2 Chronicles 23:1 - Meaning and Application

We can only imagine how bad things were in Jerusalem during Athaliah’s six-year rule. It is hard to see why God allowed it, and even harder to see how the people endured it so long. Yet after such a dark and long night, the return of rightful rule in this change was all the brighter and more welcome. God had sworn by his holiness that David’s line and throne would continue (Psalm 89:35), and this interruption did not cancel that promise. The stream of government now flows back into its proper channel.

The main instrument in restoring the kingdom was Jehoiada, who seems to have been a man of great wisdom. He kept the young prince hidden for so many years until he was ready to appear in public, and until the nation was tired of the usurper. He planned everything ahead of time and then carried it out with remarkable secrecy and speed. When God has work to do, he gives people the ability and strength to do it.

Jehoiada was also a man of great influence. The army commanders joined him (2 Chronicles 23:1). The Levites, priests who served in the temple, and the leaders of the families of Israel came to Jerusalem at his call (2 Chronicles 23:2), ready to follow his instructions. This shows how much wisdom and goodness can command respect. The Levites and all Judah did as Jehoiada ordered (2 Chronicles 23:8), and it is striking that everyone trusted with the secret kept quiet until the plan was completed. “The words of the wise are heard in quiet” (Ecclesiastes 9:17).

He was also a man of great faith. He was moved not only by fairness, and certainly not only by his family ties to the royal house, but by respect for God’s word and God’s promise about the crown (2 Chronicles 23:3). “The king’s son shall reign” must happen, because that is what the Lord had said. His attention to the promise, and his trust in it, gave this whole work great honor.

Jehoiada was a man of deep reverence for God as well. This matter was carried out in the temple, which might seem to excuse some breach of order because of the urgency. Even so, he gave strict orders that no one should enter the house of the Lord except the priests and Levites, who were holy, on pain of death (2 Chronicles 23:6, 7). Sacred things must never be treated as common, even when people are defending rightful civil rule.

He was also a man of strong courage. Once he took this work on, he carried it through. He brought out the king, crowned him, and gave him the testimony, that is, God’s law or covenant witness (2 Chronicles 23:11). He risked his life, but he was standing for a good cause, so he moved ahead boldly. The text says that his sons joined him in anointing the young king. One of them was likely the Zechariah whom Joash later killed for rebuking him (2 Chronicles 24:20), which made Joash’s crime even more ungrateful, since that son had gladly helped anoint him.