2 Chronicles 23:1-21
1 And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took the captains of hundreds, Azariah the son of Jeroham, 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 chief of the fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
3 And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said unto them, Behold, the king's son shall reign, as the LORD hath said of the sons of David.
4 This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you entering on the sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be porters of the doors;a
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 the LORD.
6 But let none come into the house of the LORD, save the priests, and they that minister of the Levites; they shall go in, for they are holy: but all the people shall keep the watch of the LORD.
7 And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever else cometh into the house, he shall be put to death: but 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 things that Jehoiada the priest had commanded, and took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that were to go out on the sabbath: for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses.
9 Moreover Jehoiada the priest delivered to the captains of hundreds 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 having his weapon in his hand, from the right sideb of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and the temple, by the king round about.
11 Then they brought out the king's son, and put upon him the crown, and gave him the testimony, and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, God save the king.
12 Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people into the house of the LORD:
13 And she looked, and, behold, the king stood at his pillar at the entering in, and the princes and the trumpets by the king: and all the people of the land rejoiced, and sounded with trumpets, also the singers with instruments of musick, and such as taught to sing praise. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and said, Treason,c Treason.
14 Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds that were set over the host, and said unto them, Have her forth of the ranges: and whoso followeth her, let him be slain with the sword. For the priest said, Slay her not in the house of the LORD.
15 So they laid hands on her; and when she was come to the entering of the horse gate by the king's house, they slew her there.
16 And Jehoiada made a covenant between him, and between all the people, and between the king, that they should be the LORD'S people.
17 Then all the people went to the house of Baal, and brake it down, and brake his altars and his images in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.
18 Also Jehoiada appointed the offices of the house of the LORD by the hand of the priests the Levites, whom David had distributed in the house of the LORD, to offer the burnt offerings of the LORD, as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was ordained by David.
19 And he set the porters at the gates of the house of the LORD, that none which was unclean in any thing should enter in
20 And he took the captains of hundreds, and the nobles, and the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought down the king from the house of the LORD: and they came through the high gate into the king's house, and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom.
21 And all the people of the land rejoiced: and the city was quiet, after that they had slain Athaliah with the sword.
2 Chronicles: God desires loyal people
The *Kingdom called Judah
2 Chronicles Chapter s 10 to 36
Ian Mackervoy
Chapter 23
Athaliah and Joash – 2 Chronicles 23:1-21
v1 In the 7th year of Athaliah’s rule, Jehoiada showed his strength. He made an agreement with the captains who were over units of 100 men. These captains were:
• Azariah, son of Jeroham,
• Ishmael, son of Johanan,
• Azariah, son of Obed,
• Maaseiah, son of Adaiah
• and Elishaphat, son of Zichri.
v2 They went about through Judah and they gathered the *Levites from all the towns. Also, they gathered the leaders of the families in Judah. Then all of these people came to Jerusalem. v3 They all came to God’s *temple and there they made an agreement with the king.
Jehoiada said to them, ‘Here is the king’s son. He will rule as the *LORD promised about David’s *descendants. v4 Now this is what you must do. You priests and *Levites will go on duty on the *Sabbath. A third of you will guard the *temple doors. v5 A third of you will be at the royal palace. And a third of you will be at the Foundation Gate. All the rest of the people will stay in the areas round the *LORD’s *temple. v6 Nobody must enter the *LORD’s *temple except the priests and the *Levites who are on duty. They may enter because they are holy. But all other people should do as the *LORD has said. v7 The *Levites must stay round the king, each man with his *weapon in his hand. Kill anyone who tries to come into the *temple. Stay with the king wherever he goes.’
v8 The *Levites and all the people in Judah obeyed all that Jehoiada the priest said. Each leader took his men who should come into the *temple on the *Sabbath. Those who were due to leave the *temple did not go home. Jehoiada the priest kept them all on duty. v9 Jehoiada gave the captains of 100 men *spears and large and small *shields. These *spears and *shields had belonged to King David and they were in God’s *temple. v10 Then Jehoiada told the men to stand as guards for the king. Each man had his *weapon in his hand. They were near the *altar of the *temple and on the north and south sides of the *temple.
v11 They brought out the king’s son. They put the crown on him and they gave to him a copy of the *LORD’s special promise. Then they appointed him king. Then Jehoiada and his sons poured oil on his head. They shouted, ‘Long live the king.’
v12 Athaliah heard the noise of the people as they ran. She heard them as they praised the king. Then she went to the people in the *LORD’s *temple. v13 She looked, and there was the king. He stood by his column at the entrance. The officers and those with the *trumpets stood by the king. All the people in the country were happy and many sounded *trumpets. There were singers and musicians. They led the people as they praised. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and she screamed, ‘*Treason! Treason!’
v14 Jehoiada the priest spoke to the captains who were in control of units of 100 men. These captains led the army. He said to them, ‘Surround her with soldiers. And take her out of the *temple area. Kill with a sword anyone who follows her.’ The priest had said to them, ‘Do not kill Athaliah in the *LORD’s *temple.’ v15 They seized her. And when she arrived at the entrance of the Horse Gate (near the palace), they killed her there.
v16 Then Jehoiada agreed with the people and with the king that they would be the *LORD’s people. v17 All the people went to the *temple of Baal and they tore it down. They broke down the *altars and the false gods. They killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of the *altars.
v18 Then Jehoiada chose the priests and the *Levites to be responsible for the *LORD’s *temple. David had given to them duties to perform in the *temple. They should give the *sacrifices by fire to the *LORD as the Law of Moses taught. And, as David had ordered them, they should do it with joy. And they should sing to the *LORD. v19 Also, Jehoiada put guards at the gates of the *LORD’s *temple. So, anyone who was not clean for any reason could not enter.
v20 Jehoiada took with him the captains who had control over units of 100 soldiers. All the important people and the rulers of the people went with him. And all the people went with them. They went with the king from the *LORD’s *temple through the Upper Gate. And they came to the royal palace. There they caused the king to sit on the *throne. v21 So, all the people in the country were very happy. The city was quiet, because they had killed Athaliah with the sword.
Verses 1-3a Joash was now 7 years old. Jehoiada thought that it was now time to act. It was time to declare that Joash was the proper king of Judah. He made an agreement with 5 military leaders. Those officers then went through Judah to bring in the *Levites and family heads. They all came to the *temple. Then they all made an agreement to declare that Joash was king. They agreed to the plan that Jehoiada had made.
They did all of this in secret. Nobody told Athaliah because she was not popular.
Verses 3b-7 Then Jehoiada spoke to the *Levites. And he told them what to do. He showed them Joash the son of Jehoram. Joash was the right king because he was in the family of David.
The priests and the *Levites who would be on duty in the *temple were in three groups. One group would guard the *temple doors. One group would be at the royal palace. The third group would be at the *temple gate called the Foundation Gate.
All the rest of the people would be in the squares of the *temple. They included the priests and the *Levites who were not on duty. Also, they included the family heads and the military officers and men. Their task was to guard the *temple and not to allow anybody to go in.
Some of the *Levites had to guard the king. They had *weapons in their hands. If someone tried to go into the *temple, these guards would kill him.
Verses 8-10 All these people did as Jehoiada had said. As the group of priests and *Levites came off duty, they did not go home. They went to meet the people in the squares. The group that went on duty obeyed the words of Jehoiada.
In the *temple, there was a store of *weapons. King David had provided large and small *shields, and *spears. Jehoiada gave these *weapons to the military leaders. So, people with *weapons were near the *altar and on the north and south sides of the *temple.
Verse 11 Jehoiada and his sons made Joash king of Judah. To do this they did three things. They put the crown on his head. They gave to him a copy of the *LORD’s special promise. This was probably a *scroll of the Law of Moses. And they put oil on his head. Then all the people shouted, ‘Long live the king.’
Verses 12-15 The people shouted with joy. They sounded their *trumpets. They sang aloud as the singers and musicians led them. People ran to join in the party and to give a welcome to their new king.
Athaliah heard all this noise and she hurried to the *temple. She saw King Joash as he stood by his column at the entrance to the *temple. She had no idea about what was happening. She was surprised. And what she saw astonished her. She cried out, ‘*Treason! Treason!’
The king’s column or place was in the outer area of the *temple. They had brought him out of the inner area to stand by this column. Here all the people could see him.
Jehoiada the priest ordered the army to surround Athaliah with soldiers. He told them to take her away from the *temple. They took her to the Horse Gate and they killed her there.
Verses 16-17 During the rule of Jehoram and of Athaliah, the people had *turned away from the *LORD. They followed the ways of the family of Ahab. They *worshipped foreign gods. The main god that they *worshipped was Baal.
Jehoiada with the new king led the people to declare that they were the *LORD’s people. Then they destroyed the *temple of Baal. And they killed Mattan, the priest of Baal.
Verses 18-19 The priests and the *Levites established again the *temple *worship. They did as the Law of Moses taught. And they did as King David had set up.
Verses 20-21 Jehoiada led a procession from the *temple to the royal palace. In the procession were the military captains and all the most important people in Judah. They brought the king and they sat him on the *throne of Judah. All the people were happy that Joash was king. The city was at peace because Athaliah was dead.
Joash – 2 Chronicles 24:1-27
kingdom ~ the place or territory where a king rules; or, the people that a king rules over.Levite ~ a person who belongs to the tribe of Levi.
tribe ~ the *Israelites were divided into the 12 families of the sons of Jacob. These families are the 12 tribes of *Israel.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or of other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It means that God has always been.
lord ~ someone with authority such as the king.
descendant ~ a future member of a family or of a nation.
Sabbath ~ the Sabbath was the 7th day of the week, which God told the *Israelites to keep as a special day.
weapon ~ a tool of war; people use it in attack or in defence when in a fight (like a sword or a gun).
spear ~ a long and thin weapon of war, like a sword but they usually threw it.
weapon ~ a tool of war; people use it in attack or in defence when in a fight (like a sword or a gun).
shield ~ soldiers carried shields in their hands for protection in battle; they were like covers to protect the body from swords or from other weapons. Solomon’s shields of gold were probably not for use in war.
weapon ~ a tool of war; people use it in attack or in defence when in a fight (like a sword or a gun).
altar ~ the special table that someone made out of stone or wood or metal; on it they burnt animals or they offered other gifts to God or to false gods.
trumpet ~ a musical instrument; it makes a sound when a person blows into it.
treason ~ when someone is not loyal to a government or to a ruler.
sacrifice ~ something that people give to God. If it was an animal, the priests would burn all or part of it on an altar. That was to say thank you to God, or to ask him to forgive. God made Jesus to be a sacrifice because of our sins. To sacrifice is to give a sacrifice.
altar ~ the special table that someone made out of stone or wood or metal; on it they burnt animals or they offered other gifts to God or to false gods.
sin ~ sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. Those who sin are sinners.
throne ~ the special chair for the king.
scroll ~ a very long piece of paper or other material that people wrote on; they fixed it round two pieces of wood.
turn ~ to decide to support someone. Or, to decide to oppose someone. If a person ‘turns away from God’, that person decides not to be loyal to God. If a person ‘turns to God’, that person decides to be loyal to God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.