Who Saved Christmas?

Yet the LORD was not willing to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and since he had promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever.  2 Chronicles  21:7

 

Dale Ralph Davis is a Bible commentator with very interesting perspectives.  For instance, one of the chapters on 2 Kings is entitled “The Woman Who Saved Christmas.”  Huh? 

To understand, some history is needed. First, we must understand that God covenanted with David that his descendant would sit on the throne forever. (2 Samuel 7:12 -16)  There have been several attempts at annihilating the line of David.  In Esther we read of an attempt to even eliminate all Jews entirely. 

What our commentator is referring to is the attempt by Ahab’s wicked daughter, Athaliah, to eliminate all blood claims to the throne of Judah.  Through disobedient alliances with Israel, the  kings of Judah had actually put enemies of God in a position to wipe out David’s line.  (The details are confusing – you may want to read the accounts in 2 Kings for yourself.) 

In 2 Kings 11 Athaliah  made an effort to annihilate the family of her son, Ahaziah, and therefore the descendants of King David.  She wanted no other relative to live to take the throne – apparently it would then be hers.  (Women rulers in the days of 2 Kings were a disaster – Athaliah and Jezebel – very bad for the reputation of women!)  She could pervert justice and continue the Baal worship without hindrance.  

Enter the unknown sister of Ahaziah, Jehosheba, who was in the palace on the fearful day of Athaliah’s wrath.  Apparently Ahaziah had a young son – probably just a year old – that Jehosheba was able to hide at the risk of her own life. 2 Kings 11:2, 3 say,  “But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus they hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not put to death. And he remained with her six years, hidden in the house of the LORD, while Athaliah reigned over the land.” 

After 6 years in hiding the priests and other leaders brought the young boy out of hiding and crowned him King.  They killed the Queen and – as my commentary points out – Christmas was saved.  The Davidic line that seemed to have been wiped out was actually being preserved by God because a woman in the background was willing to risk her life for the glory of God.  

What would we have done if we were Jehosheba?   

While I’d like to think I could be as courageous, I’m not.  I even feel nervous about just pointing out to people that we have taken the wonderful things of the Lord and made them a stench to God.  The birth of Jesus, who God sent to save us from our sins – and His resurrection from the dead – proving to us His Divine nature and ability to save, i.e. Christmas and Easter, have become cultural holidays with little reference to the Risen Lord or salvation from sin.   

In a previous post, “Easter: What We Teach vs. What They Learn”, I discussed how even a book designed to point our kids to Christ on Easter, really does more to promote the Easter bunny and a tolerance for the very things that have distracted the world from seeing the truth about who Jesus Christ is.  Jehosheba risked her life to save the one baby who would continue the line of David – so you and I would know the peace and the joy of our salvation in Christ.   

In previous years I might have said, “there’s nothing wrong with those things. Santa Claus, Easter egg hunts, baskets on Easter morning, and Christmas presents, as long as we keep Jesus first.” I am finding that I have been wrong, all those distractions from the scriptural meaning of our celebrations cause us to lose focus on the One True God.  I have been deceived – as has most of the church.  

I think the Lord is showing me how far many of these things have pulled us- or at least me –  from Him at times when we should be remembering what He has done for us. The Bible instructs us to “remember” more than 160 times in 66 books. It never mentions Easter bunnies or Santa Claus.  I pray  that one of the things I will remember is Jehosheba, the woman who risked her life – not realizing the full importance of what she was doing – so I could have a Savior to save me from my sins.  At Christmas and Easter hers would be a much better story to teach than cute little books with an Easter Bunny or Santa Claus on almost every page.  I wonder if Mr. Davis would mind if we “borrowed” his title?  She was the woman who saved Christmas.