My eight year old grandson arrived at our house for Sunday dinner not too long ago, as is a frequent practice, but this time he announced, “Me and Dad are going to go find Pokémon later.” How interesting. Pokémon is a Japanese franchise that started as a ‘sleeper hit,’ meaning that it had a slow start, and they did not know if it would succeed. Well now it boasts video games, trading cards, films, animated series, and other media. As technology increases so do the products they offer. Pokémon are small mythical creatures taken from the Japanese Poketto Monsuta, meaning “Pocket Monsters,” which was its original name. Each creature has their own name, species, and super powers. The game takes place where humans and Pokémon co-exist in a universe. The original concept came from founder Satoshi Tajiiri and was first released on Game Boy on February 27, 1996. The game has evolved with technology and in 2016 a new fad was born with the release of ‘Pokémon Go’. I believe this is what my grandson was referring to.
The trusty rusty internet states, “…Pokémon Go, is a mobile augmented reality game. The app originated as a Google April Fools’ Day joke in 2014: the “Google Maps Pokémon Challenge”. Here is a snippet of the instructions they give: “To find Pokémon, you can: Click anywhere on the map to drop a location marker. After placing a marker, press scan to reveal Pokémon nearby. Use the Search Bar to enter your location (or a location you wish to scan) and hit enter. You can then click Scan. If there are Pokémon nearby, they will display on the map along with their appearance time. Use the Nearby screen to find a particular Pokémon.” Now you know everything you never thought you would need to know about the game Pokémon. I will say here, that when our children were growing up, we did not allow them to play with Pokémon cards, because they are “Pocket Monsters,” mythical creatures that are supposed to interact in the same universe. We felt that there could be dangerous ramifications to this because a child can often get reality and fantasy confused, all on their own, without any outside help. But that can be researched for another article.
The original game ‘Hide and go seek,’ dates back further than the 16th century, how far back, nobody knows, but it is still around and is still bringing much joy to children of all ages. You do not have to have a device to play it or be in any special universe or place. It was known as “apodidraskinda” in Ancient Greek, meaning, “I search for what I have hidden.” It has been mentioned in literature and folklore for centuries, as well as in a Shakespearean play called, “As You Like It.” In Medieval Europe it was called, “kho-kho” or “hokka-bokka,” but the object and rules of the game have remained the same over time.
In my opinion, it seems that there is a precursor game to ‘hide and go seek,’ that is introduced to children in their infant stage, called, “Peek-a-boo.” This is played when holding a small child, you hide your face or theirs, with your hands or a blanket, and quickly reveal yourself saying with excitement, “Peek-a-boo,” which is almost always received with a delightful belly laugh by all. One the child can walk and talk, ‘hide and go seek’ takes its place and can be played indoors or outdoors, in small spaces or large. The cutest part being that most of the time toddlers will hide, but half of their bodies are still revealed, and yet they are so proud of themselves. As the child grows, the territory they are allowed to hide in expands as well.
This brings me to a question that I have, “Have you ever hidden something so well, because you did not want others to find it, only to realize that you could not find it either?” You must then wrack your brain by asking yourself questions like, “What hiding place would make the most logical sense to hide the particular object?” “If that was the logical place, would I have hidden it there?” “Why did I hide it in the first place?” “Where did I last see it?” These will sometimes spur your memory enough to help you find it, but not always. This often happens to me with documents that I have saved on my computer. I know they are there, but for the life of me, I do not know where I saved them. I must do a search and hope a key word will help it pop up. I ask myself things like, “What would I have named it?” “What entity and category would I have put it under?” This can become very frustrating.
I have seen a few short reels lately depicting the fact that men do not know where everything is or do not know how to find things as women do. It is said they can open the refrigerator to find something like ketchup for instance, stare right at it, but not see it. This would be called, “Hidden in plain sight,” which is, “Something concealed or unseen despite being in full, unrestricted view.” There are books and movies that have used variations of this concept as a title and plot for their thriller stories over the years. Often the Word of God falls into this category because our Bibles are in plain sight on our bookshelves or night stands, but we never pick them up to read them. If we would, we would find the hope, faith, and redemption our souls are longing for.
2 Kings eleven tells the story of Joash who became King of Judah at the age of seven years old. “And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal. But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain. And he was with her hiding in the house of the Lord for six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land.” Athaliah was very wicked, self-centered, and power hungry. She killed her own family members to get her way. Thank the Lord for the good Auntie Jehosheba, sister to former King Ahaziah who was married to the chief priest Jehoiada. God always has a plan against evil and prevails. Are there any coincidences with God? I would venture to say, no, absolutely not. Let us continue reading and see what happens next.
“And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the Lord, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the Lord and shewed them the king’s son.” Jehoiada the priest who had Joash hidden, set up a serious amount of security guards around the boy to keep him safe. “And he brought forth the king’s son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, God save the king. And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people into the temple of the Lord…and cried, Treason, Treason.” Bless her poor, wicked heart, she really must have been in shock.
“And Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord, the king, and the people, that they should be the Lord’s people, between the king also and the people…And Joash sat on the throne of the kings. And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet: and they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king’s house. Seven years old was Joash when he began to reign.” Jehoiada the chief priest had set the people of Judah and the young king up for success. He was incredibly old and wise for the scripture states that he was one hundred and thirty when he died and that he had done many mighty works. Though Joash reigned in Judah for forty years, and had a great start, he began to falter after Jehoiada died and he got further from the house of the Lord and the teachings of his youth.
This was a dark time for the people of Judah, Jehu was on a rampage killing off kings with all their offspring, and they were dropping like flies. It was a wonder that Athaliah found anymore of the royal family to kill. They needed deliverance and hope. They needed godly leadership, yet they had to endure the ‘Wicked Witch of the West’ aka Queen Athaliah for six years because hope was hidden in the house of the Lord. It was the gutsy, wise, old owl, chief priest Jehoiada, who devised a plan to reveal that hope and have the evil queen slain. Though the priest’s wife, nurses, Levites, and a host of guards were protecting him, Joash needed to be revealed and put on the throne for the people to be free from the oppression of his wicked grandmother Athaliah.
It only takes one person with a vision and a plan to get the ball rolling for change to begin to take place. The chief priest made a covenant with the Lord and the people, that he intended to keep, and began to put things into place. However, Joash did not have the follow through or leadership capability that the priest had tried to teach him. Possibly because of his youth and lack of experience, he could not inspire the Levites to repair the breaches of the house of the Lord and seemed to blame the wise old priest in 2 Kings 12:7, “Then King Joash called for Jehoiada the priest, and the other priests, and said unto them, why repair ye not the breaches of the house?” Twenty-three years into his reign, Jehoiada the priest had to step back in and get the job done.
2 Kings 12:9-12 tells us, “But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one cometh into the house of the Lord: and the priests that kept the door put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord, (Looks like the invention of the first piggy bank to me.) and it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags, and told the money that was found in the house of the Lord. And they gave the money, being told, into the hands of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of the Lord: and they laid it out to the carpenters and builders, that wrought upon the house of the Lord. And to masons, and hewers of stone, and to buy timber and hewed stone to repair the breaches of the house of the Lord, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it.” Though Jehoiada was not a king, he was rightfully honored as one, at his death. 2 Chronicles 24:15-16 says, “But Jehoiada waxed old, and was full of days when he died; a hundred and thirty years old was he when he died. And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God, and toward his house.” We begin to see here that perhaps Jehoiada, hidden and working in the house of the Lord behind the scenes, may have been the hope of Judah, and not really King Joash. Every generation would do good to realize that they are building upon generations before them and that they are not, ‘all that and a bag of chips.’
However, 2 Kings 12:2-3 states, “And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him. But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.” He did things the priest told him to, but he did not have a personal respect or relationship with God. During a battle against Syria, he used the hallowed and dedicated treasures that were in the house of the Lord to give to King Hazael as a bribe. The expression, ‘the apple does not fall far from the tree,’ comes to mind. Sadly, it seems he turned out to be just like his grandmother Athaliah.
2 Chronicles 24:17-19 says, “Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them. And they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass.” Little seven year old Joash, now a grown man, and the King of Judah, became exalted in his own mind and took the praise of the people. He forgot about the commandments of the Lord that he had learned from the priest. The saddest part of his story follows in verses 20 – 22, “Yet God sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the Lord; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear. And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, thus saith God, “Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you. And they conspired against him and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the Lord. Thus, Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him but slew his son. And when he died, he said, ‘The Lord look upon it, and require it’.” Shortly thereafter, at the early age of forty-seven, King Joash was killed laying in his own bed by his own servants. He had turned on the very ones who had saved his life and raised him in the house of the Lord. Such a strong beginning, yet such a weak ending. Verse 25 gives this sad conclusion, “…and they buried him in the city of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchers of the kings.” A sad story indeed.
Joseph is another example of hope being so close, yet no one was aware of it. He was sold into slavery by his brothers, served in the house of Potipher, then lied about by Potipher’s wife, and thrown into prison. He interpreted dreams for the baker and the wine bearer but was forgotten by them until years later when Pharoah had a dream that he was needing answers to. We know that Joseph was brought to him, interpreted his dreams, assisted in planning for the future of Egypt, and was made second in command to Pharoah, which brought salvation not only to Egypt, but to his brethren and all their families, the children of Isreal. In Genesis 45:4-5 he says, “…brethren, come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.” God always has a plan. He is not blindsided by the circumstances that come our way. Hope is usually hidden in plain sight. He is always with us, but often we do not see him.
Try as we might to fix things ourselves, we must open our eyes and acknowledge Him to see true deliverance. Exodus 1:8 says, “Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.” This simple scripture is a precursor to the children of Isreal being put into slavery for four hundred and thirty years, because of God’s blessings upon them and the jealousy of the new Pharoah. If our hope is in our own abilities and talents or those of others instead of God, we will fall short. ‘There is no allegiance amongst thieves,’ greediness will always rear its ugly head, just as we saw King Joash forgot Jehoiada and killed his son Zachariah because of the prophecies of God he spoke.
Once again God already had a plan. The Pharoah’s daughter at the time, found a little baby hidden in a basket amongst the bullrushes, whom she took to raise and called him Moses. He was the hope, hidden in plain sight for eighty years, that the children of Isreal had been waiting for. He was to be their deliverer by the hand of God. Years later, at the crossing of the Jordan River into the Promised Land, the Israelite spies were hidden, by Rahab, on her rooftop under the flax. This in turn secured her deliverance and salvation and that of her household. Her name can now be seen hidden in the lineage of Jesus, born of the womb of Mary, who is our hope and redeemer.
God once again had a plan, and his name was Jesus. He lived his life hidden in plain sight, yet he was the hope of the world. Luke 2:40-51 tells us, “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year for the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went on a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances. And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting amid the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, how is it that ye sought me? Knew ye not that I must be about my Father’s business? And they understood not the saying which he spoke unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.” This may have been what prompted her to give him a push out of the carpenter shop into his ministry, at the wedding at Cana where he performed His first recorded miracle. He was the Word, manifest in flesh, that the world needed then and needs now.
We will not find what we need hidden in a physical house of God, as we think of the church. The church is not our elaborate buildings that we construct, though they may be worth millions of dollars, but the bible tells us that we are now the church. We are the body of Christ. Many members of one body with Jesus being the head. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” And Psalm 119:11says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” The born again believers now have the hope that the world needs. In Colossians 1:26-27 Paul states, “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
We must facilitate and bring to light the truth of God’s Word and promises as we saw in our examples of Jehoiada, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Mary, and Jesus. This will make a way for all mankind to come to repentance and experience this hope eternal. Being ‘undercover’ Christians is not a benefit to the Kingdom of God. Matthew 5:15 says, “Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.” Bread sitting on a shelf in the bakery, though it may smell delicious, does not feed the hungry. The word is the Bread of Life that needs to be distributed and shared, for it to make a difference to those in need. Try breaking the bread of Life with someone today and see the impact you will have on their world and yours.