WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
JULY 02, 2022
TOPIC: LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER!
BY T. O. BANSO
“Indeed everyone who quotes proverbs will use this proverb against you: ‘Like mother, like daughter!'” (Ezekiel 16:44 New King James Version)
The story of Jezebel and Athaliah in the Bible could be described as like mother, like daughter! Just as the mother was wicked, the daughter was also wicked. They both influenced their husbands to do evil. They both loved power and shed innocent blood.
1 Kings 16:31-33 says about Ahab who married Jezebel: “And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him. Then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him” (New King James Version).
Due to the evil influence of Jezebel on Ahab, Israel went deep into idolatry. What never happened before in Israel took place. During his reign, Jericho, a city cursed by Joshua sequel to its capture by Israel, was rebuilt at a price pronounced in the curse (1 Kings 16:34).
Jezebel promoted idolatry in Israel; she had 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah she supported, and whom Elijah eventually killed (1 Kings 18:19, 40; 19:1-2). She also killed the prophets of God (1 Kings 18:13). God said He would avenge the blood of His prophets and all His servants at the hand of Jezebel (2 Kings 9:7).
A blood-thirsty woman, she shed the innocent blood of Naboth, just because she wanted her husband to have Naboth’s vineyard, the family inheritance Naboth had refused to give him (1 Kings 21:1-16).
The Bible says this of Ahab and Jezebel: “But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel his wife stirred him up” (1 Kings 21:25 New King James Version). What type of wife are you? Are you a positive influence on your husband or a negative influence?
How did Jezebel end her life? After Jehu had been anointed king, she was killed in a violent way, as spoken by Prophet Elijah. She was thrown down from a window. Dogs ate her body, leaving only her skull, her feet, and her hands (2 Kings 9:32-37).
Jezebel died, but, unfortunately, her daughter, Athaliah continued her evil work in Judah, as the wife of Jehoram (also called Joram), the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. Jehoram reigned as king for only eight years.
2 Kings 8:18 says that Jehoram followed the example of the Kings of Israel and was wicked as King Ahab because he married one of Ahab’s daughters (Athaliah). Jehoram did evil in the sight of God.
Jehoram’s son, Ahaziah, succeeded him and reigned for only one year. Athaliah took after her mother, Jezebel. She probably influenced her son, King Ahaziah, to follow the evil example of her family in Israel, as the Bible says in 2 Kings 8:27. The evil of Ahab’s family in Israel was exported to Judah! That’s what a wrong marriage relationship can cause. It’s a lesson for us today. A wrong marriage relationship can corrupt you and your family. Be careful!
Athaliah loved power as much as her mother, Jezebel, did. Her love for power and her viciousness came to the fore upon the death of her son. She seized power and unleashed terror on the land. “When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs” (2 Kings 11:1 New King James Version).
Can you believe that! She killed everybody she knew could ascend the throne and she began to rule. She was successful, but only for a season. She didn’t know that there was somebody called Joash, one of her grandsons, who had been helped to escape by his aunt and was hidden for six years.
Athaliah must have been deceived that she had successfully eliminated everyone in the royal family and she could sit comfortably on the throne for as long as she wanted. But how foolish she was!
Wicked people don’t always get away with their evil deeds here on earth. God sometimes allows them to reap the harvest of what they have sown before they die. A severe judgment also awaits them after death.
In the seventh year, there was a revolt that brought her illegal, cruel reign to an end. Joash was enthroned as king. Athaliah couldn’t believe what she heard. Nevertheless, it was too late for her. Not only was she dethroned, but she also died a violent death like her mother. She did not only inherit evil from her, she also inherited violent death! (2 Kings 11:13-16).
The Scripture cannot be broken; whatever a man sows that shall he reap. Athaliah’s death was good riddance to bad rubbish for the entire nation of Judah. No one mourned her death; she was as bad as her mother. The Bible says this about her death: “So all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet, for they had slain Athaliah with the sword in the king’s house” (2 Kings 11:20 New King James Version).
2 Chronicles 23:21 also corroborates this statement. The entire land rejoiced over her death! What a commentary! That tells you how wicked Athaliah was. She inherited the wickedness of her mother. Like mother, like daughter! What are you communicating to your children – good character or wickedness?
2 Chronicles 24:7 describes Athaliah’s wickedness in Judah thus: “For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken into the house of God, and had also presented all the dedicated things of the house of the LORD to the Baals” (New King James Version). Wicked people influence others; they always have followers who have imbibed their wicked ways.
But God’s Word assures us that the wicked will not live forever; God will cut them short. “For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; indeed, you will look carefully for his place, but it shall be no more” (Psalm 37:9-10 New King James Version). Proverbs 10:7 says, “The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot” (New King James Version).
Be a godly influence on your daughters; be a godly influence on your sons also. What are you teaching your daughters and sons? What seed are you sowing in them? Don’t teach them bad things. If you do, they’re more likely to commit worse evil deeds than you.
The Bible says concerning Jerusalem, “Indeed everyone who quotes proverbs will use this proverb against you: ‘Like mother, like daughter!’”(Ezekiel 16:44 New King James Version).
The LORD continues: “You are your mother’s daughter, loathing husband and children; and you are the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and children; your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. Your elder sister is Samaria, who dwells with her daughters to the north of you; and your younger sister, who dwells to the south of you, is Sodom and her daughters. You did not walk in their ways nor act according to their abominations; but, as if that were too little, you became more corrupt than they in all your ways” (verses 45-47 New King James Version).
“Like mother, like daughter” also applies to men and their relationships with their sons. There are bad fathers in the Bible, who raised bad sons. Like father, like son! How are you bringing up your children? An example is better than a precept. What example are you showing your children? They will grow up to be like you, good or bad. Don’t live to do evil and inculcate it in your children. They may surpass your record!
TAKE ACTION!
If you have not given your life to Jesus, do so now by taking the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: I repent of all my evil deeds today; forgive me, Lord. I choose to be a slave of righteousness and become holy; help me Holy Spirit. I shall not be a bad example to my children, but a good example. My children shall do what pleases the LORD in Jesus’ name.
(For over 300 in-depth and powerful messages by T.O. Banso, visit: www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
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