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Well, you can turn in your Bibles 
to 2 Kings chapter 11. 2 Kings chapter 11. It's a bit of a difficulty to 
just parachute into the book of 2 Kings. So I'll read the 
chapter, and then we'll pray, and then I'll give some introductory 
comments, and then we'll look at the chapter in detail. So 
2 Kings 11, beginning in verse 1. When Athaliah, the mother 
of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she rose and destroyed 
all the royal heirs. But Jehoshabah, the daughter 
of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash, the son of Ahaziah, 
and stole him away from among the king's sons who were being 
murdered. And they hid him and his nurse 
in the bedroom from Athaliah, so that he was not killed. So 
he was hidden with her in the house of the Lord for six years, 
while Athaliah reigned over the land. In the seventh year, Jehoiada 
sent and brought the captains of hundreds of the bodyguards 
and the escorts and brought them into the house of the Lord to 
him. And he made a covenant with them and took an oath from them 
in the house of the Lord and showed them the king's son. Then 
he commanded them, saying, This is what you shall do. One-third 
of you who come on duty on the Sabbath shall be keeping watch 
over the king's house. One-third shall be at the gate 
of Sir, and one-third at the gate behind the escorts. You 
shall keep the watch of the house, lest it be broken down. The two 
contingents of you who go off duty on the Sabbath shall keep 
the watch of the house of the Lord for the king, but you shall 
surround the king on all sides. Every man with his weapons in 
his hand. and whoever comes within range, let him be put to death. 
You are to be with the king as he goes out and as he comes in. 
So the captains of the hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada 
the priest commanded. Each of them took his men who 
were to be on duty on the Sabbath with those who were going off 
duty on the Sabbath and came to Jehoiada the priest. And the 
priest gave the captains of hundreds the spears and shields which 
had belonged to King David that were in the temple of the Lord. 
Then the escort stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, 
all around the king, from the right side of the temple to the 
left side of the temple, by the altar in the house. And he brought 
out the king's son, put the crown on him, and gave him the testimony. They made him king and anointed 
him, and they clapped their hands and said, Long live the king. 
Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the escorts and the people, 
she came to the people in the temple of the Lord. When she 
looked, there was the king, standing by a pillar according to custom. 
And the leaders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people 
of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. So Athaliah 
tore her clothes and cried out, "'Treason! Treason!' And Jehoiada 
the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers 
of the army, and said to them, Take her outside under guard, 
and slay with the sword whoever follows her. For the priest had 
said, Do not let her be killed in the house of the Lord. So 
they seized her, and she went by way of the horse's entrance 
into the king's house, and there she was killed. Then Jehoiada 
made a covenant between the Lord, the king, and the people, that 
they should be the Lord's people, and also between the king and 
the people. And all the people of the land 
went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They thoroughly 
broke in pieces its altars and images, and killed Matan the 
priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers 
over the house of the Lord. Then he took the captains of 
hundreds, the bodyguards, the escorts, and all the people of 
the land. And they brought the king down 
from the house of the Lord, and went by way of the gate of the 
escorts to the king's house. Then he sat on the throne of 
the kings. So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the 
city was quiet, for they had slain Athaliah with the sword 
in the king's house. Jehoash was seven years old when 
he became king. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father in heaven, we pray now for wisdom and grace and guidance 
as we consider Holy Scripture. Help us to see this chapter in 
your redemptive plan, and help us to see, Lord God, the glory 
of Christ, even prefigured and typified in a passage like this. 
As well, God, we ask that you would be gracious to instruct 
us and to build us up in our faith, and that you would cause 
us, Lord God, to walk in the fear of the Lord. and in the 
comfort of the Holy Spirit. Bless us now by the presence 
of your Holy Spirit. We pray through Jesus Christ, 
our Lord. Amen. Well, the books of 1st 
and 2nd Kings deal with the kings of Israel. Obviously, that's 
what it's about. So 1st Kings starts with the 
reign of Solomon. By the time you get to 1 Kings 
12, there is a rupture, a division in the kingdom. You have 10 Northern 
tribes and then two Southern tribes. And you have essentially 
the history of Israel and Judah. Israel, the Northern tribes ultimately 
fall in 2 Kings 17 as a result of their covenant breach with 
the living and true God. And then Judah falls in 2 Kings 
24. And so what we have is the preeminence of Solomon and then 
the degradation of the kings beyond that. But what we have 
in this particular chapter is God's protection of the kingdom. The fact that this particular 
woman swirls away this little boy who was the rightful heir 
to the throne of Judah shows us God's protection for his kingdom. It is in light of the Davidic 
covenant in 2 Samuel chapter 7, which I will refer to tonight 
as we move through our exposition. So there's four things we should 
consider in this particular chapter. In the first place, the preservation 
of the king. in verses 1 to 3. Secondly, the 
coronation of the king in verses 4 to 12. Third, the execution 
of the usurper, that's Athaliah, in verses 13 to 16, the grandmother 
of the year. And then fourthly, the restoration 
of the covenant in verses 17 to 21. Now for those who are 
new to the kings, this is a bit of a confusing section because 
you had the same names in both kingdoms. So there was an Ahaziah 
and a Joram in the north. That's the tribes of Israel who 
were sons of Ahab. You also had a Joram and an Ahaziah 
in the south, which was Judah. That was a son and grandson of 
Jehoshaphat. And then the southern Ahaziah 
was a grandson of Ahab. There will be a quiz tonight 
on your way out to see if you're keeping all of these things in 
order. Basically, Jehoshaphat was a godly man. He was a good 
king. He just wasn't that sharp of 
a tool. He made an alliance with Ahab 
that would prove detrimental in a negative way to him and 
to the kings of Judah. So essentially what you have 
here is that the rightful heir to the throne, this fellow called 
Joash, is just a baby, and Athaliah goes on this murderous rampage 
to try to eliminate him so that she can take the throne. So basically, 
with reference to point one, the preservation of the king, 
there's two things we ought to observe. First, there's opposition 
to the kingdom. First, there is opposition to 
the kingdom. God has his kingdom in this world, 
but it's certainly open to threat from the enemies of God. And then secondly, under this 
first point, we'll see the preservation in verses two and three. So let's 
look at verse one. It says, when Athaliah, the mother 
of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed 
all the royal heirs. Something else I should have 
told you is that as Joash is referred to here as Joash, in 
verse 21 he's referred to as Jehoash. Just as Joram in both 
the north and in the south is often referred to as Jehoram. So it's quite confusing, but 
I think if we can find ourselves and our attention to this particular 
section, it should all make sense. So Athaliah was the daughter 
of Israel's Ahab, the northern kingdom, the man Ahab who was 
a wretch. You can read about him in 1 Kings 
chapter 16. He married a woman by the name 
of Jezebel. Now whether Jezebel was Athaliah's 
mother by way of blood, she certainly was by way of example. because 
Athaliah was every bit as much a wretch as was Jezebel. But of course, when Ahab married 
Jezebel, he co-opted Baal worship, and he brought it into the northern 
kingdom. And so this was, in fact, an 
evil man, and as a result, or not as a result, but it certainly 
follows that his daughter would imitate her. One man says, the 
daughter of Ahab certainly imitates Jezebel's decisiveness, cruelty, 
and sheer plot. She was a wretch, and so is Athaliah. So Athaliah then became the wife 
of Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah. So she married, 
again, there was this alliance forged between Ahab and Jehoshaphat 
that would prove negative in terms of the kings of Judah. 
And then Athaliah destroys all the royal heirs. Well, if you've 
read up to this point, you'll notice there's not a lot of royal 
heirs left. There's been a lot of murderous 
rampage. Remember, in a dynastic kingship, it was the son that 
would occupy the throne. So when there was a competing 
king, or when there was a usurper, you took out the babies. You 
took out the sons, you took out the rival king so that you could 
be preeminent. There were brothers of Joram 
that were slain by Joram. There were sons of Joram except 
for Ahaziah that were slain by Arabians. And then you had sons 
of Ahaziah's brothers who were slain by Jehu. Now the ones here 
are most likely Athaliah's grandchildren. They are her grandsons. Now notice 
There is a pattern that we find in this introduction with reference 
to the persecution or the opposition that exists against the kingdom. Turn back to the book of Genesis 
for just a moment. In Genesis chapter 3, and we 
are going somewhere with this, but it's important for us to 
understand the significance of 2 Kings 11. In Genesis 3, on 
the heels of the rebellion of Adam and Eve, God comes to deal 
with them according to their sin. But as well, God makes a 
promise concerning their salvation. And in Genesis 3, at verse 15, 
God says, I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between 
your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head, and 
you shall bruise his heel. There's your theological rationale 
for the enmity that exists against the kingdom of God. There will 
be haters of Christ. There will be opposers of Christ. 
There will be those that want to destroy Christ, and there 
will be those that find every opportunity they can to try and 
get rid of Him. So God gives this messianic promise 
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, and then we see it under threat 
at several places in Scripture. The first one is in Genesis chapter 
38. There's a man by the name of 
Judah, who provides, or rather promises to his daughter Tamar, 
his last son, because her former husbands were wretches and God 
killed them. Well, he didn't deliver on that 
promise. So she, using a covert manner, gets impregnated by him. And it's a dastardly thing for 
us to read, but theologically, praise God Almighty from whom 
all blessings flow. She kept the line open. She kept 
the line going. Messiah must hail from the tribe 
of Judah. And so Judah and Tamar is an 
example where the kingdom, at least in terms of our perception, 
was under imminent threat. In 2 Kings 11, this is a lady 
who Dale Ralph Davis describes is the lady who saved Christmas. 
Joash was a Davidic king. Joash was on his way to the throne. Joash must occupy that throne, 
and yet there's this threat by Athaliah, the usurper. But God, 
in his grace and in his mercy, protects the line. Turn to the 
Gospel of Matthew, Matthew chapter 2. These examples will probably 
be even more relevant to you. Matthew chapter 2, specifically 
in verse 13. I'm sorry, verse 16. Then Herod, 
when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly 
angry, and he sent forth and put to death all the male children 
who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts. from two years 
old and under, according to the time which he had determined 
from the wise men." What's he trying to do? He's trying to 
eliminate Christ. He's trying to dethrone the Davidic 
king. Matthew chapter 4, we have the 
temptation of the devil. The Lord Jesus is led by the 
Spirit out into the wilderness and there he fasts and prays 
for 40 days. The devil seizes upon this opportunity 
to try to derail the messianic plan. And then in Revelation 
chapter 12, I think all of these things are subsumed in this particular 
vision that the seer has in Revelation 12. Notice specifically at verse 
1. Revelation 12 and verse one. 
Now a great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with 
the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland 
of 12 stars. Then being with child, she cried 
out in labor and in pain to give birth. And another sign appeared 
in heaven. Behold, a great fiery red dragon 
having seven heads and ten horns and seven diadems on his heads. 
His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them 
to the earth. And the dragon stood before the 
woman who was ready to give birth to devour her child as soon as 
it was born. Again, the promise of Messiah 
in Genesis 3, and then the threat or the potential loss of Messiah, 
Genesis 38. We see it in 2 Kings 11 with 
murderous usurping Athaliah. You see it with Herod and his 
murder of the innocents. You see it with the devil trying 
to derail the mission of the Messiah. But then notice according 
to verse five, she bore a male child who was to rule all nations 
with a rod of iron and her child was caught up to God and his 
throne. Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she has 
a place prepared by God that they should feed her there 1,260 
days. So going back to 2 Kings chapter 11, You have this woman in league 
with the devil in an attempt to stop the messianic seed. Now, whether she understood all 
of that or not, that's unimportant. The reality is, is that God says, 
I will put enmity. There is persecution of the church 
of Jesus Christ. There is opposition to the mission 
of the Messiah. There is a revolt and a rebellion 
against the living and the true God. This should not catch us 
unawares. This should not surprise us. 
We shouldn't say, wow, I can't believe these things are actually 
plaguing the church. When you look back in the history 
of God's people, there's always something plaguing them. There's 
always something opposing them. There's always something persecuting. 
There's always something trying to oppress. but there's always 
a faithful God who sees them through. There's always a faithful 
God who protects them. There's always a faithful God 
who brings them from point A to point B. So while the story may 
seem a bit sorrowful at times, it's a story filled with joy 
and triumph and victory because of the strong arm of God Most 
High. So back to 2 Kings, we see what 
she does. She tries to destroy all the 
royal heirs, but then notice the preservation of the kingdom 
in the providence of God comes at the point of this lady called 
Jehoshabah. Jehoshabah, she's most likely 
the aunt of this baby boy. Now think about this. The Lord 
could have caused Athaliah to choke on her oatmeal the morning 
of the massacre. The Lord could have caused her 
to have an aneurysm. The Lord could have exploded 
her heart. The Lord could have just taken her out. But we notice 
when we observe God's providence, He doesn't always act that way. 
Even if we might ask Him to act that way, He doesn't always do 
that. Sometimes He does it through the use of unsung heroes. Sometimes 
he does it through the use of a Jehoshabah. Sometimes he does it through 
an aunt that has the wherewithal to hide her nephew from the rage 
of a murderous grandmother. So the daughter, this is the 
daughter of Joram, though not the daughter of Athaliah. She's 
a sister of Ahaziah, the wife of Jehoiada the priest. Don't 
forget, there will be a quiz. The second verse sets Ahaziah's 
sister as the savior of Ahaziah's baby son against Ahaziah's mother. So there is the emphasis in the 
passage. But then notice, Verse 2, Jehoshabah, 
the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash, the son 
of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king's sons who 
were being murdered. And they hid him and his nurse 
in the bedroom from Athaliah so that he was not killed. So 
he was hidden with her in the house of the Lord for six years 
while Athaliah reigned over the land. Now there's no what's called 
regnal formula. It doesn't indicate that she 
reigned for so and for so long and for how the nature of her 
kingdom was. Typically with the kings, you 
get some sort of a statement concerning whether they were 
good or bad, the amount of time that they reigned, and typically 
over which kingdom they reigned. That's not present here. She's 
not treated as a lawful heir to the throne. She is a usurper, 
and while she did reign, it was usurpation, it was wickedness, 
it was betrayal, and it was achieved by this murderous rampage that 
she had undergone. But when it comes to this passage, 
we need to appreciate, as I mentioned, 2 Samuel 7. Turn there with me. 
2 Samuel chapter 7. This is the promise concerning 
the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the promise concerning 
the Messiah. And specifically, we'll just 
jump down to 2 Samuel 7 at verse 12. Notice, when your days are 
fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seat 
after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish 
his kingdom. He shall build a house for my 
name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 
I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commits 
iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with 
the blows of the sons of men. So you've got David and then 
a succession of kings from David that terminates in Messiah. That's 
the nature of the promise. That's Luke chapter one, verses 
30 to 33. This is Acts chapter two, verse 
30. This is where it's connected. 
I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commits 
iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with 
the blows of the sons of men." So the sons of David, subsequent 
to his rule, they did sin. They were chastened. They were 
dealt with. Obviously, that's not a reference 
to the Lord Jesus. But then notice in verse 15, 
but my mercy shall not depart from him as I took it from Saul, 
whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom 
shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall 
be established forever. This is called the Davidic covenant. 
It's the promise of the Messiah, namely Jesus, who would come 
from the seed of David. Now notice specifically verse 
15, but my mercy shall not depart from him as I took it from Saul, 
whom I removed from before you. Turn over to 1 Kings 14, 1 Kings 
chapter 14. Because of this division amongst 
the kingdom, or in the kingdom, the northern tribes were seen 
as the rebels. The northern tribes were seen 
as the ones that caused the problem. It was Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, 
that led this rebellion. And in 1 Kings 14 at verse 14. Moreover, the Lord will raise 
up for himself a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of 
Jeroboam. This is the day. What? Even now. For the Lord will strike Israel 
as a reed is shaken in the water. He will uproot Israel from this 
good land, which he gave to their fathers, and will scatter them 
beyond the river, because they have made their wooden images, 
provoking the Lord to anger. And he will give Israel up because 
of the sins of Jeroboam, who sinned and who made Israel sin. 
So because of Saul, because of Jeroboam, because of the wickedness 
of the northern tribes, God cuts them off. But God promises to 
preserve the southern tribes, even after they're decimated 
by Babylon in 2 Kings. Even after they're decimated, 
there is a remnant. There are survivors. There is 
a glimmer of hope that leads us to the Messiah. And that promise 
is enshrined in the Kings. Look back at 1 Kings 11. 1 Kings 
11, just wanting to show that God's providence works consistently 
with his promise. And in 1 Kings 11, specifically 
at verse 36. "'And to his son, I will give 
one tribe, "'that my servant David may always have a lamp 
before me "'in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for 
myself "'to put my name there.'" And then turn over to 1 Kings 
15. 1 Kings 15 at verse four, "'Nevertheless, for David's sake, 
the Lord is God, "'gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, "'by setting up 
his son after him "'and by establishing Jerusalem.'" So when we get to 
this particular passage, we see that there is something undergirding 
the action of Jehoshaphat. And it is the promise of God 
Most High to David that from David's seed, there will be one 
that rises up whose kingdom will be everlasting. Davis is right. This is, in fact, the lady who 
saves Christmas. Without her, we would not celebrate, 
humanly speaking, obviously, the incarnation of our blessed 
Lord. Davis says, you may not be much 
interested in baby Joash or his plucky aunt who saved him, but 
please try to see God's hand at work long before Luke 2. If Athaliah had her way, there 
would have been no angels. There would have been no shepherds 
or swaddling clothes or good news of great joy. Today, you'd 
better thank God for the lady who saved Christmas. Apart from 
this woman, again, humanly speaking, the Davidic line would have been 
destroyed if she hadn't spirited away this little baby, hadn't 
put him in this cloak room or this room that was a linen closet, 
essentially. It was for bedding clothes. She 
hides him away. while Athaliah's on this murderous 
rampage and there is one spared. Brethren, when Jesus Christ says 
in Matthew 16, I will build my church and the gates of Hades 
shall not prevail against it. If you ever doubt that, reflect 
on 2 Kings 11. If you think the bad guys are 
gonna win, go back to 2 Kings 11. If you think that the devil 
is going to gain ascendancy, go back to 2 Kings 11. If you 
think that there is anything that shall separate us from the 
love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord, go back to 2 
Kings 11. This is a great statement concerning 
God's providence. He didn't make her to have an 
aneurysm and die. Rather, He moved Jehoshaphat 
to be a faithful aunt and to take her little baby nephew and 
hide him away in a linen closet. So there is His providence, but 
it's grounded upon the promise. that he will put enmity between 
the devil and between the seed of the woman. The devil would 
ultimately bruise the heel of the Messiah, but the Messiah 
would crush the head of the devil. That's the promise in Genesis 
3.15 that's programmatic for the rest of the Bible, and that 
is the promise that ultimately is the controlling aspect in 
terms of history. There will be opposition to the 
kingdom. There will be persecution to the kingdom. There will be 
those who rise up and usurp, but God most high will crush 
them. God most high will destroy them, 
and God most high will eliminate them. So let's look at how he 
does that in the instance, again, of the grandmother of the year, 
Athaliah. Before we get to that, let's 
look at the coronation of the king in verses four to 12. So 
essentially, you have Joash revealed in verse 4. And then you have 
these instructions given by the priest in terms of protection. We need a detail. We need a security 
detail. We've got murderous Athaliah 
trying to exterminate the Davidic line. So what do we do? We protect 
the Davidic line. We protect the son. We watch 
over baby Joash. We let him drink his milk, we 
let him wear his diapers, we let him play with his rattles, 
we let him do with all of that stuff until he can accede the 
throne and do what God had called him to do. So we have this detail 
to protect him, and then the specific purpose is evidenced 
in verse 8. Notice, but you shall surround 
the king on all sides, every man with his weapons in his hand. and whoever comes within range, 
let him be put to death. You are to be with the king as 
he goes out and as he comes in." Kind of indicates that they didn't 
take usurpation lightly in the tribes of Judah. If you were 
a murderous Athaliah and they were keen to you, you were basically 
then put on a watch. And that's what happens in this 
instance. Robert Alter says, Joash, after 
having been kept hidden almost seven years, must be zealously 
protected in this moment of the transfer of power. And then notice, 
the security detail complies. In verse 9, they protect the 
baby. And then we see the weapons utilized, King David's, those 
that were in the temple, a good reference to David. And then you have the coronation 
in verses 11 to 12. Notice, the escort stood, every 
man with his weapons in his hand, all around the king, from the 
right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, by the 
altar in the house. And he brought out the king's 
son, put the crown on him, and gave him the testimony. The testimony 
is likely the law of God. Deuteronomy 17 was a law in terms 
of the kings of Israel. That if every king of Israel 
had of complied with that law, things might have looked a bit 
differently. In fact, let's look at Deuteronomy 
chapter 17. It is most important in terms 
of the kings of the covenant people. Deuteronomy chapter 17, 
sorry. Deuteronomy 17 at verse 14, when 
you come to the land in which the Lord your God is giving you 
and possess it and dwell in it and say, I will set a king over 
me like all the nations that are around me. Somebody hear 
this and think about this and light a second Samuel chapter 
or first Samuel chapter eight. 1 Samuel chapter 8 is when the 
children of Israel cried out for a king. Well, if God knew 
and God legislated and God gave conduct and laws for a monarchy, 
then what was the problem in 1 Samuel chapter 8? It wasn't 
monarchy per se, it was to be like all the nations around them, 
and it was monarchy to protect and save them. In other words, 
they misplaced their trust. They thought a human king would 
be better engaged in preserving them than the king Yahweh. So that's kind of the way that 
you should see that. But then notice in verse 15, one from among your brethren. 
You don't get a pagan, you don't get a heathen. You shall set 
as king over you. You may not set a foreigner over 
you who is not your brother, but he shall not multiply horses 
for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply 
horses. For the Lord has said to you, 
you shall not return that way again. Neither shall he multiply 
wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he greatly 
multiply silver and gold for himself. Also it shall be, when 
he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write 
for himself a copy of this law in a book from the one before 
the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and 
he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn 
to fear the Lord his God, and be careful to observe all the 
words of this law in these statues. that his statutes, that his heart 
may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from 
the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that 
he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children 
in the midst of Israel." So while this little boy likely couldn't 
write the testimony out himself, it was provided for him with 
the understanding that when he takes the Davidic throne, he 
meditates upon it, he reads it, it regulates his conduct, it 
regulates his life. But then notice in the midst 
of this, notice what happens in terms of the usurper. And that brings us thirdly to 
the execution of Athaliah. Look at verses 13 to 16. Now, 
when Athaliah heard the noise of the escorts and the people, 
she came to the people in the temple of the Lord. Wouldn't 
you have loved to be a fly on the wall? Wouldn't you have loved 
to have been somebody at that point to watch Athaliah? I mean, 
this woman gets what she wants. And if she doesn't get what she 
wants, she'll make sure she gets it, even down to shedding the 
blood of her little grandsons. If that's what it takes, sometimes 
if you're making an omelet, you gotta crack a few eggs. Well, 
to see this woman would have been so awesome. And then to 
see what plays out would have been so awesome. But notice, 
she sees, and she comes, and then she looks, according to 
verse 14. There was the king standing by 
a pillar, according to custom, and the leaders and the trumpeters 
were by the king. All the people of the land were 
rejoicing and blowing trumpets. She forgot about Joash. She forgot 
about the baby. She didn't check the linen closet. 
She doesn't realize there's a legitimate heir to the throne. She sees 
this and now she's perplexed. And then look at what she has 
the gall to actually announce. All the people of the land were 
rejoicing and blowing trumpets. So Athaliah tore her clothes 
and cried out, treason, treason. She'd fit well with the modern 
left, the absolute opposite of what is reality, the absolute 
contrast of what is the case. She's the treacherous one. She's 
engaged in treason. She's been on a murderous rampage. 
She's got blood dripping off her hands, and now she sees the 
legit king, and she has the gall to cry, treason, treason. Matthew Henry said, she herself 
was the greatest traitor and yet was first and loudest in 
crying treason, treason. Those that are themselves most 
guilty are commonly most forward to reproach others. I think they 
call that projection, don't they? Dale Ralph Davis says, one marvels 
that a usurper could use that word with a straight face. How does she do this? What's 
the matter with her? There is something foul and polluted 
and wretched in her soul. And so what she has coming to 
her in this narrative is just, it's righteous, it's good, it's 
holy. Usurpation against the Davidic 
king demands execution. And while we don't typically 
truck in that concept today, It's a biblical concept. Whoever 
sheds man's blood, by man his blood will be shed. For in the 
image of God, he made man. Genesis 9, verse 6. Romans 13. The sword given to the magistrate 
by God himself is for the purpose of the execution of criminal 
offenders. It's not for the purpose of ceremony. It is rather evidence or demonstration 
of the fact that they have the power to terminate life. There 
are three legitimate reasons to kill people in the Bible. 
First, self-defense. You have a biblical right to 
defend yourself. Secondly, lawful war. Read Deuteronomy chapter 7. There 
was God commanding the children of Israel to engage in holy war 
against the Canaanites. Romans 13, the same thing. The 
magistrate bears the sword, not just to punish criminal offenders 
in society, but as well to punish those from outside that seek 
to do harm to the body politic. And then of course, thirdly, 
capital punishment. It is a biblical concept. It 
is a biblical mandate. It is a biblical commandment. 
And in Numbers 35, we read that God is not satisfied when a murderer 
is not executed by the civil state. So this is lawful, it 
is legit, and it is just and right. And this is what she had 
coming to her. Notice in verse 15, Jehoiada 
the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers 
of the army, and said to them, take her outside under guard 
and slay with the sword whoever follows her. You're not supposed 
to join a usurper. You're not supposed to engage 
in rebellion. You're not supposed to commit 
treason. If you've ever read Deuteronomy 
chapter 13, you'll see that God means business in this whole 
issue. But here, specifically, the instruction 
is given by Jehoiada, and then notice, middle of verse 15, For 
the priest had said, Do not let her be killed in the house of 
the Lord. And then verse 16, So they seized her, and she went 
by way of the horse's entrance into the king's house, and there 
she was killed. This is the just recompense for 
the enemies of the kingdom of God most high. And then notice 
fourthly and finally the restoration of the covenant. See, there was 
this bump in the covenantal road, and now it's time to restore 
that, it's time to renew that, it's time to order things aright. 
They've dispatched Athaliah, the usurper, Joash is now occupying 
the throne, and so therefore, Jehoiada makes the good call 
here to renew the covenant. Now the renewal was of a previously 
made covenant. Matthew Henry explains, covenants 
are of a use both to remind us of and to bind us to those duties 
which are already binding on us. So this wasn't a brand new 
covenant. You see this again in Israel's 
history. They kind of go like this. And 
when they're on the upswing, typically or at times, they have 
a covenant renewal where they swear fidelity to Yahweh, King 
of Israel. And so Jehoiada makes the good 
call here. So notice in verse 17, he made a covenant between 
the Lord, the King and the people that they should be the Lord's 
people and also between the King and the people. You see the priest 
is helping because the son or rather the King is just a little 
fellow at this particular point. But then notice, when this covenant 
is renewed, there's something interesting that goes alongside 
of it. We've got renewal of covenant with Yahweh, but that also implies, 
well here it's explicit, the destruction of anything that 
gets between us and Yahweh. So look at verse 18, they destroy 
Baal-ism. This is in Judah. This is in 
the Southern kingdom. Remember King Jehu goes out on 
a rampage to exterminate the land of Baal-ism. But he's doing 
that in the North. Northern Baalism shouldn't surprise 
us because again, in 1 Kings 16, when Ahab marries Jezebel, 
he brings Baalism right into the Northern Kingdom. But this 
is the South. This is in Judah. There is a 
temple to Baal in Judah at this present time. Robert Alter again 
says, this is new information, that during Athaliah's reign, 
a functioning temple of Baal stood in Jerusalem. We are probably meant to infer 
that Athaliah, in addition to her murderous lust for power, 
followed the pagan ways of her mother Jezebel and encouraged 
a cult of Baal in Jerusalem. It's bad stuff. Horrible stuff. But this is what is consistent 
with renewal of covenant. Sort of like the Lord's Supper. 
When we gather together to celebrate the supper, that is a covenant 
renewal ceremony of sort. We're not only swearing in essence 
our fidelity to our blessed Lord, but we're tacitly saying we don't 
want to do the things that typify us as sinners. We want to resist 
that. We want to reject that. We want 
to walk faithfully before our gracious God. So notice in verse 
18, they destroy this temple to Baal. And all the people of 
the land went down to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They 
thoroughly broke in pieces its altars and images and killed 
Matin the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed 
officers over the house of the Lord. A true commitment to the 
living and true God necessarily involves repentance. It necessarily 
revolves a turning of our backs to sin. It's faith to lay hold 
of the promises of God, specifically justification by faith alone 
in our Lord Jesus Christ, where we receive all of the blessed 
provisions that He secured for sinners in His life, death, and 
resurrection. But when we believe, there is 
also repentance. Faith and repentance are two 
sides of the same coin. We don't continue in Baal worship 
as we subscribe to the faith concerning our blessed Jesus. This is why at Mount Carmel in 
1 Kings chapter 17, the prophet Elijah lays down the gauntlet. Choose you this day whom you 
will serve. If God is God, then serve Him. 
If Baal is God, then serve Him. You need to fish or cut bait. 
You need to renew the covenant, but that renewal of covenant 
implies a rejection of sin and wickedness. Davis again says 
the sequence between verses 17 and 18 is important. Covenant 
leads to destruction. If there is fidelity to Yahweh, 
verse 17, all that attempts to sap and seduce that fidelity 
must be thrown down. Verse 18, when truth reigns, 
the false must be eliminated. He goes on to say, you can't 
have a solid covenant victory unless all that sabotages the 
covenant is eliminated. So that is a consistent situation. Verse 17, fidelity to God. Verse 18, the extermination of 
Baalism from the confines of Jerusalem. Get it out, destroy 
all the vestiges of it, ruin it and utterly remove it. from the holy city. And then 
notice the blessed effects that obtained for the people in verses 
19 to 21. Joash is enthroned according 
to verse 19. Look at the end. Then he sat 
on the throne of the kings. So the chapter begins with Athaliah 
in murderous rage. The chapter ends with her dead, 
with the priests of Baal dead, with the temple of Baal destroyed, 
and with Joash occupying the throne. What kind of effect does 
that have upon the people of God? So all the people of the 
land, verse 20, rejoiced, and the city was quiet, for they 
had slain Athaliah with the sword in the king's house. Jehoash 
was seven years old when he became king." There is a biblical reality 
to that. When God takes out the wicked, 
it's an occasion for rejoicing for the righteous. Now New Testament 
or 21st century Christians typically have a tough time with this, 
but you need to just focus on the scripture. In Revelation 
chapter 19, after the whore and the false prophet are destroyed, 
what happens in heaven? There is this four fold hallelujah 
in heaven because God most high rendered just judgment upon the 
whore and upon the false prophet. In 2 Thessalonians 1, the apostle 
Paul tells us that it's just with God to repay with affliction 
those who trouble you. In other words, those who continue 
to molest the church, those who continue to try to derail the 
kingdom, those who try to get in the way of the progress of 
the building of the house of God Most High, the Lord destroys 
them. The Lord deals with them. The 
Lord does bring destruction and the people of God rejoice. For 
they had slain Athaliah with the sword in the king's house. 
And Joash was seven years old when he became king. Proverbs 
11.10 says, when it goes well with the righteous, the city 
rejoices. And when the wicked perish, guess 
what there is? There is jubilation. Now, brethren, 
I'm not suggesting we go dance on the graves of the wicked. 
That's not my suggestion here. But when God Most High acts in 
providence and takes out a threat to his church, the children of 
God rejoice in his kindness. I don't know where we lost this 
in the church. Oh, you can't rejoice in that. 
Why not? He was an enemy of Christ. He 
was a God-hating rebel. He legislated immorality. He 
was a complete lawless fellow. He was an Athaliah trying to 
exterminate the very kingdom of Christ itself. And God took 
him out. What are we supposed to do? Well, 
listen to Solomon. When it goes well with the righteous, 
the city rejoices. And when the wicked perish, there 
is jubilation. So in conclusion, in terms of 
the kingdom of Christ, three observations. First, there will 
be opposition. There will be opposition. You 
don't simply need to read about Jehoshabah squirreling away her 
nephew from her murderous stepmother, Athaliah. Rather, you can go 
to the New Testament and hear the words of the Lord Jesus in 
the upper room discourse. He says, if the world hated me, 
they're going to hate you as well. That's simply the way it's 
going to be. It is mind boggling. It is perplexing. It is completely unsensical in 
terms of the way it flows. I mean, Jesus in his earthly 
life and ministry went about doing good. He healed people. 
He raised the dead. He cured people. He fed people. 
He did great and wonderful things. And yet they wanted to kill him 
and ultimately did kill him. For the most part, Christians 
were obviously not as good as Jesus in terms of his earthly 
ministry. but we pay our taxes, we try 
to do what we're supposed to do, we try to maintain fidelity 
in our workplaces, and yet for that, people despise and people 
reject and people abhor. It's not the conduct necessarily, 
it's the claim, it's the confession, it's the reality that there is 
but one only, the living and the true God, and He is Father, 
Son, and Holy Spirit. And this God has said that apart 
from his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, you will perish in your 
sin. It is that that produces the 
offense. And because men can't get to 
God, they oftentimes target the church. Because Athaliah couldn't 
get to God, she goes after the heirs to the throne. Secondly, 
there will be this advancement of the kingdom in spite of the 
opposition. in spite of the opposition. I'm 
always reminded in this connection of Matthew 16. He says, I will 
build my church. And again, this is connected 
to 2 Samuel 7. 2 Samuel 7 is about a son of 
David that builds a house for God. And in Matthew 16, Jesus 
says, who do men say that I, the son of man am? And Peter 
says, you are the Christ, the son of the living God. And it's 
on the heels of that confession that Jesus says, I will build 
my church. You have a son of David slash 
son of God who builds a house for God. And he makes that claim. And then he says, the gates of 
Hades shall not prevail against it. But what do we take from 
that statement? The gates of Hades will try to 
prevail against it. The gates of Hades will put up 
a defense. The gates of Hades will try to 
run interference. The gates of Hades aren't going 
to go quietly. But nevertheless, Christ will 
build his church. So 2 Samuel 7, the promise concerning 
David's son and the fact that the light and the lamp of David 
would not be extinguished is blessed. It is true. Turn to 
Luke 1. Luke chapter 1, just to see this 
brought together in the person and in the work of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. So in terms of the advancement 
of the kingdom, you have the promise of God come to fruition 
or realization in in the Lord Jesus Christ. And in Luke 1 at 
verse 30, notice, then the angel said to her, do not be afraid, 
Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will 
conceive in your womb and bring forth a son and shall call his 
name Jesus. He will be great and will be 
called the son of the highest. And the Lord God will give him 
the throne of his father, David. And he will reign over the house 
of Jacob forever and of his kingdom, there will be no end. Look at 
Acts chapter 2, Peter preaching on the day of Pentecost, and 
he highlights the true humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ. He 
highlights the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ, and then 
he highlights the resurrection and ascension of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. But notice specifically what 
he says in verse 30, connected to our theme. that God had promised 
to David that from David's line there would rise up a son, and 
that son would build a house for God, and his kingdom would 
have no end. He will reign forever. So look 
at 229. Men and brethren, let me speak 
freely to you of the patriarch David. that he is both dead and 
buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being 
a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him 
that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would 
raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he foreseeing this 
spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul 
was not left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. So 
you see, at the resurrection, when Jesus ascends on high, He 
takes David's throne in fulfillment of 2 Samuel 7. In fulfillment 
of Psalm 132, we read at the outset of worship. Psalm 89 is 
also a covenant psalm that has as its backdrop 2 Samuel 7. So 
the promise of God fuels the kingdom of God, and the presence 
of Christ is the best demonstration of that. Davis, again, makes 
this comment in his commentary. You must see this as your anchor, 
not the secret reign of Joash, for there is a far greater than 
Joash who reigns now. David's descendant and Joash's 
descendant, Jesus the Lord. And the rulers of this age and 
the pagans around you don't know this secret, but you do if you've 
swallowed Ephesians 1, 20 to 22. This is what puts iron in 
your guts and makes you able to resist any other power that 
tries to control you. Knowing there is a legitimate 
king who secretly reigns, keeps you from despair while the pretenders 
carry on. And then in Isaiah the prophet 
in chapter 9, again a very familiar text at this time of the year. 
Verse 6 tells us who the king is. Verse 7 describes his kingdom. And what is intriguing is the 
way that the kingdom is advanced. I'll just read the text and then 
we'll close. For unto us a child is born, 
unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder, 
and his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting 
Father, Prince of Peace. So that's the description of 
the king. Now let's listen to the description of the kingdom. 
of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end, 
upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to order it 
and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, 
even forever. Now listen, the zeal of the Lord 
of hosts will perform this. Let the Athaliahs rage. Let the pagans and the heathens 
rage. Let them get into their mutiny. 
Let them raise their fist at Yahweh and at His Christ, because 
God Most High has promised that His kingdom will be forever. God most high has promised that 
that kingdom will advance. God most high has promised that 
that kingdom will be made up of a great multitude that no 
man can number from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 
Brethren, let's 2 Kings chapter 11 and the conduct of Jehoshabba 
encourage your soul that in the midst of the opposition we face 
going forward, and it may get worse here in North America, 
King Jesus reigns, King Jesus rules, and King Jesus has purpose 
to bring his bride home, and he has purpose to crush his enemies. He must reign till all of his 
enemies are made what? His footstool. He will crush 
the opposition. He will remove the Athaliahs. 
They will not obtain in the new Jerusalem. It will simply be 
those who are bought by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, 
we thank you for this encouraging passage of Holy Scripture. We 
thank you for this unsung hero, Jehoshaphat, and what she did 
in terms of the preservation of the kingdom. And we know that 
this is according to your providence, according to your plan. consistent 
with your promise and your power to not only bring the kingdom, 
but to advance it, to secure it, to stabilize it, and to bring 
it to that consummate glory. God, encourage our hearts and 
strengthen us in the faith and cause us to walk by faith in 
the son of God who loved us and who gave himself for us. And 
may we look through all of the muck and all of the distress 
and all of the affliction that we presently witness in this 
current evil world to that calm dignity in the throne room of 
God almighty. where the Lord Jesus Christ rules 
and reigns from the right hand of the Father. And we ask that 
you would bless the preaching of your gospel as it goes forth. 
May it conquer and bring sinners into that blessed kingdom of 
the Son of your love. And we ask this in the name of 
the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. We'll close with a brief 
time of meditation.