2Ki 11:1 And Athaliah was the mother of Ahaziah. And when she saw that her son was dead, then she rose up and destroyed all the seed of the kingdom.
2Ki 11:2 But Jehosheba the daughter of King Jehoram, the sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him from among the king's sons who were put to death, him and his nurse, in the sleeping room. And they hid him from the face of Athaliah, and he was not killed.
2Ki 11:3 And he was with her in the house of Jehovah, hiding himself six years. And Athaliah reigned over the land.
2Ki 11:4 And in the seventh year, Jehoiada sent and called the rulers of the hundreds, with the Carites and the runners. And he brought them to him into the house of Jehovah, and cut a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of Jehovah. And he revealed the king's son to them.
2Ki 11:5 And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that you shall do. A third of you shall go in on the sabbath for keepers of the watch of the king's house.
2Ki 11:6 A third shall be at the Sur Gate. A third shall be at the gate behind the runners. And you shall keep the watch of the house, alternately.
2Ki 11:7 And two parts of you, all who go out on the sabbath, they shall keep the watch of the house of Jehovah about the king.
2Ki 11:8 And you shall fully surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand. And he that comes within the ranks shall be put to death. And they shall be with the king as he goes in and comes out.
2Ki 11:9 And the rulers of the hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And each man took his men, going in on the sabbath, with those going out on the sabbath, and came in to Jehoiada the priest.
2Ki 11:10 And the priest gave to the rulers of the hundreds King David's spears and the shields, that were in the house of Jehovah.
2Ki 11:11 And the runners stood, each with his weapons in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, beside the altar and beside the house, by the king all around.
2Ki 11:12 And he brought out the son of the king, and put the crown on him, and the testimony. And they made him king, and anointed him, and clapped their hands, and said, Let the king live!
2Ki 11:13 And Athaliah heard the sound of the runners of the people. And she came to the people, to the house of Jehovah.
2Ki 11:14 And she looked, and, behold, the king was standing by the pillar, according to the custom. And the rulers and the trumpeters were beside the king. And all the people of the land were rejoicing, and blowing with trumpets. And Athaliah tore her clothes, and cried, Treason! Treason!
2Ki 11:15 And Jehoiada the priest commanded the commanders of the hundreds who were set over the army, and said to them, Bring her out to the outside of the ranks; and he who comes after her execute her by the sword. For the priest had said, Do not let her be executed in the house of Jehovah.
2Ki 11:16 And they laid hands on her, and she entered the way of the horse gate to the house of the king, and was executed there.
2Ki 11:17 And Jehoiada cut a covenant between Jehovah and the king and the people to be for a people to Jehovah, and between the king and the people.
2Ki 11:18 And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal and broke it down. They completely smashed its altars and its images. And they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest set guards over the house of Jehovah.
2Ki 11:19 And he took the commanders over the hundreds, and the Carites, and the runners, and all the people of the land. And they brought the king down from the house of Jehovah, and came by the way of the Runners' Gate to the king's house. And he sat on the throne of the kings.
2Ki 11:20 And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet. And they had slain Athaliah by the sword in the king's house.
2Ki 11:21 Joash was a son of seven years when he began to reign.
______________
2Ch 23:1 And in the seventh year Jehoiada made himself strong and took the commanders of the hundreds, even 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.
2Ch 23:2 And they went around in Judah and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the chiefs of the fathers of Israel, and came to Jerusalem.
2Ch 23:3 And all the congregation made a covenant in the house of God with the king, and he said to them, Behold, the king's son shall reign, as Jehovah has spoken of the sons of David.
2Ch 23:4 This is what you shall do: the third of you going in on the sabbath, of the priests, and of the Levites, shall be keepers of the doors;
2Ch 23:5 and a third shall be at the king's house, and a third at the gate of the foundation; and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of Jehovah.
2Ch 23:6 And no one shall enter the house of Jehovah except the priests and those ministering of the Levites; they may go in, for they are holy; and all the people shall keep the watch of Jehovah.
2Ch 23:7 And the Levites shall surround the king, each with his weapon in his hand; and he who goes into the house shall be caused to die; and you be with the king in his coming in and in his going out.
2Ch 23:8 And the Levites and all Judah did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest had commanded. And every man took his men who were to come in on the sabbath, the ones who were to go out on the sabbath. For Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss the divisions.
2Ch 23:9 And Jehoiada the priest gave to the commanders of the hundreds the spears, and the shields, and the bucklers that were King David's, that were in the house of God.
2Ch 23:10 And he stationed all of the people, and each had his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, at the altar, and by the king at the house all around.
2Ch 23:11 And they brought out the son of the king, and put the crown on him, and the testimony, and made him king; and Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and cried, Let the king live!
2Ch 23:12 And Athaliah heard the sound of the people who were running and who were praising the king; and she came to the people in the house of Jehovah,
2Ch 23:13 and looked; and behold, the king was standing by his pillar in the entrance, and the commanders and the trumpets were by the king; and all the people of the land were rejoicing and sounding with trumpets; and the singers with instruments of song, and giving signals to praise; and Athaliah tore her garments and cried, Conspiracy! Conspiracy!
2Ch 23:14 And Jehoiada the priest brought out the commanders of the hundreds, those over the army, and said to them, Bring her out from inside the ranks, and he coming after her shall be caused to die by the sword; for the priest said, Do not put her to death in the house of Jehovah.
2Ch 23:15 And they put hands on her, and she came into the entrance of the Gate of Horses, beside the king's house, and they caused her to die there.
2Ch 23:16 And Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and between all the people, and between the king, to be a people to Jehovah;
2Ch 23:17 and all the people went into the house of Baal and broke it down; yea, they broke down his altars and his images; and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.
2Ch 23:18 And Jehoiada put the offices of the house of Jehovah into the hand of the Levitical priests, whom David had allotted over the house of Jehovah, to offer the burnt offerings of Jehovah, as it is written in the Law of Moses; with joy, and with singing, by the hands of David.
2Ch 23:19 And he stationed the keepers at the gates of the house of Jehovah; and the unclean could not in any way go in.
2Ch 23:20 And he took the commanders of the hundreds, and the honorable ones, and the rulers among the people, and all the people of the land, and brought the king down from the house of Jehovah; and they came in through the Upper Gate to the king's house, and made the king sit on the throne of the kingdom.
2Ch 23:21 And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet. And they caused Athaliah to die by the sword.
Verses 1-3 Summary: At Ahaziah's death, his mother murders the rightful heirs to the throne so she could be queen (Athaliah). Jehosheba (Ahaziah's sister) steals away Joash, (one remaining heir) and hides him in the house of God for six years.
3. Where did Athaliah come from? Athaliah is the daughter of Ahab/Jezebel. She was part of the alliance solidified by Jehoshaphat and Ahab (arranged marriage).
NOTES: The "nurse" hidden with Joash is a wet nurse maid. He is still a baby.
Jehosheba: From H3068 and H7650; Jehovah-sworn
Joash: A form of H3060 - From H3068 and (perhaps) H784; Jehovah fired
Jehoiada: From H3068 and H3045; Jehovah-known
We should not ignore the fact that this is the first time that God's directive/promise to the house of David is usurped. God cannot be happy about this situation. As Christians, we understand the true implication of God's promise to David (fulfilled by Jesus). But in THAT time, Jesus was not on any human radar. Like Jezebel, Athaliah is elevating herself to God status.
(Not unusual for the day).
Verses 4-21, 2 Chronicles 23 Summary: Jehoiada forms a security force to protect Joash. They work in thirds and surround him with protection. Jehoiada brings out Joash and anoints him as king. The troops clap and call out "long live the king." Athaliah hears the commotion and enters the temple. She cries out treason!, for what she saw. Jehoiada orders her execution, only not within the temple. Jehoiada cuts a covenant between the people, and the king to serve Jehovah. The forces take out the Baal worship idols and kill the priest of Baal. Joash is placed on his throne. All the people rejoice!
2nd Chron. 23 Supplemental: 1-3: All of the people are in on this reveal. All the Levites are summoned.
Verse 18 seems to indicate that there was some reinstatement of Levitical priests into the temple (likely banned or limited by the previous two kings).
"the unclean could not in any way go in."-Denotes some lax behavior concerning the temple of Jehovah.
NOTES:
Carites:Perhaps an abridged plural of H3733 in the sense of leader (of the flock); a life guardsman: - captains, Cherethites - Remember David's guards were the Cherethites and Pelethites? These were elite troops. They were more like trained secret service, and they were likely not Jewish. Is is assumed they were mercenaries, so they were not attached to an ideal or political movement. The Carites are assumed to be a similar force. What was the reasoning of this practice and how does it fit into God's plan?
2nd Chronicles 22:11 reveals that Jehosheba is MARRIED to Jehoiada! Talk about the providence of God! Jehosheba was a child of Jehoram, an evil king. So why/how did they know what to do?
It also tells us that the initial; hiding of Joash was in the storage room of the bedroom. The implication is that this was a hurried plan and that any time lost may have cost Joash his life.
There are certainly many things to consider here:
- It's interesting to see ALL the people rejoicing. If Jehoram, Ahaziah and Athaliah were so bad, why didn't the people just do something about it? It's easy to make this sort of observation, but really, most of us would have been in the same boat. We don't have weapons to fight an army. We have little or no real political power. We watch daily as injustices are performed in our own country. It's much more complex than a "simple revolution."
Why does Jehoiada need to cut a covenant between the king/people to be God's people? Didn't God already do this? - True, the law and historical writings were evidence of the covenant between God and His people. The problem is that the covenant was broken! Jehoiada was not going to leave anything to chance. He was making sure everyone understood what they were doing.
Why didn't Athaliah pursue Joash more? She did not know about him? (Doesn't seem likely) She did not consider him a threat? (Not true, he was still an heir) She was sloppy in her administration? That seems most likely. If she was looking for bodies, then someone had to fake it or suffer backlash. It's also possible that someone just told her that the child was killed and she accepted it.
This story is God centric. Look where it all takes place, in His house. Much like how He punishes the panoply of gods in Egypt, He destroys Baal. This was a long time coming. It fulfills not only the prophecy against the house of Ahab, but reveals who IS God. Baal is a constant thorn for Israel, going back to thje wanderings.
No comments:
Post a Comment