"HE Lives !"

 

2nd.Kings 11:1-16 " And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal. But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the King's sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from 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 the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him 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. And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the King's house; and a third part shall be at the gate of Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard: so shall ye keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down. And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD about the King. And ye shall compass the King round about, every man with his weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be slain: and be ye with the King as he goeth out and as he cometh in.

And the captains over the hundreds did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that should go out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give King David's spears and shields, that were in the temple of the LORD. And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, round about the King, from the right corner of the temple to the left corner of the temple, along by the altar and the temple. And he brought forth the King's son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him King, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, GOD save the King. And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people into the temple of the LORD. And when she looked, behold, the King stood by a pillar, as the manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the King, and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets: and Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, Treason. But Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the host, and said unto them, Have her forth without the ranges: and him that followeth her kill with the 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 by the which the horses came into the King's house: and there was she slain."

     Athaliah, the wicked daughter of Jezebel, typifies the Devil's efforts from the very beginning to destroy the "SEED" of the woman (Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14; 9:6) -- the prophesied LAMB of GOD WHO would, through HIS death and resurrection, provide atonement for sin (Romans 5:11) and forever defeat Satan, the originator of sin. If Athaliah had actually succeeded in destroying "all the seed royal" (v.1), that is, all the rightful heirs to the throne of King David, then she would, indeed, have usurped the right to reign -- she would have won the war ! For a while the queen and nearly everyone else thought she had triumphed (vv.2-3). No doubt similar joy existed among the fallen angelic host when JESUS died on the cross and lay three days in the tomb -- the "SEED royal" had finally been wiped out, or so they thought. Queen Athaliah reigned for a season (v.3b), just as Satan, the prince of this fallen world, currently holds sway; but the rightful heir to the throne (young Joash) was not dead as Athaliah had thought. Godly Jehoiada, a type of the HOLY SPIRIT, cared for him during the crisis and presented him to the faithful of Israel (v.4). "The King is not dead; he lives !" -- surely this proclamation must have been the triumphant cry heard throughout the land as news spread concerning the failure of Athaliah's evil plot. The fact that the rightful heir to the throne was alive caused great jubilation among the people (vv.12-14). So, too, the glorious fact that JESUS CHRIST lives causes tremendous rejoicing among the redeemed today. The death and resurrection of CHRIST proved Satan's defeat (vv.13-16 cf. Revelation 20:10 pictured above) and assures eternal victory over sin for all who are in CHRIST (Romans 6:4-11). DWC

Your servant in CHRIST,

Julie

Copyright, FEATURE: A Daily Bible Study Guide.

Used  with  permission.    www.featoday.org

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