Introduction
The focus of chapters 9 and 10 was on the northern kingdom of Israel. As the Lord foretold, Jehu became king. And he immediately went and killed Joram, who had been king before him. He also killed Ahaziah, who was the king of the southern kingdom of Judah. He also killed Jezebel, who was King Ahab’s wicked widow and who was also Joram’s mother. And then, after that, Jehu killed everyone connected to Ahab and Joram in Jezreel and in Samaria and he also destroyed Baal worship in Israel.
And that was the point of it all, wasn’t it? I said last week that Jehu was the instrument in the hand of the Lord to cleanse the kingdom of Israel of its sin by wiping out the wicked descendants of Ahab, including Joram, and by destroying the worship of Baal in Israel. Because of Ahab’s evil influence, which extended downwards into his son’s life, the people of Israel had gone astray. Instead of worshipping the Lord their Creator and Redeemer, they worshipped false gods like Baal. And instead of walking in the ways of the Lord, they went astray and they did evil in the sight of the Lord. But God sent Jehu to cleanse the land and to restore it to the way it was supposed to be.
And I also said last week that Jehu, in a way, foreshadowed the Lord Jesus, because the Lord Jesus is our Great King and God sent him into the world as one of us to cleanse us from our sin and to restore us to the way we’re supposed to be. But whereas Jehu could only cleanse the land by killing sinners, the Lord Jesus cleanses us by, first of all, giving up his life on the cross as the ransom to pay for all that we have done wrong; and then, secondly, by renewing us inwardly by his Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables us to resist sin in our lives and to do God’s will more and more. The only way Jehu could wipe out sin was to wipe out the people who sinned. But Christ our King wipes out sin by changing us from within and restoring us to the image of God.
So, the focus of chapters 9 and 10 was on the northern kingdom of Israel. In chapter 11 we turn back to the southern kingdom of Judah. And if I’d thought about it, I could have preached on this chapter at Christmas, because — as one of the commentators points out [Davis] — here we have the story of the woman who saved Christmas. Here we have the story of the woman who saved Christmas. By hiding Joash, the son of Ahaziah, this woman Jehosheba saved Christmas, because she ensured that the house and line of David was preserved and kept alive. She ensured that the lamp of David did not go out and that one of David’s descendants would continue to reign on the throne of David in Jerusalem. And since she preserved the house and line of David from extinction, it meant that, when the time was right, the angel could announce to Mary that she would give birth to a son, who will receive the throne of his father David and his kingdom will never end.
God has always intended it that our Saviour-King would be descended in his human nature from David. By almost wiping out David’s descendants, Athaliah had almost thwarted God’s plan. She almost thwarted God’s plan. But Jehosheba was the instrument in God’s hand to preserve the line of David so that Christ our Saviour-King could be born. And, at the same time, her husband Jehoiaha the priest was the instrument in the hand of the Lord to wipe out Baal worship in Judah.
Verses 1 to 3
We read in verse 1 that when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family. Since Jehu had already killed forty-two of Ahaziah’s relatives in the previous chapter, the ‘whole royal family’ may have been quite small at this stage of the story. But still, it was a wicked thing for her to do.
We don’t know a lot about this woman, except that she was the daughter of Ahab, the wicked king who once reigned in Israel. We think that she was given in marriage to Jehoshaphat when he was king of Judah. This marriage was a way to bring the two nations closer together. But it was disastrous for Judah, because Jehoshaphat and their son, Ahaziah, began to follow the ways of Ahab, so that he did evil in the sight of the Lord.
We don’t know why Athaliah decided to destroy the whole royal family after the death of her son. Perhaps she was driven by a desire for power and she wanted to rule over the kingdom all by herself. That’s possible. And, of course, she succeeded for a while, because we read in verse 3 that she ruled the land. But perhaps she was also driven by a hatred for the Lord. After all, she was, we believe, the daughter of Jezebel. And Jezebel was the one who introduced the worship of Baal in Israel whenever she married Ahab. And Jezebel tried to kill all the prophets of the Lord. And so, perhaps Jezebel’s daughter Athaliah had inherited from her the same hatred for the Lord. And what better way to display her hatred for the Lord than by wiping out the house and line of David and spoiling God’s plan to have one of David’s descendants on David’s throne.
In any case, her plan was to destroy the whole royal family. However, this other woman Jehosheba, managed to save one of the little princes who were about to be murdered by their grandmother. We don’t know a lot about this woman either, but we believe she was the daughter of Jehoram, who was king of Judah before Ahaziah, and who was therefore Ahaziah’s sister. And she stole Joash away and put the boy and his nurse in a bedroom to hide him from Athaliah. And so, as it says in verse 2, he was not killed. And she managed to keep the boy and his nurse hidden in the temple of the Lord for six years while Athaliah ruled the land. She was able to hide him in the temple, because it turns out that Jehosheba’s husband was Jehoiada the priest.
Verses 4 to 12
And in the seventh year, Jehoiada the priest sent for the army commanders. He had them come into the temple, where he entered into a covenant with them. We don’t know the details of the covenant, but presumably they swore loyalty to him. And having secured their support, he revealed the king’s son to them. Can you imagine the scene? For the past six years, everyone has assumed that all of Ahaziah’s sons were dead. The royal line had been cut off. The wicked Athaliah had seized power for herself. But lo and behold, everyone was wrong, because one of the king’s sons was still alive. The king was dead, but long live his son, the new king!
But they still had to crown him as king. And no doubt if Athaliah got wind of what they were doing, she would do everything she could to stop it. But Jehoiada had a cunning plan which he outlined to the commanders in verses 5 and 8. The details are a little unclear, but essentially he was telling them to guard the new king and to prevent anyone from getting through to him. As it says in verse 8: station yourself around the king, each man with his weapon in his hand so that he’s ready to defend the king from attack. Anyone who approaches you must be put to death. And stay close to the king wherever he goes.
That was the plan. And in verses 9 to 11 the plan is put into action. The commanders did just as the priest ordered. Each of the men received spears and shields that had once belonged to King David and were now stored in the temple. And the guards, each with his weapon in his hand, stationed themselves around the king.
And when everyone was ready, the priest brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him. So, this was his enthronement as king over God’s people in the land of Judah. And the priest also gave him a copy of the covenant. In other words, they gave him a copy of God’s law, which were the terms and conditions of the covenant which God made with his people in the days of Moses. The practice of giving the king a copy of the law goes back to Deuteronomy 17 where the Lord gave instructions about the king. It says there that, when he takes the throne, the new king is to write for himself a copy of the law of the Lord. And the king is to keep it with him and read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord and follow carefully all the words of the law. So, the new king was to have his own copy of the law so that he would know what the will of the Lord is for the king and for the people. And, of course, you might recall that when King Charles was crowned, he was given a copy of the Bible to guide him as he serves as king. All kings — including Joash and Charles — are the servants of the Lord; they have received their authority from him and they are to rule on God’s behalf. And since that’s the case, Joash was given a copy of God’s law to show him what he should do.
And having given him a copy of the law, the priest proclaimed him king. And just as Charles was anointed with oil at his coronation, so Joash was anointed with oil to signify how the king needs the help of the Holy Spirit to walk in God’s ways and to rule wisely. And the people clapped and shouted, ‘Long live the king! Long live the king!’
Verses 13 to 19
According to verse 13, Athaliah heard the noise: all that clapping and shouting. And so, she went to see what was going on. And it says she looked and there was the king, standing by the pillar as the custom was. Could she believe her eyes? Like everyone else, she had assumed for the past six years that all of Ahaziah’s sons were dead. She thought she had been successful and had wiped out the whole royal family. But here was one of them and he was now wearing the crown and the people were shouting, ‘Long live the king!’ And we’re told that officers and trumpeters were beside the new king and the people were rejoicing and the trumpeters were trumpeting. And she tore her robes in distress and cried out, ‘Treason! Treason!’
But she was the traitor, not Joash or Jehoiada. She was the traitor who had tried to wipe out the royal family and kill the rightful heirs to the throne. And so, the priest ordered the commanders to take her out of the temple where they killed her.
And then the priest led the king and the people in a ceremony to renew their covenant with the Lord. This again is the covenant which the Lord made with his people in the days of Moses when the Lord promised to be their God and to take care of them always; and when they promised to be his people and to keep his commandments. And from time to time, the people renewed the covenant with the Lord and once again swore their allegiance to him. And from what we read at the end of verse 17, it seems the people and the king also made a covenant with one another. Presumably the people promised their loyal obedience to the king.
And look what they did afterwards: all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. This is the first time we’ve heard that there was a temple of Baal in Judah. We knew there was one in Israel, but we didn’t know things had become so bad that there was a temple for Baal in Judah. But now that Athaliah was dead, and her evil influence was gone, the people tore down Baal’s temple and they smashed the altar and idols to pieces and they killed the priest of Baal. From now on they were going to serve the Lord and him alone.
And having destroyed the temple of Baal, they took the new king from the temple of the Lord and led him into his palace, where he took his place on the royal throne.
Verses 20 and 21
And the chapter ends by telling us that all the people rejoiced. And the city was quiet, because Athaliah was dead. And Joash was only seven years old.
Application 1
So, what’s the significance of this passage? I’ve already said that the Lord used Jehosheba as his instrument to preserve the line of David so that Christ our Saviour-King could be born. And he used Jehoiaha the priest as his instrument to wipe out Baal worship in Judah. And so, this passage demonstrates how the Lord was fulfilling his plan to send the Saviour into the world to deliver his people from our sin and misery by reconciling us to the one, true and living God.
But this passage also provides us with one more example of something we see throughout the Bible. It’s one more example of the persistent opposition to God and his kingdom which began in the Garden of Eden and which will continue until Christ comes again. In the Garden, the serpent, or the devil, tempted Adam and Eve to disobey God. And afterwards, the Lord spoke to them about two seeds or two lines which will exist continually: the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. And the seed of the serpent are all those who hate the Lord and who oppose the kingdom of God in the world. And the seed of the woman are all those who are members of God’s kingdom in the world. Ultimately the two seeds lead to the devil and to the Lord Jesus Christ. But these two lines have existed since the beginning and they have always opposed one another and they’re always in conflict with one another. So, think of Cain and Abel and how godly Abel was killed by ungodly Cain. Or think of Moses and the Israelites who were persecuted and oppressed by the Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Or think of Goliath and the Philistines who wanted to kill David and the Israelites. Or, in the New Testament, think of King Herod who wanted to kill the infant Jesus after his birth. Throughout the Bible and throughout history, we see these two seeds, these two lines, these two families, who are opposed to one another and who in conflict with one another: all those who belong to the Lord; and all those who have sided with the devil. It’s the church and the fallen world.
And it’s clear from what we read here that Athaliah belonged to the serpent’s seed, because she wanted to destroy God’s royal family. She wanted to wipe out the royal family and thwart God’s plan to establish his kingdom on the earth.
And so, the chapter is a reminder to us that though the Lord Jesus came to wipe out sin in our lives and to renew us in God’s image and to restore us to the way we’re supposed to me, nevertheless our life in this world will always be a battle, because the devil will continue to do what he can to destroy God’s kingdom. He can’t touch our King, because our King is safely enthroned in heaven. So, he can’t touch our King. But he can touch us. He can touch Christ’s people on the earth.
And he does it through the persecution which he stirs up against God’s people. And many believers are persecuted throughout the world and they’re put under pressure to give up the faith. And he does it through false teaching; and many believers have been led astray by false teachers who undermine the truth of God’s word instead of defending it. And he does it by leading us into temptation and into sin and into idolatry, so that God’s good gifts to us become more important to us than God is. And he does it by dividing us so that instead of loving and serving one another, we knock one another down. And then, as well as attacking believers in these ways, he also blinds the minds of unbelievers to keep them from believing in Christ the Saviour.
But, as we were learning from Daniel earlier in the service, Christ’s kingdom is an everlasting kingdom which will never ever end. The devil will do what he can to oppose God’s kingdom on the earth, but he cannot succeed in destroying it, because Christ our Saviour-King is the almighty king; and, in the end, the devil and all who sided with him will be destroyed just as Athaliah was destroyed. And just as the Lord preserved the line of David in the days of Joash, and just as he used Jehoiaha the priest as his instrument to wipe out Baal worship in Judah at that time, so we can look to the Lord to preserve his church in the world and to keep us faithful to him despite all the opposition we encounter from those who don’t believe. Whenever the devil puts you under pressure, and whenever he comes at you with his wicked schemes, you can look to the Lord for the help you need and pray to him to deliver you from the evil one.
Application 2
But then the second thing I want to highlight is what we read at the end of the chapter and how Joash took his throne in Jerusalem and all the people rejoiced and the city was quiet.
Does that strike you as an anti-climax? Perhaps we’re expecting the narrator to say that the city was buzzing with excitement, because they people couldn’t wait to find out what their new king will do. That the city was quiet seems a let down, doesn’t it?
However, when you think about it, that’s what we want. We want things to be quiet. We want things to be at peace. We want to live an undisturbed life. And that’s what it meant for the city to be quiet: it meant the city was peaceful.
And that’s what we want, isn’t it? The people in Ukraine would like things to be quiet. The people in the Middle East would like peace and quiet. And the Apostle Paul told us to pray for kings and those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives. We want peace instead of chaos. And that’s what there was at the beginning of Joash’s reign.
And, of course, that’s what our Saviour-King promises to give to his people in the new and better world to come. When he comes again, he will destroy his enemies: all those who belong to the seed of the serpent and who have sided with Satan against the Lord and his kingdom. Christ our Saviour-King will destroy them; and he will bring his people into the new heavens and earth where we’ll enjoy perfect peace and rest and where everything will be quiet forever. At that time there will be no-one to disturb our peace by rebelling against the Lord or by hurting us or threatening us.
Maybe your life now is disturbed and difficult, because people are making things difficult for you. They’re treating you unfairly. They’re being unkind to you. They’re being nasty. You have no peace because of them. But in the life to come, you will have perfect peace and rest. Your life in the presence of the Lord will be quiet. It will be restful.
Of course, there will be lots of activity there as we serve the Lord and one another in the new heavens and earth. But it will be restful activity; and there will be no one to hurt us.
And that’s what Christ our Saviour-King promises us. And he can give it to us, because he gave up his life on the cross to pay for what we ourselves had done wrong and to make peace for us with God. By his blood he cleanses us from our guilt which makes us unfit for God’s presence. And by dying on the cross, he opened the way for us into the new and better world to come. He died to remove the wrath of God from us. And so, he died to bring us to God. And in the life to come, we’ll come before God and we’ll live in his presence and we’ll be happy forever and we’ll live peaceful and quiet lives forever.
And while we wait to enter God’s presence, we can rely on Christ our Saviour-King to help us in our daily lives. He helps us in one of two ways. Firstly, since he is our mighty king, he can put a stop to whoever is hurting us. He can give the order and a company of angels can sweep down from heaven to protect us. And then secondly, instead of putting a stop to it, he can give us his gracious help to withstand it and to endure it day by day. And so, he either gives us the peace and quiet we need; or he gives us a sense of peace and quiet in the midst of our adversity.
And since he possesses all authority in heaven and on earth, then his authority reaches over the whole of our life and he’s able to help us in every area of our life. And so, we should look to him and rely on him for his help and trust him to give it to us.
Sermons and Stuff 