Now, we're turning to 2 Kings
chapter 11, 2 Kings chapter 11. And I'm entitling the message,
entitling the message, Gracious Promises by the Lord's Gracious
Providence. Gracious promises by the Lord's
gracious providence. Providence, what is providence? Those things that unfold in time
that God has decreed from eternity. We say, well, that was providential.
No, everything is providential. Everything falls under the providential
rule and reign of our Almighty God. Now, we've been given in
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ many exceeding great and
precious promises. We read that just a moment ago
in 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 3 and 4. All the promises of God in
the Lord Jesus Christ are Yes, and in Him, so be it, amen, unto
the glory of God. But we also have the good and
gracious providence of God that brings all these precious promises
to reality. to reality, to fulfillment. You see, the Lord brings these
things to pass that he has decreed from eternity, and we call that
the wise and good providence of the Lord. Now don't turn to
this scripture because you're most familiar with it, but in
Romans chapter 11, We read this, and this is talking about the
providence of God. Romans 11, 33. Oh, the depths
of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable
are his judgments and his ways past finding out. Who can explain the providence
of the Lord? I remember something Scott Richardson
said years ago. He said, if you knew everything
that God knows, you wouldn't change one thing. Now think about
that for a minute. If you knew everything that God
knows, you wouldn't change one thing. For who hath known the
mind of the Lord, or who hath been his counselor, or who hath
first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again.
For of him, and through him, and to him are all things. I mean, that covers it all. To
whom be glory forever, Amen. So be it. We know that all things
work together for good to them who love God, to them who are
called according to God's purpose. God in a marvelous way preserved
the seed of David because he promised that the seed of David
He promised his seed out of the seed of David that the Lord would
raise up a savior in Jerusalem. Now hold your place here. I want
us to go back and look at that promise. Find 2 Samuel, 2 Samuel
chapter seven, 2 Samuel chapter seven. God promised David. that he would raise up the Savior
from his seed. 2 Samuel 7, 12. And when thy
days be fulfilled, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers. I will set up thy seed after
thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish
his kingdom. He shall build a house for my
name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
Now that's speaking of Solomon, but also speaking of the greater
than Solomon that is here. Now hold your place there in
2 Samuel, because I want to turn and read in just a minute another
scripture found in 2 Samuel 12. 2 Samuel 12. You remember we read Acts 13,
23, that promise of this man's seed had God, according to His
promise, raised unto Israel a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ and then
in Roman chapter 1 verse 3 the gospel of God concerning Jesus
Christ our Lord which is made of the seed of David according
to the flesh so God promised that now how is it going to come
to pass is it just going to somehow happen no his promise is guaranteed
to be fulfilled by his providence. His providence brings it to pass. Now there's something else that
I want us to realize here. In 2nd Samuel 12, the Lord also
made another promise to David about the sword would not depart
from his house because of the murder of Uriah the Hittite. Now Athaliah That wicked woman,
daughter of Jezebel, she kills many and most, all but one, one
son. And God preserved that one son.
Look at 2 Samuel 12 verse 9. Wherefore hast thou despised
the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? Thou
hast killed Uriah the Hittite with a sword, and hast taken
his wife, to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword
of the children of Ammon. Now therefore the sword shall
never depart from thine house, because thou hast despised me,
and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife."
The sword will never depart from the house of David. And it never
has. And it never will. The Lord also
promised David that the sword of his justice Righteous justice
would not depart from his house. And Athaliah is carrying out
that very promise of God. We see in both of these things,
the Lord brings to pass, every promise of mercy shall be fulfilled,
and every threat of punishment and judgment shall also be fulfilled. I think of this scripture in
that light, the wages of sin is death, right? Thank God it
doesn't end there. But the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Now, back to the text. Look at verse 1. 2 Kings 11,
verse 1. And when Athaliah, the mother
of Ahaziah, that was a king of Judah that Jehu had slain, saw
that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all, with the exception
of Joash, but she thought she'd destroyed all the seed royal,
all the house of David, Solomon, all wiped out. Why'd she do that?
She wanted the throne. But she did what God determined
before to be done. We see in this wicked woman,
Athaliah, an instrument in God's hand to accomplish His holy,
wise, and eternal purpose. Shall not the judge of all the
earth do right? Whatever he does, it's right. It's right. While she is motivated
by her wicked revenge and hatred, She's just an instrument in the
hand of God to accomplish His eternal purpose. Like Jehu, who
God used and discarded, so too does the Lord make use of this
wicked, the wicked deeds of afterlife to accomplish His purpose. And His purpose is an eternal
purpose. Now, a couple of scriptures turn
to Isaiah 45. Now, a lot of people would A
lot of religious people, especially, would kick at this. They would
think, well, that's not right, that's not fair. Who are you
to reply against God? Isaiah 45, verse 5. I am the
Lord, there is none else, there is no God beside me. I girded
thee, though thou hast not known me, that they may know from the
rising of the sun from the west that there is none beside thee.
I am the Lord. I formed the light, I create
darkness. How does He create darkness?
Just withhold the light. I make peace. I create evil. How does He do that? He just
withholds His goodness. I, the Lord, do all these things. Turn to Isaiah 46, verse 9. Remember the former things of
old. I am God. There is none else. I am God. There is none like me. declares
the end from the beginning. Now who can do that? How can
he do that? Declares the end from the beginning,
knowing unto God all of his work from the beginning, from the
ancient time to things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel
shall stand, I will do all my pleasure calling a ravenous bird
from the east, the man that would execute my counsel from a far
country. I've spoken it, I've purposed
it, I'll bring it to pass, I've purposed it, I will do it. There is no king on topside of
God's green earth that's not under the absolute and sovereign
rule of Almighty God. from the beginning till time
ends. The king's heart in the hand
of the Lord, and he turns it, whate'er soever he will. Now, back to 2 Kings chapter
11, look at verse 2 and 3. But Jehoshabah, the daughter
of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Jehosh, one-year-old child,
the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons,
which were slain." That is, she took this young child and hid
him. And they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber
of Athaliah. so that he was not slain. And
he was with her hid in the house of the Lord six years. And Athaliah
did reign over the land, and she reigned for seven years. And it was a wicked reign, like
her mother Jezebel. Now, the Lord also raised up another
woman. The Lord had a wicked woman and
the Lord raised up another faithful woman, Jehoshaphat, to hide the
seed of David, Jehoi, to six years later sit on the throne.
It's amazing that there were any among the tribe of Judah
that were still faithful to the Lord. There'd been so much idolatry
and so much rebellion. The Lord will always have a people
to serve His purpose. He's never left Himself without
a witness. You remember Elijah said one
time, Lord, I'm the only one left. After he'd killed all the
prophets of Baal and everybody else had gone off in what he
thought everybody's an idolater. He said, there's none left but
me. Remember what the Lord said? I've got 7,000 that have not
bowed the knee to Baal. Jehoshabah and Jehoiada were
two of those 7,000. to hide the seed of David, Joash,
to sit on a throne, and the Lord brought it to pass. Joash was
hid in the temple of the Lord for six years while Athaliah
reigned in terror." Now, I thought of this scripture. Look at Psalm
27. You remember what David said
in Psalm 27 about being hid in the temple of the Lord? This
is exactly what happened to David's great, great, great, great, great
grandson. Psalm 27, one thing have I desired of the Lord, verse
4, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the
Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord,
to inquire in his temple, for in a time of trouble he shall
hide me in his pavilion, in the secret of his tabernacle shall
he hide me, he shall set me upon a rock, And now shall my head
be lifted up above my enemies round about me, therefore will
I offer in his tabernacle the sacrifices of joy. I'll sing,
yea, I will sing praises to the Lord." That's exactly what David
did, exactly what happened to Joash. Joash was a bran plucked
out of the fire, preserved from the wrath of his own grandmother,
Avaliah. But you know what, this story
reminded me of another woman. Another woman who hid a little
baby. Her name was Jochebed. You remember
Jochebed? Who hid a baby three months from
the wrath of the king of Egypt? That baby's name was Moses. We know the rest of the story,
don't we? You see the providence of the Lord. Turn over here to
Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11. God will raise up, whom He
will, to use whom he will to accomplish his providence. Hebrews 11 verse 23, By faith
Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents,
because they saw he was a proper child, and they were not afraid
of the king's commandment. You remember the commandment
was to kill all the male Hebrews that were born, because there
was too many in the land. By faith Moses, when he was come
to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter,
choosing rather to suffer the affliction with the people of
God than to enjoy the pleasure of sin for a season, esteeming
the reproach of Christ's greater riches than the treasure of Egypt,
for he had respect under recompense and reward, for by faith he forsook
Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as
seeing him who is invisible. We know the rest of the story
of Moses, don't we? How God used him in a mighty
way to deliver Israel from 430 years of bondage. You see, God, by his providence,
preserved Joash. God, by his providence, preserved
Moses from the wrath of the king. So too is the case of all of
God's elect. The Lord does hide us and protect
us long before we come to know, love, and believe Him. His eye has always been on His
elect. The foundation of God standeth
sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are His. Remember
our Lord said of Jeremiah, and this is true of every one of
God's elect, Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee,
and I ordained you to be a prophet." You see, God will raise up protectors
for those he will have protected. We're kept by the power of God
even before we come to know by experience the grace of God in
our heart. We're kept by the power of God.
You remember from our study in Jude, verse 1, we're sanctified
by God the Father, preserved in Christ Jesus, and then we're
called. God saved us, and then he called
us with a holy calling. But we see another parallel too. I thought about this. Another
king was spared. Another parallel to this, when
the Lord Jesus Christ was born, God Almighty manifest in the
flesh. Remember, Herod wanted to kill
all the babies two years old and under so his throne wouldn't
be threatened. Remember what happened? God protected him until he was
delivered up for our offenses and raised again for our justification. Remember, in a dream he appeared
to Joseph and Mary Take your son down into Egypt." And then
when Herod died, the Lord Jesus was brought back out of Egypt
to fulfill the Scripture, for out of Egypt shall my son come
forth and raised in Nazareth. You see the mighty providence
of God. We see the wisdom and care of
His providence, how it prepared for what it designed, and so
exactly brings it to pass. Those things that have happened
in our lives, down through our lives, they all happen for one
purpose, to bring us to the place to hear the gospel of God. God saving grace in Christ. And you cannot frustrate, change
the providence and purpose of God, no matter what. comes our
way, God's will will be done. Think of it. Marvelous, isn't
it? This is a great God that we worship. Now let's move on to verse three,
down to verse 14 in our text. The Lord also raised up a faithful
priest. Now how is this seven-year-old
child going to come to the throne when Athaliah has such a death
grip on the kingdom at this time. How's all this going to come
to pass? The Lord also raised up a faithful priest, Jehoiada,
as it says down in verse 9, and the captains over the hundred
did according to the things that Jehoiada, the priest, commanded. We know from reading 2nd Chronicles
22.11 that Jehoshabah's, this is Jehoshabah's husband, his
name is Jehoiada. Boy, there's a lot of names that
start with J, aren't they? You know why? Because of Jehovah,
our God. Jehoshabed, Jehoiada, Jehoshaphat,
Jehu, there are so many of them, I get confused. But they are
known unto God, and He raises up this faithful husband and
wife to protect and enthrone this young king, Joash. Jehoiada, the priest of God,
is also a type and picture of a great high priest, the Lord
Jesus Christ, who carries out all the grand design and counsels
of our God in accomplishing our salvation. And that's exactly
what Jehoiada, the priest, is doing. How he divides his army
up and protects the young king. And I love this statement right
here, verse 4. The seventh year Jehoiada sent,
and fetched the rulers over hundreds with the captains and the guard,
and brought them into the house of the Lord, and made a covenant
with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the Lord,
and showed them the king's son." Wow! Can you imagine what was
going through their mind? This, we thought all the king's
sons were dead. Here's the king. They bring him
forth, they put him forth, and Jehoiada showed them the king's
son. Jehoiada, the priest of God,
is a type and picture of Christ. who accomplished all the will
of God in our salvation. We read in John chapter 4, the
Lord said, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and
to finish His work. The Lord Jesus Christ is our
great High Priest, who was sent by God, by covenant design, by
covenant mercy, to protect His people, to save His people from
the wrath of God against our own sin. In the fullness of time,
God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law
to redeem them who were under the law. The Lord Jesus Christ,
our great high priest, is called the surety of the everlasting
covenant and surely he is. Many times we've studied and
read in the book of Hebrews the Lord Jesus Christ acting as our
great high priest for that one offering he perfected forever
them that are sanctified. How he obtained eternal redemption
for us with his own blood. The Lord Jesus Christ is a priest
forever not like Aaron, not even like Jehoiada, but he's a priest
forever like Melchizedek. To intercede for us, to represent
us before God, and to present us faultless before the presence
of God's glory with exceeding joy. He is our advocate. Isn't
he? When we sin, we have an advocate
with the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our mediator that
we need. There's one God and one mediator
between God and man, the Lord Jesus Christ. And then he is
our intercessor. Jehoiada was making intercession
for Joash, wasn't he? Mediating for him. And he is
our intercessor. He's able to save to the uttermost
all that come to God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make
intercession for them. Jehoiada makes a covenant with
his army, and took an oath with them, and showed them the king's
son, as it says in verse 4, and at the appointed time on the
seventh year, they brought forth the king. as it says in verse
12, and he brought forth the king's son, and put a crown upon
his head, and gave him the word of the Lord, and the people clapped
their hands, and they said, God bless the king. He's our king. Now, this is what we desire when
we preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, to show forth and
set forth The King, the Lord Jesus Christ. To set forth the
person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. To show forth the King's
Son. You remember the Lord said, if
I'd be lifted up, that's what we do in the preaching of the
gospel. We lift up the Lord Jesus Christ, who is King of kings
and Lord of lords. We're commanded to preach Christ,
to lift him up. And he said he will bless his
word. Now, take another look at verse
12. Jehoiada, the priest of God,
brought forth the king's son, put crown upon him, gave him
the testimony that is the word of the Lord, and they made him
king, anointed him king, and they clapped their hands and
they said, let the king live. They put a guard around him to
protect him from Athaliah's reign. This seven-year-old boy, made
anointed and recognized as king. What a sight to behold. And all the people, look at verse
14. And when Athaliah looked, behold,
the king stood by the pillar as the manor was. Now some have
said that this was a special throne within the temple grounds
that was made for the king to sit upon. As the matter was,
this is the throne that Solomon had sat upon and others, Rehoboam
and the princes and the trumpeters By the king and all the people
of the land rejoiced, and they blew the trumpets announcing,
this is God's king. And Athaliah rent her clothes
and cried, treason, it's treason, it's treason. No, you're the
one that's in treason. against God. But does not all
this suggest a higher coronation of one infinitely higher nature
when the Lord Jesus Christ is brought forth to the preaching
of the Word from obscurity to be revealed to our heart. There's
one time when we didn't know Him. We didn't know who the King
was, but when He's brought forth through the preaching of the
Word and revelation of God the Holy Spirit, and we see Him as
our King, when our eyes are opened to see Him, and our ears are
opened to hear Him, and our heart is given, a new heart given to
love Him. And we say, He is altogether
lovely. And all the people of the land rejoiced. And all the
people, they blew the trumpets, and they said, Let the King live. We own the King. Isn't that exactly
what God does when He shows us the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ? When we see Him as He's revealed
in His Word, as our King, as our Lord, and our Savior, as
our All-in-all, He is exalted when He by Himself purged our
sin. He sat down on the right hand
of God. He is exalted, isn't He? But
you know what happens when God comes in the Gospel, the power
of God, the Holy Spirit, He is exalted. God had given Him a
name which is above every name, that at that name every knee
should bow and every tongue should confess. But in salvation, you
know what He does? He exalts Himself in our heart.
He reigns and rules. He's lifted up in our heart,
in our soul. And we bow to Him and own Him
as our King. He is owned and loved and crowned
King in our heart. Every knee and every believer
is made to own His Lordship. Every tongue is made to confess
that He is my Lord. Jesus Christ is my Lord and He's
my King, as Thomas said, my Lord and my God. Do you remember?
Peter said, this same Jesus whom you crucified, God has made Him
both Lord and Christ. Well, what's going to happen?
God's anointed Him as King. He sat on the throne of David
as King. All the people rejoiced as King
with the exception of Athaliah, and those who followed and worshipped
Baal. And Athaliah, the last part of
verse 14, she rent her clothes and cried, it's treason, treason,
it's treason. But Jehoiada the priest commanded
the captains of the hundreds, officers of the host, and said
to them, have her forth. without the ranges, and him that
followed her killed with a sword. For the priest had said, let
her not be slain in the house of the Lord. And they laid hands
on her, and she went by the way which the horses came into the
king's house. And there she met her just end
for rebellion against God." Athaliah stands in opposition to the rule
and reign of Joash. And she cries out, treason. In other words, she's saying,
Joash has no right to be king. Yes, he does. He's David's son. He's God's anointed and God's
chosen. The rebellion of Athaliah, like
her mother Jezebel, is brought to a swift and certain end. You remember when Pilate brought
forth the Lord Jesus Christ and said, behold your king, They
did exactly what Athaliah did. We have no king, they said, but
Caesar. Away with him and crucify him. Let all the enemies of the Lord
Jesus Christ that would raise up in rebellion against his kingdom
know that it will soon come to a just end with eternal condemnation. Look what it says over here in
Psalm 2. Psalm number 2. This is familiar. If you don't want to turn, let
me just read it to you. In Psalm 2, God said, I'll set
my king upon my holy hill's eye. Psalm 2 verse 6. I will declare
the decree, the Lord has said, thou art my son, this day I have
begotten thee. Ask of me and I'll give the heathen
for thy inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a
rod of iron. Thou shalt dash them in pieces
like a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore, you kings. Be instructed, you judges of
the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, rejoice with trembling,
kiss the Son. Kiss the Son, lest ye be angry,
and ye perish from the way when His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him. You see,
he that believeth on the Son hath life. He that believeth
not the Son shall not see life. But the wrath of God abides on
him. Well, verse 17 down to verse
21 in closing. Jehoiada made a covenant. Whenever
we read the word covenant in Scripture, you should immediately
think of our great God who is a covenant God. One of the first
books I read It was a biography, maybe an autobiography, John
Warburton, The Mercies of the Covenant God. It was out there
on that table. Somebody took it, yeah. Somebody
got it to read, but that's a good book. And he talked about in
that book the mercies of the covenant God. Our God, the covenant
God. Jehoiada, the priest of God,
made a covenant between the Lord and the King. And that's a picture
of that eternal covenant of grace made with the Lord Jesus Christ.
And the people, that they should be the Lord's people between
the King and also all the people. Now, turn and read this one with
me. Jeremiah 31. I think it's 3131. Yeah, Jeremiah
3131. That's an easy one to remember,
isn't it? Jeremiah 3131. He talks about
this eternal covenant of the Lord. Behold, the days come,
saith the Lord, that I'll make a new covenant with the house
of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the
covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took
them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which
my covenant they break, although I was a husband unto them, saith
the Lord. But this is the covenant that
I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith
the Lord. I put my law in their inward parts, and write it in
their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. They shall teach no more every
man his neighbor, every man his brother, saying, Know ye the
Lord? For they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto
the greatest of them, saith the Lord. For I will forgive their
iniquity, and remember their sin no more." One other scripture,
Jeremiah 32-38, They shall be my people, I will
be their God. Verse 40, I will make an everlasting
covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do
them good, but I will put my fear in their hearts. And they
shall not depart from Me." Jeremiah 32 verse 40. You see, everything
our God does, He does by way of an eternal covenant. And every
time we read of a covenant, we should always immediately think
of that everlasting covenant of grace. We read about that
in Hebrews chapter 13 where it says, "...a God of peace that
brought again from the dead the Lord Jesus Christ through the
blood of the everlasting covenant." You see, covenant mercies in
the Lord Jesus Christ, that's all our hope. That was David's
hope, wasn't it? You remember what he said? These
be the last words of David. Although it be not so with my
house, God hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered
in all things, and is sure this is all my hope and all my salvation. Now, verse 18, 19, and verse
20, three things happened that day. Verse 18, it says, all the
people of the land went into the house of Baal. They break
it down, his altars, his images. They break it in pieces throughly
and slew Matan, the priest of Baal before the altars. and the
priest appointed officers over the house of the Lord. That is, they stamped out idolatry
and returned to the worship of the Lord. They installed priests
in the temple of the Lord to offer sacrifices unto the Lord
upon the burnt All the people destroyed the idols of Baal,
appointed officers in the house of the Lord in the temple. They
destroyed the way of false worship and idolatry and reestablished
true worship through the appointed way, through the designated sacrifice
to the designated priest. And all that is typical of the
gospel, is it not? This is exactly what happens
within us. When the Lord does the work of
grace in our heart, we forsake every idol, every false refuge,
and we destroy all of our idols and worship God in spirit and
in truth. We've turned to God from our
idols to serve the living and true God. Remember? That's 1
Thessalonians 1 verse 9. "...who delivered us from the
wrath to come." Verse 10. The second thing that happened,
look at verse 19. "...And they took the rulers
over the hundreds, and captains, and the guard, and all the people
of the land." All the people of the land. "...They brought
down the king from the house of the Lord by the way of the
gate of the guard of the king's house." And Joash sat on the
throne of the kings. All the people rallied around
the anointed king as the great, great, great, great grandson
of David sat on the throne just as God said he would. This is
exactly what saving faith submits unto the lordship of Christ. Saving faith bows to the Lordship
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Looking unto Jesus who is the
author and finisher of our faith. We no longer pray unto a God
that cannot save. We look to Him for all salvation,
don't we? He said, look unto me and be
ye saved for I am God and there is none else. He's the only just
God and Savior. And then thirdly, all the people
We read this statement four times in this scripture. All the people
of the land, they rejoiced. You see that? And the city was
quiet. The city was quiet. Why? The
king reigns. The king reigns. And they slew
Athaliah with the sword beside the king's house, and seven-year-old
Joash reigned, and he reigned. Forty years. And he did that
which was right in the eyes of the Lord. So the last thing is
this. All the people rejoiced in their
King. And they were glad. And that
is true of believers right now. We rejoice in the King of Kings. The Lord Jesus Christ is our
King. We are the true Israel which
worship God in the Spirit. that rejoice in Christ Jesus
will have no confidence in the flesh. Will have no confidence
in the flesh. Man in his best state is altogether
vanity. And the land was quiet. They had rest and they had peace. That's exactly what happens when
the king is enthroned in our heart. Our conscience is quiet. It no longer accuses us because
the blood of Christ cleanses us from all our sin and we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And we have quiet. We're resting in the Lord Jesus
Christ who finished the work for us. He made peace for us
with His own blood being justified by faith. We have peace in Him
and all the people rejoice and we rejoice in Christ.