Jehoiada: The Faithful Priest (2 Kings 11)
Jehoiada: The Faithful Priest
2 Kings 11
You may have noticed that this sermon is not about one of the kings to rule over Israel, but is instead concerning one of Israel’s priests.
The fact is, at this time, Judah has no king.
The previous king was named Ahaziah, and since he was Ahab’s grandson, and Joram’s friend, Jehu shot him, hunted him down and killed him.
The throne is seemingly open.
As you will see, one will quickly rise to usurp authority.
Her name is Athaliah.
She is Jezebel’s daughter, she will seize the throne,
And because of her actions, not only does Judah
Become dangerously close to ruin,
But the Messianic line nearly gets wiped out.
But that sets the stage for the rise of a true hero.
If we did a survey this morning,
I wonder how many in here ever heard of Jehoiada?
Yet he truly is one of the bright spots in Israel’s dark history.
This man rose from obscurity
To save the nation of Judah and the Messianic kingly line.
As you know, God had made a promise:
2 Samuel 7:12-13 “When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. “He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”
Psalms 132:11-12 “The LORD has sworn to David A truth from which He will not turn back: “Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne. “If your sons will keep My covenant And My testimony which I will teach them, Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forever.”
And at the present time, that promise is dangerously close to failing.
Until God raises up this faithful priest to stand in the gap
And save the promise of a Messiah.
There are four divisions to our text this morning.
#1 HIS COURAGE SAVED A LINEAGE
2 Kings 11:1-3
Of course you already noticed that Athaliah
Proved to be a chip right off the old block.
She is Jezebel all over again.
The easiest way to maintain control is to kill all who oppose you,
And that is precisely what she attempted.
“When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she rose and destroyed all the royal offspring.”
Don’t misunderstand.
This is not an act of revenge over her deep despair over losing a son.
Any woman who would kill all her grandchildren
Certainly had no qualms about killing a son.
(Most likely she would have killed him too)
What this is about is a woman seeing a real opportunity to seize the throne,
And she chose to take it.
But before she could take the throne unchallenged,
She first had to eliminate any and all competition,
So she starts killing “the royal offspring.”
(2-3) “But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and placed him and his nurse in the bedroom. So they hid him from Athaliah, and he was not put to death. So he was hidden with her in the house of the LORD six years, while Athaliah was reigning over the land.”
So you will see, we have here an act of bravery, by a significant woman.
“Jehosheba” rescues one of the children.
She was able to get access to the children
Because she was related to the royal family.
She was the daughter of “King Joram, sister of Ahaziah”.
This means she was at the very least a step-daughter of Athaliah,
And possibly even her biological daughter.
And she saves the day by hiding this child in the temple for six years.
WELL WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH JEHOIADA?
2 Chronicles 22:11-12 “But Jehoshabeath the king’s daughter took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and placed him and his nurse in the bedroom. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah), hid him from Athaliah so that she would not put him to death. He was hidden with them in the house of God six years while Athaliah reigned over the land.”
So not only was she Ahaziah’s sister, but she was also Jehoiada’s wife.
No doubt he was in on the scheme and according to Chronicles
Was also one of the ones who hid the boy.
It was courageous on both their parts,
Certainly an act inviting a death sentence,
But a risk they gladly took.
And their courage actually saved a lineage.
HOW?
Allow me to refresh your memory on the state of this lineage.
Start with Jehoshaphat.
Jehoshaphat had seven sons,
Any one of them had a blood right to the throne of Israel.
However:
2 Chronicles 21:3-4 “Their father gave them many gifts of silver, gold and precious things, with fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn. Now when Jehoram had taken over the kingdom of his father and made himself secure, he killed all his brothers with the sword, and some of the rulers of Israel also.”
So now there is only Jehoram
And any possible sons that survived as offspring of his brothers.
Jehoram also had sons.
2 Chronicles 22:1 “Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place, for the band of men who came with the Arabs to the camp had slain all the older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign.”
And so at this point,
• Ahaziah is alive,
• Ahaziah’s cousins are alive (Jehoshaphat’s surviving grandsons)
• Ahaziah’s nephews are alive (the surviving children of Ahaziah’s brothers)
But something else occurred.
2 Chronicles 22:8 “It came about when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he found the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers ministering to Ahaziah, and slew them.”
Jehu slew all of Ahaziah’s cousins and nephews.
And then:
2 Chronicles 22:9 “He also sought Ahaziah, and they caught him while he was hiding in Samaria; they brought him to Jehu, put him to death and buried him. For they said, “He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart.” So there was no one of the house of Ahaziah to retain the power of the kingdom.”
SO NOW IF YOU ARE KEEPING TRACK.
• All of Jehoshaphat’s boys are dead.
• All of Jehoshaphat’s grandsons are dead.
The only remaining heirs to the throne of David
Are the sons of Ahaziah.
The Arameans and Jehu have killed everyone else.
And now, Athaliah has declared war on the sons of Ahaziah.
If Jehoiada and his wife had not rescued this one boy,
David’s line would have been completely extinct.
That is how close Satan came to completely extinguishing the Davidic line,
And ruining the coming of the Messiah.
If Satan succeeds then there is no kingly line of David.
Furthermore there is no Joseph and Jesus has no link to the throne.
What Jehoiada did was huge.
He saved the kingly lineage of David by protecting
The only living heir to the throne of the house of David.
His courage saved a lineage
#2 HIS COUNSEL FORGED A KING
2 Kings 11:4-12 (4-8)
Now you instantly notice that Jehoiada also has a plan for not only sparing this boy’s life but for also seating him upon the throne.
His plan is wordy, but simple.
Around the temple, there were two different groups of guards.
They exchanged duties on the Sabbath.
Some came in on the Sabbath (vs. 5)
Some went out on the Sabbath (vs. 7)
Jehoiada’s plan was this.
Those of you coming in, come in as usual.
Those of you going out, instead go and surround the king.
Verses 9-11 reveal that this is exactly what they did.
And so in one swift tactical move,
Jehoiada has brought in enormous protection for this young king.
And then comes the coronation.
(12) “Then he brought the king’s son out and put the crown on him and gave him the testimony; and they made him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, “Long live the king!”
And so we see why Jehoiada put the entire defense together.
He planned on taking a huge risk and a giant step of faith
To stand right in the face of Athaliah
And put David’s king back on the throne.
In fact Chronicles reveals that as his motive.
2 Chronicles 23:3 “Then all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And Jehoiada said to them, “Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as the LORD has spoken concerning the sons of David.”
This man had a conviction, and he would see it done.
But his motive was more than just to crown the rightful king.
He also insisted upon it being done correctly.
Not only has he raised this boy in the temple for 6 years.
(In fact Chronicles later refers to Jehoiada as a father to Jehoash)
But notice that Jehoiada gives him more than just a crown.
He also gave him “the testimony”
Deuteronomy 17:18-20 “Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. “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, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left, so that he and his sons may continue long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel.”
Moses foresaw a day when Israel would have a king,
And the most important thing for that king to do would be
To familiarize himself with the word of God.
There was no substitute for obedience to God’s word
And the king above all people should know it.
While it’s obvious that God’s word has been ignored
Here is one man who refused to let it go away.
Jehoiada started this boy out right.
• He didn’t need lessons on etiquette…
• He didn’t need fencing lessons…
• He didn’t need military or war strategy lessons…
• He didn’t need economic study…
HE NEEDED TO SATURATE HIMSELF IN THE WORD OF GOD
And as a quick side note let me add, that is what we all need as well.
There is no substitute for Bible reading.
You have to put His word in your mind and in your heart.
Psalms 119:11 “Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.”
2 Peter 3:17-18 “You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”
We have to get into the word of God.
(That’s why I’m excited about the new Sunday School literature)
There is no substitute for submerging yourself in Scripture.
Jehoiada knew that, and he made sure that with a crown,
Jehoash received the word of God.
He was not only saving a lineage, he was forging a king.
#3 HIS COMMAND REMOVED A TYRANT
2 Kings 11:13-16
The kingdom is obviously excited.
They finally had a king, and not some wicked queen.
And during the celebration Athaliah hears it and searches it out.
(14) “She looked and behold, the king was standing by the pillar, according to the custom, with the captains and the trumpeters beside the king; and all the people of the land rejoiced and blew trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, “Treason! Treason!”
Now you and I know she had no right to the throne, but do understand.
• She had been queen for 6 years.
• Previously her son had been king.
• Before that, her husband had been king.
• It was Jehoshaphat who chose her as a bride for his son.
This woman has been around a long time.
So when she cries treason, it could have been a real tense moment.
You could really see people freeze in confusion.
Certainly the newly crowned 7 year old king didn’t know what to do.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
There again, the man of the hour steps forward.
He knew what to do, and he knew what had to be done,
And furthermore he did not mind giving the command.
VERSES 15-16
This was a wicked woman of the house of Ahab,
She was a usurper to the throne and an idol worshiper
And there was but one fate suitable.
Jehoiada was man enough to see it done.
His courage saved a lineage His crowning forged a king His command removed a tyrant
#4 HIS COVENANT REVIVED A NATION
2 Kings 11:17-21
And what a great covenant!
(17) He “made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people, that they would be the LORD’S people…”
If you will remember, this is what Elijah had wanted many years earlier.
1 Kings 18:21 “Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word.”
Elijah was sickened by the growing pluralistic attitude in Israel.
Those people were riding the fence.
But now, what Elijah longed for is coming to pass.
It is time for Israel to be “the LORD’S people.”
And isn’t that a great distinction.
Leviticus 26:12 “I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.”
It speaks of a people wholly devoted to God.
A people who love Him with all their heart and soul.
A people who live for Him and through Him.
A people whose very identity is bound to Him.
They are not just anybody, they are God’s people.
And over and over throughout the pages of the Old Testament,
Israel is called “My people”
When Moses went to Pharaoh, he said, “Let My people go”
And when the Messiah came, it was clear why:
Matthew 1:21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Even the Messiah came to bring atonement for the people of God!
The beauty for us is that when Israel rejected,
We then were also grafted in as the people of God.
Romans 9:23-26 “And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. As He says also in Hosea, “I WILL CALL THOSE WHO WERE NOT MY PEOPLE, ‘MY PEOPLE,’ AND HER WHO WAS NOT BELOVED, ‘BELOVED.'” “AND IT SHALL BE THAT IN THE PLACE WHERE IT WAS SAID TO THEM, ‘YOU ARE NOT MY PEOPLE,’ THERE THEY SHALL BE CALLED SONS OF THE LIVING GOD.”
1 Peter 2:9-10 “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.”
We are now those who are known by our allegiance to our God.
• We are not now primarily known as Texans or even Americans for our citizenship is in heaven.
• We are not white people or Hispanic people or black people for in Christ Jesus there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female.
• We are not rich people or poor people, for our treasure is not stored up on earth but is stored in heaven.
We go by no other name than Christian, for we are the people of God.
It is our banner, it is our nametag, it is who we are.
And thanks to Jehoiada it was also who Judah became.
And not just in title, they were God’s people by action.
(18) “All the people of the land went to the house of Baal, and tore it down; his altars and his images they broke in pieces thoroughly, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD.”
Just as Jehu eradicated Baal out of Israel,
Now Jehoiada has eradicated Baal out of Judah.
Let me also add, that if we are going to wear the banner of
“The People of God” then we also must take the title seriously.
• There must be no foreign gods in our lives…
• Our hearts must house no idols…
• Nor can we be those who condone sin and associate with it…
We must be different if we are to be the people of God.
Exodus 20:7 “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.”
Not just a command to not say bad words.
That is a much larger, much more serious command than that.
When the Scripture speaks of taking God’s name,
It speaks of putting His name upon you as a banner.
Similar to the way in which a bride takes the name of her husband.
AND GOD DEMANDS WE HONOR HIS NAME.
Leviticus 19:11-12 “You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. ‘You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the LORD.”
Numbers 15:30 “But the person who does anything defiantly, whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from among his people.”
And the warning here is for all who call themselves one of God’s people
And take His name and then live in such a way as to do dishonor to it.
It is to walk in hypocrisy, it is to slander in the worst way,
It is to become a traitor, an apostate, and the worst of all sinners.
Those who commit such a sin do far more harm to the cause of Christ
Than any carnal pagan ever did.
And to them God makes a promise.
“the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.”
Zechariah 5:1-4 “Then I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying scroll. And he said to me, “What do you see?” And I answered, “I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.” Then he said to me, “This is the curse that is going forth over the face of the whole land; surely everyone who steals will be purged away according to the writing on one side, and everyone who swears will be purged away according to the writing on the other side. “I will make it go forth,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and consume it with its timber and stones.”
You can even see Jesus taking special interest in such hypocrisy.
Luke 6:46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”
It is a serious thing when we claim to be the people of God.
“If your gonna talk the talk, then you better walk the walk.”
For God will not leave him unpunished who fails to do so.
And that is what is so wonderful about the covenant here.
Not only did the people claim to be God’s people,
But they also tore down the house of Baal to solidify it.
(Is there something that must be torn down in your life?)
Then according to verse 19, the new king was taken to his throne,
And I want you to see the results of the day.
(20) “So all the people of the land rejoiced and the city was quiet. For they had put Athaliah to death with the sword at the king’s house.”
• When the true God is worshiped…
• When the rightful king is on the throne…
• When the usurper is done away with…
• When God’s people live like God’s people…
The result is peace and joy
This morning you and I can rejoice in the fact that
God promised a Messiah from the line of David,
And no one could thwart that promise.
Isaiah 9:6-7 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”
God promised a Savior, and that Savior came.
His name is Jesus.
God supernaturally protected His line
So that you and I could have a way of salvation.
And this morning I invite you to embrace God’s king,
God’s Savior – Jesus Christ.
Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
