What I Noticed Today (2 Kings 11-13)
2 Kings 11
1 Kings 11 describes the evil reign of Athaliah and the reforms of Jehoiada.
In verses 1-3, Athaliah, mother of Ahaziah, attempted to kill off all the descendants of the royal Davidic line by having all of her own descendants killed.
- But Jehosheba (King Joram’s daughter and Ahaziah’s sister) grabbed Joash, son of Ahaziah, and hid him away in the house of the Lord for six years while Athaliah ruled over the land.
Note: Some Bibles refer to Joash as Jehoash.
In verses 4-16, in the seventh year of Athaliah’s reign Jehoiada, the priest and husband of Jehosheba gave orders for military commanders to assemble at the house of the Lord.
- Jehoiada showed the commanders Joash, the king’s son and made them swear an oath to protect him.
- The commanders did everything Jehoiada commanded.
- Jehoiada the anointed Joash king over Judah.
- Then Jehoiada ordered the military to seize Athaliah and kill her outside the entrance to the king’s palace.
In verses 17-20, Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord, the king, and the people.
- The people tore down the house of Baal; its altars and images, and killed Mattan, the priest of Baal.
- Jehoiada appointed guards to protect the Lord’s temple.
- Joash was then taken to the king’s palace and sat on the throne.
- The people rejoiced because Athaliah was dead.
Note: Jezebel brought Baal worship to Israel and promoted it as the state religion. Her daughter, Athaliah brought Baal worship to Judah and had even built a temple for the worship of Baal in Jerusalem!
2 Kings 12
In verses 1-3, the covenant between God and the seven-year-old king Joash was renewed.
- Joash became king over Judah and ruled from Jerusalem for 40-years. His mother’s name was Zibiah.
- Jehoiada, the priest, instructed the king and he did right in the eyes of the Lord except that he allowed the high places to remain where people offered sacrifices.
In verses 4-16, at some point, Joash ordered the priests to begin making repairs to the temple with the money that was offered in the temple.
- After 23 years nothing had been done to repair the temple, so Joash ordered a locked collection box be placed at the entrance of the temple.
- After the money had been collected and counted it was paid out to workmen who completed the work.
- All the temple was repaired except for replacing the temple bowl and fixtures.
In verses 17-18, Hazael, king of Aram marched against Gath and captured it and planned to march against Jerusalem.
Note: Gath was a Philistine city that had been conquered by Judah (2 Chronicles 11:8).
- King Joash gathered all the consecrated items from the temple, all the gold from the temple treasury, and all the gold in the palace and sent it to Hazael as a bribe to keep him from attacking Jerusalem.
In verses 19-21, Joash was killed by rebellious servants, was buried in Jerusalem, and his son Amaziah ruled in his place.
Note: Joash was killed by some of his officials because he had killed Zechariah, the high priest (2 Chronicles 24:0-22).
Note: Some Bibles refer to Jehoash in 2 Kings 12:1-18, then refer to him as Joash in 2 Kings 12:19-21, but it is the same person.
2 Kings 13
2 Kings 13 records the reign of kings Jehoahaz and Jehoash in Israel, and the death of Elisha.
In verses 1-9, in Joash, king of Judah’s 23rd year, Jehoahaz became king over Israel.
- He was a bad king, doing what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his fathers had done.
- Jehoahaz did seek the favor of the Lord. The Lord listened to him and gave Israel some relief from the invading Syrians. But they did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam nor did they remove the Asherah pole in Samaria.
- When Jehoahaz died his son, Jehoash (also referred to as Joash) became king over Israel.
Note: Yes, this is another king named Joash, but this king is king over Israel while the other Joash was king over Judah. Also, this Joash is also referred to as Jehoash in some Bibles.
In verses 10-13, Joash became king over Israel in the 37th year of Judah’s kings Joash.
- Joash, king of Israel, reigned 16 years in Samaria.
- He was a bad king, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord. He walked in the ways of Jeroboam causing Israel to sin.
- Joash, king of Israel, died and was replaced by his son, Jeroboam.
In verses 14-22, is the record of the death of Elisha.
- Joash, king of Israel, visited Elisha because he had heard that Elisha was about to die. He wept over Elisha, so even though he was a bad king, he seems to have had a respectful relationship with Elisha.
- Elisha gave Joash an oracle that Joash would defeat the Syrians (Hazael and Ben-hadad) three times.
Note: After Elisha died, Joash did indeed recover the cities of Israel three times from the Syrians (2 Kings 13:25).
In verses 22-25, Hazael king of Aram oppressed Israel during the reign of Jehoahaz.
- But because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Lord did not allow the Israelites to be destroyed.
- Hazael, king of Aram died, and his son Ben-hadad became king in his place.
- Then Jehoash recaptured the cities Hazael had taken from the Israelites.
Some thoughts for additional consideration:
- The future of David’s royal line was nearly obliterated when queen Athaliah killed off her descendants, but God worked miraculously to preserve the Davidic line through Joash. God worked out his purpose through one loyal woman and her husband.
- Sometimes we think that what little we can do for the kingdom doesn’t amount to much, but look what happened when one woman took action and saved a little boy. God can use us if we are faithful to Him, just like He used Jehoiada, the priest, and his wife, Jehosheba.
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.
