2 Chronicles 23:1-15

8. THE TIMES OF ATHALIAH (2 Chronicles 22:10 to 2 Chronicles 23:15)

TEXT

2 Chronicles 22:10. Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah. 11. But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king's sons that were slain, and put him and his nurse in the bedchamber. So Jehqshabeath, 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 slew him not. 12. And he was with them hid in the house of God six years: and Athaliah reigned over the land.

2 Chronicles 23:1. And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took the captains of hundreds, Azariah the son of Jeroaham, and Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, and Azariah the son of Obed, and Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri, into covenant with him. 2. And they went about in Judah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the heads of fathers-' houses of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. 3. And all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said unto them, Behold, the king's son shall reign, as Jehovah hath spoken concerning the sons of David. 4. this is the thing that ye shall do: a third part of you, that come in on the sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be porters of the thresholds; 5. and a third part shall be at the king's house; and a third part at the gate of the foundation: and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of Jehovah. 6. But let none come into the house of Jehovah, save the priests, and they that minister of the Levites; they shall come in, for they are holy: but all the people shall keep the charge of Jehovah. 7. And the Levites shall compass the king around about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever cometh into the house, let him be slain: and be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.

8. So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men, those that were to come in on the sabbath, with those that were to go out on the sabbath; for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses. 9. And Jehoiada the priest delivered to the captains of hundreds the spears, and bucklers, and shields, that had been king David'S, which were in the house of God. 10. And he set all the people, every man with his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, along by the altar and the house, by the king around about. 11. Then they brought out the king's son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony, and made him king: and Jehoiada and his sons anointed him; and they said, Long live the king.
12. And when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people into the house of Jehovah: 13. and she looked, and behold, the king stood by his pillar at the entrance, and the captains and the trumpets by the king; and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew trumpets; the singers also played on instruments of music, and led the singing of praise. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and said, Treason! treason! 14. And Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds that were set over the host, and said unto them, Have her forth between the ranks; and whoso followeth her, let him be slain with the sword: for the priest said, Slay her not in the house of Jehovah. 15. So they made way for her; and she went to the entrance of the house gate to the king's house: and they slew her there.

PARAPHRASE

2 Chronicles 22:10. for their grandmother Athaliah killed them when she heard the news of her son Ahaziah's death. 11. Joash was rescued by his Aunt Jehosabeath, who was King Ahaziah's sister, and was hidden away in a storage room in the Temple. She was a daughter of King Jehoram, and the wife of Jehoiada the priest. 12. Joash remained hidden in the Temple for six years while Athaliah reigned as queen. He was cared for by his nurse and by his aunt and uncle.

2 Chronicles 23:1. In the seventh year of the reign of Queen Athaliah, Jehoiada the priest got up his courage and took some of the army officers into his confidence: Azariah (son of Jeroham), Ishmael (son of Jehohanan), Azariah (son of Obed), Maaseiah (son of Adaiah), and Elishaphat (son of Zichri). 2, 3. These men traveled out across the nation secretly, to tell the Levites and clan leaders about his plans and to summon them to Jerusalem. On arrival they swore allegiance to the young king, who was still in hiding at the Temple, at last the time has come for the king's son to reign! Jehoiada exclaimed. The Lord's promisethat a descendant of King David shall be our kingwill be true again. 4. This is how we-'ll proceed: a third of you priests and Levites who come off duty on the Sabbath will stay at the entrance as guards. 5, 6. Another third will go over to the palace, and a third will be at the Lower Gate. Everyone else must stay in the outer courts of the Temple, as required by God's laws. For only the priests and Levites on duty may enter the Temple itself, for they are sanctified. 7. You Levites, form a bodyguard for the king, weapons in hand, and kill any unauthorized person entering the Temple. Stay right beside the king.

8. So all the arrangements were made. Each of the three leaders led a third of the priests arriving for duty that Sabbath, and a third of those whose week's work was done and were going off dutyfor Jehoiada the chief priest didn-'t release them to go home. 9. Then Jehoiada issued spears and shields to all the army officers. These had once belonged to King David and were stored in the Temple. 10. These officers, fully armed, formed a line from one side to the other in front of the Temple and around the altar in the outer court. 11. Then they brought out the little prince and placed the crown upon his head and handed him a copy of the law of God, and proclaimed him king. A great shout went up, long live the king! as Jehoiada and his sons anointed him.
12. When Queen Athaliah heard all the noise and commotion, and the shouts of praise to the king, she rushed over to the Temple to see what was going onand there stood the king by his pillar at the entrance, with the army officers and trumpeters surrounding him, and people from all over the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and the singers singing, accompanied by an orchestra leading the people in a great psalm of praise. Athaliah ripped her clothes and screamed, Treason! Treason! 13, 14. Take her out and kill her, Jehoiada the priest shouted to the army officers. Don-'t do it here at the Temple. And kill anyone who tries to help her. 15, 16, 17. So the crowd opened up for them to take her out and they killed her at the palace stables. Then Jehoiada made a solemn contract that he and the king and the people would be the Lord'S. And all the people rushed over to the temple of Baal and knocked it down, and broke up the altars and knocked down the idols, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before his altar.

COMMENTARY

The scene of action quickly transfers to Jerusalem where the queen mother, Athaliah, moved to make certain her claim to the throne.[66] Upon Ahaziah's death at the hands of Jehu, Athaliah set out to kill every person who through David's line might claim the throne. Jehoshabeath (Jehosheba) was the daughter of Jerhoram and the sister of Ahaziah. She acted quickly and wisely in taking Ahaziah's young son, Joash, and hiding him in a room in the Temple. Jehoshabeath was also the wife of Jehoiada, the high priest. Jehoiada was destined to become the power behind the throne in Judah. Most likely, Athaliah feverishly hunted this little boy; however, his aunt was able to hide him for six years. During this difficult period, Athaliah reigned as queen over Judah. She did not fear Jehovah and she used her influence to establish Baalism in the southern kingdom.

[66] Pfeiffer, Charles H., The Divided Kingdom Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Mich., 1967, p. 20.

When Joash passed the sixth anniversary of his birth, the high priest, Jehoiada, made his move to depose Athaliah and put the true Davidic king on the throne of Judah. The five men named in this account are not named in 2 Kings 11:5-7. They are Azariah, Ishmael, Azariah the son of Obed, Maaseiah, and Elishaphat. The whole group of soldiers over which they had charge probably numbered about five hundred. In addition to these soldiers, there was a representative group of Levites and elders who had agreed with Jehoiada to put Joash on the throne. All of this work was done without Athaliah's knowledge. It is possible that many people were surprised to learn that Joash was alive, supposing that all the princes had been killed in Athaliah's purge. Jehoiada proceeded with great care to organize the men at his disposal. One third of the patriots would be priests and Levites who would be stationed at the doors of Jehovah's Temple. One third of the men would take up their positions at the king's house, the place where Joash had been living. One third of the high priest's helpers were assigned to guard a particular gate in the vicinity of the Temple. The people would fill the courts to which they normally were allowed access. The Temple was not to be desecrated even for this important occasion. The charge of Jehovah concerning the sacredness of the Temple had to be observed. On this occasion the Levites were equipped with swords and at the proper time they were co form a protective shield around the boy, Joash. They were to guard this child with their own lives and they had orders to kill anybody who would attempt to harm him.

In order to carry out this very important project, Jehoiada kept all of the priests and Levites in service at the Temple. All of those who were responsible for groups of men were briefed concerning their assignments. Military equipment was taken out of the museum in the Temple and placed in the hands of Levites and others who were ready to put Joash on the throne. When all preparations had been completed, Joash was brought into the court of priests and stationed near the altar of burnt offering as Jehovah had instructed in Deuteronomy 17:18, when Joash was crowned. He was also presented a copy of the Law (the testimony) and the high priest anointed him to be king. The blessing, Long live the king, was used when Saul was chosen for that office (1 Samuel 10:24). It was also employed in the rebellion of Adonijah (1 Kings 1:25).

No attempt was made to conceal the coronation. Athaliah had not been invited. From her quarters she heard the shouting of the congregation and the festival sounds of a free people. Upon leaving her house she hurried to Jehovah's Temple where she saw the boy king and the soldiers who blocked her access to him, She tarried long enough to hear the sound of the trumpets and to hear a few words of the spirited singing. Not being able to contain herself, in a burst of emotion she ripped her queenly robes and charged the whole assembly with treason. Jehoiada answered this demonstration by ordering her to be led from the Temple. Careful attention was to be given to any who might come to Athaliah's defense. Such persons were to be put to death. The queen was not to be killed in the Temple, thus avoiding defiling the house of God. As she made her way back to her residence, she was slain. Her departure was as dramatic as that of her mother, Jezebel.