So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18.

In our Friday morning prayer group, we shared first the deep concerns we have for loved ones and friends who are hurting physically, spiritually, emotionally. It’s good to share with one another because in these cries for healing, for lessening of pain, for help when lost in confusion, addiction, physical ailments, we cry to a God who loves us and wants us to cry out to Him in prayer, in supplication, in sharing what is in our hearts for others. It’s in our hearts for others that we experience God’s love for us. And then we shared and found joy in the good things that touched us and by extension touched one another. A back-and-forth of giving…of being listened to and hearing that we need desperately in this life we live and that infuses our very being with meaning that is eternal. We can’t physically “see” that, but we feel it deeply. Unseen and eternal Love.

This chapter, 2 Kings 11, is such a good example of the unseen and eternal flowing like a current through seen events we think are random. It picks up right where 2 Kings 9:27 left off. So Ahaziah, king of Judah, was killed by Jehu and his mother, Athaliah, tries to kill all the royal princes, her grandsons. One of those grandsons was saved by Jehosheba, the wife of Jehoiada, the high priest. He remained hidden with his nurse at the temple of the Lord for six years while Athaliah ruled the land. v. 1-3. I don’t know about you, but part of my problem in following all of this is in the names that are so unfamiliar to me!

I’m a grandmother. I can’t imagine killing my grandkids so I could rule. Who was Athaliah? (In the notes for 2 Kings 8:26,27 where we first meet her: Ahaziah’s mother was Athaliah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, former king and queen of Israel, and granddaughter of Omri, Ahab’s father and predecessor. The evil of Ahab and Jezebel spread to Judah through Athaliah.).

When this royal grandson, hidden and reared in the temple of the Lord, is 7 years old, Jehoiada, the high priest, brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him; he presented him with a copy of the covenant and proclaimed him king. They anointed him, and the people clapped their hands and shouted, “Long live the king!” v. 12. Athaliah was put to death when she tried to intervene. v. 15-16.

Why did her plan fail? God’s promise to David. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever. 2 Samuel 7:16.

Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. God raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Acts 2:29-32. Jesus, our Messiah and Savior, would descend from David on His human side.

Seen and unseen. One of the greatest blessings in seeking God and walking with Him as He leads us to understanding, is knowing Him. Yes, the world we see is real and we can touch this world, see the things around us, be impacted by the events within this world. And God is just as real. We feel His Presence and His love and care. We begin to appreciate the impact of all He is doing that we cannot see with our eyes or hear with our ears; but that we can understand with His help to appreciate. How do we begin to appreciate it? By experiencing Him working in our lives awakening us to Him with us. Awakening us to hope that is real and eternal. Thank You, Lord, for so great a love!