1. "We are fascinated by transitions of power, from presidential inaugurations to military coups, from coronations to revolutions. The very founding of our country was one great transition of power, as American revolutionaries threw off the shackles of monarchy to start their own government to be ruled by the people, for the people."

2. "The wicked seemed so permanent. Ahab's clutch on power through his dynasty, through his son Joram, seemed so permanent. But it was all a mirage. Even while Ahab seemed so stable, God was working behind the scenes in ways that his people could not yet see."

3. "What peace can there be so long as the whorings and the sorceries of your mother Jezebel are so many? Friends, the message of Christianity is there can be no peace without justice."

4. "Just because you are an instrument of God's judgment does not make you a vessel of his mercy."

5. "It is possible to hate evil without loving good. Do you know what I mean? It's possible to love attacking the bales of our day without having any real love for God."

6. "Brothers and sisters, hatred of sin will not drive out our sin. It's a love of Jesus that drives out our sin. A Christian will hate sin, but he'll hate it differently. A true Christian hates sin most fundamentally for Christ's sake."

7. "The surgeon hates cancer because he loves the patient. The soldier fights the battle because he loves his country. In the same way, the Christian opposes sin. Sin in any form. Not for sin's sake, but for Christ's sake."

8. "Weeping may tarry for the night, but there is joy coming with the morning. And brothers and sisters, the day is coming when we, like those priests in the temple, will see the Son. We will see him with our eyes. We will see him as he is in his glory."

9. "We may wait for six years or 60 years. Your body may lie dead in the ground for 600 years, but it will rise. You will rise with the return of the Son of God."

10. "There is no shortage of wickedness in our day. And if there are co-conspirators who oppose evil, we should oppose evil too. We should rejoice if Jehu puts an end to BAAL worship. But we should not mistake a Jehu for a Joash. And most importantly, we shouldn't mistake Joash for Jesus."

Observation Questions

1. In 2 Kings 9:1-3, what specific instructions does Elisha give to the young prophet regarding Jehu's anointing? What does this reveal about God's sovereignty in political change?

2. Looking at 2 Kings 9:25-26, how does the location of Joram's death connect to earlier events in Israel's history? What does this teach us about God's justice?

3. In 2 Kings 9:30-37, examine Jezebel's final actions and words. What do these reveal about her character even in her final moments?

4. From 2 Kings 10:28-31, what mixed assessment does Scripture give of Jehu? How can someone simultaneously fulfill God's purposes yet fall short of true faithfulness?

5. Study 2 Kings 11:1-3. What specific actions does Jehosheba take to preserve the Davidic line? What risks does she face in doing so?

6. In 2 Kings 11:12, what two items are given to Joash at his coronation? Why are these significant for understanding biblical kingship?

Interpretation Questions

1. Why does the text repeatedly emphasize the question "Is it peace?" throughout chapter 9? How does this question relate to the broader themes of the passage?

2. How does Athaliah's attempted destruction of the royal family connect to the ancient promise of Genesis 3:15? What does this reveal about the spiritual battle behind historical events?

3. Why is it significant that Jehu removes Baal worship but maintains the golden calves? What does this teach us about partial obedience?

4. How does the preservation of Joash demonstrate God's faithfulness to His covenant with David? What hope would this give to the original readers?

5. In what ways does this passage point forward to Christ as the ultimate fulfillment of the Davidic kingship?

Application Questions

1. When have you experienced a situation where you had to trust God's timing even when circumstances seemed hopeless? How does Joash's preservation encourage you in such times?

2. Think about a time when you opposed something evil. Were your motives driven more by hatred of wrong or love for Christ? How can you cultivate Christ-centered motivations?

3. Where in your life are you tempted to settle for partial obedience like Jehu? What specific steps can you take toward full submission to God's Word?

4. When have you been tempted to despair about corrupt leadership or unjust circumstances? How does this passage reshape your perspective?

5. Jehosheba risked everything to preserve God's promises. What personal cost might you face in standing for God's truth today? Are you willing to pay that price?

Additional Bible Reading

1. Psalm 2:1-12 - This psalm speaks of the nations' rebellion against God's anointed king, providing context for understanding earthly opposition to God's chosen rulers.

2. Micah 5:2-5 - The prophet describes the coming of the true ruler from Bethlehem who will bring genuine peace, fulfilling what Joash could only partially represent.

3. Matthew 2:13-18 - Herod's attempt to destroy the Christ child parallels Athaliah's actions, showing Satan's continued attempts to thwart God's promises.

4. Revelation 19:11-16 - This vision of Christ as the returning King shows the ultimate fulfillment of the Davidic kingship, bringing perfect justice and peace.

Sermon Main Topics

I. The Fascination and Disappointment of Transitions in Power

II. The Lord Will Avenge Injustice (2 Kings 9-10)

III. The Lord Will Provide a Ruler (2 Kings 11)

IV. The Ultimate Fulfillment in Jesus Christ

---

Detailed Sermon Outline

---

---

---

We are fascinated by transitions of power. From presidential inaugurations to military coups, from coronations to revolutions, the very founding of our country was one great transition of power, as American revolutionaries threw off the shackles of monarchy to start their own government. To be ruled by the people, for the people. One of the main reasons we're so drawn to transitions of power is the possibility of change. We approach transitions with high hopes that the new ruler, the new government will bring a greater degree of justice, a greater degree of peace.

But the sad reality throughout so much of history is that so often changes in power don't bring greater justice. They don't bring greater peace.

What do God's people need to remember?

When rulers reign who reject God's Word? What do God's people need to remember when rulers reject God's Word? This was the pressing question on the minds of God's people in the Old Testament, in the portion of Scripture we've been studying this January in 1 and 2 Kings. Open your Bibles with me to 2 Kings chapter 9. If you're using one of the Red Pew Bibles, that'll be found on page page 315.

If you don't have your own Bible, please take that as a gift from us to you. This is one of those sermons where you will be served, especially by having your Bible open. We are covering three chapters of the Bible and there's a lot to cover. As you turn there, let me recap where we've been these last two weeks. After the death of Solomon, David's great son, the nation of Israel descended into fratricidal civil war.

The northern kingdom of Israel immediately embraced idolatry under the leadership of Jeroboam. The southern kingdom of Judah, meanwhile, held on to the true worship of Yahweh for a time. Both, however, struggled under the constant attack of Syria to the north and Moab to the east. So it's in the middle of the ninth century BC, a notoriously wicked king by the name of Ahab began a disastrous 20-year reign over Israel.

It was Ahab who led the nation deeper than ever before into idolatry. He did it through marrying a Phoenician princess named Jezebel. The very name Jezebel invokes a kind of disdain. She was infamous for her devotion to the false god Baal, and she brought the worship of Baal into the kingdom of Israel.

Two abominable aspects of Baal worship are worth mentioning. First, sexual immorality. Second, child sacrifice. Believing that Baal controlled rain and agricultural productivity, cult prostitutes engaged in immorality in hopes of stimulating Baal's favor. Additionally, Baal worship included the horrific practice of child sacrifice, where infants were burned as offerings to secure blessings or avert disaster.

But Ahab didn't just lead Israel into idolatry, Ahab arranged for the marriage of his daughter, Athaliah, to Jehoram, king of Judah. So he brought the false worship of Baal from the northern kingdom of Israel into the southern kingdom of Judah. Thus Baal worship entered Judah. Unified through marriage and idolatry, Israel and Judah represent two nations opposed to God, opposed to God's word, and opposed opposed to God's people. The wickedness of Israel reached a high point in the infamous story of Naboth's vineyard in 1 Kings 21.

The wicked Queen Jezebel, seeing that her husband Ahab coveted a vineyard owned by a poor but righteous man named Naboth, had Naboth killed in cold blood. So that Naboth's vineyard could become a vegetable garden for King Ahab, because he wanted it. That act of injustice was certainly just the tip of the iceberg in Israel at the time, but that act brought on the condemnation of the Lord through his prophet Elijah, who said to Ahab, Thus says the Lord, In the place where dongs licked up the blood of Naboth, Shall dogs lick up your own blood?

The question was when? When will the years of injustice come to an end? When will the sufferings of the innocent under horrifically unjust rulers be over? When will God make good on his promises to avenge the blood of his people?

When? It is in this situation, when all hope seems lost, that our text this morning begins. And our passage answers this question: what do God's people need to remember when rulers reject God's Word? We're given two answers. These answers will form the outline of the sermon.

First, the Lord will avenge injustice. We see this especially in chapters 9 and 10. The Lord will avenge. Second, the Lord will provide. The Lord will provide a ruler.

We see this in chapter 11. Because of the length of this text, we won't read all of it now, but we'll work through most of it in order under the two points. And it all begins with an unexpected and surprising military coup that no one saw coming. Pick up with me as we begin reading in 2 Kings 9:1. Then Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, 'Tie up your garments and take this flask of oil in your hand and go to Ramoth Gilead.

And when you arrive, look there for Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, and go in and have him rise from among his fellows and lead him to an inner chamber. Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head. ' and say, Thus says the Lord, I anoint you, king over Israel. Then open the door and flee. Do not linger.

The first thing we see in our text is that the Lord will avenge. And throughout chapters 9 and 10, we'll see that God's vengeance will be sudden, inescapable, and perfect. And because it covers two chapters, this first point will be our longest point. This is really the story of a divinely inspired military coup. The events of this chapter and the next all take place in the year 841 BC.

Elisha, whose ministry for the last eight years has largely been concerned with carving out a zone of milk and honey within a land flowing of death and blood, now becomes shot caller for a treasonous plot. He tells an unnamed prophet to secretly anoint a previously unknown man named Jehu as king over Israel. Don't be confused when verse 2 calls Jehu son of Jehoshaphat. That's not a reference to King Jehoshaphat of Judah. Because it specifies Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi.

King Jehoshaphat's father was Asa. This Jehu is in fact the commander of the army of Israel. He's the chief military officer over the kingdom of Israel. A decade earlier, the Lord had instructed Elijah to have this same man Jehu anointed king. And finally that day comes.

It starts with God speaking through his word. And the point is this. Permanence is only an apparent quality for the wicked. The wicked seem so permanent. Ahab's clutch on power through his dynasty, through his son Joram seemed so permanent, but it was all a mirage.

Even while Ahab seemed so stable, God was working behind the scenes in ways that his people could not yet see. So keep reading with me in verse four. So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead, and when he came, behold, the commanders of the army were in council. And he said, I have a word for you, O commander. And Jehu said, to which of us all?

He said, to you, O commander. So he arose and went into the house, and the young man poured the oil on his head, saying, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, I anoint you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel. And you shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, so that I may avenge on Jezebel the blood of my servants, the prophets, and the blood of the servants of the Lord. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish. And I will cut off from Ahab every male bond or free in Israel.

And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and none shall bury her. Then he opened the door and fled. It's a strange account. I mean, this unnamed prophet shows up, sneaks past Secret Service, as it were, enters into the White House compound itself, finds the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Situation Room in the middle of a military campaign.

He pulls the commander aside and says, I need to have a word with you. The commander somehow agrees, and that's when he finds out that he's now anointed king. That he is now to annihilate his own former king, Joram. If this sounds like high treason, it's because it is high treason. This is a military coup in broad daylight.

After delivering the message, the prophet flees, understandably, leaving the stunned soldier Jehu processing the shocking content of the message. Jehu will be king. Ahab's house will be destroyed. Jezebel will be eaten by dogs, all fulfilling the word of the Lord spoken in 1 Kings 19 and 21. What will Jehu do with the message?

Well, keep reading. Verse 11, When Jehu came out to his servants of his master, so think the joint chiefs here, they said to him, 'Is all well? Why did this mad fellow come to you?' and he said to them, 'You know you know the fellow and his talk. And they said, that is not true. Tell us now.

And he said thus, and thus he spoke to me, saying, thus says the Lord, I anoint you king over Israel. Then in haste, every man of them took his garment and put it under him on the bare steps, and they blew the trumpet and proclaimed, Jehu is king. Jehu's joint chiefs immediately swarm him after this encounter. Clearly something significant is happening and notice the question they ask. They ask, is all well?

Literally, is it peace? This question, is it peace, will be asked seven more times in this chapter. It seems that in the midst of all this intrigue and infighting, the question on everyone's lips is, Is it peace? Literally, can I trust you? Are you doing something behind my back?

Is it peace? And Jehu tells the truth. The people's response is immediate. Jehu is pronounced king. The troops assemble for battle, only this time not against Syria but against their own king, Jehoram.

Why do the military leaders immediately unite around Jehu? We don't know. But clearly they recognize that this isn't just Jehu's idea. This is the word of the Lord, and there is no one stopping what God has spoken. The time had come, no one saw it coming, no one could have predicted it.

The point here is the suddenness of God's judgment. Ahab's descendants grasp on the throne seemed so stable, but his throne was balancing on a tightrope. And that tightrope was about to snap.

I wonder if your life feels stable, if it feels unflappable, steady. Jesus warns you. He says, the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect. While people are saying, There is peace and security, Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5, Sudden destruction will come upon them as pains of a woman in labor, and they will not escape.

Do you know that judgment is coming?

Are you ready for that judgment to come? The rest of chapter 9 and most of chapter 10 detail Jehu's six acts of righteous retribution demonstrating that God's judgment isn't just sudden, it's inescapable. See, coups are rarely attempted and even more rarely successful because the inherent difficulty with any coup is achieving secrecy and speed. You have to achieve secrecy by having a small enough group, but you have to act with speed in order to defeat all your opponents by killing them or capturing them so that you take over power before anyone knows that anything's happened. In rapid offensive, Jay who's army cleans house.

They destroy an entire dynasty in a single day with systematic oppression, precision. Jehu assassinates King Joram of Israel in chapter 9, verse 14 to 26. King Ahaziah of Judah in chapter 9, verses 27 to 29. Queen Jezebel of Israel in chapter 9, verses 30 to 37. The remainder of Ahab's sons in chapter 10, verse 1 to 11.

The remainder of Ahaziah's relatives in chapter 10:12-14 and all remaining prophets of Baal in chapter 10:18-28. This is a flood-like judgment, the likes of which Israel had never seen before. A dynasty wiped out in a single day. Idolatry seemingly wiped out in a single day. By the time we get to the end of chapter 10, there is no one left to escape Jehu's meteoric rise.

The point here is not how to launch a successful coup.

The point is the inescapability of God's judgment. Jehu's name literally means he is Yahweh. He is the Lord. Jehu is the instrument of divine retribution and judgment. And when the Lord arises to avenge himself on his enemies, there will be no escape.

Look down at verse 17.

We see how King Joram of Israel finds out about Jehu's coup. And notice as we read where this confrontation takes place. Verse 17, Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he saw the company of Jehu as he came, and said, 'I see a company.' and Joram said, 'Take a horseman and send to meet them and say, 'Is it peace?' ' so a man on horseback went to meet him and said, 'Thus says the king, 'Is it peace?' and Jehu said, 'What do you have to do with peace? Turn around and ride behind me.' and the watchman reported saying, 'The messenger reached them, but he is not coming back.' Then he sent out a second horseman who came and said to them, 'Thus says the king, 'Is it peace?' and Jehu answered, 'What do you have to do with peace? Turn around and ride behind me.

Again, the watchman reported, He reached him, but he is not coming back. And the driving is like the driving of Jehu, the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously. Joram said, Make ready, and they made ready his chariot. Then Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah set out, each in his chariot, and went to meet Jehu, and met him at the property of Naboth, the Jezreelite. And when Joram saw Jehu, he said, Is it peace, Jehu?

He answered, what peace can there be so long as the whorings and the sorceries of your mother Jezebel are so many? Then Joram reigned about and fled, saying to Ahaziah, Treachery, O Ahaziah! And Jehu drew his bow with his full strength, and shot Joram between the shoulders, so that the arrow pierced his heart, and he sank in his chariot. And Jehu said to Bidkar his aide, 'Take him and throw him on the plot of ground belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. For remember when you and I rode side by side behind Ahab his father, how the Lord made this pronouncement against him, As surely as I saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons, declares the Lord, I will repay you on this plot of ground.

Now therefore take him up, and throw him on the plot of ground in accordance with the word of the Lord. Did you notice that question on everyone's lips? The first messenger asks, Is it peace? The second messenger asks, Is it peace? Then Joram finally asks, Is it peace?

But peace was not on the menu. Why? Jehu tells us in verse 22, what peace can there be so long as the whorings and the sorceries of your mother Jezebel are so many? Friends, the message of Christianity is there can be no peace without justice. If you want to have peace with God, justice must be met.

Justice and only perfect justice must be satisfied. Peace is only on the menu if the bill has been settled. See, each of us have sinned against God. Every sin that we have committed, whether big or small, has accrued a debt.

And like Ahab's children, we can deceive ourselves into thinking that we can defer that payment indefinitely, but do not miss this fact: a payday is coming. That debt that we have accrued against God because of our sins will have to be paid. The question is, will that debt be paid by you or will it be paid by someone else? Friends, the good news of the gospel is that God has made a way. Colossians tells us that he made peace by the blood of his cross.

Something happened on that cross that satisfied the justice that we owe God for our sins. On the cross, a sinless savior bore the punishment that you and I deserve for our sins if we trust in him. That means that justice has been satisfied if we turn to Christ and receive him by faith. If you receive Christ by faith, then you can have peace with God. Not a peace that you've made for yourself by your works, not a peace that you've manufactured by wishful thinking, an actual peace, a just peace, a lasting peace, a peace that has been accomplished by the Son of God.

Brothers and sisters, the question for you is, is it peace?

Is it peace for your soul with God?

Or is there a debt that you are accruing for your sins that still has to be paid?

Look back at our verse. In verse 21, notice where this confrontation, notice where this showdown takes place. One of the most infamous places in all the Bible, at the property of Naboth the Jezreelite. If this were a movie, this would be the final fight scene, where the protagonist and the villain meet up in that place where they knew each other once before. It's the showdown.

As soon as you hear those words, Naboth's vineyard, everyone knows what's going that's about to happen. And God is about to make good on his word. In poetic justice, Ahab's wicked son Joram's dead body is deposited on the same ground that absorbed the blood of Naboth. All of this happened in verse 26 according to the word of the Lord. Brothers and sisters, God exists.

God is real. God has spoken. Every word of God proves true. Not one word will fail of all the things that the Lord your God has promised. All will come to pass.

Jehu wastes no time after disposing of Joram. After slaying King Ahaziah of Judah, he rides on to the royal residence at Jezreel. Pick up with me in verse 30. When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out the window. As Jehu entered the gate, she said, Is it peace, you Zimri, murderer of your master?

And he lifted up his face to the window and said, who is on my side? Who? Two or three eunuchs stood and looked out at him. He said, Throw her down. So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses, and they trampled on her.

Then he went in and ate and drank, and he said, 'See now to this cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king's daughter.' But when they went out to bury her, they found no more of her than a skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. When they came back and told him, he said, 'This is the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, 'In the territory of Jezreel, the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel, and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field in the territory of Jezreel, so that no one can say, this is Jezebel. A macabre ending for a malevolent queen. Friends, the point of these passages is that refrain repeated again and again. It happened according to the word of the Lord.

God will avenge his suffering people. God will put an end to unjust authorities. God will remember every drop of every innocent blood shed. Not one drop will be forgotten because God will repay. You just wonder how many years Nehemiah went through life with those words of Elijah ringing in his ears, those words which for over 10 years seemed would never come to fruition.

How long did he wonder, will God really judge Ahab for his sins? Will God really keep his promise? Is God going to ever avenge the blood of Naboth? When will he act?

Oh, brothers, I don't know what promises of God's Word you are struggling to believe this morning.

I do know that Satan preys on fears within us and circumstances around us. To cause us to call into question the trustworthiness of God's promises. And I'm here to tell you this morning that Satan is the liar. God is not. Satan is the liar.

God is not. God says to you, I will never leave you or forsake you. God says, I will supply every need of yours. According to my riches in Christ Jesus. He says, if you confess your sins, he is faithful and just to forgive you of all your sins, to cleanse you from all unrighteousness.

He says, I started this good work. I will bring it to completion. He says, my grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in your weakness. Brothers and sisters, you can trust God's word.

The fulfillment of these prophecies is part of the proof.

Kids, if I can speak to you for a moment, part of how you learn to trust God and what he has spoken in his word is by watching how your parents respond when they don't get the good things they're asking God for.

Or when they get the bad things they're hoping to avoid. Part of how you learn to trust God is by watching how your parents respond by faith and not by sight. A good question for you to ask your parents at lunch today would be how that's happened in their life. When is a time in their life when they didn't get a good thing they asked for? Or when they got a bad thing?

They didn't want to get. Ask your parents what that was like. But friends, I would be remiss in my duty as a pastor if I did not emphasize, like this text does, the certainty of God's judgment if you are not in Christ. God doesn't make empty promises. He also doesn't make empty threats.

There is a judgment coming and every sin will be punished. The question is whether we will bear that punishment ourselves in eternity in hell or if we will turn to Christ by faith.

Friends, we cannot pay the debt we owe God, but Christ's blood was shed for us. Come to Jesus. He is ready, He is able, He is willing. Come come to Jesus and find peace. Back in our text, Jehu continues his quest of purgation, wiping out the rest of the family of Ahab and Ahaziah before eradicating Baal worship through subterfuge in chapter 10, verse 27.

The summary in chapter 10, verse 27 suffices for our purposes. And they demolished the pillar of Baal and demolished the house of Baal and made it a latrine to this day. Thus, Jehu wiped out Baal from Israel. But what starts so promisingly ends so anticlimactically. Look ahead at verse 29, chapter 10, verse 29.

But Jehu did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam the sons of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin, that is, the golden calves that were in Bethel and in Dan. And then verse 31.

Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel to sin.

Jehu expels foreign religion, but he doesn't reinstate the true worship of Yahweh. Instead, he just brings Israel back to its idolatrous roots, favoring the state-controlled worship of golden calves begun by Jeroboam. And the reality is this: just because you are an instrument of God's judgment does not make you a vessel of His mercy.

Just because you are an instrument of God's judgment does not make you a vessel of His mercy. Do not confuse the two. God often raises up enemies to discipline His people or to defeat evil.

And those actions do not make them righteous. I think there's a warning for us here. It is possible to hate evil without loving good. It's possible to hate evil without loving good. Do you know what I mean?

It's possible to love attacking the bales of our day without having any real love for God, to delight in destroying the vestiges of idolatry and wickedness with glee, without any affection for Christ. Brothers and sisters, the distinguishing mark of a Christian is not only his hatred of sin, but his love of his Savior. What marks a true Christian is an affection for the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the love of Christ and because of it, the accompanying love of Christ's people that marks the true Christian. Take it from someone who struggled hard with this.

As a teenager, I hated my sin. I hated my fear of man. I hated the shame that came from sin. I hated the sin of lust. And the degrading effects I felt in my life.

But I didn't love Jesus. I had no affection for the Lord Jesus Christ. So I had no hope. I had no peace.

Friends, hatred of sin will not drive out our sin. It's a love of Jesus that drives out our sin. A Christian will hate sin, but he'll hate it differently. A true Christian hates sin most fundamentally for Christ's sake. He abhors sin because he prizes above all the blood of Christ shed because of sin.

He hates the evil he sees in the world because he loves the glory of God and longs for its manifestation. The surgeon hates cancer because he loves the patient. The soldier fights the battle because he loves his country. In the same way, the Christian opposes sin. Sin in any form, not for sin's sake, but for Christ's sake.

Oh, brothers and sisters, let us be known by the one that we love. Because God's judgment is coming and it will disclose what's really in our hearts. The good news and the bad news is that the Lord will avenge. Vengeance is necessary, but vengeance is only half the story. Vengeance is not the end.

What we need even more than vengeance is a savior. We need a king. We need a righteous ruler. That's what God's people are waiting for. And that's point two.

What do we need to remember? When rulers reject God's Word, point two, the Lord will provide. Specifically, the Lord will provide a ruler. I wonder if I'm the only person here who's left their laptop at a TSA bin at an airport. Anybody else?

No?

It happened in Columbus, Ohio. I was in a hurry. I didn't realize until I got back home and opened my backpack, no laptop. I felt like my whole life was on that laptop. Luckily, I was able to call a friend.

He tracked down the laptop at Lost and Found and shipped it to me. In chapter 10, God's people seem to have lost something far worse than a laptop. They felt like they had lost hope. They had lost God's promised savior. Chapter 11 shifts the camera from Israel in the north to Judah in the south because Jehu didn't just kill the royal family of Israel, he also killed Ahaziah, the king of Judah.

So Judah also ends up in a power vacuum. Only Jehu's not ruling Judah. Jehu's just ruling Israel. So what's gonna happen to Judah? Well here in chapter 11 we're introduced to Ahaziah's mother, Athaliah, the wicked daughter of Jezebel who had married into the Royal House of Judah.

After the death of her son, Ahaziah by Jehu in chapter nine, Athaliah declares herself queen and immediately begins wiping out any remaining members of the royal family of David. Listen as I read chapter 11, verse 1 to 3. Now when Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family. But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king's sons who were being put to death, and she put him in his nurse in a bedroom. Thus they hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not put to death.

And he remained with her six years hidden in the house of the Lord. While Athaliah reigned over the land. We're not told why Athaliah turns on her own family in this anti-motherly act of destruction, but the biblical narrative gives us no other way to look at this than the seed of the serpent seeking to destroy the seed of the woman. I want to slow down and zoom out here for a second because this is an important theme in the Bible that this text is holding out to us. The seed of the serpent seeking to destroy the seed of the woman.

Remember Genesis 3:15, all the way back in Genesis after the fall, God says, I will put enmity between you, Satan, and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring. He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. This is it. This is the heart of the plot line that the rest of the Bible will unfold. This is the headwaters from which all the rivers of Scripture flow.

If you want to know the plot line of the Bible, It's this verse, Genesis 3:15. Through the narrative of Scripture, the scope of this prophecy narrows from a son of Eve to the children of Abraham, Genesis 12. Then it narrows further to the descendants of Judah, Genesis 49. Then it narrows further to the descendants of David in 2 Samuel 7, where we get this promise in 2 Samuel 7:12-13. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you.

Who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. There is a son coming from the line of David who will defeat Satan and restore the fellowship with God that we've been created for. This is the son who will make peace on the cross. Okay, but we're still back in the Old Testament waiting for the son to be revealed.

And all throughout the Bible, you see these seeds of the serpent seeking to annihilate the sons of the woman. So this is why Pharaoh, who literally has a crown with a serpent on his head, commands the death of all Hebrew male infants. This is why Haman plots the death of the Jews in Esther. This is why Herod engages in genocidal acts against his own people in Matthew 2. And this is why in our text, Athaliah destroyed all the royal family, literally the royal seed.

But it turns out she missed someone. Jehoshabeath, the king's sister, hides away an infant boy and deposits him safely in the temple to be kept by her husband, the high priest, King Jehoiada, and no one knows. This is the stuff of which movies are made. I mean, this sun hidden as all hope seems lost. But I want you to imagine what it would be like as they waited.

Look back at verse 4. In the year, the seventh year, Jehoiada sent and brought the captains of the carites and of the guards and had them come to him in the house of the Lord. And he made a covenant with them and put them under oath in the house of the Lord. And he showed them the king's son. He showed them the king's son, the one who was supposed to be dead, the one who was supposed to not exist.

He shows them the king's son. And what I want you to try to imagine is what would it be like to live in Judah during those six years? All the promises seem lost. All hope is lost. The Davidic line has literally been cut off.

God must have been lying when he said to David, One of your sons will reign on the throne. It seems that Satan has the upper hand.

And then we come to verse 4.

Jehoiada takes some of his men into a little corner room and he showed them the king's son. Can you imagine their faces? Did they fall to the ground in homage? Did tears of disbelief come to their eyes? Did they reach out to touch him just to make sure it wasn't a dream?

We don't know how they recognized Joash, but all the details of the text are emphasizing that the Davidic promise has not come to an end. God will provide a ruler, and he will provide the perfect ruler in his son. Brothers and sisters, things are not now the way they always will be. Just think about how Christ's lifeless body lay in that stone cold tomb from Friday to Saturday. Like a single seed buried under frost-bit ground.

Just imagine what it would be like for the disciples as they wept. You remember what they said to one another? We had hoped.

We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. We had hoped. We have no hope. We were wrong. God's promises seem to have come to an end.

But oh friends, Saturday was not the end of that story. Sunday was coming and the sun would rise. Weeping may tarry for the night, but there is joy coming with the morning. And brothers and sisters, the day is coming when we, like those priests in the temple, will see the Son. We will see Him with our eyes.

We will see Him as He is in His glory. We will see the one that our soul loves and not another. We will reach out. We will touch his pierced hands and side and feet. And we will know that every step of the way has been worth it.

We may wait for six years or 60 years. Your body may lie dead in the ground for 600 years, but it will rise. You will rise with the return of the Son of God, and you will see him. And his victory will be our peace. The priest had no weapons, but Jehoiada had a plan.

Look at verse 10. Verse 10 tells us that the priest gave to the captains of the spears and shields that had been King David's, which were in the house of the Lord. They had no weapons. Ah, they had King David's weapons. And David's son will be defended by David's sword.

In verse 12, the king is coronated as they bring out the king's son and put the crown on his head and gave him the testimony. The testimony refers to God's law. The Ten Commandments or the law written in Deuteronomy 17 for kings. Unlike his father Ahaziah, the presence of God's word with God's king in verse 12 shows that Joash was following in the footsteps of David. The crowning of the true king spells the doom of the God's enemies.

In verse 16, Athaliah is killed. In verse 17, the people covenant with the king and the Lord. Joash here is a model of godly leadership. Joash is a model different from Jehu. See, Jehu invented his own playbook.

He pridefully rejected God's word in creating his own idolatrous religion that could be conveniently controlled. Joash shows us that every aspect of the Christian life must be submitted to the word of God. Brothers and sisters, it is not wrong to hope that change in earthly leaders will bring justice and change. It's a good thing to work for. It's a good thing to work for justice.

But we shouldn't be surprised when earthly leaders disappoint, because the perfect King is coming.

What King are you waiting for? Are you looking for a Jehu or are you waiting for a Joash? There is no shortage of wickedness in our day, and if there are co-conspirators who oppose evil, we should oppose evil too. We should rejoice if Jehu puts an end to Baal worship. We should rejoice if a Jehu puts an end to rampant sexual immorality and child sacrifice, but we should not mistake a Jehu for a Joash.

And most importantly, we shouldn't mistake Joash for Jesus. Even Joash, for all his virtues, was not a perfect king. Even Joash could not achieve a perfect peace. Yet even in this, like David, he pointed beyond himself to the one who is and who is to come.

Look, ye saints, the sight is glorious. See the man of sorrows now from the fight returned victorious. Every knee to him shall bow. Crown him, crown him, crown him, crown the Savior, Lord of all.

Let's pray. Father God, we praise you for the peace that you have purchased by the blood of your son. And we pray that the blood of Jesus Christ would cover every repenting sinner in this room. Father, help us to hold on in faith until your son returns. And cause all of our hopes to be in Him.

In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.