The Bad, the Good, the Ugly

Athaliah, Jehoiada, and Joash
The Bad, the Good, the Ugly
1 Kings 12

You’ve heard the adage, “Like father, like son.”
This passage tells of the opposite one.
Ahab’s daughter, Athaliah by name,
Was very good at the power game.

She married Joram, Jehoshaphat’s son,
But eight years later his time was done.
Her son, Ahaziah, became the king
But his reign was simply a one-year fling.

Athaliah, desiring the throne,
Killed her grandsons to make it her own.
Murderous, selfish, scheming and rash,
She killed them all except for Joash.

The hand of God was upon the lad,
The only descendent of his dad,
Hidden away in the House of the Lord
Until the day his throne was restored.

Enter Jehoiada, the faithful priest
Who fiercely opposed Athaliah that beast.
Joash was crowned at the temple hill;
Athaliah captured and quickly killed.

For forty years Joash was king
Bringing reform to everything.
The altars of Baal were all torn down;
Idolatry banned in Jerusalem town.

As long as Jehoiada was an advisor
Joash kept ruling wiser and wiser.
The temple was completely restored
With monies given to the Lord.

Jehoiada lived to one hundred thirty,
But after he died it wasn’t pretty.
Joash stopped listening to the priest
Failing badly to say the least.

He killed Zechariah, Jehoiada’s son,
And lost a war that he should have won.
All of this happened you can see
Because of his end-life apostasy.

Though Joash began well, in the end he failed;
His spiritual heritage sadly derailed.
Stay true to God, to whom you belong,
Walk humbly before Him and finish strong.