2 Kings 11: 1 – 21
The Hiding Place
11 When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs. 2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being murdered; and they hid him and his nurse in the bedroom, from Athaliah, so that he was not killed. 3 So he was hidden with her in the house of the LORD for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land. 4 In the seventh year Jehoiada sent and brought the captains of hundreds—of the bodyguards and the escorts—and brought them into the house of the LORD to him. And he made a covenant with them and took an oath from them in the house of the LORD and showed them the king’s son. 5 Then he commanded them, saying, “This is what you shall do: One-third of you who come on duty on the Sabbath shall be keeping watch over the king’s house, 6 one-third shall be at the gate of Sur, and one-third at the gate behind the escorts. You shall keep the watch of the house, lest it be broken down. 7 The two [contingents of you who go off duty on the Sabbath shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD for the king. 8 But you shall surround the king on all sides, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes within range, let him be put to death. You are to be with the king as he goes out and as he comes in.”9 So the captains of the hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. Each of them took his men who were to be on duty on the Sabbath, with those who were going off duty on the Sabbath and came to Jehoiada the priest. 10 And the priest gave the captains of hundreds the spears and shields which had belonged to King David, that were in the temple of the LORD. 11 Then the escorts stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, all around the king, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, by the altar and the house. 12 And he brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, and gave him the Testimony; they made him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, “Long live the king!” 13 Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the escorts and the people, she came to the people in the temple of the LORD. 14 When she looked, there was the king standing by a pillar according to custom; and the leaders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. So Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out, “Treason! Treason!” 15 And Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the army, and said to them, “Take her outside under guard, and slay with the sword whoever follows her.” For the priest had said, “Do not let her be killed in the house of the LORD.” 16 So they seized her; and she went by way of the horses’ entrance into the king’s house, and there she was killed. 17 Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD, the king, and the people, that they should be the LORD’s people and also between the king and the people. 18 And all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal, and tore it down. They thoroughly broke in pieces its altars and images, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD. 19 Then he took the captains of hundreds, the bodyguards, the escorts, and all the people of the land; and they brought the king down from the house of the LORD and went by way of the gate of the escorts to the king’s house. Then he sat on the throne of the kings. 20 So all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet, for they had slain Athaliah with the sword in the king’s house. 21 Jehoash was seven years old when he became king.
When you read the whole chapter, I would venture to say that the words you first think of is ‘The Hiding Place’.
Has someone ever had to protect you? Have you had to protect someone else?
The Hiding Place is a 1971 book on the life of Corrie ten Boom, written by ten Boom together with John and Elizabeth Sherrill.
The idea of a book on ten Boom's life began as John and Elizabeth Sherrill were doing research for the book God's Smuggler, about ten Boom's fellow Dutchman, Andrew van der Bijl. Corrie ten Boom was already in her mid-seventies when the Sherrill’s first heard about her. ‘We could never fit her into the book,’ we said. "She sounds like a book in herself."
The title refers to both the physical hiding place where the ten Boom family hid Jews from the Nazis, and also to the Scriptural message found in Psalm 119:114 which states, "Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word... "
“In God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?” Psalm 56:11
“You are a hiding place for me; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with shouts of deliverance.” Psalm 32:7
In 1940 the Nazis invaded Holland. Because of their strong Christian beliefs, the Ten Boom family wanted to save their Jewish friends from the death camps. Corrie, who had come to think of herself as a middle-aged spinster, soon found herself involved in the procurement of black-market goods, bribery, smuggling rations, and the forgery of documents to feed and save the lives of the people who came to their home for refuge. Do you think you would have helped?
The Dutch Underground arranged for a secret room to be built in the Ten Boom home in case there was a raid. Extra dishes on the table, a warm bed, a piece of trash in the wastebasket -- any small thing could give away the presence of someone hiding. The family and guests practiced being able to get everything picked up and the people into the hiding place as quickly as possible.
When Corrie asked her father why some Christian people would not help those in need, her father replied, “If a mouse is in the cookie jar that does not make him a cookie.” Corrie’s father, Casper, was resolute in his commitment to help others. He was well into his eighties at the time of their arrest. A Nazi official offered to let him go if he promised that he would not make any more trouble. He could not agree that he would not help more people and went to prison instead. Do you have any resolute convictions?
In prison Corrie and Betsy had to live through very difficult conditions. Although life was hard for Corrie, she was most concerned about Betsy who was not strong and struggled with illness. The barracks they lived in was infested with fleas. It was unpleasant, but Betsy insisted that God could use the fleas for good.
Later they realized that the fleas gave them freedom and protected the women in their barracks from being molested, because the guards didn’t want fleas.
Can you trust that God can take the problems in your life and use them for your good if you ask Him?
Corrie was amazed by her sister Betsy’s strong faith. In every camp they used a hidden Bible to teach their fellow prisoners about Jesus. Life was difficult for both, but Corrie and Betsy thanked God for the blessings that saw in their lives.
When Germany occupied Holland during WW2 the Nazis took everyone’s radios to cut the people off from news of the outside world. Abusive people isolate their victims to destroy their hope and so that
others can’t see the cruelty that is happening. In prison Corrie was told, “You think that you can last by praying, the only way you can exist here is hate.” Corrie replied, “Hate can put you in a worse prison than this.” It has been said that hate is like acid. It causes the most damage to container that holds it.
We could do with a revival of The Hiding Place on American bookshelves. Not only does this story remind us that God is with us always, but it shows where we may find ourselves. If we do not heed His will we will be in a very unsafe place where there is no hiding at all.
Today we are going to find a different hiding place. It is in the house of the Lord.
On hearing of the death of Ahaziah, king of Judah, at the hands of Jehu, and the overthrowing of the dynasty of Omri in Israel, Ahaziah’s mother Athaliah, a daughter of Ahab and the influential ‘queen mother’, seized the throne of Judah and sought to destroy all the seed royal, seeking to salvage something for the house of Ahab. The result appeared to be that the house of David was about to be exterminated, and it was all due to their association with the house of Ahab.
But our Great Father God YHWH had not forgotten His promises to David (2 Samuel 7) and Ahaziah’s half-sister Jehosheba (presumably by another wife of Jehoram) hid one of Ahaziah’s infant sons, Joash, so that he survived the massacre, after which he was kept in hiding for many years in the Temple, until the time came for his revealing to Judah. Then when the appropriate time came Jehoiada, the faithful Priest who, with Jehosheba his wife had watched over him, presented him before the commanders of the Temple guards whom he knew that he could rely on, taking from them suitable oaths of secrecy and loyalty.
The result was that, after carefully putting in place certain safeguards, Joash was crowned, anointed and acclaimed in the Temple by both the guards and a gathering of the people. The noise of the acclamation was such that it brought the unsuspecting Athaliah hurrying to the scene, presumably accompanied by several attendants, and when she realized what was happening she cried out ‘treason’. But she had little popular support, and with her own main bodyguard and supporters (as worshippers of Baal) presumably largely elsewhere she was at the mercy of the Temple guards. She was therefore led out of the Temple and slain. Her rebellion was at an end. This was then followed by the renewal of the covenants of YHWH and the destruction of the sanctuary of Baal.
We should note that we do not strictly have a record of the reign of Athaliah. She is seen rather as a brief and unpleasant interlude leading up to the restoration of the Davidic monarchy and of the covenants of YHWH, and the account of her reign simply deals with her failure to extirpate the house of David, and her death.
11 When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs.
When Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab, Ahaziah’s mother, learned that Ahaziah had been slain by Jehu, she determined to usurp the throne of Judah, and set about destroying all the seed royal. Had she succeeded the house of David would have been no more. It is clear from this that she had her own band of loyal supporters in Judah, many of whom would have come with her from Israel, certainly enough to subdue all opposition with no rival contender appearing to challenge her. As the queen mother she held a respected position, and there appeared to be no one who could claim to oppose her.
Athaliah was a worshipper of Baal and had set up a Temple of Baal in Jerusalem. Her usurpation of the throne was thus a momentous occasion for Judah, for it continued and extended the influence of Ahaziah who had promoted Baal worship (8.27). That she was not, however popular comes out in the sequel. Her most fervent opponents would be the priests and Levites of YHWH.
2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being murdered; and they hid him and his nurse in the bedroom, from Athaliah, so that he was not killed.
What Athaliah was not aware of was that Ahaziah’s sister, Jehosheba, a daughter of the deceased king Jehoram of Judah, had been able to steal away Ahaziah’s infant son Joash, and along with his nurse, hide him in a bedchamber in the palace, with the result that he was not slain. He was then subsequently secretly transferred to the Temple precincts where he was watched over by Jehoiada the Priest (High Priest). From 2 Chronicles 22.11 we learn that Jehosheba was in fact the wife of Jehoiada. Through her YHWH had watched over the house of David and had ensured its continuation as He had promised (2 Samuel 7).
3 So he was hidden with her in the house of the LORD for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land.
The fact that Jehosheba was Jehoiada’s wife explains why she was able to remain in the Temple precincts without arousing suspicion, and why she was able to keep the growing son of Ahaziah hidden there, presumably in the High Priest’s residence, or, as Josephus hazarded, in a store room of the Temple. He was kept there for six years, along with his nurse, and meanwhile Athaliah reigned over the land. But she was clearly not popular, being a foreign usurper and a Baalite, and being able to continue her reign only as a result of her own armed supporters and in view of the fact that she had had the status of queen mother, with no Davidic contender for the throne visible. The fact that she was so easily overthrown brings out her underlying unpopularity, especially once a son of David appeared.
4 In the seventh year Jehoiada sent and brought the captains of hundreds—of the bodyguards and the escorts—and brought them into the house of the LORD to him. And he made a covenant with them and took an oath from them in the house of the LORD and showed them the king’s son.
In the seventh year after the coup, Joash being seven years old (verse 21), Jehoiada felt that it was time to act. Calling to him those commanders whom he knew to be loyal, probably therefore those over the temple guards (who would be Levites and could be relied on), he took an oath of secrecy from them and then showed them the king’s son in the Temple. Their ready acceptance might suggest that when the king’s sons were born they were marked with an identifying tattoo, which was shown to them. Alternately the testimony of the nurse and of Jehosheba, supported by the reputation of Jehoiada, may have been accepted.
‘The guard’ were presumably the Temple guard who would all be Levites. The royal bodyguard would hardly be of such a nature as all to be trustworthy in such a delicate situation. The Temple guard would have numbered well over a thousand if we consider the fact that Solomon made three hundred shields to be borne by those on duty (1 Kings 10.17). When they were in use there would be those who were off duty, and even then, not all on duty would have been among those who bore the shields as there would still be other guard duty to do.
5 Then he commanded them, saying, “This is what you shall do: One-third of you who come on duty on the Sabbath shall be keeping watch over the king’s house, 6 one-third shall be at the gate of Sur, and one-third at the gate behind the escorts. You shall keep the watch of the house, lest it be broken down.
We are only given the bare bones of the plot, but we can be sure that it had been meticulously planned. It was probably timed to take place during a regular feast when crowds of people gathering to the Temple would not cause concern and was clearly at the time of the changing of the Temple guard when movements in and out by armed guards would be expected. Others, however, who were not of the Temple guard going on and off duty, (the latter being able to move in and out armed as they commenced or finished duty), had to enter the Temple without weapons and be supplied with weapons in the Temple area (verse 10), because for them to enter the Temple armed would have been seen as suspicious.
The instructions in this verse were for the incoming Temple guards. These were those who came into the Temple on the Sabbath to begin their period of duty, clearly in this case more than usual because of what was anticipated (proved by the fact that they made up three companies), but not sufficiently more to arouse suspicions (no one would be counting but the numbers would have to be kept within bounds). Of these one third were to guard the house where the king was residing, one third were to guard the gate Sur, and one third were to be at the gate of the keepers. Their joint responsibility was to watch over the house where the king was in residence, and to be ready for any armed opponents who might try to enter the Temple by the gates mentioned to attack the king.
7 The two contingents of you who go off duty on the Sabbath shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD for the king.
Meanwhile those who were preparing to go ‘off duty’ would not actually do so but would act as further guards in the Temple so as directly to protect the king. Of these guards, (whose numbers had not been deliberately increased because they had been on duty all week), there were only two companies, composed of the alternating guard duties. As you can discern these men were very loyal to go to all this extra work to protect the only remaining heir to the throne of David.
8 But you shall surround the king on all sides, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes within range, let him be put to death. You are to be with the king as he goes out and as he comes in.”
When the king was brought out for his coronation their responsibility would be to surround the king with their weapons at the ready and to ensure that any who sought to break their ranks would be killed instantly. They would go with him into the Temple, and out again once the proceedings were over, guarding him always.
9 So the captains of the hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. Each of them took his men who were to be on duty on the Sabbath, with those who were going off duty on the Sabbath and came to Jehoiada the priest.
The commanders over these military units did precisely as Jehoiada had commanded, both those who were over the guards who were coming on duty, and those who were over those going off duty.
10 And the priest gave the captains of hundreds the spears and shields which had belonged to King David, that were in the temple of the LORD.
It would appear from this that Temple guards who were not of those going on and off duty were also introduced into the Temple, probably along with other selected loyal troops, but as ordinary unarmed citizens so as not to arouse suspicion. As a result, they had to be provided with arms after entering the Temple and this was accomplished by calling on the spears and shields which had been King David’s and which were clearly stored there. These would be special shields and spears which had originally been sanctified for use within the actual Temple and were kept in the Temple store. They would have been used in the sanctuary in the time of David and Solomon, while the Temple was being built, although later being partly replaced by the golden ceremonial shields of Solomon. When Solomon replaced them with his shields of gold the old sanctified spears and shields were presumably stored away in the Temple, because being ‘sanctified’ they had to remain in the Temple area. And even when the shields of gold (later replaced by shields of bronze) were used spears would presumably be required. These ancient shields and spears now proved useful on this occasion.
11 Then the escorts stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, all around the king, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, by the altar and the house.
The result was that there were armed guards everywhere, assembled without the least suspicion, and all stood ready with their weapons in their hands, both to the right side of the Temple and to the left side of the Temple, and along by the altar and the sanctuary, and at the king’s side and around the king himself as he was brought out.
12 And he brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, and gave him the Testimony; they made him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, “Long live the king!”
Then the event took place that most present could only have dreamed of. A genuine heir of the house of David was ‘brought out’, and was crowned in accordance with the customs prevailing in Judah;
• The crown was placed on his head.
• The testimony (probably Exodus 20.2-17 in written form, a copy of what was on the tablets stored in the Ark of the Testimony - 1 Kings 8.9) was placed in his hand, or symbolically placed upon him.
• He was anointed by the Priest. 1 Samuel 10.1
• Finally, he was acclaimed by all present with the cry, ‘May the king live (long)’. 1 Samuel 10.24
13 Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the escorts and the people, she came to the people in the temple of the LORD. 14 When she looked, there was the king standing by a pillar according to custom; and the leaders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. So Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out, “Treason! Treason!”
On hearing the cries of acclamation in the Temple Athaliah was concerned to discover the cause of it, and came from the palace into the Temple, no doubt accompanied by armed attendants. She must have been totally without suspicion to arrive in the way that she did and must equally have been totally taken aback when she discovered there a boy wearing a crown, standing by the coronation pillar (the recognized ‘king’s pillar’), and being hailed by the commanders of the guard and all the people present, with loud cries of acclamation and the blowing of rams’ horns and surrounded by a large number of armed men. She was so taken aback that she tore her clothes and cried out in alarm, ‘treason, treason’. She was furious. She had felt safe to come there because she had known the Temple guard were there, and she just could not believe that the whole of the Temple guard had turned against her. After all they had always treated her with the greatest of respect. (Had she realized the true position earlier she could have withdrawn quietly and waited until she could round up her own loyal supporters and call out the royal bodyguard, but she had acted on impulse and presumably could not believe that this was happening to her until it was too late).
15 And Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the army, and said to them, “Take her outside under guard, and slay with the sword whoever follows her.” For the priest had said, “Do not let her be killed in the house of the LORD.”
Then Jehoiada commanded the commanders of hundreds who were over the host of guards gathered there to remove her from the Temple between the ranks of guards, and once she was outside the Temple area to slay her and those who were loyal to her, because it was not fitting that blood be shed in this way in the house of YHWH.
16 So they seized her; and she went by way of the horses’ entrance into the king’s house, and there she was killed.
There is no indication that there was any resistance from any of her personal guards so the ranks opened up for her and she was led out by way of the horses’ entrance to the king’s house, and there she was executed.
The horse gate was at the rear of the palace That she had to use this gate indicated that she was no longer seen as queen. It may therefore be that she was slain in the palace stables. One thing additional we need to see here is how this is some way is also related to the demise of her evil mom Jezebel relative to horses where we read in chapter 9, “30 Now when Jehu had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she put paint on her eyes and adorned her head, and looked through a window. 31 Then, as Jehu entered at the gate, she said, “Is it peace, Zimri, murderer of your master?” 32 And he looked up at the window, and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” So two or three eunuchs looked out at him. 33 Then he said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses; and he trampled her underfoot. 34 And when he had gone in, he ate and drank. Then he said, “Go now, see to this accursed woman, and bury her, for she was a king’s daughter.” 35 So they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. 36 Therefore they came back and told him. And he said, “This is the word of the LORD, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel; 37 and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as refuse on the surface of the field, in the plot at Jezreel, so that they shall not say, “Here lies Jezebel.”
Athaliah having been disposed of, and the Davidic king having been restored and crowned, we now have a summary of the events that immediately followed, commencing with the renewing of the covenants, and the consequent extirpation of Baalism, and culminating in a reference to the enthronement of the Davidic king. These are not necessarily in chronological order. Rather they bring out the three necessary elements to the full restoration of Judah, the renewing of the covenants with YHWH which was the first essential step, the necessarily following destruction of the sanctuary of Baal and execution of its high priest, and the final enthroning of Joash on the official throne of David in accordance with YHWH’s covenant with the house of David, which is the highlighted feature of the whole passage.
17 Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD, the king, and the people, that they should be the LORD’s people, and also between the king and the people.
In very abbreviated form we learn that Jehoiada re-established the sacred covenants; the sacred covenant of YHWH with the Davidic house, ‘YHWH and the king’ (2 Samuel 7.8-16), the sacred covenant of YHWH with the people, (including the king), ‘YHWH --- and the people’ (Exodus 20.2-17), and the political (although still sacred) covenant between king and people, ‘between king also and people’. The kingdom had returned to YHWH based on the covenants of YHWH.
18 And all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They thoroughly broke in pieces its altars and images and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD.
Then the freemen of Israel, the landed gentry and freeholders in contrast with the city bureaucrats, went to the hated house of Baal and tore it down. They were dethroning Baal. They broke in pieces his altars and his images. And they slew Mattan, the high priest of Baal in Jerusalem, before those altars. This was, of course, a necessary consequence of the official renewing of the covenants, and with the people in control, supported by the Temple guard, the followers of Baal remained quiet. The will of the people was conclusive.
19 Then he took the captains of hundreds, the bodyguards, the escorts, and all the people of the land; and they brought the king down from the house of the LORD and went by way of the gate of the escorts to the king’s house. Then he sat on the throne of the kings.
Meanwhile those who had been involved in the coronation, the commanders of military units, the elite units of Temple executioners and the general Temple guard, together with the ‘people of the land’ brought the king down from the house of YHWH, and came by the gate of the guard to the palace which was now once more the king’s house, and there he was officially seated on ‘the throne of kings’, the Davidic throne. The lack of interference by, or even cooperation of, the royal bodyguard and the standing army suggest that they too were ready to support Yahwism and the people. Athaliah had had few real friends
20 So all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet, for they had slain Athaliah with the sword in the king’s house.
The city was now filled with rejoicing by ‘the people of the land’, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who could be expected to be more tied to the reigning monarch, themselves remained quiet and peaceful. Athaliah was dead, slain with the sword at the entrance to the palace, and few mourned her passing.
21 Jehoash was seven years old when he became king.
And the result was that Jehoash commenced his reign at the age or seven years old. But it was not his age that mattered, it was that he was the true heir to the throne of David. This little king was governed and cared for by a godly couple who loved, followed, and obeyed our Great God Yahweh.
