Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20040314.htm

1 AND 2 KINGS: ENJOYING GOD'S BLESSING IN AN APOSTATE ERA
Part XLVI: Blessing In Trusting God's Sovereign Plan When We Cannot Stop Evil People
(2 Kings 11:1-21)
  1. Introduction
    1. As we watch the growth of apostasy, many who believe in Christ tend to voice repeated concern over the seeming unstoppable efforts of wicked parties and movements to encroach on even basic human decency.
    2. Hence, we need encouragement that God is still in control, and 2 Kings 11:1-21 offers it to us as follows:
  2. Blessing In Trusting God's Sovereign Plan When We Cannot Stop Evil People, 2 Kings 11:1-21.
    1. When Athaliah, the wicked daughter of Ahab and Jezebel learned her son, Ahaziah had been slain, she saw it as an opportunity to stay in power by killing off the physical heirs to David's throne, 2 Kings 11:1.
    2. However, for Athaliah to achieve this goal, God's plan for world history would have been destroyed:
      1. God had promised king David an eternal throne, one by which the New Testament reveals Jesus Christ would use to rule the world forever in righteousness, 2 Samuel 7:12-17; Luke 1:30-33.
      2. Thus, Athaliah's plan to destroy David's royal seed, if implemented, would ruin God's plan for history!
    3. However, as God in His infinite, eternal foreknowledge knew of Athaliah's evil intent and action, He made sovereign provisions to counter her every move even LONG BEFORE she tried to destroy David's seed, and so overcame Athaliah's efforts (as follows), 2 Kings 11:2-21:
      1. First of all, God had BEFORE sovereignly arranged for Athaliah's own stepdaughter, Jehoshabeath (as 2 Chr. 22:11 calls her [or Jehosheba in 2 Kings]) to wed the godly High Priest, Jehoiada, cf. 2 Chr. 22:11. That (either) influenced Jehoshabeath to sympathize with God's will (or she had been committed to doing God's will so as to want to wed the High Priest) so as to preserve David's line opposite her yielding to her wicked stepmother's plan to seize the throne; Jehosheba then saved one of the infant princes, Joash from Athaliah's effort to execute all of the young royal princes, 2 Kings 11:2a.
      2. Then, God had also BEFORE arranged for one of the storage rooms around the temple to be used for storing mattresses and couches, a place that would deaden the voice of the infant Joash so Jehosheba could hide him there indefinitely without Athaliah's knowledge, Ryrie St. Bib., KJV, ftn. to 11:2.
      3. Then, when Joash was seven years old, the godly High Priest, Jehoiada arranged for Judah's military leaders who were secretly opposed to Athaliah's heartless rule to protect Joash when they crowned him king and to capture and execute the treasonous Athaliah, 2 Kings 11:3-9. In the process, the respected 135-year-old (Ibid., "Introduction to the Second Book of the Chronicles") prized weapons of war used by king David himself had been arranged BEFOREHAND by GOD to be stored in another temple storage room ready for quick use to defend little Joash at his coronation, and to provide validity to Joash's coronation in the sight of the people of God who would view his coronation, 2 Kings 11:10!
    4. Accordingly, the high priest's plan worked smoothly: Joash was crowned when the courtyard was full of God's supportive people, and Athaliah was captured, taken out of the temple and slain, 2 Kings 11:12-16.
    5. After this change of royal power, the godly High Priest, Jehoiada led the people of God to destroy Athaliah's Baal worship in Judah, creating peace and joy in Judah, 2 Kings 11:17-21.
Lesson: Just when God's PLAN for sustaining His invaluable promises in the Davidic Covenant seemed HOPELESSLY LOST, GOD revealed He LONG BEFORE had KNOWN of Athaliah and her intentions and thus had PROVIDED for her efforts to ruin that Covenant to be defeated: He BEFORE arranged for a union between a king's daughter and a godly High Priest so she would save a Davidic prince from Athaliah's purge; He BEFORE planned for a temple storeroom to be filled with mattresses to quiet Joash's noises so he could be raised safe from Athaliah and He BEFORE planned for king David's own highly respected weapons to be stored in another temple storeroom for 135 years to protect and verify Joash to be king when crowned! All these came by God's oversight to keep His promises for US through our Savior, Jesus Christ!

Application: If dismayed that events seem to be controlled by unstoppable, evil people, recall 2 Kings 11: as God then LONG BEFORE had KNOWN about Athaliah and thus had made DETAILED plans for her to be overcome so HIS eternal plan WOULD proceed, He STILL rules today! So, TRUST Him!