Bribes

O. T. #850  "Bribes"
Oct. 14, 2016
2 Kings 12-Part 2


LET IT GLOW

So many down through the ages have resorted to bribing officials to get what they want, get their way, or get out of something. Sometimes it is money that buys special favors. We see it in today's lesson. It was a king who did the bribing.

Hazael, the energetic Syrian king (10:32-33), invaded Philistia, took the city of Gath, and then set his sights on Jerusalem. After first suffering defeat (2 Chronicles 24:24), Joash followed the precedent of Asa (1 Kings 15:18) and paid tribute to Hazael. (Falwell)

Gath was one of the 5 major Philistine cities (1 Sam. 5:8), located about 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem. Gath had previously belonged to Judah.  (MacArthur)

Being spiritually backslidden, Joash was unable to cope with the Syrian invasion, so he tried to bribe Hazael by giving him the wealth of God's house. How often God's people rob the Lord, in trying to solve their problems, instead of turning to the Lord in confession. (Wiersbe)

In verse 18, King Joash collected all the sacred objects and gold which he and his previous kings had dedicated in the Lord's Temple and sent them to Hazael. It was a bribe. Haael called off his attack on Jerusalem.

That turkey! Here he had been so committed to serving the Lord and rid Judah of idol worship and he turns away from God. Of course, his mentor, Jehoiada, was gone by this time. That's no excuse. He knew better. He did it anyway.

So many people I know fall away from the Lord and turn to a life of sin, even when they know better.
Do we help their family pick up he pieces and carry on?


LET IT GROW

How does Priest Zechariah's death by stoning, which was ordered by King Joash, get avenged?

• Joash's officers plotted against him and assassinated him on the road to Silla.
• His assassins are named in verse 21. They were both trusted advisers of Joash.
• The king was buried in Jerusalem, the city of David, but not in the sepulcher of the kings (2 Chron. 24:25).
• Joash's son Amaziah became the next king.
• The people of Judah had abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors, so judgment was carried out against Joash. (2 Chronicles 24:24)

What a promising future Joash had under the tutorship of Jehoiada. He fell short of the expectations of his people, and us who read the story.

LET IT GO

Watch out for those who try to bribe others to get their way.

Don't be like them.