All attempts to frustrate God’s revealed purpose are foolish and bound to be fruitless.
Who can disannul what God has purposed?
Though the promise be bound up in one life, yet will it not fail.
II Kings 1
1 And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal.
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.
3 And he was with her hid in the house of the LORD six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land.
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.
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;
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
21 Seven years old was Jehoash when he began to reign.
II Kings 1 – J. Vernon McGee
2 Kings 11:1-12 – Crowning the Boy-King.
Athaliah well deserves the title given her in 2 Chronicles 24:7. She usurped the throne, and played in Judah the part of her mother Jezebel. Joram was a wicked man and a bad king, but he recognized the value of piety, and chose the good priest Jehoiada as the husband of his daughter. The husband neutralized the evil influences of his wife’s upbringing and led her into a noble and useful career, the chief episode of which was the rescue of the youngest son of Ahaziah. His nurse and he were hidden in a room where the mattresses were kept in case of a sudden influx of priests at festal times. Is not this hidden king a type of the hiding of the true Prince in the recesses of our hearts, while some Athaliah occupies too large a share of government? There is no alternative but that the evil self-life, our Athaliah, should be stoned.
It was a glad moment when the hidden prince was produced. Many loyal hearts had renounced all hope of again seeing a scion of David’s line. But God kept his promise. The Word of God was a befitting gift to place in the hands of the young prince (v. 12). Compare Deuteronomy 17:18-19. But what a revelation will it be when Jesus assumes the government of the earth, and its kingdoms become the kingdom of God and his Christ! He is now hidden, but he shall be manifested (Colossians 3:4).
2 Kings 11:12—They made him king, and anointed him.
This dexterous overthrow of Athaliah by the bringing of the youthful king, who had been hidden in the secret chambers of the Temple, accommodates itself so obviously to a reference to the inner life, that we must be pardoned for making it.
Is not the spiritual condition of too many children of God represented by the condition of the Temple, during the early years of the life of Joash? The king was within its precincts, the rightful heir of the crown and defender of the worship of Jehovah: but, as a matter of fact, the crown was on the head of the usurper Athaliah, who was exercising a cruel and sanguinary tyranny. The king was limited to a chamber, and the majority of the priests, with all the people, had not even heard of his existence. So, unless we are reprobates, Jesus is within the spirit, which has been regenerated by the Holy Ghost; but in too many cases He is limited to a very small corner of our nature, and exercises but a limited power over our life.
There needs to be an anointing, an enthroning, a determination that He shall exercise His power over the entire Temple of our Being; the spirit, which stands for the Holy of Holies; the soul, for the Holy Place; the body, for the outer court.
Holiness or Sanctification is not a quality or attribute which can be attributed to us apart from the indwelling of the Holy One. If we would be holy, we must be indwelt by Him who is holy. If we would have holiness, we must be infilled by the Holy One. But there must be no limiting of His power, no barrier to His control, no veiling or curtaining of His light. The veil, if such there be, must be rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
2 Kings 11:13-20 – Covenanting to Be the Lord’s People.
The death of Athaliah led the way to a thorough change throughout the kindgom. There was a double covenant, first, between the Lord on the one hand and the king and the people on the other, and second, between the king and the people; then the demolition of the Baal-house, which had sadly profaned the Holy City; and finally regulations for the proper performance of divine worship. These led the way to the public enthronement of the boy-king. The joy and quiet which ensued always follow the casting out of evil. Adjust a nation or an individual to the claims of God, and at once peace and joy succeed. The Lord Jesus, who is now hidden, shall one day be manifested, as we have seen. Those that hate him shall be put to shame. Then shall come salvation and the kingdom of God. Every evil that exalts itself against him shall be cast out, and the nations shall rejoice and be quiet because they have discovered their rightful ruler. Notice the alliance between the young king and the aged priest. It was necessary, under the old Covenant, that the functions of king and priest should be fulfilled by different individuals. The civil and religious elements demanded separate expression, but in Jesus they perfectly blend. He is “a priest upon his throne” (Zechariah 6:13).