Bible In One Year Day 179 (2 Kings 11-12, Amos 4-6, Psalm 122)

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Day 179 Blinded By Comfort 

Agape Bible Study 
2 Kings 11 -12 

Chapter 11: Athaliah, Usurper of the Throne of Judah (841-835)

See the parallel passages to Chapters 11-14 in 2 Chronicles Chapters 22-25. Ahaziah's son, is called by both forms of his name in Scripture; the longer form is "Jehoash" and the shortened form of his name is "Joash." In the Hebrew translation he is called Jehoash in 12:1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 18 and 14:13, but he is called Joash in 11:2; 12:19, 20; 13:1, 10, 14; 14:1, 3, 17 and 23. However, in 2 Chronicles he is consistently called Joash. To avoid confusion with King Jehoash of Israel, who is also called by Jehoash and the shortened form "Joash" and who reigned from 798-783, in our lesson we will refer to this Davidic king as Joash of Judah (835-796). He is one of the Davidic kings whose name is absent from St. Matthew's genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:1-14.

2 Kings 11:1-3 ~ Athaliah murders the sons of the House of David and rules Judah (841-835)

It is still the fateful year 841 BC. Athaliah's son Ahaziah has been murdered by the Israelite military commander Jehu who now claims the throne of Israel. Ahaziah was only 22 years old. He was the youngest son of King Jehoram of Judah and only reigned for part of the year. His older brothers, including the other sons of Ahaziah (2 Chr 24:7), were killed in a raid on Jerusalem by the Philistines and Arabs in 841 BC (2 Chr 21:16-17). It was God's judgment on King Jehoram of Judah for following the example of the kings of Israel and in leading Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem into apostasy and Baal worship (2 Chr 21:12-15).

The Fathers of the Church wrote that the scheme of Athaliah against the family of David resembled that of the devil against the human family. The motivation was the same: to destroy God's covenant and to have power over the people of God. As long as her son lived, she ruled as Judah's Gebirah, the Queen Mother and the most important woman in the kingdom. If another Davidic heir came to the throne, even one of her own grandsons (her other sons were dead, see 2 Chr 22:1), she would no longer hold that high office because it would pass to the mother of her grandson (2 Chr 24:1). Of course, she could kill the mother of any of her grandsons and continue to rule as Gebirah, but she chose to kill all the male heirs of the House of David including any grandsons by her older sons, the brothers of Ahaziah.

Question: What could have been her reason for such brutality not only against all the male Davidic relatives of her sons but in even killing her own grandchildren?
Answer: It is possible that she carried out the murders of all the possible male heirs of the House of David in order to destroy the Davidic line. It may have been her revenge against Yahweh for His divine judgment in the destruction of all her relations in the House of Ahab. She would have known about Yahweh's covenant with the House of David and she may have intended to destroy that covenant.

Unknown to Athaliah, the only Davidic heir to escape was one grandson, the one year old son of her dead son Ahaziah, who was rescued by Jehosheba.

Question: Who was Jehosheba and how was she able to hide the child in the Temple? See 2 Chr 22:10-11.
Answer: She was the daughter of King Jehoram, and since she is not identified as the daughter of Athaliah, she was the half-sister of King Ahaziah. She was also the wife of the priest Jehoiada. Through her husband she had special privileges within the Temple and together they were able to hide the child for six years until he was seven years old.

An 18th-century Russian icon of the prophet Amos

2 Kings 11:4-12 ~ The plan to put make Joash king

In the "seventh year" refers to Joash's age. Joash was hidden in the Temple for six years and he was now seven years old (see 2 Kng 12:1; 2 Chr 21:12). Athaliah's six year reign was coming to an end as Joash's uncle, the High Priest Jehoiada, formulated a plan to place the boy on the throne of the kings of Judah.

Question: The priest Jehoiada formed a conspiracy to overthrow Athaliah with what three groups in addition to the other chief priests? Also see 2 Chr 23:1-7.

Answer:

1. The Carian commanders of the royal (king's) guard
2. The Levites who guarded the Temple
3. The leaders of the Judahite tribal clans

During the week prior to the Saturday Sabbath, one-third of the royal guard was in service at the Temple and two-thirds were at the palace that was located next to the Temple. On the Sabbath, the division of the guard was reversed with two-thirds of the guard at the Temple. Jehoiada took advantage of the posting of the royal guard on the Sabbath when two-thirds of the guard was on duty at the Temple to begin the revolt against Athaliah by placing Joash on the throne at the Temple. 

Jehoiada's plan is carried out as he ordered (verses 7-9), and he takes the time to arm the commanders not with their own weapons but with the spears and shields collected by King David in his victorious battles that were kept in the Temple (2 Sam 8:7-8).

Question: Why did Jehoiada give the commanders the weapons won by the great David to carry in defense of Joash?
Answer: David's weapons were a symbol of the legitimacy of Joash's succession. Holding David's weapons were also meant to instill in the commanders the sense of the historical and theological importance of their mission to place a Davidic heir back on the throne of Judah so the Davidic covenant with Yahweh could continue and could one day be fulfilled in the Messiah.

2 Kings 11:13-16 ~ The death of Athaliah

The shouting of the people was an expression of their approval and the legal confirmation of the accession. The palace of Solomon was just south of the Temple. In the palace, Athaliah could hear the cheers of the crowd and the blowing of trumpets. When she went to the Temple to discover what was causing the commotion, she saw that a child was on the king's customary place and she knew a coup was in the works (2 Chronicles 23:13 records that the pillar was "at the entrance" to the Temple and Ezekiel 46:2 mentions that the prince's station was at the "doorposts of the gate"). She shouted "treason" in the hope that the guards would rally to her, but she did not have their loyalty. The royal guards obeyed Jehoiada and removed her from area to avoid shedding human blood with the Temple complex and profaning the Temple. She was killed at the entrance to the Horse Gate that led to the palace.

2 Kings 11:17-20 ~ Jehoiada reaffirms the Sinai Covenant and the Laws of the King

This is not a new covenant but the reaffirmation of the Sinai Covenant between Yahweh, the king, and the people. The other pact that is mentioned is probably the reestablishment of the Laws of the King in Deuteronomy 17:14-20 that provided for a limited monarchy by forbidding certain actions by the king. The king was to serve as God's agent and the people's servant, and the people were to give the king their financial support and their loyalty.

Jehoiada devoted himself to restoring the true faith and the true expression of worshiping Yahweh that had been abandoned by King Jehoram and his wife Athaliah, daughter of Ahab of Israel.

Question: What was the first Law of the Sinai Covenant that Jehoiada had carried out immediately?
Answer: The first law was that the people were to have no other God but Yahweh and to bow down to no images. The High Priest had the people destroy the temple of Baal and everything in it, including the killing of Mattan, high priest of Baal.

For the first time we learn that a temple to Baal had been built in the holy city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the place God chose for His name to dwell (1 Kng 8:29). 

Question: What was the difference between Jehu's religious reforms in the Northern Kingdom and Jehoiada's religious reforms in the Kingdom of Judah? See 1 Kng 10:1-27.
Answer: In both kingdoms, the temples of Baal were destroyed along with the priests of Baal. The difference between Jehu's coup that was led by the military and the religious reforms that included the destruction of the temple of Baal in the Northern Kingdom as opposed to Jehoiada's overthrow of Athaliah and his reforms is that "the people of the country" of the Southern Kingdom gave their complete support to the coup and the religious reforms.

Unfortunately it was only the Judean populace as a whole who were loyal to Yahweh. The city of Jerusalem had been infected by the pagan practices and was not easily reformed as we shall see after the death of High Priest Jehoiada.

Chapter 12: The Reign of King Joash (Jehoash) of Judah (835-796 BC)

2 Kings 12:1-4 ~ The early years of the reign of King Joash of Judah
Read the parallel passage in 2 Chronicles 24:1-16. Notice that the mothers of the Davidic kings are always named. 2 Chronicles 24:2-3 notes that Joash did not remain loyal to Yahweh all his life but only until the death of Jehoiada: Joash did what Yahweh regards as right throughout the lifetime of Jehoiada the priest. Jehoiada found him two wives and he fathered several sons and daughters. It was after Jehoiada's death that Joash began to listen to the voices of those who did not wholly support Yahweh, and unfortunately Jehoiada was not able to completely do away with the illicit worship of Yahweh outside the Temple in the "high places" were shrines and altars were established and people offered worship according to their own understanding. This was a continuing problem in the Southern Kingdom even during the reigns of good kings.

Joash's reign can be divided into two phases (see 2 Kng 12 and 2 Chr 24):

1. His reign under the influence of his uncle the High Priest Jehoiada:
   1. Destruction of the temple of Baal
   2. Renovation of Yahweh's Temple
   3. Reorganization of the Temple finances
2. His reign after the death of his uncle the priest Jehoiada
   1. Apostasy of the king and the people
   2. Murder of Zechariah the priest/prophet and son of Jehoiada
   3. Defeated in war with the Aramaeans and paid tribute to Hazael of Damascus
   4. Assassinated by royal officials in retaliation for the murder of Zechariah

2 Kings 12:5-17 ~ Joash sets aside funds to restore the Temple

When the king was 30 years old (the same age as David when he became the King of Israel and Jesus when He began His ministry) Joash intervened in the management of the Temple. The Temple was completed by Solomon in c. 963 and was dedicated the next year at the Feast of Tabernacles (1 Kng 6:38; 8:1-2). After nearly a century and a half of use, it was in need of repair. At first the king placed the responsibility for the restoration to the priests, but when the necessary repairs were not being made, the king, who saw himself as the royal patron of the Temple, presented a plan to collect the money for the needed repairs.

The "sacred donations" were all free will donations that were given by the people to the Temple for use by the priests (Num 18:19, 28-29), and the loss of this revenue would severely restrict the standard of living for all the priestly families. The Levites were supported by the tithes and the entire clergy by the redemption tax for all firstborn sons (Num 18:15-16, 21-29, 30-32; Dt 14:22-29). In the past all these contributions were collected by the priests and a portion was applied for repairs that the priests and Levites undertook themselves.

2 Kings 12:18-19 ~ Problems during King Joash of Judah's reign
After Jehoiada's death, Joash listened to the advice official in Jerusalem who encouraged him to abandon the Temple of Yahweh for worship of sacred poles and idols (2 Chr 24:17-18). Jerusalem was previously a Canaanite city ruled by the pagan Jebusites. Some of that pagan character still lingered among elements of the population despite the selection of Jerusalem has Yahweh's holy city. Jerusalem incurred the wrath of Yahweh because of this apostasy. God sent His prophets to lead the king and the people back to Him, but the people and the king would not listen (see the parallel passage in 2 Chr 24:17, 23-27). 

Judgment came in the form of the Aramaeans. The Kingdom of Judah was attacked by Hazael of Damascus (see 2 Kng 8:7-15). The city of Gath is probably Gath-Rimmon ("the winepress [of the god] Rimmon"), a city located on the borders between the tribes of Dan and Ephraim in the Northern Kingdom. That the Aramaeans have come through Israel unopposed shows the weakness of the Northern Kingdom and that the Aramaeans are probably already in control of the Transjordan. The Aramaeans army massacred all the government officials of Judah and looted all the towns they captured. 

The High Priest Jehoiada reestablished Yahweh's covenant with the people and reaffirmed the limited rule of a Davidic king as a servant of the people (Dt 17:14-20). He restored the proper administration in the Temple (2 Chr 23:18-19), acted as overseer of the necessary Temple repairs (2 Chr 24:4-14), and continued to have a good influence over King Joash (2 Chr 24:2-3). He lived to be 130 years old, and, as a sign of the great respect he received from the king and the people, he was buried in the tombs of the kings (2 Chr 24:15-16). 

2 Kings 12:20-22 ~ Summary statement of Joash's reign and his death

Joash was assassinated by his servants but without the intention of bringing about a palace coup. The attack was personal, and he was killed in the old part of the city of David south of Solomon's palace complex.

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A Daily Defense 
DAY 179 Objections to the Fine-Tuning Argument

CHALLENGE: "The fine-tuning argument is flawed: (1) The fact that our universe’s constants appear finely tuned to allow for the existence of life could be due to chance if there are a vast number of universes, each of which has slightly different constants; (2) perhaps there is some law we haven’t yet discovered why the universe must have the constants it does; and (3) even if the universe is designed, that doesn’t mean the designer is God."

DEFENSE; None of these objections overturn the fine-tuning argument.

First, if it were true that there were a sufficiently vast number of universes, each of which had different constants, then it might be likely that one with our constants would exist. However, we have no evidence that even one other universe exists, much less the vast multitude that would be needed.

Second, the idea there is a hidden law requiring that the constants must be set as they are is pure speculation. Based on the evidence we have at present, the constants appear to be independent. Further, even if we were to discover such a law, it would only raise the question of why that law exists.

Third, although some have speculated our universe could be the product of a technologically advanced civilization from a prior universe, and that they designed its constants, we have no evidence this is the case. We don’t even have proof it is possible for a technologically advanced civilization to create a new, designer universe.

Further, this technologically advanced civilization would itself need to be made of life-forms or (if robotic) to be the product of previous life-forms. Thus the universe they came from would need to have its constants similarly fine-tuned, and the problem would only be kicked back a step.

Each of the above proposals also potentially runs afoul of Occam’s Razor, which urges us to seek the simplest solution that fits the evidence. For example, postulating vast numbers of other universes to explain away the fact that ours looks designed may be seen as an egregious violation of the principle.

At a minimum, none of these explanations fit the data better than the proposition that God designed our universe, and thus it is rational to believe in God based on modern cosmology.

Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist