2 Chronicles 23:1-15 (October 11th, 2025)

Joash Made King

23 But in the seventh year Jehoiada took courage and entered into a covenant with the commanders of hundreds, Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, Azariah the son of Obed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri. 2 And they went about through Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the heads of fathers' houses of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. 3 And all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And Jehoiada[a] said to them, “Behold, the king's son! Let him reign, as the Lord spoke concerning the sons of David. 4 This is the thing that you shall do: of you priests and Levites who come off duty on the Sabbath, one third shall be gatekeepers, 5 and one third shall be at the king's house and one third at the Gate of the Foundation. And all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the Lord. 6 Let no one enter the house of the Lord except the priests and ministering Levites. They may enter, for they are holy, but all the people shall keep the charge of the Lord. 7 The Levites shall surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand. And whoever enters the house shall be put to death. Be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”

8 The Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded, and they each brought his men, who were to go off duty on the Sabbath, with those who were to come on duty on the Sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss the divisions. 9 And Jehoiada the priest gave to the captains the spears and the large and small shields that had been King David's, which were in the house of God. 10 And he set all the people as a guard for the king, every man with his weapon in his hand, from the south side of the house to the north side of the house, around the altar and the house. 11 Then they brought out the king's son and put the crown on him and gave him the testimony. And they proclaimed him king, and Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and they said, “Long live the king.”

Athaliah Executed

12 When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she went into the house of the Lord to the people. 13 And when she looked, there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance, and the captains and the trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and the singers with their musical instruments leading in the celebration. And Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, “Treason! Treason!” 14 Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains who were set over the army, saying to them, “Bring her out between the ranks, and anyone who follows her is to be put to death with the sword.” For the priest said, “Do not put her to death in the house of the Lord.” 15 So they laid hands on her,[b] and she went into the entrance of the horse gate of the king's house, and they put her to death there.

When Courage Restores What Fear Destroyed

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Summary

For six long years, Athaliah ruled Judah by terror after murdering nearly all the royal heirs. The Davidic line, along with God’s covenant promise, seemed extinguished. Yet during those hidden years, Joash, the infant son of Ahaziah, was safely sheltered in the temple under the care of Jehoiada the priest and Jehoshabeath, his wife (22:11–12).

Now, in the seventh year, Jehoiada acted. He gathered courage and summoned the military captains, the Levites, and the heads of families throughout Judah. They made a covenant together in the temple, declaring,

This was not merely a political coup. It was an act of faithful obedience to God’s covenant.

Jehoiada organized the priests and guards into divisions around the young king, ensuring that the temple, God’s house, was at the center of this renewal. Armed men surrounded Joash, but their real weapon was the Word of the Lord. When everything was ready, Jehoiada brought out the seven-year-old boy, crowned him, gave him a copy of the covenant law, and proclaimed him king. The people shouted,

Athaliah heard the noise and came rushing into the temple. There she saw the boy standing by his pillar at the entrance, with officers and trumpets beside him. The people were rejoicing, singing, and playing instruments.

Athaliah screamed, “Treason! Treason!”—but her cry was hollow. Jehoiada ordered her execution outside the temple grounds, saying,

The guards seized her, and she was killed near the Horse Gate.

After years of darkness, the covenant lamp was burning again. The boy-king was alive, the temple was central, and the Lord had restored His people through courage, covenant, and worship.

Who is God?

• God doesn't give up. He is the Redeemer who raises up faithful servants to accomplish His purposes in the darkest times. He is never absent. He waits for His appointed time. When all seemed lost, He worked through Jehoiada, a faithful priest, to bring forth renewal.

• God works with the humble. God’s salvation often begins not with kings or armies, but with faithfulness in hidden places. Joash grew up within the temple, waiting for God's time in quiet obedience. God's divine work was being done through those who fear Him more than man.

• God preserves His covenant promises, even through one child and one courageous act. What sin destroys, God restores through faithful obedience.

What is our guilt?

• We often live as though God’s promises depend on human strength, position, or visibility. We forget that He works through those the world ignores.

• Like the people of Judah, we may grow accustomed to spiritual darkness, tolerating what God never approves. When Athaliah ruled, Judah adjusted to corruption. They forgot the covenant and accepted tyranny.

• Our guilt is also complacency. We think that faith can survive without courage, that holiness can exist without costly obedience. This passage tells us it is not so. We excuse our silence by calling it prudence, and our fear by calling it wisdom. But God calls His people to trust Him enough to act, even when it’s risky.

How does grace shine?

• Grace shines through Jehoiada’s faith and God’s faithfulness. The restoration of the Davidic line was not a human triumph but divine mercy. The covenant survived not because Judah was strong, but because God’s promise was unstoppable.

• The child Joash prefigures Christ, the greater Son of David, who would also come in weakness, hidden from the world’s power, and later revealed as the true King.

• Jehoiada’s courage points us to Christ’s own faithfulness, who risked everything to restore a fallen world to covenant fellowship with God.

• God’s grace always raises life from death, faith from fear, and hope from ruin.

• The cry of “Long live the King!” in Jehoiada’s day anticipates the song we will one day sing to the eternal King, whose reign will never end.

Prayer

O Lord,

You are faithful through the generations.

When all seems lost, Your promises still stand.

Forgive us for our fear, complacency, and silence.

Forgive us for tolerating what You condemn.

Thank You for raising faithful servants like Jehoiada,

and for sending Jesus Christ, the greater Son of David,

who restores what sin has destroyed.

Give us courage to act in faith,

to guard the truth,

and to live as witnesses of Your covenant grace.

In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray.

Amen.

Footnote: Jehoshabeath, though born into a corrupt royal household, chose faithfulness over fear. Likely a half-sister of King Ahaziah, she was not the daughter of Athaliah but of another wife of Jehoram, one untouched by Ahab’s idolatry. Through her marriage to Jehoiada, the faithful priest of the temple, God joined together the royal and priestly lines, preserving the covenant promise even in an age of apostasy. While Athaliah sought to destroy the house of David, Jehoshabeath quietly became its guardian. Her courage shows that God’s grace can raise up faithful people even in the darkest families, and that His redemptive plan often depends on the hidden obedience of those who fear Him more than man.