CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.—
2 Kings 11:20. And all the people rejoiced—Because, with Athaliah’s death, the accursed house of Ahab ceased, and in Jehoash’s person the royal house of David was again established on the throne of Judah.—W. H. J.
HOMILETICS OF 2 Kings 11:17-21
THE RESTORATION OF THE PUBLIC WORSHIP OF JEHOVAH
I. Was signalized by formal and impressive covenant.
1. This covenant recognized the supreme claims of Jehovah. “And Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people” (2 Kings 11:17). This was a renewal of the national covenant with Israel (Exodus 19-24; Deuteronomy 4:6; Deuteronomy 27:9) to be unto the Lord “a people of inheritance,” by which they solemnly engaged themselves to renounce and root out all idolatry, and set up and maintain God’s true worship. When the national conscience has been demoralized by idolatrous practices, it is important to present the supreme claims of God to our homage by the most impressive methods.
2. This covenant guarded the rights of both ruler and ruled. “Between the king also and the people.” This was a civil covenant whereby the king engaged himself to rule them justly and in the fear of God, and the people obliged themselves to defend and obey him (comp.
2. Sam. 2 Kings 5:2). Government is impossible where the rights and privileges of both ruler and ruled are not duly respected and observed.
II. Ensured the downfall of idolatry (2 Kings 11:18). This was the logical and necessary consequence of the restoration of the true worship. Athaliah had transplanted idolatry into Judah. She was the first to erect a temple to Baal in the holy city, and plundered the temple of Jehovah to enrich the shrine of her favourite deity. The people looked on aghast at this wanton sacrilege to their sacred fane and daring insult to the God of their fathers; but they were powerless to prevent it; they were held in check by the threats and tyranny of the usurper. Many a pious soul wept in secret because of the prevalent iniquity, and many an anxious prayer was offered for a day of deliverance. And now that day had come. The people, animated by a spirit of righteous indignation, rose against the Baal worshippers, and demolished their idol temple. Jehovah can admit no rival. The idols he shall utterly abolish (Isaiah 2:18).
No more at Delos or at Delphi now,
Or e’en at mighty Ammon’s Libyan shrine,
The white-robed priests before the altar bow,
To slay the victim and to pour the wine,
While gifts of kingdoms round each pillar twine.
Scarce can the classic pilgrim, sweeping free
From fallen architrave the desert vine,
Trace the dim names of their divinity;
Gods of the ruin’d temples, where, oh where are ye!—Bethune.
III. Was the guarantee of stability to the throne (2 Kings 11:19). “It seems to me a great truth,” says Carlyle, “that human things cannot stand on selfishness, mechanical utilities, economics, and law courts; that if there be not a religious element in the relations of men, such relations are miserable, and doomed to ruin.”
King-becoming graces
Are justice, verity, temperance, stableness,
Bounty, perseverance, mercy, lowliness
Devotion, patience, courage, fortitude.
Where can such virtues be found, and where be better cultivated, than in the humble and reverent worship of Almighty God? No nation can be permanent or prosperous where king and people ignore the obvious claims of Divine worship.
Safety and equal government are things
Which subjects make as happy as their kings.—Waller.
IV. Was the occasion of national joy and tranquility. “And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in quiet” (2 Kings 11:20). The good rejoiced that the character of Jehovah was at length vindicated: their sighs, their tears, their prayers for Zion had not been in vain. The aged rejoiced that before their eyes closed in death they beheld their country free from the oppressor, and their loved worship once more restored. The young rejoiced in the brightening prospect of noblest service for God and king and country. “And the city was in quiet.” As in many other countries, the condition of the metropolis ruled the provinces. If Jerusalem was in anguish, the nation was in sorrow; if Jerusalem was happy, the nation shared the joy. If the vast populations of our great cities were penetrated with a love and enthusiasm for the worship of Jehovah, how readily would the rest of the country be won over to share in a like experience! It is not without significance that the first preachers of the Gospel directed their earliest endeavours to gain a footing in the great populous centres of their day. Flood the cities with light and joy, and the nations will soon be won. Then will come the time of which Alford sung—
What throbbings of deep oy
Pulsate through all I see; from the full bud
Whose unctuous sheath is glittering in the moon,
Up through the system of created things,
Even to the flaming ranks of Seraphim!
LESSONS:—
1. The nation is a prey to anarchy when God is not publicly acknowledged.
2. The pure worship of God tends to develop all that is best in national character.
3. To worship God aright, we must get rid of every idolatrous rival.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
2 Kings 11:17-18. Covenanting with God. I. All the more necessary when conscious of unfaithfulness. II. Should be solemn and impressive. III. Shown to be sincere by the destruction of that which led the soul astray. IV. Has a tendency to foster and strengthen right relations between God and king and people.
2 Kings 11:17. The covenant which Jehoiada renewed. I. The covenant of the king and the people with God. The basis and fountain of all national prosperity. An irreligious state is a folly and an impossibility. It is nothing. II. The covenant between king and people. It is built upon the former. There is prosperity in a country only when the prince rules before and with God, and the people are obedient through obedience to God. Without this fundamental condition all constitutions, laws, and institutions, however good they may appear, are useless. No relation of subjects and ruler is sound if it has not the covenant of God as its basis on either side.—Lange.
2 Kings 11:18. It is a grand national event when a people destroys its idols. He who stands by God and his word tolerates neither gross nor refined idolatry. Where there is decided faith in the living God, the altars of the false gods fall of themselves.
2 Kings 11:20. National joy. I. May well be expressed when the throne is settled on a stable foundation. II. When religion triumphs over idolatry, oppression, and wrong. III. When peace and prosperty are guaranteed.
O beauteous peace,
Sweet union of a state! What else but thou
Gives safety, strength, and glory to a people.
Governments which are founded in blood always end disastrously.
2 Kings 11:21. The sceptre of Judah is changed from a woman to a child; but a child trained up and tutored by Jehoiada. This minority so guided was not inferior to the mature age of many predecessors. Happy is that land the nonage of whose prince falls into holy and just hands.—Bp. Hall.