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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1708)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>S E C O N D K I N G S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XI.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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The revolution in the kingdom of Israel was soon perfected in Jehu's
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settlement; we must now enquire into the affairs of the kingdom of
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Judah, which lost its head (such as it was) at the same time, and by
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the same hand, as Israel lost its head; but things continued longer
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there in distraction than in Israel, yet, after some years, they were
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brought into a good posture, as we find in this chapter.
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I. Athaliah usurps the government and destroys all the seed-royal,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+11:1">ver. 1</A>.
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II. Joash, a child of a year old, is wonderfully preserved,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+11:2,3">ver. 2, 3</A>.
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III. At six years' end he is produced, and, by the agency of Jehoiada,
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made king,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+11:4-12">ver. 4-12</A>.
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IV. Athaliah is slain,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+11:13-16">ver. 13-16</A>.
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V. Both the civil and religious interests of the kingdom are well
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settled in the hands of Joash,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+11:17-21">ver. 17-21</A>.
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And thus, after some interruption, things returned with advantage into
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the old channel.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="2Ki11_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki11_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki11_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Death of Athaliah.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 878.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was
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dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal.
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2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah,
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took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the
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king's sons <I>which were</I> slain; and they hid him, <I>even</I> him and
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his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not
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slain.
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3 And he was with her hid in the house of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> six years.
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And Athaliah did reign over the land.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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God had assured David of the continuance of his family, which is called
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his <I>ordaining a lamp for his anointed;</I> and this cannot but
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appear a great thing, now that we have read of the utter extirpation of
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so many royal families, one after another. Now here we have David's
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promised lamp almost extinguished and yet wonderfully preserved.</P>
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<P>
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I. It was almost extinguished by the barbarous malice of Athaliah, the
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queen-mother, who, when she heard that her son Ahaziah was slain by
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Jehu, <I>arose and destroyed all the seed-royal</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+11:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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all that she knew to be akin to the crown. Her husband Jehoram had
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slain all his brethren the sons of Jehoshaphat,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+21:4">2 Chron. xxi. 4</A>.
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The Arabians had slain all Jehoram's sons except Ahaziah,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+22:1">2 Chron. xxii. 1</A>.
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Jehu had slain all their sons
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+22:8">2 Chron. xxii. 8</A>)
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and Ahaziah himself. Surely never was royal blood so profusely shed.
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Happy the men of inferior birth, who live below envy and emulation!
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But, as if all this were but a small matter, Athaliah destroyed all
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that were left of the seed-royal. It was strange that one of the tender
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sex could be so barbarous, that one who had been herself a king's
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daughter, a king's wife, and a king's mother, could be so barbarous to
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a royal family, and a family into which she was herself ingrafted; but
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she did it,
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1. From a spirit of ambition. She thirsted after rule, and thought she
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could not get to it any other way. That none might reign with her, she
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slew even the infants and sucklings that might have reigned after her.
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For fear of a competitor, not any must be reserved for a successor.
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2. From a spirit of revenge and rage against God. The house of Ahab
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being utterly destroyed, and her son Ahaziah among the rest, because he
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was akin to it, she resolved, as it were, by way of reprisal, to
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destroy the house of David, and cut off his line, in defiance of God's
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promise to perpetuate it--a foolish attempt and fruitless, for who can
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disannul what God hath purposed? Grandmothers have been thought more
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fond of their grandchildren than they were of their own; yet Ahaziah's
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own mother is the wilful murderer of Ahaziah own sons, and in their
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infancy too, when she was obliged, above any other, to nurse them and
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take care of them. Well might she be called <I>Athaliah, that wicked
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woman</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+24:7">2 Chron. xxiv. 7</A>),
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Jezebel's own daughter; yet herein God was righteous, and visited the
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iniquity of Joram and Ahaziah, those degenerate branches of David's
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house, upon their children.</P>
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<P>
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II. It was wonderfully preserved by the pious care of one of Joram's
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daughters (who was wife to Jehoiada the priest), who stole away one of
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the king's sons, Joash by name, and hid him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+11:2,3"><I>v.</I> 2, 3</A>.
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This was a brand plucked out of the fire; what number were slain we are
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not told, but, it seems, this being a child in the nurse's arms was not
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missed, or not enquired after, or at least no found. The person that
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delivered him was his own aunt, the daughter of wicked Joram; for God
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will raise up protectors for those whom he will have protected. The
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place of his safety was the house of the Lord, one of the chambers
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belonging to the temple, a place Athaliah seldom troubled. His aunt, by
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bringing him hither, put him under God's special protection, and so hid
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him by faith, as Moses was hidden. Now were David's words made good to
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one of his seed
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+27:5">Ps. xxvii. 5</A>),
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<I>In the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me.</I> With good
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reason did this Joash, when he grew up, set himself to repair the house
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of the Lord, for it had been a sanctuary to him. Now was the promise
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made to David bound up in one life, and yet it did not fail. Thus to
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the son of David will God, according to his promise, secure a spiritual
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seed, which, though sometimes reduced to a small number, brought very
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low, and seemingly lost, will be perpetuated to the end of time, hidden
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sometimes and unseen, but hidden in God's pavilion and unhurt. It was a
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special providence that Joram, though a king, a wicked king, married
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his daughter to Jehoiada a priest, a godly priest. Some perhaps thought
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it a disparagement to the royal family to marry a daughter to a
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clergyman, but it proved a happy marriage, and the saving of the royal
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family from ruin; for Jehoiada's interest in the temple gave <I>her</I>
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an opportunity to preserve the child, and her interest in the royal
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family gave <I>him</I> an opportunity to set him on the throne. See the
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wisdom and care of Providence, and how it prepares for what it designs;
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and see what blessings those lay up in store for their families that
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marry their children to those that are wise and good.</P>
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<A NAME="2Ki11_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki11_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki11_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki11_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki11_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki11_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki11_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki11_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki11_12"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>4 And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers
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over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them
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to him into the house of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and made a covenant with them,
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and took an oath of them in the house of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and showed
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them the king's son.
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5 And he commanded them, saying, This <I>is</I> the thing that ye
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shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall
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even be keepers of the watch of the king's house;
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6 And a third part <I>shall be</I> at the gate of Sur; and a third
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part at the gate behind the guard: so shall ye keep the watch of
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the house, that it be not broken down.
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7 And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even
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they shall keep the watch of the house of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> about the
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king.
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8 And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his
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weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let
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him be slain: and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he
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cometh in.
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9 And the captains over the hundreds did according to all
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<I>things</I> that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every
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man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that
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should go out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest.
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10 And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give king
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David's spears and shields, that <I>were</I> in the temple of the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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11 And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand,
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round about the king, from the right corner of the temple to the
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left corner of the temple, <I>along</I> by the altar and the temple.
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12 And he brought forth the king's son, and put the crown upon
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him, and <I>gave him</I> the testimony; and they made him king, and
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anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, God save
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the king.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Six years Athaliah tyrannised. We have not a particular account of her
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reign; no doubt it was of a piece with the beginning. While Jehu was
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extirpating the worship of Baal in Israel, she was establishing it in
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Judah, as appears,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+24:7">2 Chron. xxiv. 7</A>.
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The court and kingdom of Judah had been debauched by their alliance
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with the house of Ahab, and now one of that house is a curse and a
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plague to both: sinful friendships speed no better. All this while,
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Joash lay hid, entitled to a crown and intended for it, and yet buried
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alive in obscurity. Though the sons and heirs of heaven are now hidden,
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<I>the world knows them not</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:1">1 John iii. 1</A>),
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yet the time is fixed when they shall appear in glory, as Joash in his
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seventh year; by that time he was ready to be shown, not a babe, but,
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having served his first apprenticeship to life and arrived at his first
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climacterical year, he had taken a good step towards manhood; by that
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time the people had grown weary of Athaliah's tyranny and ripe for a
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revolution. How that revolution was effected we are here told.</P>
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<P>
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I. The manager of this great affair was Jehoiada the priest, probably
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the high priest, or at least the <I>sagan</I> (as the Jews called him)
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or suffragan to the high priest. By his birth and office he was a man
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in authority, whom the people were bound by the law to observe and
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obey, especially when there was no rightful king upon the throne,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:12">Deut. xvii. 12</A>.
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By marriage he was allied to the royal family, and, if all the
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seed-royal were destroyed, his wife, as daughter to Joram, had a better
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title to the crown than Athaliah had. By his eminent gifts and graces
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he was fitted to serve his country, and better service he could not do
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it than to free it from Athaliah's usurpation; and we have reason to
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think he did not make this attempt till he had first asked counsel of
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God and known his mind, either by prophets or Urim, perhaps by
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both.</P>
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<P>
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II. The management was very discreet and as became so wise and good a
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man as Jehoiada was.</P>
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<P>
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1. He concerted the matter with the <I>rulers of hundreds and the
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captains,</I> the men in office, ecclesiastical, civil, and military;
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he got them to him to the temple, consulted with them, laid before them
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the grievances they at present laboured under, gave them an oath of
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secresy, and, finding them free and forward to join with him, <I>showed
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them the king's son</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+11:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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and so well satisfied were they with his fidelity that they saw no
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reason to suspect an imposition. We may well think what a pleasing
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surprise it was to the good people among them, who feared that the
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house and lineage of David were quite cut off, to find such a spark as
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this in the embers.</P>
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<P>
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2. He posted the priests and Levites, who were more immediately under
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his direction, in the several avenues to the temple, to keep the guard,
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putting them under the command of the <I>rulers of hundreds,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+11:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
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David had divided the priests into courses, which waited by turns.
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Every sabbath-day morning a new company came into waiting, but the
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company of the foregoing week did not go out of waiting till the
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sabbath evening, so that on the sabbath day, when double service was to
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be done, there was a double number to do it, both those that were to
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come in and those that were to go out. These Jehoiada employed to
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attend on this great occasion; he armed them out of the magazines of
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the temple with David's spears and shields, either his own or those he
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had taken from his enemies, which he devoted to God's honour,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+11:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
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If they were old and unfashionable, yet those that used them might, by
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their being David's, be reminded of God's covenant with him, which they
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were now acting in the defence of. Two things they were ordered to
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do:--
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(1.) To protect the young king from being insulted; they must <I>keep
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the watch of the king's house</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+11:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
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<I>compass the king, and be with him</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+11:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
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to guard him from Athaliah's partizans, for still there were those that
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thirsted after royal blood.
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(2.) To preserve the holy temple from being profaned by the concourse
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of people that would come together on this occasion
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+11:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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<I>Keep the watch of the house, that it be</I> neither broken through
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nor broken down, and so strangers should crowd in, or such as were
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unclean. He was not so zealous for the projected revolution as to
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forget his religion. In times of the greatest hurry care must be
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taken, <I>Ne detrimentum capiat ecclesia</I>--<I>That the holy things
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of God be not trenched upon.</I> It is observable that Jehoiada
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appointed to each his place as well as his work
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+11:6,7"><I>v.</I> 6, 7</A>),
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for good order contributes very much to the expediting and
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accomplishing of any great enterprise. Let every man know, and keep,
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and make good, his post, and then the work will be done quickly.</P>
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<P>
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3. When the guards were fixed, then the king was brought forth,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+11:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
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<I>Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion!</I> for even in thy holy
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mountain thy king appears, a child indeed, but not such a one as brings
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a woe upon the land, for he is the son of nobles, the son of David
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:17">Eccl. x. 17</A>)--
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a child indeed, but he had a good guardian, and, which was better, a
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good God, to go to. Jehoiada, without delay, proceeded to the
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coronation of this young king; for, though he was not yet capable of
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despatching business, he would be growing up towards it by degrees.
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This was done with great solemnity,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+11:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
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(1.) In token of his being invested with kingly power, he <I>put the
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crown upon him,</I> though it was yet too large and heavy for his head.
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The regalia, it is probable, were kept in the temple, and so the crown
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was ready at hand.
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(2.) In token of his obligation to govern by law, and to make the word
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of God his rule, he gave him the testimony, put into his hand a Bible,
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|
in which he must <I>read all the days of his life,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:18,19">Deut. xvii. 18, 19</A>.
|
|
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(3.) In token of his receiving the Spirit, to qualify him for this
|
|
great work to which he before was called, he anointed him. Though
|
|
notice is taken of the anointing of the kings only in case of
|
|
interruption, as here, and in Solomon's case, yet I know not but the
|
|
ceremony might be used for all their kings, at least those of the house
|
|
of David, because their royalty was typical of Christ's, who was to be
|
|
anointed above his fellows, above all the sons of David.
|
|
|
|
(4.) In token of the people's acceptance of him and subjection to his
|
|
government, they clapped their hands for joy, and expressed their
|
|
hearty good wishes to him: <I>Let the king live;</I> and thus they made
|
|
him king, made him their king, consented to, and concurred with, the
|
|
divine appointment. They had reason to rejoice in the period now put to
|
|
Athaliah's tyranny, and the prospect they had of the restoration and
|
|
establishment of religion by a king under the tuition of so good a man
|
|
as Jehoiada. They had reason to bid him welcome to the crown whose
|
|
right it was, and to pray, <I>Let him live,</I> concerning him who came
|
|
to them as life from the dead and in whom the house of David was to
|
|
live. With such acclamations of joy and satisfaction must the kingdom
|
|
of Christ be welcomed into our hearts when his throne is set up there
|
|
and Satan the usurper is deposed. <I>Hosanna, blessed is he that
|
|
comes:</I> clap hands, and say, "Let King Jesus live, for ever live and
|
|
reign, in my soul, and in all the world;" it is promised
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+72:15">Ps. lxxii. 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>He shall live, and prayer shall be made for him,</I> and his
|
|
kingdom, <I>continually.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki11_13"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki11_14"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki11_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki11_16"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>13 And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard <I>and</I> of the
|
|
people, she came to the people into the temple of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
|
14 And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as
|
|
the manner <I>was,</I> and the princes and the trumpeters by the king,
|
|
and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets:
|
|
and Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, Treason.
|
|
15 But Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the
|
|
hundreds, the officers of the host, and said unto them, Have her
|
|
forth without the ranges: and him that followeth her kill with
|
|
the sword. For the priest had said, Let her not be slain in the
|
|
house of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
|
16 And they laid hands on her; and she went by the way by the
|
|
which the horses came into the king's house: and there was she
|
|
slain.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We may suppose it was designed when they had finished the solemnity of
|
|
the king's inauguration, to pay a visit to Athaliah, and call her to an
|
|
account for her murders, usurpation, and tyranny; but, like her mother
|
|
Jezebel, she saved them the labour, went out to meet them, and hastened
|
|
her own destruction.
|
|
|
|
1. Hearing the noise, she came in a fright to see what was the matter,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+11:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
Jehoiada and his friends began in silence, but now that they found
|
|
their strength, they proclaimed what they were doing. It seems,
|
|
Athaliah was little regarded, else she would have had intelligence
|
|
brought her of this daring attempt before with her own ears she heard
|
|
the noise; had the design been discovered before it was perfected, it
|
|
might have been quashed, but now it was too late. When she heard the
|
|
noise it was strange that she was so ill advised as to come herself,
|
|
and, for aught that appears, to come alone. Surely she was not so
|
|
neglected as to have none to go for her, or none to go with her, but
|
|
she was wretchedly infatuated by the transport both of fear and
|
|
indignation she was in. Whom God will destroy he befools.
|
|
|
|
2. Seeing what was done she cried out for help. She saw the king's
|
|
place by the pillar possessed by one to whom the princes and people did
|
|
homage
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+11:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>)
|
|
|
|
and had reason to conclude her power at an end, which she knew was
|
|
usurped; this made her rend her clothes, like one distracted, and cry,
|
|
"Treason! treason! Come and help against the traitors." Josephus adds
|
|
that she cried to have him killed that possessed the king's place. What
|
|
was now doing was the highest justice, yet it was branded as the
|
|
highest crime; she herself was the greatest traitor, and yet was first
|
|
and loudest in crying Treason! treason! Those that are themselves most
|
|
guilty are commonly most forward to reproach others.
|
|
|
|
3. Jehoiada gave orders to put her to death as an idolater, a usurper,
|
|
and an enemy to the public peace. Care was taken,
|
|
|
|
(1.) That she should not be killed in the temple, or any of the courts
|
|
of it, in reverence to that holy place, which must not be stained with
|
|
the blood of any human sacrifice, though ever so justly offered.
|
|
|
|
(2.) That whoever appeared for her should die with her: "Him that
|
|
follows her, to protect or rescue her, any of her attendants that
|
|
resolve to adhere to her and will not come into the interests of their
|
|
rightful sovereign, <I>kill with the sword,</I> but not unless they
|
|
follow her now,"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+11:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
According to these orders, she endeavouring to make her escape the back
|
|
way to the palace, through the stalls, they pursued her, and there
|
|
killed her,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+11:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>So let thy enemies perish, O Lord!</I> thus give the bloody harlot
|
|
blood to drink, for she is worthy.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki11_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki11_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki11_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki11_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki11_21"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>17 And Jehoiada made a covenant between the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> and the king
|
|
and the people, that they should be the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>'s people; between
|
|
the king also and the people.
|
|
18 And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal,
|
|
and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces
|
|
thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.
|
|
And the priest appointed officers over the house of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
|
19 And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and
|
|
the guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down
|
|
the king from the house of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and came by the way of the
|
|
gate of the guard to the king's house. And he sat on the throne
|
|
of the kings.
|
|
20 And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in
|
|
quiet: and they slew Athaliah with the sword <I>beside</I> the king's
|
|
house.
|
|
21 Seven years old <I>was</I> Jehoash when he began to reign.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Jehoiada had now got over the harlot part of his work, when, by the
|
|
death of Athaliah, the young prince had his way to the throne cleared
|
|
of all opposition. He had now to improve his advantages for the
|
|
perfecting of the revolution and the settling of the government. Two
|
|
things we have an account of here:--</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The good foundations he laid, by an original contract,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+11:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
Now that prince and people were together in God's house, as it should
|
|
seem before they stirred, Jehoiada took care that they should jointly
|
|
covenant with God, and mutually covenant with each other, that they
|
|
might rightly understand their duty both to God and to one another, and
|
|
be firmly bound to it.
|
|
|
|
1. He endeavoured to settle and secure the interests of religion among
|
|
them, by a covenant between them and God. King and people would then
|
|
cleave most firmly to each other when both had joined themselves to the
|
|
Lord. God had already, on his part, promised to be their God (Jehoiada
|
|
could show them that in the book of the testimony); now the king and
|
|
people on their part must covenant and agree that <I>they will be the
|
|
Lord's people:</I> in this covenant, the king stands upon the same
|
|
level with his subjects and is as much bound as any of them to serve
|
|
the Lord. By this engagement they renounced Baal, whom many of them had
|
|
worshipped, and resigned themselves to God's government. It is well
|
|
with a people when all the changes that pass over them help to revive,
|
|
strengthen, and advance the interests of religion among them. And those
|
|
are likely to prosper who set out in the world under fresh and sensible
|
|
obligations to God and their duty. By our bonds to God the bonds of
|
|
every relation are strengthened. They <I>first gave themselves to the
|
|
Lord,</I> and then <I>to us,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+8:5">2 Cor. viii. 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. He then settled both the coronation-oath and the oath of allegiance,
|
|
the <I>pacta conventa--covenant,</I> between the king and the people,
|
|
by which the king was obliged to govern according to law and to protect
|
|
his subjects, and they were obliged, while he did so, to obey him and
|
|
to bear faith and true allegiance to him. Covenants are of use both to
|
|
remind us of and to bind us to those duties which are already binding
|
|
on us. It is good, in all relations, for the parties to understand one
|
|
another fully, particularly in that between prince and subject, that
|
|
the one may understand the limits of his power and prerogative, the
|
|
other those of his liberty and property; and never may the ancient
|
|
landmarks which our fathers have set before them be removed.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The good beginnings he raised on those foundations.
|
|
|
|
1. Pursuant to their covenant with God they immediately abolished
|
|
idolatry, which the preceding kings, in compliance with the house of
|
|
Ahab, had introduced
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+11:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>All the people of the land,</I> the mob, got together, to show their
|
|
zeal against idolatry; and every one, now that they were so well
|
|
headed, would lend a hand to pull down Baal's temple, his altars, and
|
|
his images. All his worshippers, it should seem, deserted him; only his
|
|
priest Mattan stuck to his altar. Though all men forsook Baal, he would
|
|
not, and there he was slain, the best sacrifice that ever was offered
|
|
upon that altar. Having destroyed Baal's temple, they appointed
|
|
<I>officers over the house of God,</I> to see that the service of God
|
|
was regularly performed by the proper persons, in due time, and
|
|
according to the institutional manner.
|
|
|
|
2. Pursuant to their covenant with one another they expressed a mutual
|
|
readiness to and satisfaction in each other.
|
|
|
|
(1.) The king was brought in state to the royal palace, and sat there
|
|
on the throne of judgment, <I>the thrones of the house of David</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+11:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>),
|
|
|
|
ready to receive petitions and appeals, which he would refer it to
|
|
Jehoiada to give answers to and to give judgment upon.
|
|
|
|
(2.) The people rejoiced, and Jerusalem was in quiet
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+11:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>),
|
|
|
|
and Josephus says they kept a feast of joy many days, making good
|
|
Solomon's observation
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+11:10">Prov. xi. 10</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>When it goes well with the righteous the city rejoices, and when the
|
|
wicked perish there is shouting.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
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