*2 Kings 11:1-21
Athaliah, seizing power after her son’s death, is overthrown by Jehoiada the priest who crowns the young prince Joash as king.
- Athaliah’s Usurpation:
- Athaliah, the mother of King Ahaziah of Judah, learns of her son’s death and seizes the opportunity to solidify her hold on power.
- She embarks on a campaign of bloodshed, eliminating potential threats to her rule by executing all the royal heirs.
- The Rescue of Joash:
- Amidst Athaliah’s purge, Joash, the infant son of Ahaziah, is secretly rescued by his aunt, Jehosheba, and her husband, Jehoiada the priest.
- Jehosheba hides Joash in the temple of the Lord, shielding him from Athaliah’s murderous intentions.
- Jehoiada’s Plan:
- Jehoiada, recognizing Joash as the rightful heir to the throne, begins to orchestrate a plan to restore him to power.
- He rallies the support of the priests and Levites, organizing them into a formidable force.
- The Coronation of Joash:
- After six years of covert protection, Jehoiada reveals Joash to the leaders of Judah, declaring him the rightful king.
- The people of Judah gather at the temple and pledge their allegiance to Joash, rejoicing at the prospect of a new ruler.
- The Defeat of Athaliah:
- Athaliah, caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, cries out in protest but is swiftly apprehended by Jehoiada’s forces.
- She is brought to the entrance of the royal palace and executed, bringing an end to her tyrannical reign.
- The Restoration of Worship:
- With Joash securely on the throne, Jehoiada institutes reforms aimed at restoring the worship of the Lord in Judah.
- The temple of Baal is demolished, and its priests are put to death, signaling a return to the worship of Yahweh.
11:1 And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal.
11:2 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.
11:3 And he was with her hid in the house of the LORD six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land.
11:4 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.
11:5 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; 11:6 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.
11:7 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.
11:8 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.
11:9 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.
11:10 And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give king David’s spears and shields, that were in the temple of the LORD.
11:11 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.
11:12 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.
11:13 And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people into the temple of the LORD.
11:14 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.
11:15 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.
11:16 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.
11:17 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.
11:18 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.
11:19 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.
11:20 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.
11:21 Seven years old was Jehoash when he began to reign.