1-17 Massacre of Ahab's Descendants
- Seventy sons of Ahab are spread out through Samaria. Jehu sends letters to the rulers, elders, and guardians of the sons, challenging them to choose the most qualified son to sit on Ahab's throne.
- But they are all terrified of Jehu -- this man who has killed 2 kings -- and they express their subservience to him. As proof of their loyalty, Jehu tells them to send the heads of their master's sons to him in baskets.
- They do as he says, and he lays the heads in two heaps at the gate all night. He gathers the people the next morning and tells them are innocent -- he is guilty of the assassination of his master; others are guilty of the deaths of Ahab's sons. Then he proceeds to slaughter all the remaining descendants of Ahab until no survivors are left in Jezreel.
- Jehu sets out for Samaria and on the way meets relatives of King Ahaziah of Judah who are coming to visit the queen mother. He takes them them to the pit of Beth-eked and slaughters all 42 of them.
- When he leaves there, he meets Jehonadab son of Rechab and receives his pledge of loyalty, taking him up into his own chariot. Then he finishes off killing Ahab's descendants in Samaria.
- Jehu assembles worshipers of Baal from throughout Israel in the temple of Baal, until it's wall to wall with worshipers, making sure there are no worshipers of the LORD present. Then they begin to offer sacrifices.
- He stations 80 men outside the temple and instructs them to stand outside the temple, letting no one escape or forfeit their own lives. They kill everyone in the temple, throw them out, then burn down the temple and make it a "latrine."
- So Jehu wipes out Baal, but he still continues to worship the golden calves in Dan and Bethel that Jehu built. However, God tells him because of his success in wiping out Ahab's seed, his family would be on the throne for 4 generations.
- God begins to "trim off" parts of Israel, by allowing Hazel to capture much of the land.
- Jehu reigns for 28 years, and is buried in Samaria, succeeded by his son Jehoahaz.
1-3 Athaliah's Reign (2 Chronicles 22:10-12)
- When Athaliah, Ahaziah's mother, sees her son is dead, she tries to destroy the rest of the royal family, but Jehosheba, Ahaziah's sister, rescues Joash his infant son, and hides him and his nurse in a bedroom for six years. Note the potential power of women: One destroys, the other one saves and nurtures.
- Athaliah reigns over Judah for 6 years.
- In the 7th year of Athaliah, Jehoiada the priest takes courage and gathers army captains, guards, Levites and family heads. Putting them under an oath, he reveals the king's son.
- The priests and Levites who are on duty on the Sabbath are to be gatekeepers, a third will guard the king's house, and a third at the Gate of the Foundation. No one is to be in the temple except the priests and Levites.The priest gives King David's weapons to the priests and Levites.
- The people come to the temple, and as the guards surround Joash, he crowns him king at the entrance of the temple. They shout, "Long live the king!"
- When Athaliah hears the noise, she goes to the temple, sees what is happening and cries "Treason! Treason!" Jehoiada commands that anyone following her will be killed.
- They seize her, but not wanting to kill her in the temple, take her to the entrance of the Horse Gate at the king's house and kill her there.
- Jehoiada makes a covenant with the people that they should be the LORD's people, and they go to the house of Baal and tear it down, killing Maatan, the priest of Baal.
- Jehoiada restores the levitical priesthood and temple worship, forbidding unclean people to enter the temple.
- Then they bring Joash to the king's house and put him on the throne.
- All the people of the land rejoice, because after Athaliah's death, the city is quiet.
- Joash is 7 years old when he begins to reign.
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