THE
KING WHO WOULD NOT DIE
THE
KING WHO WOULD NOT DIE
By
Robert Allen
CHAPTER
TEN
Priest Mattan
did not report the story of the boy’s game to Queen Athaliah, but that didn’t mean he had forgotten it. During the next week he questioned Matt
closely concerning Joash’s age. He
talked to some of the palace guards who had helped kill the king’s sons the
night Athaliah assumed the throne. One
of them remembered that Zibiah had kept her boy in her own room rather than in
the palace nursery. But he had no idea
which guards had been assigned to execute that particular child. And no one in the entire palace could
remember what Zibiah had named her infant son.
Mattan still did not believe that
one of the boys had actually survived.
The Athaliah he knew would never have allowed that to happen. But he did harbor suspicions concerning Jehoiada. He easily transferred his own penchant for
lying into a distrust of all others, even priests of Jehovah. He surmised that Jehoiada had taken in a boy
about the right age and would one day claim he descended from the royal line
even though the claim would be a lie.
The more he considered that possibility the more he imagined scenarios
where that knowledge might endear him even more to the queen. He wanted Athaliah to recognize his value and
importance.
The plan Mattan concocted seemed
fool-proof to his way of thinking. He
would order the capture of the two sons of Jehoiada. A vision from Baal would require their
immediate sacrifice in the valley of Molech in order to placate the god and
assure continued prosperity for Queen Athaliah.
If Jehoiada protested on the basis of Joash’s royalty nothing would
please the queen more than to know a son of David would die on the arms of
Molech. Either way he would win and the
threat would be eliminated.
For the first part of his plan to
succeed he simply needed to find a time when the boys would be out of sight of
the temple guards. Even his own son
could not be trusted with the truth, but some casual questioning soon produced
the answers he needed. Matt enjoyed
sharing their plans since his father usually paid so little attention to what
he did.
Right after class that day the boys
grabbed their bows and hunting knives and raced out the eastern gate of the
temple which led down into the Kidron Valley.
Rabbits, sparrows and even an occasional squirrel would provide some
exciting hunting for the afternoon.
They focused so completely on their search for game that they paid no
attention at all to the four men riding horses on the hillside opposite the
city. Following the meandering stream
further and further from the city they chased after rabbits. The horsemen kept pace with them but stayed
about half-way up the hillside on the Mount of Olives.
“There,” Matt whispered, pointing
ahead of them to a fallen tree. Sure
enough, a fat squirrel chewed noisily on a nut ignoring their approach. Zechariah notched an arrow into his bow and
taking careful aim let it fly in the direction of the squirrel.
“Got him! Yippee!”
All three boys scampered over the fallen logs and jumped rocks looking
for the squirrel he had wounded. As they
separated from one another in search of the squirrel the horsemen started
edging down the hill in their direction.
But still the boys didn’t notice.
“Over here,” Joash shouted. “There’s something in this bush.”
“I just spotted a rabbit,” Matt
called back. “Be with you in a minute.”
Suddenly, from somewhere over the
top of the slight ridge they heard Zechariah call out. “Help! Joash.
Matt. Help.”
As soon as he heard the scream Joash
darted up the hill in that direction. Topping
the rise he spotted two men on horseback, each trying to hang on to a screaming
flailing, kicking, Zechariah. One had a
grip on his arm and the other clung to his robe, but neither one could keep his
feet from kicking at their horses as the boy fought to escape.
Without a thought for his own
safety, eight-year-old Joash pulled the hunting knife from his belt and
charged. “Let him go,” he shouted as he
ran. “Put him down or else.”
To the amazement of the riders Joash
took a flying leap and landed on the back of the nearest horse. He couldn’t keep his balance, but as he fell
his knife dug into the flesh on the back of the man on the horse. As the knife sliced his skin the man screamed
and released his hold on Zechariah’s arm.
That left him dangling in midair held up only by the other rider’s grip
on his robe. Joash hit the ground
running and prepared to repeat his maneuver attacking the other horseman when
he felt himself being yanked off his feet from behind.
“Well, we’ve got ourselves a live
one here, don’t we.” The other two soldiers had ridden up from behind. Each one grabbed a boy firmly around the
waist and laid them over the front of their mounts like bags of wheat.
“Take his knife,” the wounded
soldier cried. “He’s a mean one, he is.”
“Matt. Help!”
Joash yelled. “Come and help us.”
But Matt ran as fast as his legs
could carry him in the opposite direction.
He had no intention of attacking a soldier with a hunting knife.
The soldiers quickly disarmed the
two captured boys and set off at a gallop toward the north side of the city
where Mattan awaited their arrival. The plan had worked perfectly. Now Mattan would announce the sacrifice and
make certain Jehoiada knew about the kidnapping.
Even with their knives taken away
the boys continued to fight, kicking the horses and attempting to twist out of
the firm grip of their captors. But it
was of little use.
Just as they rounded the corner of
the northern edge of the city wall near the Sheep Gate the sound of horses
caught their attention. Twelve men rode
out of the city at full gallop swinging their swords and ordering the boy’s
captors to halt. Instead, caught by
surprise, the men abandoned their hold on the boys and dropped them to the
ground, spurring their mounts in the opposite direction. They hadn’t expected any opposition and knew
they were outnumbered.
Another factor they had failed to
consider involved the instructions Jehoiada had given to his temple
guards. No word of the boy’s capture could
be heard by the queen, and that meant no survivors. Without even dismounting, four of the temple
guards chose their targets carefully and with one arrow apiece eliminated the
opposition. As the men slumped in their
saddles four other guards rode alongside and grabbing the reins led the attackers
and their horses back into the city. Two
more lifted Joash and Zechariah onto their saddles. They had never been so glad to see anyone as
they were to see the temple guards that day.
The entire rescue had taken less than ten minutes. No evidence remained to help Mattan discover
the fate of his men. Except for Matt’s
wide-eyed and almost incoherent story no one ever knew what took place that
afternoon in the Valley of Kidron.
Once the boys arrived safely back in
the temple Jehoshabeath fed them and tucked them into their beds. They both declared themselves too tired to
sleep, but soon their eyes fell shut.
In the meantime, the temple came
alive. Jehoiada had realized several
weeks before that his move against the queen and the priest of Baal would be
necessary. He had received reports of
Mattan’s investigation and knew it would be only a matter of time before
someone found Zibiah or interrogated one of the palace guards who had saved the
life of Joash that fateful night.
After nightfall the Levites began to
gather in the temple. Silently, two or
three at a time, they entered the various gates of the temple until the entire
courtyard filled with Levites and priests and temple guards. No lamps burned but a bright moon shone down
on them and illuminated the scene.
The men sat quietly hour after hour
until courses from every Levite city and village reported for duty. About three in the morning Jehoiada rose to
speak. “I have sent for you men tonight
because I trust each one of you. It is
good that you have come. Three days ago
I spoke with the leaders who stand here beside me. You know them as captains of hundreds under
Queen Athaliah. I know them as men of
God, men who still fear the Lord Jehovah.”
As he called their names each of the
captains stepped forward.
“Azariah the son of Jeroham.”
“Ishmael the son of Jehohanan.”
“Azariah the son of Obed.”
“Maaseiah the son of Adaiah.”
“Elishaphat the son of Zichri.”
Jehoiada paused as the men stepped
back into a solid line beside him and then continued. “These men had been made privy to a secret
which has been protected carefully for seven years. Now the time has come for
all of you to know, for all of Judah to know.
Seven years ago when Queen Athaliah stole the throne she ordered the
death of all the king’s sons, all the descendants of King David’s royal
family. By the grace of Almighty God,
however, one son escaped death. That boy
has been living here in the temple with my family ever since that night.”
A gasp escaped from the throats of
the hundreds of men assembled in the temple courtyard. Jehoiada raised his hand for silence and
continued.
“Tomorrow, the nation of Judah must
crown a new king. Joash, son of Jehoahaz,
son of David. The government shall be
upon his shoulder and he will reign supreme over the house of David.”
Some of the men began to cheer, but
immediately fell silent at the command of the high priest. “There will be time enough for celebration
tomorrow. We must not under any
circumstance reveal our secret before that time. Here is the plan. One third of you will remain here in the
temple. The armory will supply each one
with a sword, a spear and a shield. Your
task—to protect the king from danger in any form. One third of you will take up positions at
the entrance of the triple gates near the foundation of the wall which leads up
from the city of David. Your task—to
defend the gates from any attempt by the soldiers of Athaliah to enter the
temple. One third will slip out of the
temple before daybreak and assemble on the street in front of the palace. Your task—to announce the news of the
inauguration of a son of David, a new king who will sit on David’s throne. When we crown the king here in the temple the
people gathered for the Sabbath will begin to shout. When those at the gates hear the noise they
will join the celebration and that will be the cue for those at the palace to
raise the cry, ‘God save the king! God
save the king!’ The men standing by my
side will refuse to obey Athaliah’s expected command to attack the temple. They pledge allegiance to Jehovah Himself and
have already sworn to support King Joash.
Anyone who decides to use force in support of the queen will be met with
force. If anyone places the king in
danger that person must die.”
For the next several hours the
temple buzzed with quiet activity. The
armory doors opened and weapons passed down long lines of the faithful until
every man held a sword, a shield and a spear.
Just before the sun’s rays topped the Mount of Olives and began to
reflect off the golden spears surrounding the Holy Place men slipped quietly
through the southern gates and made their way to the street in front of the
palace. Another group followed them but
remained in place beside the gates of the temple closest to Queen Athaliah’s
dwelling.
At 9:00 o’clock the doors of the
temple opened and people began to enter with their sacrifices, prepared for the
celebration of the Sabbath. Some of them
noticed the fact that more priests and Levites than usual stood by but most
busied themselves with greeting friends and preparing their sacrifices.
At precisely high noon ten
trumpeters with ram’s horns marched onto the large steps overlooking the palace
courtyard. Placing the horns to their
lips they played a long and elaborate fanfare, catching the attention of all
the worshippers in the temple. As the
last tones faded away a procession of priests streamed out of the holy place
while at the same time all of the Levites and guards revealed the weapons they
had hidden under their robes. Three rows
deep they formed in rank, their line stretching from the right side of the
temple all the way across to the other side.
As every priest, Levite and guard
stood at attention the ram’s horn trumpets sounded again. From out of the Holy Place came High Priest
Jehoiada, clad in his holy garments, followed by a small and somewhat scared
looking boy in a purple robe. A hush
fell over the crowd. Amazed they craned
their necks to watch as an ancient, white-haired man entered carrying a crown
which rested on top of the purple and gold pillow. As the young boy knelt before the high priest
they saw Jehoiada remove the crown from the pillow and place it on the head of
the boy. Next the priest placed into the
boy’s hands a scroll of the law of Moses.
As he continued to kneel the priest poured oil onto his head, anointing
him in the name of the Lord God Jehovah.
Finally, as the boy rose slowly to
his feet, High Priest Jehoiada turned to the crowd. “Behold your king. Joash the son of Jehoahaz, the son of
David. A new king reigns in Judah! God save the king.”
Immediately the priests and Levites
in the temple echoed the cry, “God save the king.” As the excitement spread to the people they
amplified the sound until it echoed off the stone walls of the temple. The entire place shook with the cries of “God
save the king.” At the same time the
Levites gathered in the street before the temple reacted with their own
enthusiastic celebration. “God save the
king. God save the king.”
Queen Athaliah sat on her balcony enjoying
her breakfast of olives, cucumbers and onions as the distant cries grew
louder. When the noise reached the crowd
in front of the palace her face turned a deep purple. Throwing aside the breakfast dishes she raced
down from the balcony issuing commands as she ran. “Captain of the guard. Muster my bodyguards. The temple.
Attack the temple. Where are my
men? Quickly! Quickly! Quickly!”
Without even pausing to see if her
orders had been obeyed the Queen rushed out into the street which led from the
palace to the holy place. Expecting her
guards to be at her heels she raced up the hill in the direction of the temple
and young King Joash.
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