Bible Studies
Survival In the House of David (2 Kings 11)
Series: Studies in Second KingsIntroduction:
1. Our study in Second Kings has brought us to a point of crisis in the history! 2. God has promised that the Davidic dynasty in Judah will last forever (2 Sam. 7:12-13). 3. But the influence of the northern kingdom is very powerful. Ahab had married Jezebel and the influence of Baal worship had proliferated. 4. It had infiltrated the Davidic dynasty when Jehoram of Judah married Athaliah the daughter of Ahab (and probably, Jezebel). 5. Jehoram of Judah and Athaliah had a son named Ahaziah, who after the death of his father became king. Jehu killed him, when he became king of Israel. 6. After the death of her son Ahaziah, Athaliah seized political control in Judah, by killing all her grandchildren! What kind of woman is this that kills her grandchildren? 7. Her actions result in a crisis for us. Have all the descendants of David been killed? Is this the end of the Davidic dynasty? Has the prophecy proven false? Is there no one left of David’s descendants? 8. Reading of 2 Kings 11:1-3.Discussion:
I. Jehosheba, Ahaziah’s sisterand wife of Jehoiada, the priest, saved Joash (2 Kings 11:1-3; cf. 2 Chron. 22:10-12). 2 Kings 8:19 says, “The Lord was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant, since He had promised him to give a lamp to him through his sons always.”A. Joash(Jehoash) was hidden away in the temple for six years during Athaliah’s reign.
1. She is described in 2 Chron. 24:7 as “wicked Athaliah.”
2. Under her leadership Baal worship was vigorously promoted in Judah. 2 Chron. 24:7 describes how her sons had broken into the house of God and used the holy things of the house of the Lord for the Baals.
B. Jehoiada used the palace guards to protect the young king.
1. Athaliah used her power in a destructive way to allow her to usurp the authority of the Davidic dynasty. She had intended to kill all those who would threaten her position.
2. Jehoiada, however, used his power to protect the life of the future king.
a. He made a covenant with the palace guards and so they protected the king.
b. Jehoiada and Jehosheba risked their lives to protect the king.
C. Jehoiada with the help of the palace guard proclaimed Joash king (2 Kings 11:11-12).
1. The power was shifted from Athaliah.
2. And although she screamed “Treason!” she was executed at the horses’ entrance of the king’s house.
D. Repeatedly throughout this study we have witnessed the result when people have tried to take power for themselves.
1. During the days of the Judges, Abimelech, had killed 70 sons of Jerubbaal in order to take control. But God returned his wickedness upon him and he was killed when a woman threw an upper millstone on his head (Judges 9).
2. David stood in contrast and would not exercise his power to execute Saul.
3. Oh, ladies and gentlemen, be very careful about your use of power. Do not usurp power. Do not use your power to crush others so that you can gain control. Such is opposed to the way of God. He uses His power to empower others! He intends for us to do the same. When you lift yourself up at the expense of others the Lord will bring you low. Whether in your family (in your relationship with your spouse and your children), in your business, in whatever relationship you find yourself in, use your power to empower others, never to exalt yourself or take selfish advantage of another. The Lord Himself said, “I did not come to be served, but to serve and to give My life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28).
4. Like Athaliah you may have control for a while, but the judgment of God comes upon those who crush and destroy others in order to exalt themselves.
II. “Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people, that they would be the Lord’s people” (2 Kings 11:17). Note also 2 Sam. 5:3.A. This is a renewal of the commitment of the people to their relationship with the Lord.
1. In Josh. 24, near the end of Joshua’s life, he rehearsed the history of the nation from Abraham, to the Exodus, and through the wilderness wandering and reminded them that God had given them the land that He had promised. He called on them to choose whom they would serve, the idols which their fathers served or the gods of the Amorites, but “For me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
2. Jehoiada’s covenant echoed the same message.
B. The people destroyed the house of Baal, his altars, his images and killed Mattan the priest of Baal. It was a matter of religious intolerance in the theocracy of Judah.
C. The people rejoiced and the city was quiet.
D. Jehoash (Joash) “did what was right in the sight of the Lord all his days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him” (12:2; 2 Chron. 24:2).
1. Jehoiada instructed Joash in the ways of the Lord.
2. He was a powerful influence upon this young man’s life.
3. He was not his father, nor his grandfather. He was Joash’s uncle by marriage. He had adopted him into his family. He had protected his life and instructed him in the way of the Lord.
4. Who are you adopting into your family? Whose life are you protecting? Who are you empowering? Who are you instructing in the way of the Lord?
E. Jehoiada not only led this young man. He led the people. He reminded them that they were the Lord’s people. Are you reminding people of their commitment to the Lord? Are you reminding them who they are? Are you calling on them to renew their covenant with God? Are you advocating tolerance for intolerable situations? Do you promote false worship? Give in to it? Or are you leading the way to an exclusive commitment from the people to their God?
F. Listen to the summary of Jehoiada’s life from 2 Chron. 24:15: “Now when Jehoiada reached a ripe old age he died; he was one hundred and thirty years old at his death. They buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done well in Israel and to God and His house.” Might it be said of you that you have done well in Israel and to God and His house.
Conclusion:
1. Although this lesson fulfills the prophecy made concerning David’s household, it is really about the influence of one man, Jehoiada. 2. Jehoiada and his wife, Jehosheba were the agents of God who kept the Davidic lineage alive. 3. Jehoiada and Jehosheba lived powerful and influential lives that kept the hope of Israel alive in their generation. 4. May their tribe increase! May we be like them!
