The Book of 2 Kings

Word Study

"all the seed royal," Hebrew zera hammamlakah (זֶרַע הַמַּמְלָכָה), the royal seed, the line of David. Athaliah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel and mother of the dead king Ahaziah, seizes power by the most monstrous means: she "destroyed all the seed royal", murdering her own grandchildren to hold the throne. This is the deadliest moment for the line of David in all the Old Testament. God had promised David an unfailing lamp and an everlasting throne, from which Messiah must come, and now the whole royal seed is being wiped out by a woman of Ahab's poisonous house. It is not hard to see the hand of the great enemy behind it, striving, as he ever does, to destroy the messianic line and so the promise itself, as later with the slaughter at Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16). But God is never without His remedy. One infant, Joash, is snatched away by his aunt Jehosheba (wife of the high priest Jehoiada, 2 Chronicles 22:11) and hidden with his nurse "in the house of the LORD six years." The seed royal was reduced to a single hidden child, yet the lamp of David did not go out. "The LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David" (2 Chronicles 21:7). However near the promise came to extinction, God preserved it, by a brave woman, a faithful priest, and a secret room in His own house. The purposes of God cannot be defeated, even when they hang by a single thread.

Explanation

When Athaliah learned that her son Ahaziah was dead (killed in Jehu's purge), she seized the throne of Judah and set about murdering the entire royal family, her own grandchildren, to secure her power. But Jehosheba, a royal princess and sister of Ahaziah, rescued the infant Joash from among the doomed princes and hid him, with his nurse, first in a bedchamber and then in the temple, where he remained concealed for six years while Athaliah reigned. The line of David, and with it the promise of the coming Messiah, was preserved in one hidden child.

Gospel Focus

This dark hour is one of the great rescues of redemptive history. The line of David, the line of Christ, was all but destroyed, reduced to a single infant hidden in the temple. Behind Athaliah's murderous ambition we may discern the ancient war against the promised Seed, the enemy's long effort to cut off the line from which the Redeemer must come, seen again in Pharaoh's slaughter of the Hebrew boys and Herod's massacre at Bethlehem. But the promise of God cannot be broken. When the lamp of David guttered to a single flame, God kept it burning, and so kept faith with His covenant and with a world that needed a Saviour. Take comfort: no scheme of hell can undo what God has promised. "The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever" (Psalm 33:11). And notice where the true king was preserved, "in the house of the LORD." The place of God's presence became the place of safety for the hope of the world. When everything seems lost and the promise hangs by a thread, God is quietly keeping His word in His own house. The child hidden in the temple would one day sit on the throne; the greater Son of David, once hidden and rejected, now reigns for ever.

Word Study

"the crown," Hebrew nezer (נֵזֶר). After six years, the high priest Jehoiada acts. He is the hero of the chapter, a faithful priest who preserves and then restores the true king; note that it is the house of God and its priest, not the palace, that keep the covenant alive when the crown is usurped. Jehoiada binds the guard by covenant and oath, arranges careful protection, and arms them with "king David's spears and shields" from the temple, the true king restored with the weapons of the founder of his line. Then he brings forth the king's son and performs the coronation: he puts on him "the crown (nezer)", the royal diadem that marks him out as the rightful heir at last openly acknowledged. He is anointed, and the people clap and cry, "God save the king." The joyful acclamation of the rightful king after the tyranny of the usurper is a picture of the joy of the kingdom of God. The rescued child hidden in the temple is now revealed, crowned, and enthroned, and the covenant people rejoice. So the true and greater Son of David, once hidden and rejected, will be revealed and acknowledged, and every knee shall bow, and the redeemed shall cry, in effect, "God save the King" for ever.

"the testimony," Hebrew edut (עֵדוּת). With the crown Jehoiada also gives him "the testimony (edut)", the copy of God's law that every king was to receive and live by (Deuteronomy 17:18-20). This is significant: the true king is crowned with God's word in his hand; his authority is under God's law, not above it.

Explanation

In the seventh year, Jehoiada the high priest organized a careful and courageous coup. He gathered the commanders of the royal guard into the temple, bound them by oath, and revealed to them the hidden king's son. He arranged the guard in shifts to protect the temple and surround the boy-king, arming them with weapons from David's own armory stored in the temple. Then Jehoiada brought out the young Joash, placed the crown on his head, gave him the book of the law ("the testimony"), anointed him, and had him proclaimed king, while the people clapped and shouted, "God save the king." After six years of Athaliah's usurpation, the rightful heir of David was publicly crowned.

Gospel Focus

The crowning of the hidden king is a scene full of gospel light. Jehoiada the faithful priest preserved the true king through the years of usurpation and then revealed and enthroned him, a beautiful picture of the priestly work that upholds God's purposes when the world is ruled by tyranny. And note that the young king was crowned with "the testimony," God's law, in his hand: true kingship submits to God's word. But the deeper picture is of Christ. The rightful king was long hidden while a usurper reigned; then, in God's appointed time, he was brought forth, crowned, and joyfully acclaimed. So the true Son of David was for a time hidden and His throne usurped by "the prince of this world" (John 14:30), but God has "set my king upon my holy hill of Zion" (Psalm 2:6), and the day comes when He shall be openly revealed and every voice shall own Him King. "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever" (Revelation 11:15). The joy of Judah at the true king's crowning is a foretaste of the joy of the redeemed when the usurper is cast down and Christ reigns. Own Him now as your King, crown Him in your heart, and rejoice: God save the King.

Word Study

"a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people, that they should be the LORD'S people," Hebrew berit (בְּרִית), covenant. Athaliah, hearing the acclamation, rushes in crying "Treason, Treason", the true traitor calling the rightful crowning treason, for the guilty often accuse others of their own crime. Jehoiada has her removed from the temple (not to defile the holy place with her blood) and executed. Then comes the restoration's heart: Jehoiada "made a covenant (berit) between the LORD and the king and the people, that they should be the LORD'S people." True restoration is not merely a change of ruler but a renewed devotion to God. The people at once act on the covenant: they tear down the temple of Baal (which Athaliah had allowed in Judah), smash its altars and images, and kill its priest Mattan. Repentance shows itself in the removal of idols; you cannot be "the LORD'S people" while Baal's house still stands. The young king is enthroned, "and all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in quiet." The overthrow of the usurper, the crowning of the true king, the renewal of the covenant, and the purging of idolatry bring peace and joy. Joash begins to reign at seven, under the godly guidance of Jehoiada. The chapter is a complete picture of restoration: the rightful king enthroned, the people rejoined to their God, the idols destroyed, and quiet restored to the land. That is what happens wherever the true King is received and the covenant with God renewed.

Explanation

Hearing the commotion, Athaliah rushed into the temple, saw the crowned king amid the rejoicing people, and cried "Treason!" Jehoiada ordered her taken out of the temple and executed, and she was killed at the palace. Jehoiada then led the king and people in a covenant to be the LORD's people, and the people went and destroyed the temple of Baal, its altars and idols, and killed its priest. Proper worship at the temple was restored, and the young king was escorted to the palace and seated on the throne. The people rejoiced and the city was at peace. Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, the rightful heir of David restored, and the covenant with God renewed.

Gospel Focus

The restoration of Joash shows what true revival looks like. It was not enough to crown the king; the people renewed their covenant to be "the LORD'S people," and then proved it by tearing down the house of Baal. Wherever the rightful King is enthroned, the idols must come down. You cannot crown Christ and keep your Baals; genuine conversion joins the receiving of the King with the destroying of the idols. "What agreement hath the temple of God with idols?" (2 Corinthians 6:16); "little children, keep yourselves from idols" (1 John 5:21). And note the result: when the usurper was cast out, the true king enthroned, and the covenant renewed, "the city was in quiet", peace followed the restoration of right worship. So it is in the soul and in a people: peace comes when Christ is crowned Lord and every idol is thrown down. Athaliah's cry of "Treason" is the world's protest whenever the true King is honored, for the usurper always calls the rightful reign rebellion. But the outcome is joy and quiet for all who welcome the King. Crown Christ in your heart, renew your covenant to be the LORD's, tear down every Baal, and enter the peace of the King's restored reign.