2 Kings 11
McGeeCHAPTERS 11 AND 12THEME: Joash, the boy kingThe story of Ahab and Jezebel is not a pretty section, and you probably thought we were through with them, but we are not. While it is true that Jehu had eliminated all the line of Ahab in the northern kingdom of Israel, a daughter of Ahab and Jezebel had married into the southern kingdom of Judah and was at this time the queen mother. Believe me, she took after mama and papa and was the meanest of them all. Her name is Athaliah, and she is going to perform an unbelievably terrible act.
2 Kings 11:1
ATHALIAH MURDERS HER GRANDCHILDRENAs long as Ahaziah had lived Athaliah actually had been the queen because she controlled her son. She was very much like Jezebel. Now that Ahaziah was dead, a grandson would come to the throne and Athaliah did not want that. She was afraid that she would not be able to control him, and she would lose her position. So what did she do? She slew all the line of David that she could get her hands on.
Talk about a bloodthirsty act! She tried to exterminate the line of David. This was another attempt of Satan to destroy the line that is leading to the Lord Jesus Christ. Satan attempted to wipe out the line of David so that the Savior would not be born. Down through the ages the Devil has tried to eliminate the Jews. In Egypt the Lord preserved Moses, and the Jews were not slain but allowed to leave Egypt.
Haman, in the Book of Esther, attempted to exterminate the Jews but was foiled. Satan was behind each of these attempts. Now here is this woman Athaliah attempting to exterminate the line of David. Although she thought she had killed all of them, she missed one, as we are told here.
2 Kings 11:2
She came to the throne after her son was killed and for years she was ruling alonethat was the way she wanted it. But all the while this little boy Joash was growing up.
2 Kings 11:4
JOASH COMES TO THE THRONE OF JUDAHWhen Joash (sometimes called Jehoash) was about seven years old, Jehoiada sent for the rulers, the captains, and the guard. He revealed to them that the king had a son. When they discovered that there was a son in the line of David it brought encouragement, joy, and hope to their hearts. They had had enough of this woman Athaliah anyway, and they jumped at the chance to dethrone her.
2 Kings 11:5
They were to “compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand.” Extra precautions were taken to preserve the life of this little fellow because his life would not have been worth a plugged nickel if Athaliah had been able to get to him. She would have slain him without a qualm although he was her grandson! This woman was as heartless as Jezebel. So the young boy was well protected until the time he could be brought before the people.
2 Kings 11:11
This was a great day for the southern kingdom to crown a king in the line of David. Things had looked very discouraging there for a time.
2 Kings 11:13
ATHALIAH IS SLAINOf course Athaliah had not been invited to the coronation of the king. She evidently was in the palace of David on Mount Zion, which was situated right above the temple area. When she heard the clamor and noise in the temple area, she went there to see what was going on.
2 Kings 11:14
This, of course, was Athaliah’s idea of treason.
2 Kings 11:15
Athaliah tried to flee. There was no way in the world for her to have her trial transferred to another district where she could be expected to receive a fair trial. They just executed her as she fled and saved an appeal to the supreme court. They got rid of her, which was, in my opinion, the proper thing to do at that time.
2 Kings 11:17
REVIVALThe removal of Athaliah took a dark cloud off the southern kingdom. There was a new king, but naturally this little boy had to have counselors to rule in his stead because he was so young. One of them was Jehoiada who had engineered bringing Joash to the throne and executing Athaliah. This is the beginning of a return to God. Jehoiada the priest now leads in a movement to return to the worship of Jehovah. The worship of Baal was prevalent; it had penetrated even into Judah. Probably the people were still going to the temple of the Lord, but they were worshiping Baal at the same time. The same thing is going on today. Many people are religious on Sunday and then live for the Devil the rest of the week. There are many church members doing that today, and they wonder why the church is dead! The explanation is not found in a building; it is found in people. That is where the deadness lies at the present time.
2 Kings 11:18
This is the beginning of a great spiritual movement that is nothing short of a revival.
2 Kings 11:19
What a day of rejoicing this was to have a descendant of David back on the throne and the wicked foreign usurper and her temple of Baal gone from the land!