A wicked Queen had taken possession of the throne by the most foul means; she had caused to be slain all the young princes that had a claim to it — her own grandchildren — by way of securing her own power and the succession to her son. There had been but one little child that had escaped her fury, and for six long years he had been hidden away in the Temple, while she reigned in peace, unconscious of the heir to the throne being only a few yards away.
His name was Joash, and here we have a history that reads like a romance of chivalry; the story of the preservation of a youth, and of his bold rescue from the hands of his persecutors, which presents a most thrilling page. But Joash is presented to us as the infant prince who was saved by a devoted aunt and a pious priest, and who was subsequently ushered into power, and thus crowned amid the plaudits of the people.
A Queen's Treachery Towards the Royal Family
A king of Judah had died, and his widow, Athaliah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel of Israel, seized the reins of government with a view to establishing her own authority, and apparently with no regard to the established constitutional laws of the land. Her object was to secure her son's succession to the throne and her own, and in order to accomplish her design she ordered the slaughter of all the sons and grandsons of the deceased king, for she was a woman of iron resolution.
The slaughter was a determined one, but it failed; it was but an attempt to exterminate the royal family of David. By her orders the house of God had been polluted by the horrid defilement of idolatry, and the whole country had been subjected to the most relentless persecutions of the worshippers of Baal. Thus it appears that the whole race of David was doomed to extermination at the hands of this ruthless queen, but the devoted queen-mother, Jehosheba, rescued one of the little sons of the king, and conveyed him, with his nurse, into the Temple, where he was secreted from the knowledge of Athaliah for some time.
He was hidden away for about six years while Athaliah reigned, and during that period was under the guardianship of Jehosheba and her husband, Jehoiada, who had been the king's priests. They took infinite pains to conceal him from the knowledge of the queen, as any suspicion that might be aroused on her part would assuredly have led to his destruction, but in that seclusion he daily looked forward to the time when he might publicly appear as king of Judah and Jerusalem.
While Athaliah's soldiers killed the royal children one by one, the infant Joash was spirited away by his aunt Jehosheba and hidden inside the Temple — a few yards from the woman who wanted him dead.
His Anointment by the Priest
When he reached the age of seven years old, Jehoiada resolved to take advantage of an opportunity that presented itself and, taking with him the chief officers of the army and body-guard, repaired to the Temple, where he disclosed to them the secret long kept by himself and his wife, and produced the little prince, who was proclaimed king of Judah and Jerusalem by the assembled rulers and judges. The priest afterwards made him king in a most imposing manner, and the young monarch was anointed with oil and invested with the royal insignia. The whole assembly of people gave loud acclamations, and in great delight they shouted, All glory to the King! After having been six years in secret concealment, young Joash was formally proclaimed and crowned king of Judah. Thus the throne of his fathers was secured, and the devoted priest had fulfilled his most sacred duty to the memory of the deceased king and to the kingdom.
After six years of hiding, the boy was brought out and the priest Jehoiada placed the crown on his head and anointed him with oil. The people shouted 'Long live the king!' — and Athaliah had no idea.
Death of the Usurping Queen
The news of the acclamations that were raised in the Temple reached the ears of Athaliah. Greatly surprised and terrified, she hastened to the Temple and learned with consternation that her son was dead, and that his infant son had been proclaimed king in his stead. Ripping up her robe in her fury and grief, she cried out, with pretended fury, treason! treason! but it was too late. She had been obliged to yield to the power of the priesthood and the nobles, and the usurping queen was led forth by order of Jehoiada from the Temple, and there she was slain.
Thus did Jehoiada rid the land of the most odious usurping queen that had ever disgraced Israel since the time of Saul. In the name of the king, and by order of the priests, the whole city engaged to be faithful to the new monarch, and they proceeded to demolish the temple of the idol Baal and to break in pieces his image and his altars and burn them with the wood of the grove, putting to death all the priests and servants that had been employed in the service of Baal, whose abominations they had suffered at the hands of Athaliah.
Athaliah tore her robes and screamed treason when she saw the crowd and the crowned child. Jehoiada's guards took her out of the Temple, and she was slain — ending six years of stolen rule.
A Child-King Under the Guidance of Good Men
Such was the way by which Joash, the infant son of the deposed king, came to occupy the throne of his ancestors; and, strange to say, he was king of Judah at seven years of age. It is true that so young a child was of necessity under the direction and government of others, but we cannot fail to be struck with the good advice and influence that were brought to bear upon him. The pious priest Jehoiada, who had for six years taken infinite pains in preserving the infant heir to the throne, was a faithful adviser to Joash, and while he lived the young king did what was right in the sight of the Lord. One of the most important acts of his reign was to rebuild the house of God, for which the people had suffered great distress, and to repair the desolate and decayed places thereof.
Under the guidance of a pious and good man like Jehoiada, the young king was enabled to lead his country into an age of piety, and thus the early years of his reign were most auspicious to his nation. But alas! Joash's reign was subsequently marred by great sins, and the good effects of Jehoiada's labours proved to be of very brief duration.
A Most Disappointing Closing Scene
When the aged priest died he left his son, a most able and pious prophet of the Lord, to succeed him in his holy duties. Unhappy Joash, thinking that the influence of Jehoiada was gone, listened to the flatterers that said that the house of God and its desolate places ought no longer to be repaired. Disobedience to the will of God and neglect of his house became general among the people, and they again sunk into idolatry and all manner of abominations, for which Joash is justly charged with sins equal to those of the worst offenders.
Worse still, and most shameful conduct for a young king to indulge in, was the conduct of Joash in murdering Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, the pious prophet. Forgetting all the obligations he owed to this most faithful and devoted servant of God, whose posterity had so often delivered him from the hands of his enemies, the ungrateful monarch ordered Zechariah to be put to death in the temple courtyard, where he publicly denounced the people for their sins and disobedience. Joash's later years were most unhappy, as he was afterwards slain by his own people for having suffered his country to sink into idolatry and the commission of most grievous sins.
The Lessons of Joash's Story
The preservation of the hopes and expectations of the people of Israel in such a manner teaches us that God's purposes and designs cannot be frustrated by any earthly power and that, so long as there is but one soul remaining that will obey his Most High, he will raise it up as a standard-bearer to do his will. The preservation of the infant grandson of the pious king is another most thrilling instance of the power that may be possessed and exercised by faith and courage in trying times, and the good effects that may accrue therefrom.
The faithfulness of Jehosheba and Jehoiada in bringing up the little heir to the throne of Judah to manhood, and the good counsels of the pious priest Jehoiada in guiding and assisting the young king at the most critical period of his nation's history, teach us the value of good counsellors. And the sad closing of Joash's reign, once the wise priest was gone, teaches us that even a good beginning, rooted in another person's faithfulness rather than one's own, may not last without personal conviction and the courage to resist flatterers.
