The Godly Kings of JudahSample

Renewing Trust

Growing up in America, going to church, and living in a Christian culture, it’s easy to accept the faith of others as your own. How does cultural Christianity sneak in? The temptation to live a secondhand faith comes from depending on others to disciple our hearts. Instead, we need to be intentional about studying God’s Word, prayer, and the practice of learning to hear God’s voice of truth for ourselves. We have to renew our trust in God continually. Sermons, podcasts, devotionals, and other resources are great tools to encourage us in the faith. But they’re no substitute for sitting down with God’s Word and digging out the truth on our own. When we resort to just hearing and reading about the Bible, we miss God and learning about who He is and knowing Him better.

From this story about Joash, we note a strong bond between Joash and his uncle, the priest Jehoiada, and probably with his aunt Jehosheba. She used her resources successfully to rescue the young prince. He was a baby at the time when his grandmother, Athaliah, became a madwoman, killing the royal heirs of her son, Ahaziah. We can’t underestimate the significance of this piece of the story. The couple’s influence permeated the rule of Joash, as he became king when just seven years old and needed guidance.

Joash’s relationship with Jehoiada may have been more significant than his relationship with Jehovah, unlike some of his counterparts who experienced a more direct connection with God. Scripture doesn’t give us any more details about his relationship with Jehoiada. Still, his actions after the death of Jehoiada point to a different reality than the godly actions of his early reign. We don’t know for sure; the conclusion we might draw is that Joash, rather than leaning on his faith in God, mainly leaned on Jehoiada’s faith as long as Jehoiada was alive.

We need to become critical thinkers when it comes to our faith. If we only take at face value what we read or hear from others without reflecting on what we hear about God from His Word, the truth doesn’t embed itself into our hearts.

Reflection: What might a secondhand faith look like in today’s world?