Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 11:17
And Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people, that they should be the LORD’s people; between the king also and the people.
17 21. Jehoiada restores the worship of God. The house of Baal is destroyed. Joash is brought to the palace and enthroned (2Ch 23:16 to 2Ch 24:1)
17. And Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord ] In 2 Chron. ‘Jehoiada’ stands in the place of Jehovah, and it is said he made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king. Of course in the whole transaction he would appear as the representative of Jehovah, and receive in the name of the Lord the promise of both king and people, by which they dedicated themselves to the Lord.
between the king also and the people ] i.e. that they should be loyal subjects and he a just ruler over them.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
A covenant – Rather, the covenant, which either was already an established part of a coronation (marginal reference k), or at least became such afterward.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 17. Jehoiada made a covenant] A general covenant was first made between the Lord, the Supreme King, the king his viceroy, and the people, that they should all be the Lord’s people; each being equally bound to live according to the Divine law.
Then, secondly, a particular covenant was made between the king and the people, by which the king was bound to rule according to the laws and constitution of the kingdom, and to watch and live for the safety of the public. And the people were bound on their part, to love, honour, succour, and obey the king. Where these mutual and just agreements are made and maintained, there can be nothing else than prosperity in the Church and the state.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Between the Lord and the king and the people; a sacred covenant, whereby he solemnly engaged both the king and people, as it here follows,
that they should be the Lords people, i.e. that they should renounce and root out all idolatry, and set up and maintain Gods true worship. Compare 2Ki 23:10.
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. Compare 2Sa 5:3.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
17, 18. a covenant between the Lordand the king and the peopleThe covenant with the Lord was arenewal of the national covenant with Israel (Ex19:1-24:18; “to be unto him a people of inheritance,”Deu 4:6; Deu 27:9).The covenant between the king and the people was the consequence ofthis, and by it the king bound himself to rule according to thedivine law, while the people engaged to submit, to give himallegiance as the Lord’s anointed. The immediate fruit of thisrenewal of the covenant was the destruction of the temple and theslaughter of the priests of Baal (see 2Ki10:27); the restoration of the pure worship of God in all itsancient integrity; and the establishment of the young king on thehereditary throne of Judah [2Ki11:19].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people, that they should be the Lord’s people,…. Renewed the covenant between the Lord on the one part, and the king and the people on the other; assuring them, that as God had declared that he would be their God, he would yet be their God to bless and protect them, they continuing in obedience to him; and obliging them to promise that they would serve the Lord their God, and him only, and root out all idolatry from the land, and restore, and continue in, the pure worship of God:
between the king also and the people; he promising, on his part, that he would govern them according to the law of God, and protect them in their rights and properties, privileges and liberties; and they, on their part, that they would honour and obey him, and be his faithful subjects. In 2Ch 23:16 Jehoiada is said to make this covenant between him, c. which may be understood of the Lord or if of himself, the meaning is, that it was made between him, the king and people, and the Lord.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
17 And Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people, that they should be the LORD‘s people; between the king also and the people. 18 And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD. 19 And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and the guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king from the house of the LORD, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king’s house. And he sat on the throne of the kings. 20 And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in quiet: and they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king’s house. 21 Seven years old was Jehoash when he began to reign.
Jehoiada had now got over the harlot part of his work, when, by the death of Athaliah, the young prince had his way to the throne cleared of all opposition. He had now to improve his advantages for the perfecting of the revolution and the settling of the government. Two things we have an account of here:–
I. The good foundations he laid, by an original contract, v. 17. Now that prince and people were together in God’s house, as it should seem before they stirred, Jehoiada took care that they should jointly covenant with God, and mutually covenant with each other, that they might rightly understand their duty both to God and to one another, and be firmly bound to it. 1. He endeavoured to settle and secure the interests of religion among them, by a covenant between them and God. King and people would then cleave most firmly to each other when both had joined themselves to the Lord. God had already, on his part, promised to be their God (Jehoiada could show them that in the book of the testimony); now the king and people on their part must covenant and agree that they will be the Lord’s people: in this covenant, the king stands upon the same level with his subjects and is as much bound as any of them to serve the Lord. By this engagement they renounced Baal, whom many of them had worshipped, and resigned themselves to God’s government. It is well with a people when all the changes that pass over them help to revive, strengthen, and advance the interests of religion among them. And those are likely to prosper who set out in the world under fresh and sensible obligations to God and their duty. By our bonds to God the bonds of every relation are strengthened. They first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us, 2 Cor. viii. 5. 2. He then settled both the coronation-oath and the oath of allegiance, the pacta conventa–covenant, between the king and the people, by which the king was obliged to govern according to law and to protect his subjects, and they were obliged, while he did so, to obey him and to bear faith and true allegiance to him. Covenants are of use both to remind us of and to bind us to those duties which are already binding on us. It is good, in all relations, for the parties to understand one another fully, particularly in that between prince and subject, that the one may understand the limits of his power and prerogative, the other those of his liberty and property; and never may the ancient landmarks which our fathers have set before them be removed.
II. The good beginnings he raised on those foundations. 1. Pursuant to their covenant with God they immediately abolished idolatry, which the preceding kings, in compliance with the house of Ahab, had introduced (v. 18): All the people of the land, the mob, got together, to show their zeal against idolatry; and every one, now that they were so well headed, would lend a hand to pull down Baal’s temple, his altars, and his images. All his worshippers, it should seem, deserted him; only his priest Mattan stuck to his altar. Though all men forsook Baal, he would not, and there he was slain, the best sacrifice that ever was offered upon that altar. Having destroyed Baal’s temple, they appointed officers over the house of God, to see that the service of God was regularly performed by the proper persons, in due time, and according to the institutional manner. 2. Pursuant to their covenant with one another they expressed a mutual readiness to and satisfaction in each other. (1.) The king was brought in state to the royal palace, and sat there on the throne of judgment, the thrones of the house of David (v. 19), ready to receive petitions and appeals, which he would refer it to Jehoiada to give answers to and to give judgment upon. (2.) The people rejoiced, and Jerusalem was in quiet (v. 20), and Josephus says they kept a feast of joy many days, making good Solomon’s observation (Prov. xi. 10), When it goes well with the righteous the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish there is shouting.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.
2Ki. 11:20. And all the people rejoicedBecause, with Athaliahs death, the accursed house of Ahab ceased, and in Jehoashs person the royal house of David was again established on the throne of Judah.W. H. J.
HOMILETICS OF 2Ki. 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 (2Ki. 11:17). This was a renewal of the national covenant with Israel (Exodus 19-24; Deu. 4:6; Deu. 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 Gods 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. 2Ki. 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 (2Ki. 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 (Isa. 2:18).
No more at Delos or at Delphi now,
Or een at mighty Ammons 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 ruind temples, where, oh where are ye!Bethune.
III. Was the guarantee of stability to the throne (2Ki. 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 (2Ki. 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
2Ki. 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.
2Ki. 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.
2Ki. 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.
2Ki. 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.
2Ki. 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.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(17) A covenant.Rather, the covenant. The high priest solemnly renewed the original compact between Jehovah and the king and peoplea compact which had been violated by the Baal-worship of recent reigns.
That they should be the Lords people.Comp. Deu. 4:20; Exo. 19:5-6.
Between the king also and the people.For the protection of their mutual rights and prerogatives. (Comp. 1Sa. 10:25.) The king was bound to govern according to the law of Jehovahthe testimony which had been put upon him (2Ki. 11:12). (Comp. Note on 2Ch. 23:16.) The people were to be loyal to the house of David.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
17. Jehoiada made a covenant Having succeeded thus far in reforming the kingdom, he would next renew the covenant with Jehovah. He made, in fact, two covenants: first, between the Lord and the king and the people, which involved their returning as a nation from Baal worship to the obedience and worship of the Lord; secondly, between the king also and the people, which involved that they would sacredly regard the duties and respect each party owed the other. The king must rule righteously, the people cheerfully obey.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2). The Renewing Of The Covenants of YHWH, The Destruction Of The Sanctuary Of Baal, And The Final Official Enthronement Of The Davidic Heir ( 2Ki 11:17-21 ).
Athaliah having been disposed of, and the Davidic king having been restored and crowned, we now have a summary of the events that immediately followed, commencing with the renewing of the covenants, and the consequent extirpation of Baalism, and culminating in a reference to the enthronement of the Davidic king. These are not necessarily in chronological order. Rather they bring out the three necessary elements to the full restoration of Judah, the renewing of the covenants with YHWH which was the first essential step, the necessarily following destruction of the sanctuary of Baal and execution of its high priest, and the final enthroning of Joash on the official throne of David in accordance with YHWH’s covenant with the house of David, which is the highlighted feature of the whole passage.
Analysis.
a
b And all the people of the land went to the house of Baal, and broke it down. His altars and his images they broke in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of YHWH (2Ki 11:18).
c And he took the commanders over hundreds, and the Carites, and the guard, and all the people of the land, and they brought down the king from the house of YHWH, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king’s house. And he sat on the throne of the kings (2Ki 11:19).
b So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet. And they had slain Athaliah with the sword at the king’s house (2Ki 11:20).
a Jehoash was seven years old when he began to reign (2Ki 11:21).
Note that in ‘a’ the king’s position is settled between him and YHWH and him and the people, and in the parallel he commenced to reign. In ‘b’ the people of the land destroyed the symbols of Baalism and in the parallel they had destroyed Athaliah, and they rejoiced and rejoiced and were quiet. Centrally in ‘c’ the Davidic heir was enthroned on the throne of the kings.
2Ki 11:17
‘And Jehoiada made a covenant between YHWH and the king and the people, that they should be YHWH’s people, between the king also and the people.’
In very abbreviated form we learn that Jehoiada re-established the sacred covenants; the sacred covenant of YHWH with the Davidic house, ‘YHWH and the king’ (2Sa 7:8-16), the sacred covenant of YHWH with the people, (including the king), ‘YHWH — and the people’ (Exo 20:2-17), and the political (although still sacred) covenant between king and people, ‘between king also and people’. The kingdom had returned to YHWH on the basis of the covenants of YHWH.
Such a renewing of the covenant on important occasions can be paralleled in 2Ki 23:3; Deu 5:1 ff; Jos 8:30-35; Jos 24:2-25; 2Sa 5:3 with 1Ch 11:3 ; 2Ch 29:3 ff). It was an essential part of returning to the true worship of YHWH. By it the people were acknowledging YHWH as their sole God and Overlord, and their responsibility to be His holy people and observe His laws and commandments.
2Ki 11:18
‘And all the people of the land went to the house of Baal, and broke it down. His altars and his images they broke in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of YHWH.’
Then the freemen of Israel, the landed gentry and freeholders in contrast with the city bureaucrats, went to the hated house of Baal and tore it down. They were dethroning Baal. They broke in pieces his altars and his images. And they slew Mattan, the high priest of Baal in Jerusalem, before those altars (the term High Priest is found at Ugarit)). This was, of course, a necessary consequence of the official renewing of the covenants, and with the people in control, supported by the Temple guard, the followers of Baal remained quiet. The will of the people was conclusive. (The incidents are in topical order rather than in chronological order. This would chronologically probably follow the enthronement of the king).
Mattan was a common Israelite name (a shortened form of Mattaniah) and is testified to by a seal at Lachish. It means simply ‘gift’. (It may here signify ‘gift (of Baal)’, Mattaniah meaning ‘gift of YHWH’).
2Ki 11:19
‘And he took the commanders over hundreds, and the Carites, and the guard, and all the people of the land, and they brought down the king from the house of YHWH, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king’s house. And he sat on the throne of the kings.’
Meanwhile those who had been involved in the coronation, the commanders of military units, the elite units of Temple executioners (the Carites), and the general Temple guard, together with the ‘people of the land’ brought the king down from the house of YHWH, and came by the gate of the guard to the palace which was now once more the king’s house, and there he was officially seated on ‘the throne of kings’, the Davidic throne. The lack of interference by, or even cooperation of, the royal bodyguard and the standing army suggest that they too were ready to support Yahwism and the people. Athaliah had had few real friends
2Ki 11:20
‘So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet. And they had slain Athaliah with the sword at the king’s house.’
The city was now filled with rejoicing by ‘the people of the land’, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who could be expected to be more tied to the reigning monarch, themselves remained quiet and peaceful. Athaliah was dead, slain with the sword at the entrance to the palace, and it would appear that few mourned her passing (again the order is not chronological).
2Ki 11:21
‘Jehoash was seven years old when he began to reign.’
And the final result was that Jehoash commenced his reign at the age or seven years old. But it was not his age that mattered, it was that he was the true heir to the throne of David.
Note how this note has been removed from the opening formula that follows and has been placed here in order to conclude this subsection. He had already begun to reign.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
2Ki 11:17. And Jehoiada made a covenant, &c. “This could be no other than of protection and justice on his part, and of obedience on theirs; however, it makes it evident that kings may covenant with their people, contrary to Mr. Hobbes’s doctrine.”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Observe, in the death of Baal’s priest, how human sacrifice suited their idol worship. For as Moses said, they sacrificed to devils, not to God. Deu 32:17 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2Ki 11:17 And Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people, that they should be the LORD’S people; between the king also and the people.
Ver. 17. And Jehoiada made a covenant. ] Both sacred and civil: and they set forthwith upon the work of reformation, which prospered in their hands: for they pulled down Baal’s temples, and slew Mattan the priest before his altars. 2Ki 11:18
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
made a covenant: 2Ki 11:4, Deu 5:2, Deu 5:3, Deu 29:1-15, Jos 24:25, 2Ch 15:12-14, 2Ch 29:10, 2Ch 34:31, Ezr 10:3, Neh 5:12, Neh 5:13, Neh 9:38, Neh 10:28, Neh 10:29, 2Co 8:5
between the king: 1Sa 10:25, 2Sa 5:3, 1Ch 11:3, 2Ch 23:16, Rom 13:1-6
Reciprocal: Deu 29:12 – thou shouldest 2Ki 21:24 – made Josiah 2Ki 23:3 – stood 2Ch 23:3 – made a covenant Jer 11:2 – General Jer 34:8 – had
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Ki 11:17. Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord, &c. A sacred covenant, whereby he solemnly engaged both the king and people, that they should be the Lords people That they should renounce and root out all idolatry, and set up and maintain Gods true worship. 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. Compare 2Sa 5:3.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
11:17 And Jehoiada made a {p} covenant between the LORD and the king and the people, that they should be the LORD’S people; between the {q} king also and the people.
(p) That both the king and the people should maintain the true worship of God and destroy all idolatry.
(q) That he should govern and they obey in the fear of God.