← Back to sermon library

welcome to everyone you can turn with me in your bibles to psalm 132 for our call to worship psalm 132. and i'll begin reading in verse 1. a song of ascents lord remember david and all his afflictions how he swore to the lord and vowed to the mighty one of jacob surely i will not go into the chamber of my house or go up to the comfort of my bed i will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids until i find a place for the lord a dwelling place for the mighty one of jacob behold we heard of it in ephrathah we found it in the fields of the woods let us go into his tabernacle let us worship at his footstool arise o lord to your resting place you in the ark of your strength let your priests be clothed with righteousness and let your saints shout for joy for your servant david's sake do not turn away the face of your anointed the lord is sworn in truth to david he will not turn from it i will set upon your throne the fruit of your body if your sons will keep my covenant and my testimony which i shall teach them their sons also shall sit upon your throne forevermore for the lord has chosen zion he has desired it for his dwelling place this is my resting place forever here i will dwell for i have desired it i will abundantly bless her provision i will satisfy her poor with bread i will also clothe her priests with salvation and her saints shall shout aloud for joy there i will make the horn of david grow i will prepare a lamp for my anointed his enemies i will clothe with shame but upon himself his crown shall flourish amen well please turn to psalm 72 psalm 72 a as in alpha and we'll sing stanzas five to eight so on the right side the right page psalm 72 a will stand as we sing together is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] foreign [Music] is [Music] is [Music] well let us pray our blessed god and holy father we thank you for the subject matter of that psalm and for the scripture reading at the opening of worship namely the rain and the rule and the glory of king jesus christ we come to you tonight through him we bless you for the salvation of our souls and our bodies we give praise to you for so great a mercy that you have demonstrated to us in the gospel of our lord jesus christ we ask that you would be glorified tonight as we gather together we ask that we would bring praise and honor to one who is worthy and we just pray father son and holy spirit that you would be enthroned upon the praises of your people here we ask that you would forgive us for all of our sin and transgression as ever whenever we come into the presence of a thrice holy god we are mindful of our own waywardness and our own proneness to wander and the proneness to leave the god that we love so lord forgive us now and cleanse us in that precious blood of the lord jesus christ wash us and purify us and fill us with the holy spirit and guide and direct us in this coming week and month and years to come we ask that you would be glorified each and every day in our lives and that you would be pleased to to dwell with us and to show us your nearness as our good we ask you to be merciful to those who are dead in their trespasses and their sins that you would awaken them through the preached word by the power and the presence of the holy spirit and that you would cause sinners to come alive to believe on the lord jesus christ for salvation we asked he would bless our children and young people in this local church we have been blessed richly by you in this regard and so god we commit them to you into the word of your grace and pray that you would look with favor upon them may they take solomon's admonition seriously to remember their creator in their youth and god may you surround them with a hedge of protection and may you just keep them by your grace and for your glory as well god we have several in the hospital we ask that you would look with favor upon mrs fan van shake and give her health and healing we also pray for bev that she would watch over her and just strengthen her physically and spiritually and god we pray as well for mr neufeld we know that now he's in the emergency room and we just pray god in heaven that he'd be able to get the help that he needs as well lord bless little lucy we asked god in heaven that she would continue to respond well and that you would just give her health and strength and cause her to be able to leave soon father we know that you look with favor upon your saints and we know that you not only look on the inner man but the outer man as well and so we trust for each of these that you would watch over them that you would grant them help and strength and that you would cause them lord god in the midst of these trials and afflictions to nevertheless look heavenward to look to the right hand of god most high where christ rules and reigns as well our father we asked he would be gracious and merciful to our fellow churches we thank you that we're not alone in this community we pray for those churches that are holding fast those churches that are preaching the truth we ask that you would just prosper them we ask that you would protect them and grant them help and strength and the grace necessary to persevere as well god we pray for the church in surrey and in vernon and in dryden and the one in honduras as well and god how we thank you that we have this fellowship in the gospel this partnership with like-minded brethren and we pray that your smile would be upon each of these each of these churches and may you bless the word that goes forth from these pulpits and may you be pleased to save sinners and add them to the church of the lord jesus christ and may you be pleased to strengthen and and build up your saints and their most holy faith and cause us all lord god to shine as lights in this crooked and perverse generation and give us the courage and the boldness to hold forth that word of truth and father we pray for your blessing upon this nation we know we don't deserve it and we pray with the prophet that in your wrath you would remember mercy we see all manner of lawlessness and wickedness we see sexual perversion celebrated we see it even legislated now as well god we see the continual attack upon the sixth turn the hearts of sinners back to you we pray that you would give wisdom to our civil government and restrain them from their lawlessness and their wickedness and their evil intentions and god we pray that you would be merciful in this land send forth awakening send forth revival and cause your face to shine upon this nation as well god bless the persecuted church and those persons that are suffering those persons that are in prison those persons that are losing jobs and family and lives god we pray to you that you would undertake on their behalf that you would grant them increased faith that they may be able to persevere and continue to hold fast to the gospel of our salvation and may you cause them lord god to truly demonstrate the love of christ to a lost and dying world and father thank you for this time that we can gather together thank you for the lord's day thank you that we can gather in the house of god on the day of god with the people of god to worship you in spirit and in truth and so we commit ourselves to you now and we ask that you would be pleased to bless this service and we ask in jesus name amen you can turn with me again in your hymn books to number 300 hymn number 300 and we'll stand together as we sing so is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] r is [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] well you can turn in your bibles to the book of leviticus leviticus chapter 12. leviticus chapter 12 remember the main emphasis on the book or of the book of leviticus is to solve the tension that is created at the end of chapter 40 in the book of exodus so they complete the tabernacle the shekinah glory of god descends upon the tabernacle but moses himself was unable to enter in due to the glory of god and so then the book of leviticus comes to introduce or rather to answer the question how does sinful man stand in the presence of a holy god and the way of course is through sacrifice it is through blood atonement as well there's additional legislation given to the nation of israel to separate them from the pagan nations around them much of it is what we refer to as ceremonial law and certainly chapter 12 falls into that particular category so i'll read this brief chapter so leviticus 12 at verse 1. then the lord spoke to moses saying speak to the children of israel saying if a woman has conceived and born a male child then she shall be unclean seven days as in the days of her customary impurity she shall be unclean and on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised she shall then continue in the blood of her purification 33 days she shall not touch any hallowed thing nor come into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled but if she bears a female child then she shall be unclean two weeks as in her customary impurity and she shall continue in the blood of her purification 66 days when the days of her purification are fulfilled whether for a son or a daughter she shall bring to the priest the lamb of the first year as a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering to the door of the tabernacle of meeting then he shall offer it before the lord and make atonement for her and she shall be clean from the flow of her blood this is the law for her who has borne a male or female and if she is not able to bring a lamb then she may bring two turtle doves or two young pigeons one is a burnt offering and the other as a sin offering so the priest shall make atonement for her and she will be clean amen will let us pray our father in heaven we thank you for the written word of god we thank you for this old testament the old covenant system and ritual that prefigured and pointed forward to our lord jesus christ we thank you that on that day when john the baptist laid eyes upon the lord he said behold the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world and as the apostle tells us the blood of bulls and goats could never atone for sin but they did typify they pointed forward to the lord jesus christ god we thank you for that provision in the gospel of our salvation we thank you that you have cleansed us and washed us and purified us and we pray that we would strive to to glorify you each and every day that you would further conform us unto the image of your blessed and beloved son and it's in his name that we pray amen well please turn with me again in your hymn books to 293 hymn number 293 will stand as we sing together [Music] is [Music] uh [Music] is oh [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] is is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] grace [Music] me [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] before i call out the scripture let's pray i noticed that uh dj and and christoph were just called off their firemen so we'll pray and ask god's blessing upon them lord god in heaven we just pray for dj we pray for kristoff we ask that you watch over these men and their fellow firefighters we pray that you would just guide them and lead them and direct them and give them your provision and for whatever the emergency is we just ask god your mercy upon this family upon these people that are affected by this and we ask in the name of the lord jesus christ amen well you can turn in your bibles to second kings chapter 11. second kings chapter 11. a bit of a difficulty to just parachute into the book of second 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 second kings chapter 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 jehoshaba 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 priests 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 priests 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 priests 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 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 jehoiash 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 ah this chapter in your redemptive plan and help us to see lord god the the glory of christ even prefigured and typified in a passage like this as well god we ask that you would be gracious to 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 first and second kings deal with the kings of israel obviously that's what it's about so first king starts with the reign of solomon by the time you get to first kings chapter 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 second kings chapter 17 as a result of their covenant breach with the living and true god and then judah falls in second kings chapter 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 squirrels 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 uh the davidic covenant in second samuel chapter seven 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 one to three secondly the coronation of the king in verses four to twelve 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 the 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 a heziah 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 joe ash 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 jehosh just as joram in both the north and in the south is often referred to as jahoram so it's quite confusing but i think if we confine ourself 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 first kings chapter 16. he married a woman by the name of jezebel now whether jezebel with 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 pluck she was a wretch and so is athaliah so athaliah then became the wife of jehoram the son of jehosh 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 sun 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 azia'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 second kings 11. in genesis chapter 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 chapter 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 second kings chapter 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 joe ash 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 man 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 four 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 1. now a great sign appeared in heaven a woman clothed with the sun with the moon under her feet and honor had 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 second kings chapter 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 5 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 is thrown then the woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place prepared by god that they should feed her there 1260 days so going back to second 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 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 second 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 jehoshaba jehoshaba 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 jehoshaphat jehoshapha sometimes he does it through an aunt that has the wherewithal to hide her nephew from the rage of her murderous uh uh uh of his 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 priests don't forget there will be a quiz the second verse sets a heziah's sister as the savior of ahaziah's baby son against a heziah's mother so there is the emphasis in the pla in the passage but then notice verse 2 jehoshapha 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 for matthew lia 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 doesn't indicate that she reigned for so and for so long and what and for how how the the nature of her kingdom was with typically with the kings you get some sort of a statement concerning whether they were good or bad the amount of time that they reign and typically over which kingdom they reign 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 second samuel 7. turn there with me ii samuel chapter 7. this is the promise concerning the lord jesus christ this is the promise concerning the messiah and specifically we'll we'll just jump down to second p second samuel chapter seven 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 1 verses 30 to 33. this is acts chapter 2 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 chaste 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 remove 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 remove from before you turn over to first kings 14. first 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 1st 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 second 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 first kings chapter 11. first kings chapter 11 just wanting to show that god's providence works consistently with his promise and in first kings chapter 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 first kings 15. first kings 15 at verse 4. 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 jehoshaba and it is the promise of god most high to david that from david's seed there will one 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 david 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 this this cloak room or this room that was a 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 haiti shall not prevail against it if you ever doubt that reflect on second kings chapter 11. if you think the bad guys are going to win go back to second kings chapter 11. if you think that the devil is going to gain ascendancy go back to second kings chapter 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 second kings chapter 11. this is a great statement concerning god's providence he didn't make her to have an aneurysm and die rather he moved johasheba 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 4 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 sun we watch over baby joe ash 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 exceed a seed 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 king 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 nine they protect the baby and then we see the weapons utilize king david's those that were in the temple a good reference to our our uh 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 but 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 in uh 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 some might hear this and think about this in light of second samuel chapter or first samuel chapter eight first samuel chapter eight is when the 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 first samuel chapter eight 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 preparing preserving them than the king yahweh so so that's kind of the way that you should see that but then notice in verse 15 you shall surely set a king over you whom the lord your god chooses 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 who 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 is god and be careful to observe all the words of this law and 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 the the the usurper 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 joe ash 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 trees and in 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 of 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 priests 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 verse uh uh uh the 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 a right 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 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 baalism this is in judah this is in the southern kingdom remember king jehu goes out on a rampage to exterminate the land of baaliza but he's doing that in the north northern baalism shouldn't surprise us because again in first 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 destroyed 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 matan the priest of 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 first 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 and utterly remove it from the holy city and then notice the blessed effects that obtain 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 jehoesh was seven years old when he became king there is a 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 uh revelation chapter 19 after the and the false prophet are destroyed what happens in heaven there is this four-fold alleluia in heaven because god most high rendered just a judgment upon the and upon the false prophet in 2 thessalonians chapter 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 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 of the house of god most high the lord destroys that the lord deals with that 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 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 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 jehoshaba 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 the way it it flows i mean jesus in his earthly life and ministry went about doing good he healed people he raised the daddy he cured people he fed people he he did great and wonderful things and yet they wanted to kill him and ultimately did kill him for the most part christians weren't 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 and yet for that uh a people despise and people reject and people abort 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 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 second samuel 7. ii 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 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 80s aren't going to go quietly but nevertheless christ will build his church so 2nd 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 chapter 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 his 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 2 29 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 2nd samuel 7. in fulfillment of psalm 132 we read at the outset of worship psalm 89 is also a covenant psalm that has has its backdrop second samuel chapter seven 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 20-22 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 that is 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 a nation brethren let's seven second kings chapter 11 and the conduct of jehoshaba 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 jehoshapha 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 he 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 [Music] you