Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:11] And Happy Tuesday. I'm Chuck Allen, and welcome to another edition of the Weekday Podcast.
[00:00:17] This week we're talking about unsung heroes, all from the Old Testament and some of these people you've probably never heard of. Yesterday we we told the story of a guy by the name of Shammah who rescued his people from the mean, nasty Philistines by standing in a bean field. Today, we want to talk about Jehoshaphat. It was a woman who had hidden a promise straight out of 2 Kings 11. And in 2 Chronicles 22.
[00:00:49] Welcome back as we talk about this. And today, introducing this woman whose name you probably never heard of, Jehosheba.
[00:00:59] If it weren't for her courage, y', all, one of the most important family lines in the scriptures might have been wiped out in a single afternoon. So let me kind of paint the picture here. The kingdom of Judah was in a dark season, right? The king had been killed and his mom saw her chance to grab the power. And second king tells us, when Athaliah, the mother of King Azia of Judah was learned her son was dead, she began to destroy the rest of the royal family. Yikes, right? That's kind of hard to read. She went after her own grandkids so no one could challenge her for the throne. I mean, tell me this isn't like a Netflix movie waiting to happen. But then the text gives us one of the coolest words in scripture. It says, but.
[00:01:47] But Hazia's sister, John Jehoshaphat, the daughter of King Jehoram, took Ahaziah's infant son Joash, name ring a bell? And stole him away from among the rest of the king's children who were about to be killed. She put Joash and his nurse in a bedroom and they hid from Athelia, so the child was not murdered. Now the the palace is like in. In chaos. Jehoshapha sees what is happening and she has only a few minutes to act. She grabs a baby, her own nephew, along with a woman who takes care of him, and she gets them out of there. Second Chronicles adds a detail that helps us understand how she made it all happen. She was the wife of Jehoiada, the priest. So she took that little boy to the one place where she had access and where Athelia wouldn't think to look. And the Bible says Joash remained hidden in the temple of the Lord for six years while Athalia ruled over the land. Now, notice two kinds of courage in this woman. Jehoshapha's story and the series of things that happened. The first kind is the courage of a single moment. She had to decide quickly, with real danger all around her. That took some serious bravery. But the second kind of courage may have been even harder. It was the courage of six long, grueling years. Six years of keeping a secret. Six years of raising a kid in hiding. Six years of living under a ruler who would have killed him if she had found out.
[00:03:33] Nobody threw Jehoshaphat a parade. Nobody remembers her. But her faithfulness was quiet and daily and mostly invisible. Now here's why it mattered so much. God had made a promise to David that his family line would continue.
[00:03:49] And ultimately, that promise points to Jesus, the son of David. And in that dark moment in Judah, it looked like the line might end. But God used one woman with a willing heart to protect his promise. In the seventh year, Jehoiada the priest, gathered the leaders and showed them the king's son.
[00:04:09] The hidden child, became crowned, and the promise came out of hiding.
[00:04:15] Maybe you're living in a hidden season right now. You're doing faithful things that nobody's recognizing. You're raising children. You're praying over them when they don't even know it. You're caring for an aging parent. You're holding to a promise that God gave you maybe years ago and it still hasn't come to light.
[00:04:34] Some days it feels like nothing is happening. I want to encourage you on this Tuesday, hidden doesn't mean wasted.
[00:04:43] You hear me?
[00:04:44] Hidden doesn't mean wasted. Jehoshaphat's six years in the shadows were some of the most important years in the history of God's people.
[00:04:54] There's something else that's pretty awesome in this story.
[00:04:58] Jehoshapha didn't have a throne, didn't have a title, didn't have an army. What she had was access to a bedroom and a temple and a heart, y', all, that was willing to act God. Y', all, listen, I love this. God often does his most important work through ordinary folks like her and like you, who are willing to use whatever place he puts them in and whatever he's given them.
[00:05:26] Your kitchen table, your classroom, your office, your job site, your living room.
[00:05:32] That can become a place where God protects something precious.
[00:05:36] So let me ask you, what's God put in your hands to protect a child? A friendship, a ministry, A dream.
[00:05:43] Keep working it, keep tending it, keep guarding it. Keep showing up in the quiet.
[00:05:48] Because the day is going to come when God brings it into the light, and you'll see that every hidden hour mattered.
[00:05:55] Lord, thank you for faithful people who protect your promises in hidden places. Give us courage in the moment and patience for the long haul. And help us trust that you see what other people don't. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. Amen and amen. Have a great day, y'. All. I'll see you back tomorrow with another unique and wondrous story about God's people and how they show up in sometimes the most unique places. Bye, now.
