2 Kings 13:1-9
"13 In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. 2 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from them. 3 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them continually into the hand of Hazael king of Syria and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael. 4 Then Jehoahaz sought the favor of the Lord, and the Lord listened to him, for he saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Syria oppressed them. 5 (Therefore the Lord gave Israel a savior, so that they escaped from the hand of the Syrians, and the people of Israel lived in their homes as formerly. 6 Nevertheless, they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, which he made Israel to sin, but walked in them; and the Asherah also remained in Samaria.) 7 For there was not left to Jehoahaz an army of more than fifty horsemen and ten chariots and ten thousand footmen, for the king of Syria 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 So Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria, and Joash his son reigned in his place."
The reign of Jehoahaz, king of Israel, the son of Jehu, makes interesting reading. It was an evil reign, which brought the wrath of God upon the land. The significant thing, however, is that in the midst of the judgments, he turned to the Lord, with such effect that the Lord raised up a saviour who delivered them from the hand of the Syrians. (How much more might He have done so for Joash, had he only appealed for divine aid!). The fact that he did repent must surely be due in some measure at least to the memory of his father, Jehu. The Bible lays a far greater emphasis upon the influence of righteousness upon a family than we might realise. Even when a man has deviated seriously from the ways of his righteous father, the power of his witness still lingers, having created a conscience which can never wholly be stifled. It is something to which God can appeal in the work of the Gospel. This is sometimes seen in the fact that hardened sinners are known to have been moved, even to tears, when a once familiar, long forgotten hymn strikes a sudden chord in their hearts, reminding them of other days. This is part of the responsibility of parenthood and of work among the young - to create a conscience in them to which the Word and Spirit of God can appeal.