2 Chronicles 23:12 - Meaning and Application

Here we see the people’s joy. When the king stood at the royal pillar, where he had the right to stand, all the people of the land rejoiced to see a branch spring up from Jesse’s line, as Isaiah had foretold (Isaiah 11:1). It must have been a great delight to see what once seemed like a dry, dead root produce a king from David’s house. They hurried with joy, praised the king, and praised God, for they had people among them who were trained to sing praise.

Next, Athaliah was put to death. She rushed onto the edge of justice’s sword, because she wrongly thought her power was much greater than it was. She dared to go into the house of the Lord at that time and cried, “Treason, treason!” But no one supported her or took her side. Her pride had misled her. She thought everyone belonged to her, but no one truly did. Jehoiada, acting as protector while the king was still young, ordered her to be killed (2 Chronicles 23:14), and it was done at once (2 Chronicles 23:15). Care was taken that she would not be killed inside the house of the Lord, so that holy place would not be dishonored, and that wicked woman would not be given that much honor.

Then the original covenant was agreed to (2 Chronicles 23:16). In Kings, it says that Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord, the people, and the king (2 Kings 11:17). Here it says the covenant was between Jehoiada, the people, and the king, because as God’s priest he represented God in this act, like a kind of mediator, a go-between, as Moses had been. The covenant had three parties, but its true purpose was that they should be the Lord’s people. God, through Jehoiada, covenanted to take them as his people, and the king and people covenanted with him to belong to him. Then the king covenanted with the people to rule them as God’s people, and the people covenanted with the king to obey him as the Lord’s people, in reverence for God and for his sake. If we see ourselves and one another as the Lord’s people, that will strongly shape how we treat God and one another.

Baal was then destroyed (2 Chronicles 23:17). They would not have done half their work if they had only removed the one who had stolen the king’s rights, and not the one who had stolen God’s rights. They had to defend the throne, but they also had to defend the altar. The worst wrong of Athaliah’s reign was that she brought in the worship of Baal and supported it, so that had to be removed first. Tear down Baal’s house, his altars, and his images, all of them. Let the blood of his priests be mixed with their sacrifices, for God had commanded that people who led others into idolatry should be put to death (Deuteronomy 13:5, Deuteronomy 13:6).

Then the service of the temple was restored (2 Chronicles 23:18, 2 Chronicles 23:19). During the previous reigns, it had been neglected, because the priest and the people either lacked the power or the zeal to keep it going under rulers who disliked it. But Jehoiada put the work of the house of the Lord back into its proper order and into the right hands. He assigned the priests to their proper divisions, so sacrifices would be offered according to the law of Moses. He also assigned the singers to their place, according to David’s instructions. The sacrifices were apparently offered with rejoicing and singing, and rightly so. We rejoice in God when we receive atonement, that is, when our sins are covered and forgiven through his mercy (Romans 5:11). The porters were also placed at their posts as David had ordered (2 Chronicles 23:19). Their duty was to make sure that no one who was ceremonially unclean, in other words, unfit for temple worship under the law, was allowed into the temple courts.

Finally, the civil government was restored (2 Chronicles 23:20). They brought the king in royal honor to his own palace and set him on the throne of the kingdom, so he could make laws and give judgment, either in person or through Jehoiada, his teacher and guardian. In this way the happy change was completed. Most of the people rejoiced in it, and the rest stayed quiet and offered no resistance (2 Chronicles 23:21). When the Son of David is enthroned in the soul, everything becomes peaceful, and the springs of joy are opened.