And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took the captains of the 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.
For six years Athaliah had ruled Judah. The rightful heir was hidden in the house of God, and the throne of David looked finished. Then one man acts. A priest gathers five military officers and binds them to himself by covenant, and the whole kingdom turns.
Nothing happens for six years. The change comes in the seventh, and commentators read that number as God's timing, not chance.
When the seventh year came — the complete time according to the ways of God — "in the seventh year Jehoiada took courage." He was the priest. The priest stands in front while the king is hidden. How true this is now in our Lord's case. In His own Person He combines both the high priest who is acting now and the King He will be later on.
The same writer looks at how helpless the young king seemed. The weaker the heir looked, the clearer God's supremacy became.
Nothing could prove more vividly how completely we may trust Him. Nothing ever looked more helpless than this young king Joash in front of Athaliah. The fortunes of a king of Judah were never at a lower point. But people have said, and said truly, that "man's extremity is God's opportunity." This only gives the occasion to show the supremacy of God. Nothing can hinder His purpose.
The verse says Jehoiada took courage. One writer sets his action beside his wife's devotion.
In Jehoshabeath we see a heart for Joash. In Jehoiada, her husband, we see faith at work for him. Her affection gathered around the person of the prince. His faith was full of energy, making every arrangement needed for the glory and stability of his throne. He was a man of faith, energy, and devotion.
Six years is a long wait. Another writer looks at how the couple spent it.
They waited patiently through a full cycle of years for the Lord's time to reveal His anointed. They did not let themselves grow discouraged. They did not let impatience push them into human methods to make the king's cause win. Through those long years they lived in secret with the precious object of their hope. At last they were receiving the glorious result of their faith.
Jehoiada does not act alone. He binds five named officers to himself by covenant. One writer notes where the real authority lay.
Here again we see that empty ritual cannot stand against what is moral. It cannot stand against what concerns the word of God being carried out for the man God had set over His people Israel… The king's son was only a little boy, but he was the lawful king of Israel.
The covenant with five officers is the first link in a chain. Those who learn the secret carry it outward, until the loyal remnant of the nation stands together.
There were, however, those favoured few who knew that the king's son was hidden in the house of God… A little later others came into the secret, and the mighty men too. They in turn went through Judah, gathering the Levites and the heads of the families, and they came to God's centre on earth, Jerusalem. Do we not find in the Acts that the disciples went everywhere with the testimony that Christ, Who was crucified, is risen and seated in heaven?… The result of that testimony about the king's son was this: those who were faithful to the Lord gathered around the king at the divine centre.
Commentators read the hidden boy-king as a picture of Christ. One writer draws the line from Jehoiada's work to the gospel today.
By leading so many to make a covenant with Joash while he was still unseen, Jehoiada pictures the present energy of the Holy Spirit working with the preaching of the gospel. The Spirit leads souls to trust an unseen Jesus, and to rejoice in the hope of His coming kingdom and glory.
The waiting is not idle. It has work attached to it.
If Christ is hidden at the present time, we know for certain that God will give Him the throne of His father David… But we are to fill the waiting time with the service of Him Who is hidden in the house of God… And are we not greatly favoured in being called to serve the Hidden One?
- Hidden. For six years the rightful king was out of sight while Athaliah held the throne. Judah's royal line was at its lowest point, and God's purpose was still safe.
- Timed. The move comes in the seventh year — the complete time according to God's ways. Delay is not defeat.
- Strengthened. Jehoiada takes courage and acts. He matches his wife's affection for the hidden prince with energy for his throne.
- Shared. Five commanders take the covenant, and then they gather Judah. The secret of the living king spreads from a few men to a nation.
- Awaited. The same pattern runs now. The Spirit leads souls to trust an unseen King, and we serve Him through the waiting time until He appears.
And they went about in Judah and gathered together the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the chief fathers of Israel; and they came to Jerusalem.
Six years after Athaliah seized the throne, the rightful heir was still alive. He was hidden in the temple, and only a few knew. Now the secret starts to spread. Messengers fan out across Judah to bring the Levites and the family heads to Jerusalem. Why does a priest, and not an army, lead a change of kings?
The gathering was not spontaneous. It was the second stage of a plan. Jehoiada started with the army officers in verse 1, and he worked without the queen's knowledge.
The people put up with Athaliah's tyranny for six years. Then Jehoiada the priest took the lead and won the support of the military leaders in Judah, to plan the crowning of the young boy Joash. Messengers went throughout Judah to gather the Levites from the many cities, and the chief elders of the people to Jerusalem (v. 2). Athaliah knew nothing of it.
Two groups come to Jerusalem: the Levites from the cities and the leading elders of the families. The same events appear in 2 Kings 11 with less about Jehoiada the priest, and writers trace the difference to the viewpoint of Chronicles.
Chronicles tells the story from the priestly and Levitical point of view, as said before. That is why it gives more detail about Jehoiada the priest. Study the two chapters carefully and compare them, and you will find no contradictions.
A woman's love had saved Joash; now a man's faith serves him. The men in this verse had to commit themselves to a king they had never seen.
In Jehoshabeath we see heart for Joash; in Jehoiada, her husband, we see faith at work for him. Her affections gathered around the person of the prince. His faith was energetic, and it made every arrangement needed for the glory and stability of Joash's throne. He was a man of faith, energy, and devotion. He led many to make a covenant with Joash while the boy was still unseen. In this he pictures the present energy of the Holy Spirit, who works with the preaching of the gospel to lead souls to trust an unseen Jesus and to rejoice in hope of His coming kingdom and glory.
A large crowd in Jerusalem could easily give the plan away. So the choice of day mattered as much as the choice of men.
They then made arrangements for the most unusual coronation ever known. They ordered everything with great care and secrecy, so that no one would grow suspicious. They placed trusted men, mainly Levites, at important points around the king's house and temple. They may have chosen the sabbath day, and the time when the priests and Levites changed shifts, so that the large crowd around the temple would not make Athaliah and her Baal-worshipping followers suspicious.
Writers read the chapter as a picture of Christ, hidden now and shown later. On that reading, the journey through Judah is the spread of the message about Him.
There were those favoured few who knew that the king's son was hidden in the house of God... Soon others were brought into the secret, along with the mighty men. They in turn went throughout Judah, gathering the Levites and the heads of the fathers' houses, and they came to God's earthly centre, Jerusalem. In Acts, do we not find the disciples going everywhere with the testimony that Christ, Who was crucified, is risen and seated in heaven? ... The result of that testimony about the king's son was that those who were faithful to the Lord gathered around the king at the divine centre.
These men did not come only to watch a ceremony. Jehoiada had work for them.
When the time was right, Jehoiada prepared a remnant in Judah to side with Joash. He made a covenant with them in the house of the Lord, and he showed them "the king's son." Then, having prepared them, he used them. He gave them weapons of war and armour for the day of battle from David's armoury, and he set them all in order, to throw the bold usurper down from the throne.
- Hidden. For six years the rightful king was alive but unseen, known only to a favoured few in the house of God.
- Sent. Jehoiada went first to the captains, then sent men through the cities of Judah. News of a living king travelled out before anyone gathered in.
- Gathered. Levites and family heads came to Jerusalem, God's centre. The faithful gathered around a king they had not yet seen.
- Committed. Jehoiada's faith, not the boy's power, held the plan together. It pictures the Spirit leading souls today to trust an unseen Christ.
- Armed. Jehoiada then armed them from David's armoury and set them in order. Gathering led to service, and service brought the usurper down.
And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said to them, Behold, the king's son shall reign, as Jehovah has said of the sons of David.
For six years Athaliah had held David's throne, while the rightful heir was a small boy kept out of sight. In the seventh year the priest Jehoiada gathers the whole assembly and rests everything on one fact: God has promised the throne to David's sons.
Jehoiada's plan was dangerous. He leaned on one thing: a word God had already spoken.
Jehoiada and his wife had gone into this dangerous business in faith. His own words show it: "Behold, the king's son shall reign, as the Lord has said of the sons of David." "The Lord has said" is quite enough for faith to move forward and act. The dangers, the difficulties, and the hard work make no difference. And in that path all the wheels of providence are made to turn so as to bring about a successful end.
The promise Jehoiada leans on reaches far past Joash. God gave it for the sake of One still to come.
This future Son had to be "the offspring of David." So David's line had to survive until He appeared. This is why God had promised David "to give to him always a lamp, and to his sons" (2 Chron. 21:7). Now, how was this lamp going to shine in the royal house until the promised Son appeared? How could it pass through man's poisoned air and moral darkness without going out? If it went out, David's true Heir could never appear. Satan understood this. If he could manage to put out the lamp, all of God's purposes about the "Just Ruler over men" would come to nothing.
Satan's plan failed. The lamp stayed alight in one small boy. One writer calls him "a feeble candle stub which He does not put out." Through that boy, blessing and the fear of the Lord would come back to Judah (H. L. Rossier).
Nothing about the boy looked like a king. His right to rule came from God's word, not from his age or standing.
Here again we see that mere ritualism cannot stand against what is moral. It cannot stand against the word of God and its fulfilment for the one whom God had set over His people Israel. The king's son was only a little boy, but he was the lawful king of Israel.
Everyone in the assembly pledged themselves to a king they had never seen. One writer sees the same thing happening now.
He led so many to make a covenant with Joash while Joash was still unseen. In this he shows the present energy of the Holy Spirit, working with the preaching of the gospel. The Spirit leads souls to trust an unseen Jesus, and to rejoice in hope of His coming kingdom and glory.
The priest knew God's secret. That secret shapes how those who fear God spend the waiting time.
The priest is in the secret of God, and this secret is made known to those who fear God. Christ is hidden at the present time. Even so, we know for sure that God will give Him the throne of His father David. Indeed, all the kingdoms of the world shall be His. But we are to spend the waiting time serving Him who is hidden in the House of God.
The day Jehoiada showed the boy king to the nation split it in two.
This was a day of great joy and gladness of heart to Joash, to Jerusalem, and to all who waited for his appearing. Faith was now answered, patience rewarded, and the promise fulfilled. It was a day of light and joy and rejoicing to Joash, and to all who had sided with him during his rejection. But it was a day of darkness and gloom and terrible despair to Athaliah, and to all who had sided with her during her reign.
- Said — Jehoiada acts because God has spoken. That word alone is enough for faith, whatever the danger.
- Kept — God promised David a lamp that would keep burning. The line had to survive so David's true Heir could come.
- Lawful — the heir is a small child. His right to reign rests on God's word, and no ritual can stand against it.
- Unseen — the people pledge themselves to a king they have never seen. Faith does the same with Christ, and serves Him while it waits.
- Revealed — the day the hidden king steps into view brings joy to those who waited, and despair to those who sided against him.
This is the thing which ye shall do a third part of you that come in on the sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be keepers of the doors;
Athaliah had ruled Judah for six years. All that time the rightful heir, the boy Joash, lay hidden in the temple. Now Jehoiada the priest gathers the Levites and the leading men, and gives his orders. His very first instruction is not about the crown but about guard duty — who stands where, and which doors are watched.
Scripture tells this coronation twice. The account here gives more detail about the priests and Levites. One writer explains why:
As stated before, Chronicles is written from the point of view of the priests and Levites. That explains the greater detail Chronicles gives about Jehoiada the priest. A careful study and comparison of the two chapters will show that there are no discrepancies.
The priests and Levites served in rotation, and the shift changed at a fixed point in the week:
The length of service was a week, beginning from the Sabbath.
Older translations read "coming in on the Sabbath." The ESV reads "come off duty on the Sabbath." The timing mattered. The whole plan depended on Athaliah noticing nothing:
They then made arrangements for the most unusual coronation ever known. They ordered everything with great care and secrecy, so that no one would grow suspicious. They posted trusted men, mainly Levites, at important points around the king's house and the temple. They may have chosen the Sabbath day, the day when the priests and Levites changed shifts, for one reason. On that day an unusually large crowd around the temple would not make Athaliah and her Baal-worshipping servants suspicious.
The three groups form one plan, and a line is drawn about who may pass inside:
One third of the priests and Levites were to keep watch over the doors. One third were to be at the king's house, and one third at the Gate of the Fountain. The people were to stay in the courts of the temple. Only the priests and Levites who served there could go inside (v. 6). But all the people were to keep watch. This pictures the concern of the saints of God that the Lord Jesus should be honoured in full, with nothing allowed that would compromise that honour in any way.
Older translations call these gatekeepers "porters." One writer reads the three posts as three things placed in their care:
In 2 Chronicles 23 we find the porters are the royal guards of the hidden king. Here they are divided into thirds. What a trust this is during these days of the hidden King, whom heaven must receive until the time when God restores all things! To guard the true rest of the saints in Christ. To guard the person of the hidden King of glory. To guard foundation-truth.
Later in the chapter, Jehoiada sets gatekeepers so that no one unclean can enter the house. One writer contrasts that with religion today:
The house of the LORD was guarded against everything unclean. How different from the corruption that Christendom tolerates in what it calls "the house," the professing Church!
One writer draws out what this means while the King is unseen:
If Christ is hidden at the present time, we certainly know that God will give Him the throne of His father David. But the waiting time is to be filled with the service of Him Who is hidden in the house of God... How very favoured were those who served the king in this way! And are we not very highly favoured in being called to the service of the Hidden One?... Keeping the doors, in the way of priests and Levites, might suggest this. Nothing inconsistent with the presence and character of the king is to be allowed when we surround Him. All evil was to be shut out. But we are not to be so taken up with shutting out evil that we forget the normal work of the priests and the Levites.
- Guard the doors. Jehoiada's first command is not a ceremony but a watch. He posts the Sabbath shift of priests and Levites at the doors.
- Guard the timing. The priests changed shifts each Sabbath. A large crowd at the temple that day would raise no suspicion.
- Guard the ring. Three companies cover the doors, the king's house and the gate. Only those on duty may go inside.
- Guard the house. Jehoiada set doorkeepers to keep out everything unclean. Commentators turn that into a rebuke to what religion now tolerates.
- Guard for the hidden King. Commentators read these posts as service to a King who is real but still unseen, until the day He appears.
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 Jehovah.
Queen Athaliah had tried to wipe out the royal line, and for six years the rightful king hid as a child in God's house. Now Jehoiada the priest brings him out, and this verse gives each company its post, with all the people in the courts.
Jehoiada does not improvise. He gives each group its place, and says who may go inside the house.
The plans for the crowning covered every detail. One third of the priests and Levites were to keep watch over the doors. One third were to be at the king's house, and one third at the Gate of the Fountain. The people were to be in the courts of the temple. Only the priests and Levites who served there could go inside (v. 6). But all the people were to keep watch. This pictures the concern of the saints of God that the Lord Jesus should be fully honored. Nothing at all was to be allowed that would compromise that honor.
The name of this gate differs between the two accounts. One reference work connects it with the gate in 2 Kings 11:6:
Gate of the temple, or the king's house. 2 Kings 11:6. Apparently the same that is called 'gate of the foundation' in 2 Chr. 23:5.
Writers have long read this chapter as a picture of our own time. What do those who know the secret do while the king stays out of sight?
Jehoiada tells the congregation that the king is going to reign, and the people make a covenant with the king in the house of God. The priest is in the secret of God, and this secret is made known to those who fear God. If Christ is hidden at the present time, we still know for certain that God will give Him the throne of His father David. All the kingdoms of the world shall be His. But we are to fill the waiting time with the service of Him Who is hidden in the House of God. The faithful were divided into three companies… How very favoured were those who served the king in this way!
The first third named in this verse stands where the king lives. Writers link that place to the disciples who went to see where Jesus was staying.
The second company were at the king's house. What a privilege to be where the king dwells! Does not this remind us of John 1? There the disciples asked Jesus, "Teacher, where are you staying?" They came and saw where Jesus was staying, and they stayed with Him. Blessed privilege! … Here is surely the thought of nearness to the king: the place of true favour, where he is known as he truly is. And nothing less than this will satisfy the heart that has been attracted to Christ.
The second third in this verse guards the gate named after the foundation. Writers take that gate to stand for the truth itself.
At the gate of the foundation, the last company had their station. If the enemy had been let into the foundations, think what harm he would have done. … We are to watch over the foundations. Nothing is to be allowed, in teaching or in behaviour, that will weaken or attack what has been laid in the hearts of the saints — the truth of God. Is it not failure on this line that has brought in all the weakness and the ruin of the present day in the house of God? Yet failure never frees us from the solemn responsibility of guarding the gate of the foundation.
The same care shows up later in the chapter, when the temple order is restored and gatekeepers are set so that nothing unclean can get in:
Such work may not be appreciated by many, but we must not ignore it on this account. We always need discernment as to what should be allowed in and what must be refused entry. For if the enemy once gains admittance, even in a small way, he will take advantage of this to gain further ground, causing corruption in the Christian testimony.
The verse does not stop with the posted companies. Everyone else has a place too, out in the courts.
All the people had their part in the court of the house of Jehovah. They were to keep the watch of Jehovah. … What one word tells best what should mark the saints of God in all their ways? Surely the word "Watch!" … A life of watchfulness suits us. We live among foes. They seek our harm, and they seek the dishonour of Him Who is hidden in the house of God. The king will soon be revealed in His glory. Keeping that always in mind would help us stay watchful, in a place where we are never out of danger.
- Hidden. The rightful king is out of sight while another reigns in his place. Those who know the secret take their posts around him.
- Near. The station at the king's house is the place of nearness — to be where the king dwells, and know him as he truly is.
- Founded. Hold the gate of the foundation. Whatever weakens the truth, in teaching or in behaviour, opens the way for the enemy.
- Watching. No one is exempt; all the people stand in the courts, and the word that fits every believer's walk is "Watch."
- Honoured. Every post serves one end: the honour of the king, guarded against anything that would compromise it.
But let none come into the house of Jehovah except the priests and those of the Levites that do the service; they shall go in, for they are holy; but all the people shall keep the watch of Jehovah.
David's royal line had almost died out under the usurper Athaliah. Jehoiada the priest now crowns the boy Joash in the temple, and the crowd that came to make him king must stop at the courts.
In this chapter the orders come from a priest, not a king. One writer shows why.
Everything was in a very low state, and it looked as if the house of David was finished. But the faithfulness of God did not fail. The throne had lost all its power, and David's family was set aside. Even so, God raises up a man of faith — the high priest — to restore everything. God's discipline was complete. His judgment overturned the whole order of the throne. Only the faithfulness of God was left.
The verse draws a line through the crowd. One writer traces both sides of it.
The people were to stay in the courts of the temple. Only the priests and Levites who served there could go inside (v. 6). But all the people were to keep watch. This pictures the concern of the saints of God that the Lord Jesus should be fully honored, and that nothing be allowed which would take away from that honor in any way.
Those stationed at the doors were the same men whose ordinary work lay inside. One writer warns against letting guard duty crowd out that service.
Keeping the doors, as priests and Levites did, might suggest something. When we gather around Him, nothing is to be allowed that does not fit the presence and character of the king. Only the priests and the Levites on duty could enter the house of the Lord. Though they were busy keeping the doors, the priests and Levites still had their own part in the worship and service of the Lord. All evil was to be shut out. But we are not to be so taken up with shutting out evil that we forget the normal work of the priests and the Levites.
That day brought a crowning and an execution. One writer counts three things held together.
No blood is to stain the temple. On this day of righteous judgment the wicked are to be cut off without mercy, and "the king's son" is to be brought out from the house of the Lord. Notice these three things carefully on this great occasion. The king is to be enthroned, the wicked killed, but the temple kept undefiled. All this had to be done according to God.
Since the rightful king was still hidden in that house, the guard posts carry a wider meaning. One writer names what the doorkeepers guarded, and who they shut out.
In 2 Chronicles 23 we find the doorkeepers are the royal guards of the hidden king... What a trust this is again in these days of the hidden King! The heavens must receive Him until the times of restoration. To guard the true rest of the saints in Christ; to guard the person of the hidden King of glory; to guard foundation truth. He set the doorkeepers at the gates of the house of the Lord, so that no one unclean would enter. This is a great trust, and many question it. In fact, many deny it in practice, by holding that contact with those who teach false doctrine does not defile.
The crowd in the courts still had a task. One writer presses what that charge means for us. (Older translations read "keep the watch of the Lord" where the ESV has "keep the charge of the LORD".)
All the people had their part in the court of the house of the Lord; they were to keep the watch of the Lord... A life of watchfulness suits us. We are in the presence of foes who seek not only our harm but the dishonour of Him who is hidden in the house of God. The king will soon appear in His glory. Keeping that in mind would help us hold a spirit and attitude of watchfulness, in a scene where we are never out of danger.
- Ruin — God's judgment overturned the throne and set David's family aside. Only His faithfulness was left, and He raised up the high priest to restore everything.
- Line — the crowd stayed in the courts, and only the priests and Levites on duty went inside. They were holy, and nothing was to take away from the Lord's honour.
- Balance — evil had to be shut out, yet guard duty was never meant to crowd out the worship those same men owed inside.
- Undefiled — the king took his throne and the wicked were cut off, but no blood was to stain the temple. All of it was done according to God.
- Watch — the doorkeepers guarded the saints' rest, the hidden King, and foundation truth. Everyone else kept the watch of the Lord until He appears in glory.
And the Levites shall encompass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and he that comes into the house shall be put to death; and ye shall be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.
Athaliah had seized David's throne, and the rightful boy king lay hidden in God's house. Jehoiada the priest waited for his moment. Now the priest gives his orders for the crowning day, and this verse is the heart of them. Levites ring the child with weapons in hand. Nobody else may come in. The guard never leaves his side.
Why does Chronicles put priests and Levites at the centre of this story? One writer traces it to the standpoint of the whole book.
As stated before, the book of Chronicles takes the priestly and Levitical point of view. This explains the greater detail about Jehoiada the priest given in Chronicles. A careful study and comparison of the two chapters will show that there are no discrepancies.
The Levites usually carried instruments and kept the doors. Now they must stand armed, and one writer shows where their weapons came from.
How varied were the services of the Levites. They served the priests in the house. They were doorkeepers there. They played the musical instruments and took part in the service of song. Now they carry the weapons of war as men attached to the person of the king. And are we not called to put on the whole armour of God, as strong in the Lord and in the power of His might? Truly we are in conflict all the days that our Master is hidden in God's house! But the weapons of our warfare are not physical but spiritual... The men who surrounded the king used King David's spears and shields, both large and small, which were kept in the house of the Lord. So too, if we draw our weapons from the place where the Lord Jesus is, we shall be well armed. We will be ready for the conflict to which He has called us.
The same order that arms the Levites shuts the door to everyone else, and death is the penalty for forcing it. One writer links that closed door to the honour of the Lord Jesus.
The people were to stay in the courts of the temple. Only the priests and Levites who served there could go inside (v. 6). But all the people were to keep watch. This pictures the concern of the saints of God that the Lord Jesus should be fully honoured. They allow nothing that would in any way compromise that honour. The Levites were to surround the king, having weapons also for his protection. If anyone attempted to come into the house without authorization, he was to be put to death (v. 7).
Another writer asks what the shut door is for, and answers from the character of the king.
Keeping the doors, in a priestly and Levitical way, might carry a lesson. When we surround Him, we allow nothing that clashes with the presence and character of the king. Only the priests and the Levites doing the service could enter the house of the Lord.
The last clause covers movement, not just position — the guard goes wherever the king goes. One writer reads the order as privilege and duty held together.
The priest then told these officers that their privileges were great, and their responsibilities just as deep. They were to guard their young king night and day. They were to watch him when he went out and came in, and never to let a single enemy come near him. Does this not tell the believer his own responsibility? He is to walk with the Lord, and to stay always in subjection to Him and in communion with Him.
Why did God hide the child instead of defending him with open power? One writer finds God's wisdom in the secrecy itself.
Is it not wonderful that God does not step in with His great power to protect the royal seed? In His wisdom He works in secret instead, and so keeps him safe. The day to display His great power does come. But God can wait in patience, working in secret, while He makes His counsels known to His saints.
- Surround. The Levites are to ring the king, weapons in hand, for his protection. Everything else in the verse guards that circle.
- Armed. Men who had carried instruments now carry spears from the house of the Lord. One writer applies this to the whole armour of God, drawn from where the Lord Jesus is.
- Barred. Death waited at the door. Writers tie this to the saints' care that nothing clashing with the King's character comes near Him.
- Accompanied. "When he comes in and when he goes out" leaves no unguarded hour. One writer reads this as the believer's steady walk and communion with the Lord.
- Awaited. The child was kept in secret until the day he was shown. God works in hiding before He acts in power.
And the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded; and they took every man his men, those that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that were to go forth on the sabbath; for Jehoiada the priest did not liberate the divisions.
Athaliah had seized David's throne, and the boy heir Joash lay hidden in the temple while she ruled. Now his coronation day has come, and everything depends on one thing — the people obey Jehoiada the priest to the letter.
The same events appear in 2 Kings 11. One writer explains why Chronicles gives the priests and Levites so much room.
The book of Chronicles tells this history from the viewpoint of the priests and Levites. This explains the greater detail about Jehoiada, the priest, given in Chronicles. A careful study and comparison of the two chapters will show that there are no discrepancies.
The verse turns on the "divisions," or courses, of priests and Levites who took turns serving in the temple. Their pattern of duty explains why the Sabbath mattered here.
Ezra restored the courses of the priests and Levites on the return from captivity, Ezra 6:18, and we find them still in operation in the New Testament. Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, belonged to the course of Abijah, the eighth name listed in 1 Chronicles 24:10. At the end of his service he returned to his house. Luke 1:5, 23. The length of service was a week, beginning from the Sabbath.
Jehoiada kept both the outgoing and the incoming shift on duty, so the temple was full. One writer sees careful planning in that choice.
They then made arrangements for the most unique coronation ever known. They ordered everything with great care and secrecy, so that no one would grow suspicious. They stationed trusted men, mostly Levites, at important points around the king's house and temple. They may have chosen the Sabbath day, the day when the courses of the priests and Levites changed over. Then the very large crowd around the temple would not make Athaliah and her followers of Baal suspicious.
Every man took his place because Jehoiada told him to. One writer finds that obedience refreshing, and ties it to what Jesus asks of those who love Him.
It is very refreshing to notice the obedience of the company which gathered around the king. This is the way to divine blessing, and what the Lord Jesus wanted from His own. "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." The devotion of that trusted band was truly shown in simple obedience to the commands of Jehoiada... What must it be to the heart of the Lord to have a company which values His word and seeks to obey it. His commendation of the church of Philadelphia is, "You have kept my word."
The same care that hid the child now brings him out. One writer traces God's mind in both moves.
After preparing them, Jehoiada uses them. He arms them for the day of battle from David's armoury, and sets them all in order, to throw the bold usurper off the throne. He does this with the same perfect and holy understanding of God's mind as when he hid the child in the sanctuary. No blood is to stain the Temple. The wicked are to be cut off in this day of righteous judgment without mercy. And they are to bring "the king's son" out from the house of the LORD... Then the king comes out from his hiding place. He is accompanied in all due solemnity by the power of his kingdom, the righteous men he could trust. And it is on the Sabbath day, the day prepared for showing him to Judah.
Everyone named in the verse works together. One writer sees in the outcome a picture of a greater crowning day.
So Jehoiada had everything organised, and the Levites and all Judah cooperated fully... Of course this is a picture of the recognition of Christ as King when He will displace every usurper at His coming in glory. The power for reigning was not in Joash, however, as it will be in the One who is King of kings and Lord of lords.
- Hidden king. Jehoiada kept the rightful heir safe in God's house while a usurper held the throne, until the day set for showing him to Judah.
- Word first. Nothing moved until Jehoiada spoke. The people acted on his word.
- Obedience next. The Levites and all Judah did all that Jehoiada commanded. Writers call such simple obedience the road to blessing and the proof of love for Christ.
- Timing held. Jehoiada kept both Sabbath shifts on duty, so a large crowd drew no suspicion. The day of the king's showing was prepared, not improvised.
- Display last. Secret plans ended in a crowned king and a usurper thrown down. One writer sees in this a picture of Christ displacing every rival at His coming in glory.
And Jehoiada the priest gave to the captains of the hundreds king David's spears and shields and targets, which were in the house of God.
Athaliah had tried to wipe out Judah's royal family, so the boy Joash spent six years hidden in the temple. On his crowning day, Jehoiada the priest handed out old weapons — and where they had been kept is the point.
Jehoiada reached for weapons that were already old, and one writer explains why that mattered:
Jehoiada, to defend the kingship, went back to David's weapons. In this way he returned to the origin of the divine institution of the kingship. These weapons were good, and they were kept in the house of God. So we too must defend "that which was from the beginning." We do not look for this Word in human arsenals, but in the temple of God. It is hidden there in the most holy place, where the Spirit of God alone is able to reveal it to us and make us take hold of it.
These spears and shields had a history:
Jehoiada handed out king David's spears and shields to all the faithful warriors. Those weapons had already been through many hard battles, and each one was long tried and proved. This shows how every Christian ought to put on the whole armour of God. King David's psalms still hold the divine store of supply, because they give the soul the experiences of a most varied and eventful life. Whatever the state of your soul, you can always find a psalm that pictures those same experiences.
Another writer sets out how the boy came to be there, and then finds the choice of weapons remarkable:
A wicked woman named Athaliah had tried to wipe out the royal family of Judah. She almost succeeded. One little baby boy was saved. ... The baby boy and his nurse stayed hidden in the house of God for six years. ... They were no ordinary arms that were in the house of God. They were king David's spears, shields and targets — large and small shields. It is remarkable that these weapons had once brought David to the throne of Judah and Israel. Now they protected the helpless descendant of his house and made it possible for him to reign.
The Levites who once played music now stood by the king with weapons. One commentator applies this to believers whose Master is out of sight:
How varied were the services of the Levites. They served the priests in the house. They were doorkeepers there. They played the musical instruments and took part in the service of song. Now they carry the weapons of war as men attached to the person of the king. And are we not called to put on the whole armour of God, as strong in the Lord and in the power of His might? Truly we are in conflict all the days that our Master is hidden in God's house!
Christians do not fight with spears and shields. So what is the weapon now?
We do not wage war in the same way that we find in the Old Testament. ... Without doubt the most powerful weapon the Christian has is the Word of God. The Lord Jesus used it to defeat Satan, the Pharisees, Sadducees and Herodians. Paul used it continually in his preaching. All the brave servants of God who have done great things for Him have wielded the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, to powerful effect.
The arming led straight on to the crowning, and one writer looks further ahead:
Jehoiada gave the captains spears and large and small shields which David had provided to be put in the temple. When everything was in order, they brought out Joash and crowned him. They gave him the Testimony, a copy of the law of God, and proclaimed him King of Judah, saying, "Long live the king!" This is of course a picture of Christ being recognised as King. He will displace every usurper at His coming in glory. The power for reigning was not in Joash, however, as it will be in the One who is King of kings and Lord of lords.
- Source — The arms came out of God's house, not a human store. We defend the truth with what God keeps there.
- Proved — They were David's own, tested in many battles, and they now guarded his heir. His psalms are that tested store, and one fits every state of soul.
- Weapon — Christians fight another way. The Word of God is their strongest weapon, used by the Lord Jesus and by Paul.
- Service — Levites who once played music now stood armed beside the king. Conflict marks all our days while our Master stays hidden in God's house.
- Outcome — The arming opened the way to the crowning. It pictures Christ displacing every usurper, though the power to reign was never in Joash as it is in Him.
And he set all the people, every man with his javelin in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, toward the altar and the house, by the king round about.
Six years earlier, Athaliah seized David's throne and killed the royal children, but God kept the baby Joash hidden in the temple. Now, on his crowning day, Jehoiada posts armed men around him — why does the rightful king need a guard, and why around the altar?
2 Kings 11 tells the same day. This account lingers over the priests and Levites, and one writer explains why:
Chronicles takes the viewpoint of the priests and Levites. That is why it gives more detail about Jehoiada the priest. Study the two chapters carefully and compare them, and you will see that there are no contradictions.
Why such care over one child? One writer answers:
In the seventh year, the true year of jubilee and of deliverance, Jehoiada presents the king's son to the officers of the army. With the most careful precautions, he puts them in charge of guarding this sacred person. The boy is a precious jewel; without him the house of David would die out. No unauthorised person could come near him without paying with his life. His bodyguards go with him when he comes in and when he goes out. You feel that Jehoiada's heart is on fire for the son of David, his only hope and the hope of the kingdom. To lose him would be to lose everything, and he would not give him up at any cost.
The weapons in their hands came out of the temple store, and one writer notes whose they had been:
When they made the covenant to defend the boy king's right to the throne, Jehoiada armed the men. They were no ordinary arms that were in the house of God. They were King David's own spears and shields, large and small. It is remarkable that these weapons had once won David the throne of Judah and Israel. Now they protected the helpless descendant of his house, so that he could reign.
The verse places the guard around the altar. One writer sees meaning in that position:
The king is about to come out, so each man has his right place in the house, facing the altar. Surely this is their recognition that the king comes out because of all that was done there. Before He entered the presence of God, He completed the great work of redemption. He "will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him" (Hebrews 9:28).
One writer reads the whole scene as a picture, and begins with the enemy who made the guard necessary:
Here then is one of those Scriptures. It gives a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus Christ: taken from death, hidden in heaven from the eyes of men, and soon to be displayed in royal glory. The picture opens with the hatred, malice and power of the enemy on full show. Athaliah had married into the royal line of David, and she tried to seize the throne by destroying the royal children. But God watched over the young child, to fulfil His purpose and promise, and kept him hidden in the house of God. Was it not the same when God protected the Lord Jesus Christ, still a baby, from the cruel sword of Herod, the usurper who sat on the throne of David?
One writer turns the armed circle into a call to the reader:
Is not Jehoiada an example for us? Our own time is difficult. Despite appearances, it is more dangerous than the days of Athaliah. Will we allow anyone to touch the person of the Son of God? Let us surround Him, every one with his weapon in his hand. Our weapons are not worldly; they are the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Let us press together around Him, even if we are only a few. God will be with us, as He was with the faithful group that surrounded Joash. Then the enemy will fail in his efforts to destroy the name of the holy Son of God and to ruin His testimony.
Another writer points to where that armour comes from:
If we draw our weapons from the place where the Lord Jesus is, we will be rightly armed for the conflict He has called us to.
- Hidden. The rightful king stayed out of sight in the house of God while a usurper held the throne. One writer reads it as a picture of Christ: taken from death, hidden in heaven.
- Guarded. Jehoiada guarded that one life with the most careful precautions. Lose the boy, and the house of David and the hope of the kingdom were lost with him.
- Armed. The weapons came out of the temple — David's own spears and shields. They once won him the throne; now they defended his helpless descendant.
- Anchored. Every man stood in his place facing the altar, for the king came out on the strength of what was accomplished there.
- Applied. The circle still stands. Surround the Son of God, each with his weapon in hand — the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, drawn from where He is.
And they brought forth the king's son, and put the crown upon him, and [gave him] the testimony, and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, Long live the king!
Six years earlier a wicked queen had tried to destroy David's royal line, and one child survived, hidden in the temple. Now the doors open, and he receives crown, testimony and anointing — a scene commentators read as a picture of a King still hidden.
Commentators tie the years Joash spent hidden, and the seventh year when he came out, to God's timing for a greater King.
Joash, the heir of the throne of David, stayed hidden until the seventh year. In the same way, the true heir to the throne of David is now hidden in the presence of God until the six years have passed. Six is the number of man's day, the present age. And when the seventh year comes, the beginning of the coming age, He will come out as Joash came out of his hiding place, and be crowned king.
The boy receives two things at once, and they point in opposite directions. One marks him as ruler; the other puts him under a ruler.
So they bring the king out from the temple. Just outside it, at the pillar, they proclaim him while the people cheer. They give him the testimony as well as the crown. The testimony signifies his subjection to the LORD, the crown his sovereignty over Israel.
"The testimony" was a document he could hold, and the law told each king what to do with it.
The king's son has on him the anointing oil that consecrates him. He has the crown, sign of his royal dignity. And he has "the testimony," the law. Seated on his throne, the king was to copy out this law for himself. From it he was to learn to fear the LORD and to keep His statutes (Deuteronomy 17:18-20).
Some have argued that the book of the law found later, in Josiah's reign, was a recent invention. One writer answers with the coronation of Joash, where a copy was already at hand.
Joash was crowned as a boy king two hundred and fifty years before the time of Josiah. As part of the coronation ceremony they "gave him the testimony" (2 Kings 11:12). These Scriptures are enough to refute the claim of some in our time. They say the book Hilkiah found in the temple was put together not long before, with the name of Moses attached to it to give it authority in the eyes of the king and his people. The claim is as absurd as it is wicked.
Commentators see this crowning as a picture of a greater coronation, though the likeness breaks at one point.
Of course this is a picture of the recognition of Christ as King when He will displace every usurper at His coming in glory. The power for reigning was not in Joash, however, as it will be in the One who is King of kings and Lord of lords.
The nation looked ruined. Yet every piece needed for a restored kingdom was already in place.
Poverty was all around, and apostasy had invaded. So what was actually missing for this restoration? The temple of God, His dwelling among His own, was there. The high priest, the mediator between the Lord and the people, was there. The son of David was there, recognised no doubt by only a few, but soon all the people would acclaim him. The anointing, the Holy Spirit, was there. And a small remnant acclaimed the anointed of the Lord and surrounded him.
The couple who hid the child lived for years with a secret they could not act on.
They had waited in patience through a full cycle of years for the Lord's time to reveal His anointed. They did not let themselves grow discouraged. Impatience never pushed them into using human means to bring about the triumph of the king's cause. Through these long years they had lived in secret with the precious object of their hope. At last they were receiving the glorious result of their faith. Let us imitate their patience. Our Joash is still in the secret place of the sanctuary.
- Hidden — Joash stayed out of sight through six years of a usurper's rule. Commentators read those six years as man's day, and the seventh as the age when the true heir appears.
- Crowned — at the pillar the crown declares his sovereignty over Israel, and the anointing oil sets him apart.
- Bound — the testimony declares his subjection to the LORD. It was the law, which Deuteronomy 17 required the king to copy and obey.
- Documented — a written copy of the law was already at hand in Joash's day, long before Hilkiah found the book under Josiah.
- Awaited — those who hid him took no human shortcuts. They waited for God's timing, and readers whose King is still unseen can learn the same patience.
And Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, and she came to the people into the house of Jehovah.
Athaliah had held David's throne for six years. She did not know that the rightful heir was alive, hidden in the house of God. The first thing she learns of it is a sound — the noise of a crowd running and praising a king she believed she had killed.
The whole scene turns on someone else's move. For six years the king's son could do nothing. Jehoiada the priest acted instead. One writer sees a pattern in that:
When the seventh year came — the complete time according to the ways of God — "in the seventh year Jehoiada took courage" (older translations read "strengthened himself"). He was the priest. The priest is prominent while the king is hidden. How true this is now in our Lord's case. In His own Person He combines both the high priest who is acting now and the King He will be later.
No army warns Athaliah. No threat warns her. The sound of praise does.
Athaliah had been kept unaware of what was taking place until she heard the noise of people running and praising the king. This great celebration brought her to the temple. There she saw Joash standing, crowned, by the pillar, with leaders and trumpeters beside him.
She goes "into the house of the LORD" — the one building in Jerusalem she had no business entering:
So she comes to the people and to the temple of Jehovah. A strange place for her, the hater of Jehovah and the patron of idolatry in its worst form! She comes, and looks, and behold, the king stood by a pillar. The king! And this was all that her murderous policy had led to and ended in.
The same noise carried two verdicts, depending on which side of the hidden king a person had chosen to stand:
This was a day of great joy and gladness of heart to Joash, to Jerusalem, and to all who waited for his appearing. Faith was now answered, patience rewarded, and the promise fulfilled… It was a day of light and joy and rejoicing for Joash, and for all who had sided with him while he was rejected. It was a day of darkness, gloom, and terrible despair for Athaliah, and for all who had sided with her during her reign.
Joash had looked utterly helpless. One writer draws a lesson about trust from that:
There cannot be a more vivid proof of how completely we may trust Him. No one ever seemed more helpless than this young king Joash before Athaliah. The fortunes of a king of Judah were never at a lower ebb. But people have said, not untruly, that "man's extremity is God's opportunity." This only gives the occasion to show the supremacy of God. Nothing can hinder His purpose.
One writer looks from this scene to the day Christ appears:
What a day of confusion will that be for the enemies of the king! The wicked Athaliah hears the people running and praising the king. And what a sight meets her gaze! The one she thought she had destroyed and stripped of his throne now stands exalted on his platform. The princes and the people acclaim and praise him. But evil must be dealt with before peace and quiet can remain with God's people; the usurper must be brought low… So it will be in the day of Christ's coming.
The scene also honours those who spent six years with a king nobody else could see. One writer turns their patience into a lesson for us:
They had waited through a full cycle of years for the Lord's time to reveal His anointed. They did not let themselves grow discouraged. Impatience never pushed them into using human means to bring the king's cause to victory. Through these long years they had lived in secret with the precious object of their hope. At last they were receiving the glorious result of their faith. Let us imitate their patience. Our Joash is still in the secret place of the sanctuary. Let us there learn from day to day and from year to year to know Him better.
- Hidden. For six years the rightful king was alive but unseen. The priest carried the cause while the king waited — the pattern of Christ now.
- Heard. Athaliah's first news of him was praise. The sound of a rejoicing people, not a marching army, ended her reign.
- Exposed. She walks into the house of the God she hated and sees what all her murdering had come to: the king, standing, crowned.
- Divided. The same noise meant answered faith to those who had waited and despair to those who had sided with the usurper.
- Imitate. Those who lived with the unseen king through the waiting years were ready to rejoice when he appeared. So learn to know Him now.
And she looked, and behold, the king stood on his dais at the entrance, and the princes and the trumpets were by the king; and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets; and the singers [were there] with the instruments of music, and such as taught to sing praise. And Athaliah rent her garments, and said, Conspiracy! Conspiracy!
Athaliah had ruled Judah for years, sure that the royal line she tried to wipe out was gone. Then a noise from the temple drew her out, and she saw a crowned boy standing in the king's place.
Athaliah found out what had happened only from the noise it made.
Athaliah did not know what was going on until she heard the noise of people running and praising the king. This great celebration brought her to the temple. There she saw Joash standing, crowned, by the pillar, with leaders and trumpeters beside him. Trumpets and other instruments went with the singing of the many who were rejoicing at the crowning of the King (v. 13).
This account gives more detail than the parallel account in 2 Kings 11. One writer explains why.
The book of Chronicles is written from the point of view of the priests and Levites. That is why it gives more detail about Jehoiada the priest. Compare the two chapters carefully and you will find no contradictions.
Notice where she has to go to see the king. The house of the Lord was the last place she belonged.
Athaliah soon heard the uproar. So she comes out to the people and to the temple of the LORD. What a strange place for her, the hater of the LORD and the supporter of idolatry in its worst form! She comes, and looks, and there stands the king by a pillar. The king! And this was all that her murderous policy had led to and ended in.
Her accusation lands on the wrong person, and the cry itself has a family history.
"And Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, 'Treason! Treason!'" It is the old voice — the voice of her mother before her, the voice of her son after her, and now her own. But the truth was that she was the traitor. She was the one who had tried to wipe the king off the throne, so she gets the just reward of a traitor.
She aimed the charge at the wrong person. It was also far too mild a word for her own record.
But Joash was the true king. Athaliah was guilty of far worse than treason — she was a mass murderer and a usurper who had no right to the throne.
One writer sees the pillar where Joash stood as the proof of a promise God had kept.
This was a day of great joy and gladness of heart to Joash, to Jerusalem, and to all who waited for his appearing. Faith was now answered, patience rewarded, and the promise fulfilled… It was a day of light and joy to Joash, and to all who had sided with him while he was rejected. But it was a day of darkness, gloom and terrible despair to Athaliah, and to all who had sided with her during her reign… The king stood at his pillar. The pillar of immovable promise. This was enough; the first glimpse of Joash filled her whole soul with the terrors of judgment.
Commentators read the scene as a picture of Christ's appearing.
The one Athaliah thought she had destroyed and stripped of his throne is exalted on his platform. The princes and the people cheer and praise him. But evil must be dealt with before God's people can have peace and quiet. The usurper must be brought low.
One writer connects those trumpets with a trumpet still to sound.
The day is approaching when the true Joash will be brought out of the Sanctuary where now He is hidden. He will assert His kingly rights, for He is the "Prince of the kings of the earth." But what is the answer on man's part? The seventh trumpet will sound, and that trumpet brings Him in. In heaven there is worship and His title is acknowledged. On earth there is fury.
- Hidden — The true king was out of sight in God's house while a usurper held the throne. God's promise held even when no one could see it.
- Revealed — Athaliah's confidence ended the moment she saw him. He stood crowned at his pillar, the living proof that God keeps His promise.
- Praised — Public joy is what gave him away: running feet, trumpets, singers, instruments. Praise no longer had to hide.
- Accused — Her shout of treason named her own crime. Whoever fights the true king calls his reign rebellion.
- Judged — One sight brought joy to those who waited and terror to those who sided against him. Commentators read Christ's appearing the same way: worship in heaven, fury on earth, the usurper brought down.
And Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of the hundreds that were set over the host, and said to them, Lead her forth without the ranks; and whosoever follows her, let him be slain with the sword; for the priest said, Ye shall not put her to death in the house of Jehovah.
Athaliah had seized Judah's throne and destroyed the royal line. One son escaped, hidden in God's house, and now that boy stands crowned while the people shout. She cries treason. Jehoiada answers with a command, and the command sets a limit: she must die, but not in the house of the LORD.
She shouted the accusation, yet the charge fitted only her. One writer shows where the guilt really lay, and how alone she was at the end.
The truth was, it was she who was the traitor. It was she who had tried to wipe the king off the throne; and so she meets with the just reward of a traitor... There was no one to follow. She was alone — not alone in her evil, but now her evil had not one sympathizer.
Nobody asks for evidence. Her record had already settled the matter.
She required no trial. Everyone knew her wickedness that demanded her death.
The person who gives the order is not a magistrate or a general. It is the priest, and a priest's work is sympathy with those who fail, not sentence on them.
Jehoiada the priest gave the orders, not a government official. He told the captains of the army to take Athaliah outside under guard and kill her there. The work of a priest is to have compassion on the ignorant who go astray (Hebrews 5:2), but in this case a priest was to proclaim sentence against an evildoer. In the same way, when the Lord Jesus is shown ready to judge the world, He wears priestly garments (Revelation 1:13). This shows that His judgment will not be only an act of righteous anger. It will be a judgment that fits His character of goodness and compassion. It is goodness that abhors what is evil and judges faithfully for God.
Jehoiada had set a line of guards between the temple and the palace, and Athaliah is marched out through them. One writer shows what that line was for, and why the priest kept her death outside.
He sets a line of bodyguards from the house of the Lord to the house of the king, from the sanctuary to the palace. Their job was to guard the king along the whole way from the one house to the other... Athaliah the usurper is then slain — but outside the precincts of the temple. Not even for the restoration of the king and the peace of the kingdom will the priest give up the holiness of the temple. A beautiful witness of the Lord maintaining all His glories in all His ways, never clouding one while another is shining.
Athaliah and the king leave and enter by different gates. One writer explains why the two routes had to stay apart, and contrasts the scene with Jehu's killing of Jezebel.
They lead Athaliah into the king's house by way of the horse gate, to put her to death there. Joash enters by another gate, that of the couriers, so that he might sit peacefully on the throne of David. The path to this throne must not be defiled by blood. It was not so for Jehu with Jezebel. Her blood was sprinkled on the wall and on the horses, and Jehu, trampling her underfoot, went into the house to eat and drink (2 Kings 9:33-34). All this scene, though decreed by God, breathes "the fury" of the man who carried it out. In Judah, everything happens in solemn calm, in the awareness of God's presence that the high priest kept alive.
Removing Athaliah was not an extra to the coronation. The peace of God's people depended on it, and one writer sees the same pattern in the day of Christ.
But evil must be dealt with before peace and quiet can remain with God's people; the usurper must come down, and all who are linked with the evil one must fall. So the wicked Athaliah was killed. She had tried to set aside God's purpose and promise by destroying the royal line and the king's son, who had been hidden in the house of God. So shall it be in the day of Christ's coming.
- Traitor — She shouted treason, yet she was the only traitor there, and not one person followed her.
- Priest — The sentence comes from the man whose normal work is compassion. That is how judgment stays free of rage: goodness that hates evil and judges for God.
- Holiness — Restoring the king was urgent, but never urgent enough to stain the house of the Lord. God never dims one glory to let another shine.
- Route — She goes out by one gate and the king comes in by another. No blood stains the throne he takes, and calm before God, not fury, marks the work.
- Peace — Evil had to go before quiet could settle on the people. Usurper down, king enthroned, people at peace: that order is the shape of Christ's coming day.
And they made way for her, and she went through the entrance of the horse-gate into the king's house, and they put her to death there.
Athaliah has just cried "Treason!" inside the temple. Jehoiada answers with no argument and no trial, but with a sentence of death — and his men carry it out outside the house of the Lord. Two details here carry the weight: where she is not killed, and the gate they take her through.
Her own record answers her cry of treason. Commentators point out who the real traitor was:
When she comes out, she comes crying "Treason." But in truth she was the one guilty of both treason and murder, and guilty of them to the full. Still, we see the purpose of God. There could be no clearer proof of how fully we may trust Him. No one ever looked more helpless than this young king Joash before Athaliah. No king of Judah was ever at a lower point. But people have said, and truly, that "man's extremity is God's opportunity." This only gave the occasion to show God's supremacy. Nothing can hinder His purpose.
That her end came quickly, with no hearing and no defence, is itself the point:
She required no trial. Everyone knew her wickedness, and it demanded her death. A solemn end for this wicked daughter of a wicked couple!
Writers see a careful balance in how Jehoiada arranged the whole day:
No blood must stain the Temple. The wicked must be cut off in this day of righteous judgment, without mercy. And "the king's son" must be brought out of the house of the Lord. These three things must be watched with care on this great occasion. The king must take the throne, the wicked must be killed, but the Temple must be kept undefiled. All of it must be done according to God.
The verse names her route: the horse gate. One writer sets it beside the gate the young king used, and beside the way Jehu dealt with Jezebel:
They lead Athaliah into the king's house by way of the horse gate, and there they put her to death. Joash enters by another gate, the gate of the couriers, so that he may sit in peace on the throne of David. Blood must not defile the path to this throne. It was not so for Jehu with Jezebel. Her blood splashed the wall and the horses, and Jehu trampled her underfoot and went into the house to eat and drink. That whole scene, though God had decreed it, breathes "the fury" of the man behind it. In Judah, everything happens in solemn calm and in the sense of God's presence, which the high priest keeps alive.
The order comes from the man who serves in the sanctuary, not from an officer of state. Commentators weigh that against a priest's usual work, and against how fast the end came:
Jehoiada the priest gave the orders, not a government official. He told the captains of the army to take Athaliah outside under guard and kill her there. A priest's work is to have compassion on the ignorant who go astray. Here a priest had to pronounce sentence on an evildoer. In the same way, when the Lord Jesus is shown ready to judge the world, He wears priestly garments. This shows that His judgment will not come from righteous anger alone. It will be a judgment that fits His character of goodness and compassion. It is goodness that hates what is evil and judges faithfully for God. Athaliah's judgment came far more suddenly than she expected, but it proves the truth of Proverbs 29:1: "He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing."
Peace for God's people had to wait until evil was dealt with. Writers read the fall of this usurper as a picture of a greater fall still to come:
But evil must be dealt with before peace and quiet can remain with God's people; the usurper must be brought low, and all who are joined with the evil one must bite the dust. So the wicked Athaliah was slain, who had tried to set aside the counsel and promise of God by destroying the royal seed and the king's son, who had been hidden in the house of God. So shall it be in the day of Christ's coming. The false king, the antichrist, will meet his doom, as prophecy records: "the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of His mouth and bring him to nothing by the appearance of His coming."
- Usurper — Athaliah had no royal right and no defence. Her cry of treason named the one real traitor there: herself.
- Undefiled — three things had to hold at once: the king on the throne, the wicked killed, the house of God kept clean. Justice was done, but not inside the sanctuary.
- Unstained — she left by the horse gate; Joash entered by another. The road to David's throne was not to be marked by blood.
- Unruffled — a priest, not a statesman, passed the sentence. Judgment came in calm awareness of God's presence, not in fury.
- Undisturbed — peace and quiet came only after evil was dealt with. It is a picture of the day the true King appears and the false one meets his doom.
And Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king, that they should be the people of Jehovah.
Athaliah, the queen who tried to wipe out David's royal line, is dead, and the boy-king Joash is crowned in the temple. Jehoiada the priest acts first as a priest, binding the nation to God by covenant — so who are its parties, and what does it demand?
The king here is a child, so the lead falls to the man who had kept him hidden.
Jehoiada took the lead in making a covenant between himself, the people and the king. The king was a ward of Jehoiada, because he was so young (v. 16). The covenant stood against Athaliah's idolatry, and it agreed with the law of Moses. It stressed that Judah should be the Lord's people, not a people who worship idols.
The parallel record in 2 Kings 11:17 names the LORD as one party. One writer shows how the two sides bind each other.
"And Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and people, that they should be the LORD's people, and also between the king and the people" (v. 17). A covenant assumes two parties. Here, under the law, each side binds itself to the other: the Lord on one side, the king and the people on the other. It is as if the king answered for the people, and the people for the king. Before the Lord they form one whole. The covenant between the king and the people makes this promise even more solemn. Each side binds itself to walk the same path.
Earlier Jehoiada had bound only a few men by oath. This covenant reaches everyone.
And a larger covenant is now made. This is not just the priest taking an oath from a few men on behalf of the hidden Joash, and showing him only to them. Now the priest brings all the people, the king, and the LORD into holy, gracious covenant again, that they should be the Lord's people. Then he shows the rightful heir of all the glory, not to some, but to all the congregation of Israel.
Commentators differ on how far this applies today. One places the act in its own time instead of making it a pattern for believers now.
Jehoiada acted as a priest of God should act. He began by making a covenant between the Lord, the king and the people. This fitted the order of God's law, under which Israel lived at the time. Under grace today, vows and covenants are forbidden (Matthew 5:33-37). But Jehoiada sought to bring Israel back to the obedience of law, which was right at the time.
Words on their own settle nothing. The next verse shows the people acting on their pledge, and one writer makes this the test of any claimed revival.
The beginning was in a solemn covenant. This covenant bound the young ruler and the people together to be true to the LORD, as the LORD requires of His people. There was also a covenant between the king and the people (2 Kings 11:17). Under the priest's direction, the revival began with the destruction of the idols and false worship, and with a return to the LORD and the true worship of His Name. Every true revival must begin the same way. Measured by this standard, most revivals today fall short.
Another commentator puts the order plainly:
This work of tearing down was necessary, just as the execution of Athaliah was. It had to come before the true worship of God was set up, as verses 18-20 show.
Commentators read the pairing of priest and king here as a shadow of what is still ahead.
When the Lord Jesus comes out, He will be both priest and king. The offices of Jehoiada and Joash are both His. Zechariah 6 shows this: "He shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on His throne. And there shall be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both." A new covenant will be made with Israel when the king comes out. One of its terms is "They shall be my people." Everything connected with idolatry will be set aside and removed for ever.
- Covenant — the agreement binds two sides. The LORD stands on one side, the king and people on the other. King and people also bind themselves to each other, so that all walk one path.
- Custodian — Jehoiada leads because the crowned king is a child in his care. The pledge he frames strikes at Athaliah's idolatry.
- Congregation — this goes wider than his earlier oath with a few men. It gathers the whole nation, and it shows the rightful heir to them all.
- Clearing — a real covenant shows itself by tearing down Baal first. Writers treat that removal as the test of any claimed revival. Only then comes the restored worship of verses 18-20.
- Coming King — the priest and the king together point on to Christ, who will hold both offices. A new covenant follows, and its term is that they shall be God's people, with idolatry gone for good.
And all the people went into the house of Baal, and broke it down; and they broke his altars and his images in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.
Athaliah has just been killed, and a covenant has just bound king and people to the LORD. What comes next is not a ceremony but a demolition: the people pull down the temple of Baal in Jerusalem, smash its altars and images, and kill Mattan his priest.
A vow to be the LORD's people could not stand alongside a working temple of Baal in the same city.
Such a covenant required the destruction of the temple of Baal. The people did it at once, breaking its altars and images in pieces and killing the priest of Baal (v. 17). This negative work was necessary, just as the execution of Athaliah was. It had to come before the positive work of setting up the true worship of God, which follows in verses 18-20.
Mattan, killed at the altars, was the priest of Baal, slain in the time of Jehoiada. The verse names no commander: the people themselves go in and break the temple down. One writer sets this beside Jehu's earlier campaign against Baal.
It is a community of zeal for God. There is no need for the subtlety and artifices of Jehu to wipe out Baal from Judah. Here you see the powerful action of the Spirit of God in a people. In the end that is much more blessed than the action of a single individual, even when he is in fact doing the will of God. Jehu had thought out his plan alone and handed its execution to guards and captains. Here the whole people wipe out Baal, his house and his worship. They claim their title as the people of the LORD, and they are closely bound to the king God had given them. For about 180 years, until the reign of ungodly Manasseh, this detestable idolatry disappears from the house of Judah.
The same writer draws a warning out of that comparison. A campaign against an idol can succeed and still leave the man himself unchanged.
Jehu's zeal destroyed Baal, but it had not re-established the covenant, and it goes no further than that. He rooted out the new idolatry, yet the old idolatry, Jeroboam's calves, still stands for him. It is always like this when the flesh has a part in reform. It cannot cure the abandoning of God that has marked it from the start. If it could, it would no longer be the flesh. The natural man may well root out an idol, whether it be wine or any other vice. But he only replaces it with the idolatry of self, his own self-righteousness, and his lack of conscience towards God. He throws these into sharper relief. All the while he pretends, like Jehu, to serve God with zeal.
The rubble of Baal's house lies between Athaliah's death and the king's peaceful enthronement.
Everything that offends and works wickedness is taken out of the way — the house, the altars, the images, and the priests of Baal. And at last the king passes through the line of bodyguards, all of them glad to attend him. Like a second Solomon, in peace and dignity, full of honour and of the people's gladness, he sits on the throne of the kingdom, the throne of the house of David.
One writer looks ahead from this scene. The smashing of Baal's temple is a small model of a far larger clearance still to come.
Everything connected with idolatry will be set aside and removed for ever. Once all that belonged to Baal was gone, Jehoiada sets everything in order for the worship of the LORD, "according to the directions of David." So it will be at the coming of Christ. God will perfectly express His original thoughts, which man had set aside.
- Covenant first. The demolition is the covenant taking physical form. A pledge to belong to God settles what has to go.
- Community, not celebrity. The whole people tear the temple down, and that shared zeal is more blessed than one gifted man's campaign.
- Thoroughness. House, altars, images and priest — they leave nothing of Baal standing to rebuild later.
- Clearing before building. This negative work had to come before the true worship of God took its place.
- Lasting, but not automatic. Baal stayed out of Judah for about 180 years. But zeal that never reaches the covenant only swaps one idol for the idolatry of self.
And Jehoiada appointed the offices of the house of Jehovah under the hand of the priests, the Levites, whom David had set by classes over the house of Jehovah to offer up Jehovah's burnt-offerings, as it is written in the law of Moses, -- with rejoicing and with singing according to the directions of David.
Athaliah is dead, Baal's temple is rubble, and Joash sits on David's throne. Only now does Jehoiada turn to the house of the LORD itself, and that raises the question every recovery faces: what do you rebuild from?
Pulling down came first, and building up came second. One commentator sets the two side by side:
The people quickly destroyed the temple of Baal, breaking its altars and images in pieces and killing the priest of Baal (v. 17). This negative work was necessary, just as the execution of Athaliah was, before the true worship of God could be positively set up, as verses 18-20 show. Jehoiada the priest was a faithful man. He gave the oversight of the house of the LORD back into the hands of the priests and Levites, in line with David's assignment, and with his insistence that the offering of burnt sacrifices to the LORD should follow the law of Moses.
The ESV says Jehoiada "posted watchmen for the house of the LORD"; older translations read that he "appointed the offices" of the house. Either way, the priests and Levites had charge of it again.
Jehoiada was not working with a healthy nation. The royal line was all but gone, and he had only one ground to build on — God's own faithfulness:
Everything was in a very low state. To all appearances the house of David was finished, but the faithfulness of God did not fail. The throne has lost all its power, and the family of David is set aside; yet God raises up a man of faith, in the person of the high priest, to restore the whole. God's chastisement was complete. His judgment had overturned the whole order of the throne. Nothing was left but the faithfulness of God. Man was judged. He had no means of recovery left.
The verse rests on two written authorities: what Moses wrote, and what David arranged. One writer finds the same two at work in a later restoration in Israel:
It was a day of great joy and gladness. For directions about the altar, the sacrifices and the feasts, they had gone back to the word, "as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God." In the same way they turned to "the directions of David king of Israel" for guidance in their service of praise.
One writer lists this verse among the evidences that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible:
That Moses was the writer of these five inspired records is evident from the testimony of the books themselves (Deut. 31:9, 24), by Joshua (Joshua 1:7), by Samuel (1 Sam. 12:6-8), by David (1 Kings 2:3)… by Jehoiada (2 Chron. 23:16-18), by Hezekiah (2 Chron. 30:16), by Ezra (Ezra 7:6)…
Jehoiada did not copy recent practice; he went back to what was written. One commentator applies this to today:
Where people in our own day have departed from the truth of the Word of God, how vital it is that we should return. Not merely to what our fathers may have practiced, but to the truth the New Testament lays down about the character and practice of the Church of God. Israel was to return and recognize the beginning of their history under law. The Church should return and take in the character of its beginning under grace.
One writer sees Jehoiada's arrangement as a picture of what Christ will do when He comes:
Once everything belonging to Baal was gone, Jehoiada set everything in order for the worship of Jehovah, "according to the order of David." So it will be at the coming of Christ. God's original thoughts, which man set aside, will then find perfect expression.
What a revival is worth shows up after its leader is gone:
The revival during Joash's early reign had already lost its hold. It could not have been very deep, if they could turn aside to idols so soon after Jehoiada was gone.
- Cleared — Baal's altars came down before God's order went up. Judging the evil is the first half of every real restoration.
- Written — Jehoiada rebuilt from a text, not from memory: the law of Moses for the offerings, David's arrangement for the praise.
- Given back — oversight of the house went back to the men God had appointed to it, the priests and Levites.
- Joyful — the restored service came "with rejoicing and with singing." Going back to the Word brings gladness, not just correctness.
- Tested — worship that leans on one strong man falls when he dies. Only worship drawn straight from the Word outlasts him.