Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 11
The boy Joash was living, in secret, at the house of Jehoiada, the chief priest. Jehoiada would have taught him very carefully, to prepare him for his future work as the king of Judah. When Joash was just 7 years old, Jehoiada was ready to appoint him king.
Jehoiada had discovered that several important military leaders were willing to be loyal to the new king. Their names appear in 2 Chronicles 23:1. With their support, it would be possible to defeat Athaliah, who had taken control over the country.
Clearly, the whole matter had to be very secret. Jehoiada would not even allow them to see Joash until they had made serious promises to support his rule. They secretly gained the support of leaders across Judah and, in particular, the Levites (2 Chronicles 23:2). The Levites were the tribe (family group in Israel) from which the priests came. It was the special duty of the Levites who were not priests, to support the priests in their work.
On the day when Jehoiada appointed Joash king, the Levites would act as the king’s guards. Jehoiada gave the military leaders who supported Joash, the task to organise the Levites. Jehoiada would appoint Joash king in the temple court, in other words, the yard that surrounded the temple (God’s house). The military leaders would come to the temple without weapons or military equipment. Jehoiada was able to provide these things from the store rooms at the temple (2 Chronicles 23:9).
Next part: Jehoiada's secret plan to make Joash king (2 Kings 11:5-8)
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