Class Notes: 1/23/2013

Under Joash Jehoiada restored the spiritual life of Judah but after his death Joash and Judah reverted back into idolatry

In our study of the enmity between the serpent and his seed and the woman and her seed Gen 3:15; last time we saw God's counterattack on Satan's evil when Jehoiada the High Priest enlisted the assistance of the royal guard to place Joash the rightful heir to Judah's throne on the throne.

2Kings 11:4-8; As Athaliah began the seventh year of her reign, Jehoiada the high priest assembled the military commanders at a certain level of authority (those commanding 100 soldiers each), the Carites, and the guards ("runners," probably royal bodyguards) secretly in Solomon's temple.

These were all loyalists or traditionalists who did not support the queen interloper. He showed them Joash, then seven years old (2 Kings 11:21), to assure them that there was indeed a legitimate heir to the throne still alive. He then outlined his plan to crown Joash as the king.

The guards consisting of priests and Levites, (2 Chron. 23:4) were to divided into three groups on the Sabbath, one group at the palace, another at the Sur Gate near the temple, and another group at the gate behind the guard through which opposition might come.

The others, who were going off duty, were to guard the temple. A ceremony would take place at the changing of the guard on the Sabbath or a feast day when the temple area would be busy.

2Kings 11:7-8;The king was to be surrounded by the soldiers and anyone who came near their ranks was to be killed. The soldiers were to guard Joash with their lives as he was moved from the temple to the temple courtyard where his coronation would take place.

2Kings 11:9-11; On the appointed day the commanders did as they had been instructed. Jehoiada gave them the special spears and shields that were kept in the temple and used for special occasions.

The use of the special shields would enable the people to recognize that the coronation was an important official event. Since the temple faced east the guards evidently made a semicircular arc in front of the building from its northeast to its southeast corners, creating a secure area in the temple courtyard where the anointing would take place.

2Kings 11:12; Jehoiada then brought Joash out of the temple where he had been sequestered and brought into this secure area of the courtyard, placed the royal crown on his head, presented him with a copy of the covenant (the Mosaic Law), and proclaimed him king.

At some time during the ceremony, probably near the beginning, the high priest also anointed Joash with oil, symbolizing enduement with divine power. Most likely Jehoiada had scheduled this coronation for a time when as many people as possible would witness it. When the king had been crowned the people raised a roar of approval, they clapped, and shouted, "Long live the king."

2Kings 11:13-14; The first that Athaliah knew of Jehoiada's plan was when she heard the noise of the celebration. When she heard it she took off from her palace to the temple to find out what was happening.

To her horror, she saw little Joash (the king) with the royal crown on his head standing by the pillar at the eastern gate of the inner courtyard of the temple, the place the king customarily occupied when he addressed the people in the temple area (2Chron 23:13;).

An elevated platform was provided for the king to stand on when he visited the temple on festive occasions (2 Kings 23:3; 2Chron 6:13;). Joash stood on this platform. The queen immediately understood what was taking place, and she tore her robes signifying her great distress and screamed, Treason! Treason!

Athaliah is evil but she is not stupid. She understood the system of primogeniture since she knew that for her to ascend the throne she had to murder all of her grandsons.

She also understood at least academically the theological symbolism associated with the columns of Jachin and Boaz and the Jewish belief that the Lord God indwelt the Holy of Holies inside the temple.

She had seen the coronation of her husband, King Jehoram, and witnessed his addresses to the people while standing on the platform placed next to the column Jachin. She had also witnessed these same events when her grandson Ahaziah was crowned king.

When she saw the little boy Joash, standing on the platform by Jachin with the royal crown on his head, Jehoiada the high priest at his side, being guarded by the Cherethites while the people cheered "Long live the King!"

She quickly concluded that somehow she must have allowed a grandson to escape being murdered. She also realized that Jehoiada had successfully pulled off a coup. In a desperate attempt to stop the proceedings she sought to sway the crowd to her cause with screams of "treason!"

Athaliah wanted to mislead the people by yelling, "treason! treason!" thinking that if she shouted it loud enough people would believe her even though there was no treason. Jehoiada's successful execution of Operation Joash was not treachery or treason because Joash was the legal occupant of the throne and she was a deceitful interloper.

2Kings 11:15-16; What Jehoiada had done was not treasonous because Joash was the legitimate heir to the throne. Athaliah was not a legitimate heir since she was not a blood descendant of David. The reality was that even though she occupied the throne it was illegal so she was the one guilty of treason.

For this reason Jehoiada the priest ordered the commanders to arrest her, to lead her out of the temple area under guard, and to kill anyone who tried to help her. It was not appropriate to execute anyone in the temple area since it was a place of worship.

Jehoiada's order was directed to the Cherethites who were to take Athaliah between two ranks of soldiers outside the Temple complex.

The Horse Gate was located to the southeast of the Temple and was the gate which led to the royal stables. Athaliah's mother, Jezebel, was eaten by dogs and became dog dung, Athaliah was slain among horses and died in the horse dung.

They both eventually got what they deserved. Gal 6:7; With her death Satan's inside agent is removed from the government of Judah and the rightful heir to line of David resumes his place upon the throne in Jerusalem.

Now that Athaliah is dead and the rightful Davidic heir has been restored to the throne of Judah, Jehoaida the High Priest immediately begins to restore the spiritual life of Judah.

2Kings 11:17; Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people, that they should be the Lord's people, also between the king and the people.

v18 And 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 they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the Lord.

As high priest, Jehoiada's first official act was to reestablish the worship of the Lord God through the ritual plan of God as mandated in the Mosaic Law. The "covenant" was a revival where the people renounced their worship of Baal and returned to the worship of the Lord. This was their rebound.

2Chron 7:14; If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Having been set free from the tyranny of idolatry in their souls, the people then endeavored to be set free from the presence of idols, false temples, and evil priests. They destroyed the temple of Baal with its altars and idols and then executed Mattan, the chief priest of Baal.

To insure that anyone still loyal to Athaliah and to Baal worship could not retaliate against the house of the Lord, Jehoiada posted guards around the Temple complex.

With spiritual order restored and idolatry abolished for the moment, Jehoiada then commanded that the king could now be placed on his throne in the palace.

2Kings 11:19; And Jehoiada took the captains of the hundreds (the five centurions) and the Carites and the guards and all the people of the land; and they brought the king down from the house of the Lord, and came by the way of the gate of the guards to the king's house. And Joash sat on the throne of the kings.

v20 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.

v 21 Joash was seven years old when he became king.

Since Joash is only seven years old, he is obviously incapable of rulership. Therefore, his uncle Jehoram, high priest of the Lord in Judah, took on the responsibility of being the young king's advisor. Jehoiada continued this duty until he died at age 130. During this period, Joash is described as being a righteous king.

2Chron 24:1; Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Zibiah from Beersheba.
v2 And Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

2Chron 24:15; Now when Jehoiada reached old age he died; he was one hundred and thirty years old at his death.
v16 - And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done well in Israel and to God and His house.

Note the contingency indicated in the Lord's approval of Joash as king of Judah: Joash did right in the sight of the Lord as long as Jehoiada was the high priest. Jehoiada was admired so much that he received the unique distinction of being buried among the kings of Israel in Jerusalem.

Jehoiada provides us a clear illustration of the positive historical impact that mature believers can have on the leadership of a client nation. As long as Joash was willing to follow the good advice of Jehoiada he did well in the sight of the Lord. After Jehoiada's death, Joash did not continue doing what was right.

2Chron 24:17; But after the death of Jehoiada the officials of Judah came and bowed down to the Joash, and the king listened to them.

v18 And they abandoned the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols; so wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their guilt.

An important principle emerges from this account of Joash's inversion of thought following the death of Jehoiada.

There are requirements and responsibilities placed on the believers of a client nation. If they do their duty the entire nation will be prospered by their invisible historical impact.

If, however, believers do not do their duty then the entire nation will be disciplined under the five cycles of discipline that are deployed according to the four generation curse.

If a client nation is to remain free and prosperous then its believers must continue to grow in grace, advance to spiritual maturity, and provide the invisible historical impact. When believers fail to remain loyal to orthodox truth found in the Word of God they cease to do their duty and the nation falls under warning discipline.

Judah was a monarchy. It had a royal line established by God's covenant with David. The Lord had already proclaimed Israel to be "His own possession" in:
Exod 19:5; "Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine;
v 6 and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."

In this passage we have the contingency for maintaining client nation status: "If you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant." This contingency was presented just before the disclosure of the Ten Commandments, a set of mandates that established both spiritual and cultural order within a nation.

As long as the people of Israel remained loyal to the God's Word and submitted to the mandates of the ritual plan of God, then Israel, and later the divided monarchies, could remain a client nation.

When they did not they suffered the four generation curse that eventually resulted in the fifth cycle of discipline that was their removal from divine patronage.

Joash had done excellent job as king of Judah as long as he had spiritual guidance from Jehoiada the high priest. But after his uncle Jehoiadah's death, Joash did not personally have the doctrinal inventory needed to provide the moral courage that was necessary to maintain spiritual order of his kingdom.

The "officials" or "princes" represented not only the tribal leaders of Judah and Benjamin but also the king's administration including the palace staff and community leaders.

The loss of Jehoiada's inventory of doctrinal ideas had immediate and decisive negative historical impact on Judah because Joash was a weak man who learned as a boy to put his confidence and trust in his Uncle rather than develop his own capacity.

The fact is that Joash never did have the capacity to lead Judah. The fact that he was a legitimate heir to the throne does not imply that he was the intended heir to the throne. You will remember that his grandfather Jehoram upon ascending the throne following the death of Jehoshaphat, murdered all his brothers.

This fratricide caused the Lord to permit the coalition army of Philistines and Arabs to invade Judah and to capture Jehoram's wives and sons who were all killed except for Ahaziah, the youngest.

Under the principle of primogeniture the eldest brother of Ahaziah who was assassinated by Jehoram should have ascended to the throne and then after Athaliah usurped the throne, she murdered all her grandsons with the exception of Joash who was also the youngest.

Under primogeniture, the eldest brother of Joash was the one God intended for the throne. Instead both Athaziah and Joash ascended to the throne of Judah at ages far to young to have achieved the spiritual growth necessary to provide wisdom in leadership or to maintain orthodoxy in the worship of the Lord God.

This means that both Ahaziah, at age 22 and Joash at age seven were ill prepared to be king. The Lord provided Joash with the wisdom of his uncle but apparently he was not interested in learning so following Jehoiada's death he had no capacity for doctrinal thought that could enable him to carry on with honor.

Joash therefore capitulated to the masses and allowed Baal worship to return to client nation Judah. No client nation can fail to perform its duties and remain a client nation.

We can discern a clear principle from this that any client nation that rejects the wisdom, the council, and the influence of its believer citizens will fall into degeneracy and begin a course toward certain destruction.

The Scripture declares and history confirms that when the restraints of divine prohibitions are ignored or rejected by a client nation, the souls of is leaders quickly turn to evil.

The resultant loss of ethics and morals soon defines the disposition of the people and immoral acts betray their loss of establishment and doctrinal thought. What leadership allows, the people will indulge and adopt the false idea of "vox populi, vox Dei" and think that the voice of the people is the voice of God.

He was like the lukewarm believers in our country who lean on others because they do not have persistent and consistent PVD and as a result inevitably make bad decisions from a position of weakness. This has resulted in the decline that will end with the destruction of the nation unless it is arrested by use of the reset clause of the four generation curse.

2Chron 7:14; If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

The unwillingness of Joash to condemn his cabinet and national leadership in their appeal to reintroduce idolatry to the client nation caused the nation to come into the crosshairs of divine justice. Heb 10:31; "It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God"

We can see from this principle that the USA will not be able to retain its title as a client nation to God if it continues to reject the wisdom, counsel, and influence of the Word of God.

There are certain basic doctrines that all orthodox believers must subscribe to among them being the order code of the Ten Commandments followed by the establishment code clearly revealed in the Old and New Testaments.

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