2 Chronicles 23:1 – 21 “Joash Anointed King of Judah (2 Kings 11:4-12)
“Then in the seventh year, Jehoiada strengthened himself and made a covenant with the commanders of hundreds—with Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaziah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zichri. So they went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah and the heads of the families of Israel. And when they came to Jerusalem, the whole assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God.
“Behold, the king’s son!” said Jehoiada. “He must reign, just as the LORD promised concerning the descendants of David. This is what you are to do: A third of you priests and Levites who come on duty on the Sabbath shall keep watch at the doors, a third shall be at the royal palace, and a third at the Foundation Gate, while all the others are in the courtyards of the house of the LORD. No one is to enter the house of the LORD except the priests and those Levites who serve; they may enter because they are consecrated, but all the people are to obey the requirement of the LORD. The Levites must surround the king with weapons in hand, and anyone who enters the temple must be put to death. You must stay close to the king wherever he goes.”
So the commanders of hundreds did everything that Jehoiada the priest had ordered. Each of them took his men—those coming on duty on the Sabbath and those going off duty—for Jehoiada the priest had not released any of the divisions. Then Jehoiada the priest gave to the commanders of hundreds the spears and the large and small shields of King David that were in the house of God. He stationed all the troops, with their weapons in hand, surrounding the king by the altar and the temple, from the south side to the north side of the temple.
Then Jehoiada and his sons brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, presented him with the Testimony, and proclaimed him king. They anointed him and shouted, “Long live the king!”
The Death of Athaliah (2 Kings 11:13-16)
When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and cheering the king, she went out to them in the house of the LORD. And she looked out and saw the king, standing by his pillar at the entrance. The officers and trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, while the singers with musical instruments were leading the praises.
Then Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed, “Treason, treason!”
And Jehoiada the priest sent out the commanders of hundreds in charge of the army, saying, “Bring her out between the ranks, and put to the sword anyone who follows her.” For the priest had said, “She must not be put to death in the house of the LORD.”
So they seized Athaliah as she reached the entrance of the Horse Gate to the palace grounds, and there they put her to death.
Jehoiada Restores the Worship of the LORD (2 Kings 11:17-21)
Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and the king and the people that they would be the LORD’s people. So all the people went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols into pieces and killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars.
Moreover, Jehoiada put the oversight of the house of the LORD into the hands of the Levitical priests, whom David had appointed over the house of the LORD, to offer burnt offerings to the LORD as is written in the Law of Moses, with rejoicing and song, as ordained by David. He stationed gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the LORD, so that nothing unclean could enter for any reason.
He also took with him the commanders of hundreds, the nobles, the rulers of the people, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king down from the house of the LORD and entered the royal palace through the Upper Gate. They seated King Joash on the royal throne, and all the people of the land rejoiced. And the city was quiet, because Athaliah had been put to the sword.”
For six LONG years, the nation of Judah has groaned and suffered under the weight of wicked Queen Mother Athaliah’s rule. Daughter of Ahab and Jezebel and granddaughter of Omri, Athaliah came to full power when King Ahaziah was killed at Jezreel by Jehu. Prior to Ahaziah’s death, he was already firmly under Athaliah’s control. Athaliah is a Baal worshiper and has promoted every kind of wickedness; she has probably retained power through threats of murder by witchcraft to anyone opposing her.
Once Ahaziah died, Athaliah proceeded to assassinate all the remaining royal heirs she could find, seizing power completely. But Jehoshabeath understood Athaliah’s schemes and hid little Joash in the priest’s quarters at the temple, one place Athaliah would never touch. Jehoshabeath was the daughter of King Jehoram and Joash’s aunt; she was also married to Jehoiada, the high priest, a true servant of the Lord.
Now Joash is eight years old, and Jehoiada feels it is time to bring Joash out, crown him as king, and eliminate Queen Athaliah. Quietly, Jehoiada contacts the military commanders and brings all of the Levitical priests into Jerusalem to the temple. Next, Jehoiada brings out Joash and crowns him as king in the temple with all the assembly rejoicing, shouting, and blowing shofars and trumpets. When Athaliah hears the noise, she rushes to the temple, only to find that Joash has already been crowned as king and acknowledged as such by all the people.
Athaliah screams and tears her clothes in fury, but nobody comes to help her, and Jehoiada orders that she be removed from the temple and killed outside. Under Jehoiada’s leadership, the people tear down the temple of Baal, smashing its altars and killing Mattan, the priest of Baal. These acts break the power of Baal over the kingdom of Judah. Jehoiada restores regular worship at the temple and also secures guards for little Joash in case there are any other potential usurpers to the throne lurking in the background. After years of turmoil, peace has finally come to Jerusalem.
APPLICATION: Proverbs 29:2 tells us that “When the Godly are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, are in power, they groan.” Looking at current events, we can see the truth of this observation. As of the time of this writing, England has just changed Prime Ministers, and other countries are in disarray. Vladimir Putin has committed the Russian people to an unpopular war in Ukraine. Countries with strong righteous leadership are enjoying peace while others are suffering.
Queen Athaliah was most likely a witch as well as a Baal priestess just like her mother Jezebel. The two sides of the witchcraft coin are rebellion against God and lust for power to control everything. We rebel against God because we lust to control everything we can, forgetting that God is sovereign and omniscient while we are not. When we turn from God for our knowledge and depend on Satan, we are setting ourselves up for disaster.
Recently in our mission hospital, an elderly man who had been a fetish priest repented and repudiated his fetishes. When our chaplain spoke to his children, the chaplain realized that some of the sons still cherished the idea of becoming fetish priests themselves in hopes of gaining spiritual power. But demonic power is an evil delusion! Satan will allow people to have power for long enough for them to commit themselves fully to him while intending to destroy them when he wishes.
Jesus told his disciples in John 10:10 “The thief comes to steal, kill and to destroy, but I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly.” Athaliah served Satan her entire life and died a shameful death as a result. While Athaliah came from a family of Baal worshipers, she still had free will to choose to serve Baal or the God of Israel. Each of us has that same choice. We can choose to serve God and let Him guide us, or we turn from God. Once we turn from God, we are serving Satan, whether or not we realize it. Today, whom will you serve? You are free to choose but realize that you are choosing for eternity.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, let everyone who reads this devotional choose to serve You and only You. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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