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For New King James text and comment, click here.
II Kings 9-11 Listen 
Another Israel king dynasty ends (II Kings 9:1-13)
1 And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets, and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this box of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramothgilead:
2 And when thou comest thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an inner chamber;
3 Then take the box of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open the door, and flee, and tarry not.
4 So the young man, even the young man the prophet, went to Ramothgilead.
5 And when he came, behold, the captains of the host were sitting; and he said, I have an errand to thee, O captain. And Jehu said, Unto which of all us? And he said, To thee, O captain.
6 And he arose, and went into the house; and he poured the oil on his head, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I have anointed thee king over the people of the LORD, even over Israel.
7 And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel.
8 For the whole house of Ahab shall perish: and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel:
9 And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah:
10 And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. And he opened the door, and fled.
11 Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said unto him, Is all well? wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? And he said unto them, Ye know the man, and his communication.
12 And they said, It is false; tell us now. And he said, Thus and thus spake he to me, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel.
13 Then they hasted, and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew with trumpets, saying, Jehu is king.
Now here's the fulfillment to a prophecy that was a long time unfolding, but it happened just as Elijah had said it would. Actually, Jehu was destined to be King of Israel all the way back during Elijah's tenure when God showed it to him in I Kings 19:16 (see notes). Then in I Kings 21:21-23 (see notes) Elijah had prophesied the end of Ahab's dynasty on the throne of Israel, just like that of Jeroboam and Baasha. However, Elisha was the prophet that made it happen...well, sort of. He really sent one of the young prophet trainees to do the job of anointing Jehu King of Israel. It's interesting how the young prophet was treated like a crackpot by Jehu's entourage until they found out that he had anointed Jehu King of Israel. Then they were all for validating his prophecy. For the time being, Jehoram is still the King of Israel...but not for long.
When this young prophet anoints Jehu, he is very specific about why and exactly what Jehu is to do in verse 7, "thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master." Well, Jehoram, unfortunately, that means you; Ahab was your grandfather, and the end of his lineage was prophesied in I Kings 21:21-23 (see notes). Isn't it interesting how God uses a wicked man (Jehu) to facilitate judgment against another wicked man (Jehoram).
Notice all the components of this prophet's decree:
They waste no time proclaiming that Jehu is king after this decree from God's prophet. Now...it's on to the action items of the prophecy.
Let's just kill two kings while we're at it (II Kings 9:14-29)
14 So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram had kept Ramothgilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria.
15 But king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If it be your minds, then let none go forth nor escape out of the city to go to tell it in Jezreel.
16 So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to see Joram.
17 And there stood a watchman on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, I see a company. And Joram said, Take an horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, Is it peace?
18 So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came to them, but he cometh not again.
19 Then he sent out a second on horseback, which came to them, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu answered, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me.
20 And the watchman told, saying, He came even unto them, and cometh not again: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously.
21 And Joram said, Make ready. And his chariot was made ready. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out against Jehu, and met him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite.
22 And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?
23 And Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, There is treachery, O Ahaziah.
24 And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength, and smote Jehoram between his arms, and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot.
25 Then said Jehu to Bidkar his captain, Take up, and cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite: for remember how that, when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, the LORD laid this burden upon him;
26 Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith the LORD; and I will requite thee in this plat, saith the LORD. Now therefore take and cast him into the plat of ground, according to the word of the LORD.
27 But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot. And they did so at the going up to Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there.
28 And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David.
29 And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah.
Israel and Judah are at war with Syria. The troops are east of the Jordan at Ramothgilead, on guard against Syria. King Jehoram (aka Joram) of Israel and young King Ahaziah of Judah are back in Northern Israel west of the Jordan getting medical treatment for Jehoram's battle wounds (II Kings 8:25-29, see notes). Judah's Ahaziah should have been more careful about the company he kept. Jehu shows up to finish off Jehoram; Ahaziah just happened to be there and decides to lend assistance to Jehoram. When the two watchman who go out to meet Jehu don't return, Jehoram figures something is up, but it's too late. Jehu's mission was to kill Jehoram - may as well bag another king, Ahaziah of Judah, while he's at it. This account is briefly found also in II Chronicles 22:1-9 (see notes). Jehu's intentions seem noble, so to speak - just fulfilling prophecy. Remember Ahab's household had that curse on it (I Kings 21:21-22, see notes) ever since Ahab's wife, Jezebel, had Naboth of Jezreel killed. Well, Jehu proclaims that he's just helping that prophecy along here - even has a little ritual thing on that garden site that Ahab had stolen from Naboth after Jezebel had him executed. But what about Ahaziah, King of Judah's death? That's just a bonus! Perhaps Jehu saw the potential for a combination of the two heavy-weight titles - maybe had his eye on a reunited Israel with himself as the king of the whole thing - both kingdoms.
As an interesting aside, Ahaziah of Judah was the cousin of Jehoram of Israel. Ahaziah's mother, Athaliah, was the daughter of the wicked duo of the Northern Kingdom, Ahab and Jezebel. As a matter of fact, Ahaziah (of Judah) had the same name as his Uncle Ahaziah, Athaliah's brother and formerly King of Israel following the death of his father, the wicked Ahab. As you can see, the royal families of Israel and Judah were quite intermingled at this point in time. It simply makes sense that Jehu must have reasoned that everyone had to be executed in both families.
This marks the end of the third dynasty of Israel.
Israel Dynasty #4, Jehu. First order of business? Kill Jezebel of course (II Kings 9:30-37)
30 And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window.
31 And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?
32 And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs.
33 And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trode her under foot.
34 And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her: for she is a king’s daughter.
35 And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands.
36 Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This is the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel:
37 And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.
Well, Jehu, you've just killed two kings and taken over Israel; what are you gonna do now? Kill Jezebel, the king's wicked mama! Jezebel knew it was coming. She went to her upstairs room in Jezreel to paint herself up for the big meeting with the new King of Israel. She kind of taunts him when he shows up. She's not expecting it to be a good day anyway. Upon glancing out the window and seeing Jehu, she says to him, "Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?" She's referring to the fifth King of Israel who only reigned 7 days before committing suicide after he ascended to the throne upon murdering King Elah back in I Kings 16 (see notes). It wasn't a very persuasive speech; Jehu hollers up to her attendants to throw Jezebel down out of the window. They did; she splattered; the dogs ate her - leaving just a skull, feet and hand parts - not even enough to bury, just as Elijah had prophesied back in I Kings 21:23 (see notes) and again in II Kings 9:10 (see above). What a fitting end to such a wicked woman.
A Summary of King #10 from 841 to 814 B.C. over Israel: Jehu |
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| References | The Good | The Bad |
II Kings 9:11-10:36 |
Not really good, but he did rid Israel of Baal worship after he executed King Joram. | II Kings 10:29 Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan. He led Israel back to the worship of the calves that Jeroboam had established when Israel (Northern Kingdom) separated themselves from Judah (Southern Kingdom). |
Jehu cleans house; all royalty must go! (II Kings 10:1-17)
1 And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to them that brought up Ahab’s children, saying,
2 Now as soon as this letter cometh to you, seeing your master’s sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fenced city also, and armour;
3 Look even out the best and meetest of your master’s sons, and set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.
4 But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, two kings stood not before him: how then shall we stand?
5 And he that was over the house, and he that was over the city, the elders also, and the bringers up of the children, sent to Jehu, saying, We are thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us; we will not make any king: do thou that which is good in thine eyes.
6 Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye be mine, and if ye will hearken unto my voice, take ye the heads of the men your master’s sons, and come to me to Jezreel by to morrow this time. Now the king’s sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, which brought them up.
7 And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king’s sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent him them to Jezreel.
8 And there came a messenger, and told him, saying, They have brought the heads of the king’s sons. And he said, Lay ye them in two heaps at the entering in of the gate until the morning.
9 And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said to all the people, Ye be righteous: behold, I conspired against my master, and slew him: but who slew all these?
10 Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the LORD, which the LORD spake concerning the house of Ahab: for the LORD hath done that which he spake by his servant Elijah.
11 So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinsfolks, and his priests, until he left him none remaining.
12 And he arose and departed, and came to Samaria. And as he was at the shearing house in the way,
13 Jehu met with the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are ye? And they answered, We are the brethren of Ahaziah; and we go down to salute the children of the king and the children of the queen.
14 And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing house, even two and forty men; neither left he any of them.
15 And when he was departed thence, he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him: and he saluted him, and said to him, Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand. And he gave him his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot.
16 And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD. So they made him ride in his chariot.
17 And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the LORD, which he spake to Elijah.
Jehu realizes that he must get rid of all the so-called legitimate heirs to the throne, so he needs to do something about all of Ahab's descendants. He writes a couple of letters to the guardians of these heirs to Ahab's throne - first challenging them to put up a fight for Ahab's dynasty. When they decline to fight, Jehu directs these guardians to kill them - all 70. Then he has a meeting with the relatives of Ahaziah, King of Judah - kills all 42 of them too. They had been on their way to meet with Ahaziah's children. Then its off to Samaria to finish up his dynasty-ending business. He picks up a passenger along the way - Jehonadab, a son of Rechab, the founder of a tribe who bound themselves by a vow to abstain from wine (Jeremiah 35:6-19, see notes). He indicates he has a zeal for the Lord to clean everything up for God according to Elijah's prophecy in I Kings 21:21-23 (see notes). We'll see.
Now it's time to go after Baal! (II Kings 10:18-28)
18 And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said unto them, Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve him much.
19 Now therefore call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal; whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtilty, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal.
20 And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed it.
21 And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that came not. And they came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was full from one end to another.
22 And he said unto him that was over the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Baal. And he brought them forth vestments.
23 And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal, and said unto the worshippers of Baal, Search, and look that there be here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but the worshippers of Baal only.
24 And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu appointed fourscore men without, and said, If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escape, he that letteth him go, his life shall be for the life of him.
25 And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, Go in, and slay them; let none come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains cast them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal.
26 And they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal, and burned them.
27 And they brake down the image of Baal, and brake down the house of Baal, and made it a draught house unto this day.
28 Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.
Hey! This new King of Israel appears to have promise. Jehu is determined to wipe out all Baal worship in Israel. He's a little deceptive though. He calls for a special Baal celebration - all the big Baal leaders show up. He proclaims to them that he doesn't want any Jehovah worshippers in the group - leave if that's who you worship. When he's sure that he has only the Baal worshippers there, the celebration begins. I can imagine that they are all assembled like puppy dogs with a new master. Bad news for Baal though; Jehu has them all wiped out right there and then. Baal worship in Israel? Gone! Wait! There's more. The house of Baal is also destroyed and turned into a latrine (verse 27); how fitting! Verse 28 says, "Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel."
New King of Israel - no Baal - good...right? (II Kings 10:29-36)
29 Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan.
30 And the LORD said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in mine heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.
31 But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin.
32 In those days the LORD began to cut Israel short: and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel;
33 From Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan.
34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
35 And Jehu slept with his fathers: and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead.
36 And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty and eight years.
Here's the beginning of the Northern Kingdom's fourth dynasty of kings. Verse 28 says, "Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel." That's good...right? Jehu started out with a great deal of promise - you know with that wiping-out-Baal thing. Could it be that we actually have a good King of Israel, the Northern Kingdom? What have you heard me say? The Northern Kingdom never, never, never, never had a good king. While he hated Baal, he didn't go back to the worship of the One True God, but rather embraced the newer worship that Jeroboam had established back at the beginning of the Northern Kingdom - loved those two golden calves (I Kings 12:25-33, see notes). He reigned 28 years, but his kingdom diminished during that period from the perils of war at the hands of the King of Syria, Hazael. You will recall from I Kings 19:15 (see notes) that God had commanded Elijah to anoint Hazael as King of Syria. It was that same prophecy in which God also commanded Elijah to anoint King Jehu. Hey! God has always had a plan!
Notice what is said about Jehu in verses 30-31, "And the LORD said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in mine heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel. But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin." Even though Jehu did not serve the One True God, he is rewarded for eradicating the worship of Baal from Israel; his dynasty is thus guaranteed for four generations, ending with the assassination of Zechariah in II Kings 15:8-12 (see notes).
So, who is this Athaliah gal? (II Kings 11:1-3)
(Click here to see the summary on the parallel passage in II Chronicles 22:10-12)
II Kings 11 |
II Chronicles 22 |
| 1 And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal. 2 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. 3 And he was with her hid in the house of the LORD six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land. |
10 But when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah. 11 But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons that were slain, and put him and his nurse in a bedchamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, (for she was the sister of Ahaziah,) hid him from Athaliah, so that she slew him not. 12 And he was with them hid in the house of God six years: and Athaliah reigned over the land. |
Athaliah was the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, and the wife of Jehoram, king of Judah (II Kings 8:18, see notes), who “walked in the ways of the house of Ahab” (II Chronicles 21:6, see notes), called “daughter” of Omri (her grandfather) in II Kings 8:26 (see notes). On the death of her husband and of her son Ahaziah, she resolved to seat herself on the vacant throne. She slew all Ahaziah’s children except Joash, the youngest (II Kings 11:1-2, see notes), but that was only an oversight. She meant to kill them all to finish up what Jehu had started back in II Kings 10:1-17 (see above). In other words, she was not a nice woman, but she did rule Judah for six years as its only queen!
The rescue of little Joash was orchestrated by his Aunt Jehoshabeath, the late King Ahaziah's sister. She just happened to be married to the high priest, Jehoiada. Little Joash was groomed for the kingship for six years by the high priest of Jerusalem without the knowledge of the wicked illegitimate Queen Athaliah.
A Summary of King (actually "queen") #7 from 841 to 835 B.C. over Judah: Athaliah |
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| References | The Good | The Bad |
II Chronicles 22:10-23:15 |
Not specified - she was evil. | She was an illegitimate queen in Judah who acquired her position by assassinating all of the legitimate Davidic heirs to the throne. She missed one - Joash. She was the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. |
Oooops! Athaliah misses one (II Kings 11:4-21)
(Click here to see the summary on the parallel passage in II Chronicles 23:1-15)
II Kings 11 |
II Chronicles 23 |
| 4 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. 5 And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king’s house; 6 And a third part shall be at the gate of Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard: so shall ye keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down. 7 And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD about the king. 8 And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be slain: and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in. 9 And the captains over the hundreds did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that should go out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. 10 And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give king David’s spears and shields, that were in the temple of the LORD. 11 And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, round about the king, from the right corner of the temple to the left corner of the temple, along by the altar and the temple. 12 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. 13 And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people into the temple of the LORD. 14 And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets: and Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, Treason. 15 But Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the host, and said unto them, Have her forth without the ranges: and him that followeth her kill with the sword. For the priest had said, Let her not be slain in the house of the LORD. 16 And they laid hands on her; and she went by the way by the which the horses came into the king’s house: and there was she slain. 17 And Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people, that they should be the LORD’S people; between the king also and the people. 18 And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD. 19 And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and the guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king from the house of the LORD, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king’s house. And he sat on the throne of the kings. 20 And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in quiet: and they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king’s house. 21 Seven years old was Jehoash when he began to reign. |
1 And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took the captains of hundreds, Azariah the son of Jeroham, and Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, and Azariah the son of Obed, and Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri, into covenant with him. 2 And they went about in Judah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the chief of the fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. 3 And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said unto them, Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as the LORD hath said of the sons of David. 4 This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you entering on the sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be porters of the doors; 5 And a third part shall be at the king’s house; and a third part at the gate of the foundation: and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the LORD. 6 But let none come into the house of the LORD, save the priests, and they that minister of the Levites; they shall go in, for they are holy: but all the people shall keep the watch of the LORD. 7 And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever else cometh into the house, he shall be put to death: but be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out. 8 So the Levites and all Judah did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest had commanded, and took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that were to go out on the sabbath: for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses. 9 Moreover Jehoiada the priest delivered to the captains of hundreds spears, and bucklers, and shields, that had been king David’s, which were in the house of God. 10 And he set all the people, every man having his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and the temple, by the king round about. 11 Then they brought out the king’s son, and put upon him the crown, and gave him the testimony, and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, God save the king. 12 Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people into the house of the LORD: 13 And she looked, and, behold, the king stood at his pillar at the entering in, and the princes and the trumpets by the king: and all the people of the land rejoiced, and sounded with trumpets, also the singers with instruments of musick, and such as taught to sing praise. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and said, Treason, Treason. 14 Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds that were set over the host, and said unto them, Have her forth of the ranges: and whoso followeth her, let him be slain with the sword. For the priest said, Slay her not in the house of the LORD. 15 So they laid hands on her; and when she was come to the entering of the horse gate by the king’s house, they slew her there. |
Athaliah did not see this one coming! She thought she killed all of Ahaziah's children, but a baby was hidden for six years by the sister of Ahaziah (wife of the high priest). When Joash turns seven, the priest of Judah, Jehoiada, orchestrates his installation as King of Judah. He did so by bringing in the leaders of the Israeli army to protect the previously-hidden heir to the throne while he is crowned King of Judah. It all takes place on the Sabbath day so as to not bring suspicion to the gathering of people around the temple.
The plan works; Athaliah hears the people cheering at his coronation. She shows up at the temple to see what all the commotion is about. Surprise, surprise! We then hear Athaliah's last words, "Treason, treason!" She is put to death and a seven-year-old boy becomes King of Judah; what a country! Oh, and to top it all off, they got rid of Baal worship in Judah also. Jehoiada makes a covenant with the people of Judah in verse 17, "And Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people, that they should be the LORD’S people; between the king also and the people." So, Joash (aka Jehoash) begins to reign at the ripe old age of seven under the guiding hand of the high priest, Jehoida. Verse 20 has Athaliah's eulogy, "and they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king’s house."
Copyright 2003-2011 by Wayne D. Turner