The Spirit of God took control of Zechariah son of Jehoida the priest. He stood above the people and said to them, “This is what God says, ‘Why are you transgressing the LORD’s commands and you do not prosper? Because you have abandoned the LORD, He has abandoned you.’ ”     2 Chronicles 24:20 HCSB

Our Friday morning Bible study group is currently studying 2 Chronicles. Many of you know that I am a fan of the Old Testament. I have heard people say we need not pay too much attention to it because it is just history, and the gospel is found in the New Testament. I cringe at that because the Old Testament contains the Ten Commandments. It gives numerous examples of those who fared well when they walked with the Lord and those who didn’t when they went astray.

As we go through the kings listed in 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles, we see a pattern. Kings who served the one true God did well. They had times of peace to fortify their cities and build up their armies. God was with them in battle, and they were victorious. But on the flip side we see kings who did not honor God and they didn’t do so well.

This Scripture passage is referring to King Joash. He became king at the age of 7 after surviving some tragic circumstances. The high priest Jehoida was responsible for Joash becoming king. As Joash grew, he was zealous in doing what the Lord commanded. He removed false idols in the land. He restored the Lord’s temple. He worked with Jehoida, and they were successful in doing these things. Jehoida mentored Joash and Joash remained faithful to the Lord throughout Jehoida’s life. But when Jehoida died, Joash abandoned the ways of the Lord and worshiped idols.

Our Scripture passage today says that Jehoida’s son spoke as the Spirit of God came upon Him. God gave Zechariah the words to say. God warned, through Zechariah, that if Joash abandons Him that He will abandon Joash. This is not the first time a prophet has spoken these words to a king. We see this in 2 Chronicles 7:17 when God tells Solomon that if he keeps God’s commands, He will never fail to have a man ruling in Israel. But He warns him that if he fails to do so, God will uproot Israel from the soil He gave them. He says He will banish the temple from His presence and make it an object of scorn and ridicule. In 2 Chronicles 15:1-2 we are told that the Spirit of God came on Azariah, and he warned King Asa. He told Asa that when he is with the Lord, the Lord is with him. But he warned that if he abandoned the Lord, the Lord would abandon him.

We see many instances of kings in 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles (which are the same accounts) which show success when following the Lord and downfall when failing to do so. We also see in the lives of these kings that being surrounded with godly people and choosing good mentors has a lot to do with their success or failure.

The same holds true for us. Like Joash and other kings in the Old Testament, we all tend to do better with a good mentor. We should make sure that we align ourselves with someone to help us stay on the straight and narrow path. We should also be willing to come along and help new Christians to do the same.

I thank God for my pastor and my church family. As I sat in church last night, I saw many people in there that provide good examples of how we should live. They are human beings like you and me, so this means they have imperfections, but their hearts are in the right place. My prayer for you today is that you are in a good, Bible teaching church and have your pick of good mentors.

I have also lost some good mentors. Our former pastor died over five years ago. A lady that was an inspiration to my husband and I died over 2 years ago. I look forward to seeing them again in heaven. But praise God, He has given us others to come along side us and be our mentors.

King Joash killed Zechariah. He didn’t want to hear the truth.

Don’t turn your back on your fellow Christians. Find a good, solid mentor to help you navigate the Christian life. They are so important to our spiritual well-being. Pray for God’s help with that. We get by with a little help from our friends.

Have a great day!