Surrounds Himself With Godly Influences

Surrounds Himself With Godly Influences

A HERO’S TALE

Joash started out so well.

A king by age seven, he devoted much of his life to repairing God’s temple and restoring proper worship in Judah. He also listened to his mentor, the godly priest Jehoiada.

But later in life, Joash wasn’t a hero at all. Like King Solomon a century earlier, his once-admirable life ended in tragedy.

By the end of his 40-year reign, Joash was worshiping false Canaanite gods and sending all the gold in the temple and palace treasuries to Syria’s King Hazael to avoid a war. At age 47, Joash was murdered.

Why the terrible downfall? The answer can be found in 2 Chronicles 24:17: “After Jehoiada’s death, the leaders of Judah came and bowed before King Joash and persuaded him to listen to their advice.”

These “leaders” were influential politicians who didn’t love the Lord. Through their wicked influence, Joash abandoned God, forgot about the very temple he had worked so hard to restore, and started bowing to false idols. Things got so bad that when a godly man named Zechariah —Jehoiada’s son —criticized Joash, the king had him stoned to death within the temple grounds. He killed his mentor’s son, a man he had probably grown up with!

Later that year, a small Syrian army defeated Joash’s much larger force and badly wounded the king. As Joash was recovering in bed, two of his servants killed him.

It was God’s judgment on Joash’s wickedness.

DECODING THE MESSAGE

Joash was a good king while Jehoiada was alive. But he took a sharp turn for the worse when he started listening to ungodly influences. In short, Joash had bad friends.

What kind of friends do you have? Do they love God, or do they make fun of Christianity? Do they encourage you to obey your parents and do what’s right, or do they lead you into trouble?

Choosing the right friends is really important. As today’s verse says, even if you have good character, bad friends can quickly damage your life. Another great verse to consider is Proverbs 13:20, which says, “Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.”

Don’t be a fool like Joash became. Surround yourself with godly friends!

BATTLE PLAN

Talk honestly to your parents about who your friends are to see if you’ve surrounded yourself with any bad influences. You might have to make some hard decisions and stop certain friendships. But overall, you’ll be better off.