2 Kings · chapter 11 of 25
Updated on
2 Kings 11 tells how Athaliah, mother of King Ahaziah of Judah, on seeing her son dead, wipes out the royal family and reigns six years. Jehosheba hides the infant Joash in the temple, and the priest Jehoiada crowns him king when he is seven. Athaliah is executed, the people make a covenant with the Lord and the temple of Baal is torn down.
After the end of the house of Ahab in Israel, that family's influence lives on in Judah through Athaliah, Ahab's daughter. 2 Kings 11 shows the greatest danger the line of David ever faced, the line to whom God had promised a dynasty. A child hidden in the temple, protected by an aunt and a priest, preserves the promise.
When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, sees that her son is dead, she rises and destroys all the royal offspring. But Jehosheba, Ahaziah's sister and daughter of King Joram, takes Joash, Ahaziah's son, from among the princes who were about to be killed, and hides him with his nurse in a bedroom. They hide him from Athaliah, and the child stays hidden in the house of the Lord for six years while Athaliah reigns over the land.
In the seventh year the priest Jehoiada summons the commanders of the guards and the soldiers to the temple, makes a covenant with them under oath and shows them the king's son. He gives them instructions: one third of the guard will watch the palace, another third the gate of Sur, another the gate behind the guards, and the two guard units going off duty on the Sabbath will protect the king in the temple. Jehoiada gives the captains the spears and shields of King David that were in the temple.
They bring out the king's son, put the crown on him, give him the testimony, anoint him and proclaim him king. All clap their hands and cry out, Long live the king. Athaliah hears the noise of the people and the guards, enters the temple, sees the king at his post with the captains and the trumpeters, tears her clothes and cries treason. Jehoiada orders her taken out between the ranks, and anyone who follows her is to be put to the sword. They lay hands on her at the horses' entrance of the palace and kill her there.
Jehoiada makes a covenant between the Lord, the king and the people, that they should be the Lord's people, and another between the king and the people. The people tear down the temple of Baal, break its altars and images, and kill Mattan, the priest of Baal, before the altars. Jehoiada posts guards over the house of the Lord. Joash reigns at seven years old, and the city is quiet.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Jehosheba takes Joash from among the king's sons who were being killed and hides him. A brave woman, by a simple act, preserves the line of David from which the Messiah would come.
They bring out the king's son, crown him, give him the testimony and anoint him. The people clap and shout, Long live the king. The testimony, probably a copy of the law, underlines that the king was to rule under God's word.
Jehoiada makes a covenant between the Lord, the king and the people that they should be the Lord's people. It is a public renewal of the covenant, the real center of the change and not just a change of government.
The people tear down the temple of Baal and kill its priest Mattan. The worship of Baal that Athaliah brought into Judah from the house of Ahab is removed along with her.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: She had all the royal offspring killed. — 2 Kings 11:1
Answer: Jehosheba, Ahaziah's sister, who hid him with his nurse. — 2 Kings 11:2
Answer: Six years. — 2 Kings 11:3
Answer: The spears and shields of King David that were in the temple. — 2 Kings 11:10
Answer: Treason, treason. — 2 Kings 11:14
Answer: Seven years old. — 2 Kings 11:21
God preserved the promise to David through a small group of faithful people: a brave aunt, a priest, some guards. None of them is the hero of the story, but without them the royal line would have vanished. In a class or small group you can remember that the Lord often works in hidden ways and that our faithfulness in small things can sustain something much greater.
It is also worth noticing the importance of renewing the covenant with God. A change of government is useful only if it is accompanied by the people's commitment to the Lord. Let us think about whether in our lives and our church we live a real commitment to God or only a change of appearance.
2 Kings 11 ends with Joash on the throne and the city quiet after Athaliah's death. In chapter 12 we will see how Joash, guided by the priest Jehoiada, sets about repairing the temple, though his story will end badly.
She was a daughter of Ahab, or granddaughter of Omri, and wife of King Jehoram of Judah. When her son Ahaziah died she seized power and reigned six years. She is the only woman who ruled Judah in her own right. Her reign brought the worship of Baal to Jerusalem.
The text does not specify. It is usually understood as a document with the law or the covenant that governed the king, as Deuteronomy required. It underlines that the king of Judah ruled under the word of the Lord.
Because God had promised David that his offspring would reign. Had Athaliah killed everyone, the royal line would have ended. The survival of one child keeps that promise alive, which would lead to the Messiah according to the New Testament.