Kings of Israel: Jehoahaz and Jehoash
13 In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu became king over Israel at Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. 2 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel sin; he did not turn from them. 3 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and He gave them continually into the hand of Hazael king of Aram, and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael. 4 Then Jehoahaz entreated the favor of the Lord, and the Lord listened to him; for He saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Aram oppressed them. 5 The Lord gave Israel a [a]deliverer, so that they [b]escaped from under the hand of the Arameans; and the sons of Israel lived in their tents as formerly. 6 Nevertheless they did not turn away from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel sin, but walked in [c]them; and the Asherah also remained standing in Samaria. 7 For he left to Jehoahaz of the [d]army not more than fifty horsemen and ten chariots and 10,000 footmen, for the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing. 8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 9 And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria; and Joash his son became king in his place.
10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years. 11 He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not turn away from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel sin, but he walked in [e]them. 12 Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did and his might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 13 So Joash slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne; and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
It’s a sad story that these two kings had so little to record about their reigns. Jehoahaz and his son Joash (not to be confused with Joash, king of Judah and son of Ahaziah) reigned for a combined 33 years, and the only note is that they did evil and they were oppressed by Aram.
Then when a deliver comes, because Jehoahaz at least had the awareness of his own faults to know that only God could help them, it isn’t the King who delivers them, but some nameless person who rallies the troops.
But in the end, they are left with a floundering army of only 10k soldiers, and nothing to “write home about”. If you want your life to count for something, you need to build it on a firm foundation. No, you may not become rich and famous (it’s not all it’s cracked up to be anyway, nor is it easy), but when you build your life on the rock of Jesus, He will enable you to fulfill your role in His plan as a child of God, and that’s more position than anyone could grant you on this earth. That is a life that matters, and a life that makes a difference, one that is devoted to serving God and building His kingdom.