Ch. 2Ch 23:1-11<\/span> (= 2Ki 11:4-12<\/span>). The Conspiracy against Athaliah<\/p>\n 1. strengthened himself<\/em> ] Cp. 2Ch 1:1<\/span> (note); the phrase does not occur in the parallel passage of Kings.<\/p>\n Azariah<\/em>, etc.] These names do not occur in Kings.<\/p>\n captains of hundreds<\/em> ] In 2 Kin. “captains over hundreds of the Carites (i.e. Cherethites) and of the guard.” The Chronicler takes the captains to be captains of Levites<\/em>.<\/p>\n The five names do not occur in Kings; only, and incidentally, the five divisions of the royal guard (2Ki 11:5<\/span> note).<\/P> <\/p>\n CHAPTER XXIII <\/P> Jehoiada the priest, after having taken counsel with the<\/I><\/P> captains, Levites, c., proclaims Joash, and anoints him<\/I><\/P> king<\/I>, 1-11.<\/P> Athaliah, endeavouring to prevent it, is slain<\/I>, 12-15.<\/P> He makes the people enter into a covenant, that they would<\/I><\/P> serve the Lord<\/I>, 16.<\/P> The people break down the temple of Baal, and slay Mattan his<\/I><\/P> priest<\/I>, 17.<\/P> Jehoiada makes several alterations, and remodels the kingdom<\/I>,<\/P> 18-21. <\/P> NOTES ON CHAP. XXIII<\/P> <\/P> Verse 1<\/span>. And in the seventh year<\/B><\/I>] See on 2Kg 11:4<\/span>, &c.<\/P> <\/p>\n Took the captains of hundreds; <\/B>not all, but those here following, in whom he put most trust. But this chapter is almost all taken out of 2Ki 11<\/span>, where it is explained. <\/P> <\/p>\n 1. in the seventh year Jehoiada . .. took the captains of hundreds,<\/B> c.(See on 2Ki11:4<\/span> 2Ki 11:17<\/span>). The fiveofficers mentioned here had been probably of the royal guard, andwere known to be strongly disaffected to the government of Athaliah.<\/P><\/p>\n Joash raised to the throne, and Athaliah slain<\/em>. – In 2 Kings 11:4-20 we have another account of these events, in which the matter is in several points more briefly narrated, and apparently differently represented. According to both narratives, the thing was undertaken and carried out by the high priest Jehoiada; but according to 2 Kings 11, the high priest would appear to have mainly availed himself of the co-operation of the royal body-guard in the execution of his plan, while according to the Chronicle it is the Levites and the heads of the fathers’-houses who are made use of. Thereupon De Wette, Movers, Thenius, and Bertheau consequently maintain that the author of the Chronicle, proceeding on the view that the high priest, the chief of so many priests and Levites, would not have recourse to the assistance of the royal body-guard, has altered the statements in the second book of Kings accordingly, and wishes to represent the matter in a different way. But this assertion can be made with an appearance of truth only on the presupposition, already repeatedly shown to be erroneous, that the author of the Chronicle has made the account in 2 Kings 11 the basis of his narrative, and designedly altered it, and can scarcely be upheld even by the incorrect interpretation of various words. That 2 Kings 11 is not the source from which our account has been derived, nor the basis on which it is founded, is manifest from the very first verses of the chronicler’s narrative, where the names of the five princes over hundreds, with whose co-operation Jehoiada elaborated his plan and carried it into execution, are individually enumerated; while in 2 Kings 11, where the preparations for the accomplishment of the work are very briefly treated of, they will be sought for in vain. But if, on the contrary, the two accounts be recognised to be extracts confining themselves to the main points, excerpted from a more detailed narrative of the event from different points of view, the discrepancies may be at once reconciled. Instead of the short statement, 2Ki 11:4<\/span>, that the high priest Jehoiada ordered the centurions of the royal body-guard to come to him in the temple ( … ), made a covenant with them, caused them to swear, and showed them the king’s son, we read in the Chronicle (2Ch 23:1-3<\/span>), that the high priest Jehoiada took five centurions, whose names are stated with historical exactitude, into covenant with him, i.e., sent for them and made a covenant with them, and that these men then went throughout Judah, and summoned the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the heads of the fathers’-houses of Israel, to Jerusalem; whereupon Jehoiada with the whole assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God, and Jehoiada said to the people, “The king’s son shall be king, as Jahve hath said of the sons of David.” That this more expanded narrative can without difficulty be reconciled with the summary statement in 2Ki 11:4<\/span>, is perfectly manifest. By various devices, however, Berth. tries to bring out some discrepancies. In the first place, in the words, “Jehoiada sent and brought the princes of hundreds” (2Ki 11:4<\/span>), he presses the , which is not found in the Chronicle, translates it by “he sent out,” and interprets it with 2Ch 23:2<\/span> of the Chronicle; in the second, he takes in 2Ch 23:3<\/span> of the Chronicle to mean “the whole congregation,” whereas it denotes only the assembly of the men named in 2Ch 23:1<\/span> and 2Ch 23:2<\/span>; and, thirdly, he opposes the expression, “they made a covenant with the king” (2Ch 23:3<\/span>, Chron.), to the statement (2Ki 11:2<\/span>) that Jehoiada made a covenant to the princes, by making this latter statement mean that Jehoiada made a covenant with<\/em> the princes, but not with the king, as if this covenant concerning the coronation of Joash as king might not be called, by a shorter mode of expression, a covenant with the king, especially when the declaration, “the son of the king shall reign,” follows immediately.<\/p>\n Preparations to Restore Judah.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD> B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> 878.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE> 1 And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took the captains of hundreds, Azariah the son of Jeroham, and Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, and Azariah the son of Obed, and Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri, into covenant with him. 2 And they went about in Judah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the chief of the fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. 3 And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said unto them, Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as the LORD<\/B> hath said of the sons of David. 4 This is<\/I> the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you entering on the sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be<\/I> porters of the doors; 5 And a third part shall be<\/I> at the king’s house; and a third part at the gate of the foundation: and all the people shall be<\/I> in the courts of the house of the LORD<\/B>. 6 But let none come into the house of the LORD<\/B>, save the priests, and they that minister of the Levites; they shall go in, for they are<\/I> holy: but all the people shall keep the watch of the LORD<\/B>. 7 And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever else<\/I> cometh into the house, he shall be put to death: but be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out. 8 So the Levites and all Judah did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest had commanded, and took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that were to go out<\/I> on the sabbath: for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses. 9 Moreover Jehoiada the priest delivered to the captains of hundreds spears, and bucklers, and shields, that had been<\/I> king David’s, which were<\/I> in the house of God. 10 And he set all the people, every man having his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and the temple, by the king round about. 11 Then they brought out the king’s son, and put upon him the crown, and gave him<\/I> the testimony, and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, God save the king.<\/P> We may well imagine the bad posture of affairs in Jerusalem during Athaliah’s six years’ usurpation, and may wonder that God permitted it and his people bore it so long; but after such a dark and tedious night the returning day in this revolution was the brighter and the more welcome. The continuance of David’s seed and throne was what God had sworn by his holiness (Ps. lxxxix. 35<\/span>), and an interruption was no defeasance; the stream of government here runs again in the right channel. The instrument and chief manager of the restoration is Jehoiada, who appears to have been, 1. A man of great prudence, who reserved the young prince for so many years till he was fit to appear in public, and till the nation had grown weary of the usurper, who prepared his work beforehand, and then effected it with admirable secresy and expedition. When God has work to do he will qualify and animate men for it. 2. A man of great interest. The captains joined with him, v.<\/I><\/span> 1<\/span>. The Levites and the chief of the fathers of Israel came at his call to Jerusalem (v.<\/I><\/span> 2<\/span>) and were there ready to receive his orders. See what a command wisdom and virtue will give men. The Levites and all Judah did as Jehoiada commanded<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 8<\/span>), and, which is strange, all that were entrusted with the secret kept their own counsel till it was executed. Thus the words of the wise are heard in quiet,<\/I> Eccl. ix. 17<\/I><\/span>. 3. A man of great faith. It was not only common equity (much less his wife’s relation to the royal family) that put him upon this undertaking, but a regard to the word of God, and the divine entail of the crown (v.<\/I><\/span> 3<\/span>): The king’s son shall reign,<\/I> must reign, as the Lord hath said.<\/I> His eye to the promise, and dependence upon that, added a great deal of glory to this undertaking. 4. A man of great religion. This matter was to be done in the temple, which might occasion some breach of rule, and the necessity of the case might be thought to excuse it; but he gave special order that none of the people should come into the house of the Lord, but the priests and Levites only, who were holy, upon pain of death, 2Ch 23:6<\/span>; 2Ch 23:7<\/span>. Never let sacred things be profaned, no, not for the support of civil rights. 5. A man of great resolution. When he had undertaken this business he went through with it, brought out the king, crowned him, and gave him the testimony,<\/I> v.<\/span> 11<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. He ventured his head, but it was in a good cause, and therefore he went on boldly. It is here said that his sons joined with him in anointing the young king. One of them, it is likely, was that Zechariah whom Joash afterwards put to death for reproving him (ch.<\/I><\/span> xxiv. 20<\/span>), which was so much the more ungrateful because he bore a willing part in anointing him.<\/P> <\/p>\n See note on 2Ki 11:4<\/span><\/p>\n THE SECOND BOOK OF CHRONICLES<\/strong><\/p>\n IN discussing the First Book of Chronicles we called attention to the fact that according to Usshers chronology, the two Books, not reckoning the table of genealogy, covered a space of 468 years of history; the First Book only 41 of these, and this second, 427. As to the authorship of these Books, Ezra is commonly accepted.<\/p>\n The analysis of any book is largely the presentation of a personal view. One man divides this Second Book of Chronicles into two portions: The Reign of Solomon, chapters 1 to 9, and The Kings of Judah, chapters 10 to 36.<\/p>\n Scofield in his reference Bible, says of this Book: It falls into eighteen divisions, by reigns, from Solomon to the captivities; records the division of the kingdom of David under Jeroboam and Rehoboam, and is marked by an ever growing apostasy, broken temporarily by reformations under Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Hezekiah, and Josiah.<\/p>\n It is our purpose to follow neither of these divisions, however natural they may be, but to discuss the volume under three heads: Solomon and the Temple; Rehoboam and the Division, and the History of Judah.<\/p>\n <\/span>SOLOMON AND THE TEMPLE<\/strong><\/p>\n The Book opens with a declaration concerning the new king, And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly (2Ch 1:1<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n The history that follows gives occasion to say several things concerning this marvelous man of immortal reputation:<\/p>\n First, Solomons kingship enjoyed an auspicious beginning. <\/strong>The man who ascends the throne under the favor of the Lord necessarily begins a reign of promise. If, as in Solomons case, he sensibly recognizes his responsibility and seeks wisdom from the only sufficient source, he adds greater certainty to his success. When, in addition to this, his objectives are high and God-honoring, the glory of his kingdom advances accordingly. Certainly, Solomons preparation to build the temple was not only a noble objective, but one in line with his kingly fathers purpose and prayers, and the great Heavenly Fathers will for him.<\/p>\n The interesting history here of gathering materials and appointing men for this marvelous construction is made more interesting still by the kings personal supervision and spiritual interest. It takes some courage to conduct war, and we believe it takes almost more courage and even a clearer sense of God, to build sanctuaries, make their appointments according to the Divine pleasure, and call the people to worship within the spacious rooms of the same. Yet, when you have read but five chapters of this Book, you find such a work complete, and are not in the least amazed or even surprised to read, The glory of the Lord had filled the house of God (2Ch 5:14<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n It is doubtful whether any company of men have done more for the establishment of spirituality in the earth and for the strengthening of the souls of their fellows, than have those who brought sanctuaries into existence and led congregations of people to a genuine worship of the most high God.<\/p>\n The on-going of this Book reveals Solomons conscious dependence. <\/strong>When the altar was erected he stood by it with outstretched hands (2Ch 6:12<\/span><\/em>).<\/em> That is the attitude of prayer and possibly of adoration. When his lips parted to speak, he says,<\/p>\n O Lord God of Israel, there is no God tike Thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto Thy servants that walk before Thee with all their hearts:<\/em><\/p>\n Thou which hast kept with Thy servant David my father that which Thou hast promised him; and spakest with Thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with Thine hand, as it is this day.<\/p>\n Now therefore, O Lord God of Israel, keep with Thy servant David my father that which Thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in My sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in My Law, as Thou hast walked before Me (2Ch 6:14-16<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n Now then, O Lord God of Israel, let Thy Word be verified, which Thou hast spoken unto Thy servant David (2Ch 6:17<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n Then follows an appeal that Gods eyes should be open upon their house day and night; that His ears should hearken to the prayers made in that place, and if sin were committed, that forgiveness should be granted, and if the people fail before the face of the enemy because of sin that they also should be pardoned; that if heaven be shut up on the same ground, upon repentance the dearth should end.<\/p>\n Then he concludes in a more personal petition to Him:<\/p>\n Then what prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of any man, or of all Thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house:<\/em><\/p>\n Then hear Thou from Heaven Thy dwelling place, and forgive (2Ch 6:29-30<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n These are only samples of the long petition that followed the dedicatory sermon. They wind up with a sentence like this: O Lord God, turn not away the face of Thine anointed: remember the mercies of David Thy servant (2Ch 6:42<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em> It is a model prayer; it is the petition of a sincere soul; it is the cry of one who knows that the mercy and love of God are the only grounds of hope.<\/p>\n The further text records Solomons fame and death. <\/strong>That fame was based upon Solomons wisdom, accentuated doubtless by the magnificence of the temple, but made more honorable still in the extent of his organization, the luxury of his court and the wealth of his treasury.<\/p>\n Evidently, among the rulers of the earth, the queen of Sheba held conspicuous place, and when the fame of Solomon reached her, she came to prove him with her questions, and impress him with her own riches and glory. The difficult questions were satisfactorily answered, the temple was adequately shown, the table of the king groaned with its good meats, the apparel of the servants was profoundly impressive, and the queen said to the king,<\/p>\n It was a true report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom:<\/em><\/p>\n Howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: for thou exceedest the fame that I heard.<\/p>\n Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, winch stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom.<\/p>\n Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the Lord thy God (2Ch 9:5-8<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n The compliment to the king is followed with a statement of Solomons annual income, the magnificence of his throne, the rich appointments of the palace, the extensive commercial importance of his kingdom, and the willing tributes of the earths lesser lords.<\/p>\n Then, as if the task of telling all was too great, we have this record,<\/p>\n Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the Prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?<\/em><\/p>\n And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.<\/p>\n And Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead (2Ch 9:29-31<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n It is a surprising end, and yet strangely true to human history. How many men spend all their days in preparing to live, and when the preparation seems almost complete, proceed to die? The last enemy is no respecter of persons. His bow is drawn against the great as well as the humble, the rich as well as the poor, the wise as well as the ignorant. Death respects neither thrones nor kings; he holds the key to the palace room, and even to the throne room. Kings may command their humbler fellows, and even counsel their equals; but where death calls, they also obey.<\/p>\n REHOBOAM AND THE DIVISION<\/strong><\/p>\n The emptying of a throne is forever fraught with perils. The eternal and pertinent question is this, Who shall come after the king? The tenth chapter answered that concerning the throne of Israel. The answer was an ill omen! Rehoboams tyrannical spirit split the kingdom. <\/strong>When Jeroboam and all Israel came to him, saying, Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee (2Ch 10:4<\/em><\/span><\/em>), <\/em>they delicately referred to the increased taxation to which the luxurious court and the personal orgies of Solomon had given rise. They thought, as people commonly do, that the new rule would prove the peoples friend. Their hope was in vain.<\/p>\n The old men, former counselors of Solomon, advised kindness and compassion; but the young bloods, spoiled by their fellowship with royalty, counseled increased oppression; and under their influence he said,<\/p>\n My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add thereto: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions (2Ch 10:14<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n It was enough. The war was on; and that war has never ended until this day, for Israel and Judah are not yet one. A man who divides brethren and sets them to battle, little understands the infinite reach of his mischief. The father of Modernism in America, when he fell asleep at a comparatively early age, little dreamed that he had set influences to work that would divide every denomination on the continent, destroy the fellowship of men who loved one another as twins are commonly supposed to love, wreck schools and churches by the thousand, and start a war that may easily exceed the famous Hundred Year War of history.<\/p>\n Israel and Judahblood brothersbecame the bitterest of enemies. <\/strong>For some reason Second Chronicles pays little attention to Israel, but proceeds to trace Judahs history to the year of Cyrus, king of Persia, or through a period of almost a half millennium. The family feud occasionally projects itself into the record, but for the most part, Israel is forgotten, and the doings of Judah are recorded in detail.<\/p>\n The explanation of this is found in the circumstance that Jeroboam rejected the worship of Jehovah (2Ch 11:14-15<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em> When God is once put away, when Gods priest is disposed of, and His minister is heard no more, then degeneracy compels a declining record.<\/p>\n Unitarianism three quarters of a century ago denied the Lord. Its history has amounted to little; and if it were recorded, it would simply prove, as the Jeroboam movement, a breeding place of apostasy; and yet this record regards not one apostasy only, but two.<\/p>\n The man of many favors may forget God.<\/strong><\/p>\n When Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook the Law of the Lord, and all Israel with him (2Ch 12:1<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n What a sad commentary on the uncertainty and unstability of human nature! The explanation of Rehoboams failure has fitted thousands, yea millions of cases. He did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord (2Ch 12:14<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em> Of all disappointments, none exceed thisto begin well and end badly; to give promise and create disappointment; to be the subject of Divine favor, and become the slave of Gods adversary.<\/p>\n THE HISTORY OF JUDAH<\/strong><\/p>\n Chapters 11 to 36 contain the roster of kings. The<\/strong> fortunes of the country answer accurately and inevitably to the characters of their rulers.<\/strong> On the whole, the history is a down-grade. In that respect, it runs true to form. The doctrine of evolution may find an illustration in national life if it goes from the simple to the complex, but in so far as it contends for improvement, history fails to illustrate it. Degeneracy of nations has more often taken place than has social and moral progress.<\/p>\n The foundations of Judah were laid under David; the kingdoms glory appeared under Solomon. From that moment until this, one word expresses Judahs coursedecline.<\/p>\n Africa was once an advanced nation, now a heathen one; Italy once ruled the world, now she holds an inconspicuous place; Greece once represented the climax of physical and mental accomplishment, now she boasts neither. The reasons for decline are varied, but in Judah they were one the God who had made her great was too often forgotten, too willingly offended. When the nations neglect the source of their strength, weakness naturally ensues. Judahs strength was in the Lord, and when her kings forgot Him, despised His Word, entered into unholy alliances that were followed by the people, her fame declined, and her land fainted.<\/p>\n The mixed social condition manifested her sinfulness. <\/strong>We have a phrase, Like people, like priest. We can paraphrase that, Like princes, like people. The study of these kings results in no compliment to human nature. Some of them were utterly evil; most of them were a mixture of the good and bad; two or three of them were sound. Among the utterly evil ones, Jehoram, Ahaziah, Athaliah, Manasseh, Amon and Jehoiakin held first place. The ones that represent a mixture of good and bad were Jeroboam, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah, Jehoiakim; while the truly good consisted of Jotham, Hezekiah and Josiah. In all probability the reign of each of these good kings was profoundly affected and made spiritually fruitful by the ministry of Isaiah, the greatest preacher among Old Testament Prophets. It is perhaps a fact of history that no rulers have ever proven faithful to God without the stimulating and salutary influence of the Gospel ministry.<\/p>\n The judgments and mercies of Second Chronicles alike vindicate Jehovah.<\/strong> In this record wickedness does not go unpunished; and yet it is a marvelous revelation of Divine mercy.<\/p>\n There is never the least sign of penitence on the part of the ruler and the people without an immediate and generous response from Jehovah.<\/p>\n When Jehoshaphat declined in his loyalty and effected a sinful coalition with Ahab, judgment fell; but instantly upon his repentance, mercy was shown. Judgment is always and everywhere Gods strange work, the work in which He takes no pleasure. As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Eze 33:11<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n Mercy is His nature, His essential character, for to the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness. He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy (Pro 28:13<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n CRITICAL NOTES.] This chapter parallel with 2Ki. 11:4-20<\/span>, evidently from same source, although presenting certain points of difference. In Ki. narrative related from civil point of view, in Chronicles writer concerns himself mainly with the ecclesiastical aspect of the transaction [Speak. Com.<\/em>]. Joash is made king (2Ch. 23:1-11<\/span>); Athaliah slain (2Ch. 23:12-15<\/span>); and worship restored (2Ch. 23:16-21<\/span>).<\/p>\n 2Ch. 23:1-11<\/span><\/em>.Joash made King. J. strengthened<\/em>, braced himself to the effort from which he had previously shrunk [Speak. Com.<\/em>]. Captains<\/em>, centurions of royal guards loyal to legitimate heir of crown. Covenant<\/em> for overthrow of Athaliahs tyranny. 2Ch. 23:2<\/span>. Gathered<\/em>, probably at time of festivals, to disarm suspicion. Israel, i.e.<\/em>, Judah. 2Ch. 23:3<\/span>. Congregation<\/em>, select Levites and trusty persons, collected by captains from various cities. Said<\/em>, Jehoiada said, pointing to Joash. Lord<\/em> (2Sa. 8:12-13<\/span>). 2Ch. 23:4<\/span>. Ye<\/em>. Levites received orders, in Ki. orders to royal guard given. Entering<\/em>, Levites released each other every Sabbath day (1Ch. 9:25<\/span>). Porters<\/em>, watchmen. Doors<\/em>, Hebrew thresholds. 2Ch. 23:5<\/span>. Courts, people<\/em> not admitted ordinarily, on this occasion allowed to witness proceedings. Remember Athaliah had completely desecrated the entire enclosure [Speak. Com.<\/em>]. 2Ch. 23:6<\/span>. Watch<\/em>, see that no worshippers of Baal forced their way in. 2Ch. 23:7<\/span>. Compass<\/em>, Levites not engaged as indicated to surround king at entrance and exit. 2Ch. 23:8<\/span>. Dismissed, not<\/em> to keep a sufficient force for the occasion; armed them within temple courts to avoid suspicion (2Ch. 23:9<\/span>), and equipped all the people, i.e.<\/em>, combined princes, guards, and Levites, who surrounded the king. 2Ch. 23:11<\/span>. Testimony<\/em>, The law according to which he was to rule (Deu. 17:18<\/span>).<\/p>\n 2Ch. 23:12-15<\/span><\/em>.Athaliah is slain<\/em>. She is permitted to enter outer court without a guard. 2Ch. 23:13<\/span>. Pillar<\/em>, platform on which king elevated to be seen. Treason<\/em>, conspiracy. She was taken out of temple grounds to horse gate<\/em> (for kings mules), and there slain (2Ki. 11:16-18<\/span>; 2Ki. 23:2<\/span>; 2Ki. 23:6<\/span>; 2Ki. 23:12<\/span>).<\/p>\n 2Ch. 23:16-21<\/span><\/em>.Jehoiadas reforms<\/em>. J. represented the Lord (2Ki. 11:17<\/span>); ratified the covenant to be the Lords people (2Ch. 23:16<\/span>); destroyed temple of Baal (Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n