2 Kings 11:13-16 – Be careful of the blind spots in our lives

The bravery of Jehoiada brought into fruition the coronation of Joash. As expected, such a moment is not to be mildly dismissed. Everyone who was present must have been overwhelmed with a deep sense of excitement as they proclaimed, “Long live the king!” Second Kings 11:13-16 describe for us the response of the wicked Athaliah and her death sentence. The proclamation coming from the house of the LORD could be heard from where she was. When she heard the joyful sound, she came to the temple to see for herself.  The sight must have shocked her. She saw “the king standing by the pillar, according to the custom, with the captains and the trumpeters beside the king; and all the people of the land rejoiced and blew trumpets.”

When she saw that, her immediate response was to rent her clothes and loudly shout, “Treason! Treason!” Jehoiada was just as ready. Not wanting to put her to death within the temple, he immediately ordered the captains of the guards to escort her outside to be put to death by the sword. Jehoiada also commanded that all her followers be put to death as well. She and all her followers were seized and escorted beyond the precinct of the temple. And at the entrance of the king’s horses, she was put to death.

From Jehoiada, we learn that we need to be brave and true to God even in the days of evil. If Jehoiada had a lesser disposition and temperament, he would wilt under the scheme of the wicked Athaliah. It should not be a surprise to us when we encounter people with wicked intentions in this world. But it is important for us not to be intimidated that we will do nothing to deal with it. We must learn to be strong in the Lord and stand in the strength of His might to deal with it. The second lesson we can learn from Athaliah is about blind spots. Imagine her accusing others of treason when she was a key proponent of treason. People are usually blind to their own sin as they accuse others of committing it. We must not look at the speck in someone else’s eyes and be blind to the log in our own eyes. Ask the Holy Spirit to direct His laser beam into our heart and see if there is a hidden sin which we are not aware of!