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.

Introduction

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.

Sermon Overview: Four Points

So there's four things we should consider in this particular chapter.

Preservation of the King

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.

Opposition to the Messianic Seed

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.

Providence Through Jehoshabah

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.

Coronation of the King

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.

The Law Given to the King

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.

Execution 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

Restoration of the Covenant

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.

Rejoicing at the Kingdom Restored

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.

Application

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.

Advancement of the Kingdom

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.

Closing Prayer

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.

Scripture References

• Genesis 3:15; 9:6; 38
• Numbers 35
• Deuteronomy 7; 13; 17:14-15
• 1 Samuel 8
• 2 Samuel 7:12; 7:15
• 1 Kings 11:36; 14:14; 15:4; 16; 18
• 2 Kings 11; 17; 24
• Psalm 89; 132
• Proverbs 11:10
• Isaiah 9:6-7
• Matthew 2:16; 4; 16:18
• Luke 1:30-33
• Acts 2:29-30
• Romans 13
• Ephesians 1:20-22
• 2 Thessalonians 1
• Revelation 12:1; 12:5; 19