Hi all,
Most people aren’t familiar with the story of Joash the rightful king, and the imposter who ruled in his place for 6 years, but it provides a wonderful picture of the 7,000 year plan of God for mankind.
Joash is a type of Jesus
II Kings 11 opens with the death of Ahaziah who had been the king of Judah. He was the brother of Ahab the wicked king of the northern kingdom of Israel. He like his brother did not walk with the Lord. When he died, it tells us his mother, Athaliah, killed all the rival royal family members – she thought she got them all.
One of the unsung heroes of the Bible is the woman named Jehoshaba, a princess herself, who knew that Joash was the rightful king. II Kings 11: 3 tells her heroic act:
“He (Joash) was with her and hidden away in the house of the Lord for 6 years. And Athaliah (dead king Ahaziah’s mom) ruled over the land.”
I find it interesting the name ‘Joash’ means ‘given by Jehovah’ or ‘Jehovah is strong’ or ‘Jehovah is fire’.
Athaliah was not about to let the rightful king rule, so she killed all possible relatives, ruling over the land in her dead son’s place. She didn’t know one got away. Joash is a type of Jesus, Athaliah is a type of the devil. She ruled 6 years which is a type of the devil ruling the world 6,000 years.
When Satan tempted Jesus in Luke 4: 6 he told Jesus if He worshipped him he would give him the kingdoms of this world, ‘for they have been given to me’. That is what Adam had done, as Hosea 6:7 says: “They like Adam have transgressed the covenant. They have dealt treacherously with Me.” Paul wrote in II Corinthians 4:4 that the god of this world has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe.
For 6 years, a type of 6,000 years of mankind, the deceiver has ruled in place of the King. He is hidden in the temple with God until He comes to take His rightful place as King.
II Kings 11: 4-11 tells us that in the 7th year the rightful king, Joash, is brought out from hiding and revealed to the nation, and crowned King over the land and the evil imposter, Athaliah was executed.
This is one of only 2 places we get a glimpse of Israel’s coronation ceremony (the other being with Solomon). This ceremony too is a type of the crowning of Jesus as King.
We are told in II Kings 11: 11-12 the king was brought out, and a crown was put on his head and he was given ‘the testimony’, or in Hebrew, ‘solemn law’ of God, and he was anointed with oil. Jesus of course is the Word of the Father in the flesh, is crowned King and is anointed by the Holy Spirit to rule.
But we see again the 7,000 year plan of 6,000 years where an imposter rules the earth, then judgement, then the rightful king rules.
Abraham, Eliezer, Isaac and Rebekah – and the rapture
The parallels are so many I can’t go into all detail, but will stick to the subject of this series. We see that Abraham represents the Father God, who has a son of promise as Abraham had a son of promise, Isaac.
Abraham (Father) send his servant Eliezer (the Holy Spirit) to find a wife for Isaac (Jesus). Eliezer took 10 camels loaded with gifts and supplies and found Rebekah (church) eagerly carrying water to meet the needs – the water a type of the Holy Spirit and life of God in service to others as the primary purpose for having the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Genesis 25:20 tells us Isaac married at age 40, which relates to Jesus coming to earth at the 4,000 year mark to take a bride for Himself, which He did through the cross, resurrection, and ascension.
Genesis 25:26 tells us Isaac was 60 years old when Jacob and Esau were born, Jacob being renamed Israel. Being born at his age 60, or 6,000 years, shows us again that Jesus took out a bride at the 4,000 year mark, and at the 6,000 year mark Israel will be revived to live with the Lord.
So here again, the author skips over 2 days. He mentions Isaac married at age 40 or Jesus coming at 4,000 years. Then he skips over the next 2 days or 2,000 years. Then mentions Israel born at age 60 or 6,000 years.
This is like last week when I shared about John’s missing 2 days or 2,000 years before the wedding in Cana, and Hosea’s mention of “after 2 days” or 2,000 years “He will revive us to live in His sight.”
The rapture in a snapshot
But let’s go back to where Isaac meets his bride, Rebekah, for the first time face to face. The story is told in Genesis 24: 62-67.
Isaac has left his father’s house, and in the evening he goes out into the middle of a field to meditate on the things of the Lord. He must have known Rebekah would soon be with him and we can only imagine his thoughts. You may recall from Jesus’ parables, especially in the Parable of the Sower from Mark 4, the the earth stands for the human heart, and it also can stand for the earth, all mankind as a harvest for the Lord.
Isaac is standing in the field, representing the earth, away from his father’s house, when he sees Rebekah coming to him. She in turn jumps off her camel and runs into the field to meet Isaac privately – she too having left her home to meet her groom as Isaac left his father’s house to meet his bride in the field.
This is a beautiful and romantic scene where the Lord leaves His Father’s house to come part way to us, and we in turn are changed in the blink of an eye to rise and meet ‘Him in the air’ as Paul states, in between our mutual homes.
Isaac then takes Rebekah to his father’s house, even as the Lord having met us in between homes, and takes us to His Father’s house, where He has prepared a place for us.
When we combine this love story showing the rapture, with Isaac getting married at 40, showing us Jesus taking a bride 4,000 years into man’s existence since Adam, and him having Jacob (Israel) at age 60 or at 6,000 years Israel will live with the Lord, we can only be in awe of the goodness of the Lord.
Amazing grace..and more to come next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
