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Context No. 3594 of 4322 · 2 Kings

Context · Reflection

2 Kings 11:9-14: in context

9The captains over hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded; and they each took his men, those who were to come in on the Sabbath with those who were to go out on the Sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. 10The priest delivered to the captains over hundreds the spears and shields that had been King David’s, which were in the LORD’s house. 11The guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, along by the altar and the house, around the king. 12Then he brought out the king’s son, and put the crown on him, and gave him the covenant; and they made him king and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, “Long live the king!” 13When Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people into the LORD’s house; 14and she looked, and behold, the king stood by the pillar, as the tradition was, with the captains and the trumpets by the king; and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, “Treason! Treason!”

The rightful heir Joash, hidden for years from the murderous queen Athaliah, is at last brought out, crowned, and anointed king, to the joy of the people. The faithful priest Jehoiada had preserved the royal line through a dark time and now restores the true king. And Athaliah, who had seized the throne by killing the royal family, comes running, tears her clothes, and cries, treason, treason!

There is a striking irony here: the murderous usurper accuses the rightful restoration of treason. Those who have seized what is not theirs often cry foul when the true order is restored, calling justice itself a crime. But behind the drama is God's faithfulness to his covenant with David, preserving the royal line through which the Messiah would come, even when it hung by a single hidden child. God keeps his promises even through the dark threats that seem certain to destroy them, guarding the true King's line against every usurper who rises against it.

Do I trust that God faithfully preserves his purposes even through dark and threatening times, guarding what he has promised against every effort to overthrow it?

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