High Priest Jehoiada (2 Chronicles 22:11). Other believers were involved (including Levites and leaders of Judah, cp. 2 Chronicles 23:2).
Be patient! God isn't in the rush we think He is: The infant was weaned and grew to be a youth of seven years old, while a wicked queen ruled and tortured the land with her pagan influence and dark pronouncements (11:3). The people of God endured more pagan rituals, more Baalite priests, more children raised in a pluralism God never intended for His people. Yet, God was shaping the life of Jehoash in the house of the Lord. The place was close to the palace, but was utterly neglected by Athaliah. Unbelievers often underestimate the power of transmitting truth in the house of worship. Lives are shaped outside the walls of the worship – but they are also often powerfully impacted by the worship and instruction INSIDE the walls.
Remember, God will bring help from the least expected places: The Carites were foreigners from western Asia Minor (Caria), mercenaries who served as royal bodyguards. They saw how Athaliah ruled. They observed those who knew God and those who acted out religious parts. In the end, those with a true walk were more attractive to follow! (11:4).
Get busy! God works through connected and relational teams: The people of God cannot win the world until they win their own team (11:5-6). The first task of the believer is to connect to other believers and begin to grow together – not to try the work on your own!
Be careful! God works through a careful plan: The guards were arranged to protect the king (we must always place protections on the most important parts of God's work before exposing them to danger – 11:7-8). The plan needed to be thorough and emphasize guarding what was most precious. It was probably executed at a High Sabbath – during a feast that had wide representation among the people!
Be diligent! God works through obedient believers who follow His Word: The guards did as they were instructed by a priest, who were in turn instructed by God's Word (11:9,11). The priest was aware of the battle's purpose (11:10 as noted in number one above), and did everything possible to guard the success of the restoration to God's program. God's plan was restored because God's people took seriously the place of God's Word: After the plan was unfolded, the prominence of the Word of God became clear – it was the very center of the story (11:12). God commanded that a king begin his reign with the testimony of the Law, and Jehoiada the Priest made certain that God's will was done according to God's way.
Be watchful! The unbeliever expects a standard of fairness they do not live: God's plan is rendered unimportant in their mind, and they substitute it with a “morality of self benefit”. The queen heard, came and cried out “Treason!” (11:13-14). Remarkable, since she seized the throne by removing the line without regard to the promises of God. She made her own “rules” of fairness, and then lived as though they were true!
Take a side! The restoration of God's plan required a choice: Follow the redemptive plan of God – or follow the plan of the moral code established by the world (11:15-16). The central issue was where truth was derived from! Those who would follow God would not straddle the old life, but turn completely away from the old master. God's plan was restored by commitment: The restoration was completed by a commitment between the people and God on behalf of God's stated program (11:17). It is always a choice – follow the world, or carefully plan to take a stand on God's Word when the day comes.
See the effects! God's plan restored the place of worship: The false system was only dismantled AFTER the people of God made a commitment to follow the Word of God (11:18-19). It included the removal of the false (18a) and the restoration of the systems that ensured the truth would be taught (18b) and appropriately guarded from the enemy's attack (1:19). God's plan restored peace: The result of following the enemy is more hunger and more need. The result of following God's plan is peace and stability (11:20-21).
God is working a plan, and has a great enemy that is trying to thwart the plan. Self interested, unbelieving people are the enemy's minions. Yet, God has marked a lighted path toward restoration.
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