INTRODUCTION
We have had no little political tumult as of late and the sense that God is writing quite a story is inescapable. One gets the sense that He is not dictating this story, but writing it with His own hand. It seems like a pen and pad situation, up close and personal, with the Triune author saying something like, “Do you hear me now?” As I saw one commentator recently say after observing our festive news cycles, “Boy, this America: Season Finale really is something.” Given our riveting times we should prepare to stay riveted; and these rivets should be fastening into something with more staying power than the Breaking News. Lucky for us, our text is more dramatic than our recent happenings, and that is really saying something.
SUMMARY OF THE TEXT
2 Kings 11:1-21
Athaliah was the wife of Jehoram king of Judah. She was a worshipper of Baal like her father Ahab, king of Israel, and his wife Jezebel. Athaliah’s husband died and her son Ahaziah took the throne of Judah only to die himself. Upon hearing of the death of her son and king, Ahaziah, the wicked Athaliah murdered her grandsons—all the seed royal—and claimed the throne of Judah in Jerusalem. But, Jehoiada the High Priest and his wife, Jehosheba, protected one of those grandsons named Jehoash by hiding him in the temple. After raising Jehoash secretly for about six years in the temple, Jehoiada gathered five rulers over hundreds to show them the rightful seven year old king and made a covenant with them to overthrow Athaliah. These gathered Levites and chiefs of the fathers throughout all Judea to Jerusalem. Orderly arrangements were made as they declared Jehoash king, including dividing up the guards and Levites to man certain stations. The guard shielded young King Jehoash as he stood between the temple and the altar.
Jehoiada put the crown upon King Jehoash’s head, gave him the testimony, and anointed him, as the crowd clapped their hands and cried out, “God save the king.” Athaliah, hearing the commotion, hurried to the temple. When she saw the young, crowned king, she cried, “Treason! Treason!” I envision Jehosheba looking on as she leans against a temple pillar with a smirk, eating a biscuit that she baked that morning (alas, this is not in the text). Jehoiada commanded the captains to obtain Athaliah, kill any who assisted her, and escort her out of the temple lest she be killed in it. Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people. The people broke down the house of Baal in Jerusalem, along with his altar and images, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal. Jehoiada appointed officers over the house of the LORD. With all the people and rulers, they brought down the king from the house of the LORD, and he sat on the throne of the kings. The people rejoiced, the city was quiet, and they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king’s house.
COUP AND COVENANT
The key question to answer is, “How many coups do you count?” Are we dealing with an Athaliah coup and a Jehoiada coup? The answer to that is, no. We have one coup. Grasping this point is most essential.
Athaliah had no right to the throne so her actions are a text book coup, a violent and unlawful seizure of the throne. Jehoiada’s business was lawful and righteous. In other words, when Athaliah cried, “Treason!” she was quite mistaken. The key is the covenant God made with David, which promised that a son of David would sit upon the throne.
“Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.” (2 Samuel 7:11-13)
This is the prophet Jeremiah’s understanding: “For thus saith the Lord; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel.” (Jeremiah 33:17)
It is Solomon’s as well: “Therefore now, Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel.” (1 Kings 8:25)
Athaliah was married to a son of David, Jehoram. Her son was a son of David, Ahaziah. But she was a daughter of Ahab, a worshiper of Baal and no son of David. She set herself to slaughter the sons of David and thereby extinguish God’s covenant with him.
AN ATHALIAH AUTOPSY
It is not without reason that the Kings of Israel jingle says “Queen Athaliah was a cat.” She followed in the footsteps of her mother Jezebel. We can learn several things from an Athaliah autopsy. She was the only human to usurp the throne of Judah from the sons of David. It is sons of David all the way down, from Rehoboam to Zedekiah and the Babylonian exile. The covenant promise to David was hanging on by a snotty nosed Jehoash in the temple and Athaliah was doing her best Cruella de Vil to snuff out that divine oath. Her root problem was unbelief and that root problem gave birth to many others . . .
JEHOIADA AND JEHOSHEBA
Jehoiada and Jehosheba are one of the most loveable couples in the Bible. They lived in a nasty time. King Jehoram, Athaliah’s husband, was wicked. His son, Ahaziah was also wicked. Now they had to deal with the wretched cat Athaliah. A house of Baal stood in Jerusalem, likely on Mount Moriah itself. The temple in Jerusalem at which Jehoiada served was falling apart from neglect (2 Kings 12:5). And yet they remained faithful. Athaliah went to slaughter her son’s sons, and Jehosheba, who was Athaliah’s brother and thus aunt to the baby Jehoash essentially says, “Oh no you don’t. I know the promises made to the sons of David.” They are a witness to how one survives a coup . . .
FROM THE TEMPLE TO THE THRONE
The arc of this particular story runs from the temple to the throne. Darkness had descended upon Jerusalem and Judea. But a son of David was in the temple. Many years later another son of David would be in the temple shocking the teachers with his wisdom. As Jehoash stood, crown upon his head between the temple and the altar, it is as if he told that daughter of Ahab, “You seek me? Didn’t you know I must be about my father’s business?”
And this the Greater Jehoash has said (Luke 2:49).