Day 196 of 365
GUARD THE KING
Athaliah, whose name means "the Lord is exalted," did not live up to her name. As the nation unraveled, she continued the murderous pattern of many of the previous pagan leaders. When her son (King Ahaziah) died, she murdered every remaining royal heir and took the throne for herself. But she missed one heir: young Joash, her grandson and the son of Ahaziah. Jehosheba, Ahaziah's half sister, was married to the high priest and stood in a perfect location to rescue and hide Joash. Athaliah may not have even known of Joash's existence, which protected him from her rampage. The Lord protected Joash, ensuring that he would inherit the promises God made to David. Once again, David's royal line endured against all human odds through God's covenant faithfulness (2Sa 7:16).
In the same way, God protected the infant Jesus from death at the hands of King Herod and allowed him to secure the Davidic throne forever (Mt 2:13 - 20). The entire story of the Bible testifies to God's faithfulness to fulfill his promises and establish his rule and reign.
Jesus, I may not always see how the pieces of the puzzle will fit together, but help me to always believe that they do. Thank you for your perfect will. Amen.
2 Kings 11:1-3 NASB
1 When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she rose and destroyed all the royal offspring. 2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him from among the king's sons who were being put to death, and placed him and his nurse in the bedroom. So they hid him from Athaliah, and he was not put to death. 3 So he was hidden with her in the house of the L ord six years, while Athaliah was reigning over the land.
2 Samuel 7:16 NASB
16 Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever."'"
Matthew 2:13-20 NASB
13 Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him."
14 So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. 15 He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "O ut of E gypt I called M y S on ."
Herod Slaughters Babies
16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. 17Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: 18 "A voice was heard in R amah , W eeping and great mourning , R achel weeping for her children ; A nd she refused to be comforted , B ecause they were no more ."
19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said, 20 "Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child's life are dead."
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