READINGS ON 2 KINGS (7) (SUMMARY)
[p. 386] READINGS ON 2 KINGS (7) (SUMMARY)
Rem In the preceding chapter there is the prominence of the feminine element, whether for evil or good, the priesthood being in the ascendancy, and in the latter part destructive operations brought to bear upon the house of Baal, but here the king takes command.
JT Kingship having come in in David, takes precedence of all other offices, but in its weakness or youthfulness, your thought would be that priesthood was necessary. Maternal exercise, taking form in the priest’s wife, led her to keep the child hid for six years (chapter 11: 2). So the priesthood together with the priest’s wife (2 Chronicles 22: 11) preserved the king in his infancy, until he was fully recognised: “Long live the king!” (chapter 11: 12). Then in chapter 11: 19 it says, “They brought down the king from the house of Jehovah ... and he sat upon the throne of the kings”. He is reigning, but he had the support of the priest for a while, and he is in charge of the house. We want to understand the preservation of the seed royal, and priestly protection where it is in danger. A rival exists in Athaliah.
Rem The position in chapter 11 is precarious.
JT Yes, and yet you can see how divine provision fitted exactly, so Joash is called the king, not merely the king’s son. It is a great thing to nurse the kingly element, so that it becomes active. You get a remarkable correspondence in the Scriptures: so in Exodus 1, you have, “There arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph”, and though Israel had no leader, they were fruitful and swarmed and multiplied. They were exposed to Pharaoh but [p. 387] women came forward and preserved the male side. Five women were used in this. The idea is that the subjective practical state among the brethren nurses what is of God. The seed royal is the child. You have the spiritual side in 2 Kings 11. Jehosheba is particularly to be noticed, as she comes in first; where women act, it is the subjective side that is prominent. So these five women in Exodus secure the male side, just as here Jehosheba takes the lead with the nurse: they hid the king’s son. It says, “He was with her hid in the house of Jehovah six years”. Then Jehoiada comes into view — God would own the official side — and acts throughout the chapter; thus the king is brought into evidence. It says Jehoiada “shewed them the king’s son” (verse 4). Then verse 12: “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, Long live the king!” The full thought is now reached, and this by way of the subjective line. Suppose there are two brothers in a gathering, and three times as many sisters; if the brothers have not gift, they have to be nursed, that is the idea. So the kingly side comes into evidence. We are never left at a loss. Over against Athaliah we have this woman acting for God.
Rem In Matthew we have “the little child and his mother”.
JT The male side is in mind in Matthew, therefore Joseph is put in charge of the little child, but there is the mother; whereas Luke would enlarge on the female side, the birth of Christ, and the care manifested. It is a crisis here, a most precarious situation; it is all linked up with Jezebel. Jezebel would slay all the prophets, that is, the word and mind and authority of God, then you have apostasy. This chapter is intended to bring out the subjective [p. 388] side to meet conditions. If there is lack of lordship, subjective conditions may be relied on if God is working. In due course the priest comes in with the result, no longer the king’s son but his being made king, the full position. The full divine position is reached, and yet he is a boy only seven years old, but he reigns the full time of David and Solomon, forty years. The complete idea of kingship is thus reached on these subjective lines.
It says in chapter 11: 2, “They hid him from Athaliah” — whoever “they” were; that is the subjective state of things capable of hiding from the enemy what is of value. Then you get the moral result in the official side, the side God can own. The point is, that however small things may be, this state of soul can be relied upon. We want to bring in what is needed officially, not just to keep the meeting going. A sister would never arrogate authority but would indicate that it belongs to the king. The seventh year is full development.
Rem At Philippi women were prominent, assembling where prayer was wont to be made.
JT The male side was clearly indicated in the man of Macedonia, but the female stands out first, and as here, over against the female slave who was the tool of the enemy. Lydia attended to the things spoken by Paul, as Paul had the vision. The subjective side must get into touch with Paul, as Paul represents God. You get a murderous spirit in Acts, similar to what is found in Athaliah: God meets that by the subjective side in the assembly. The assembly comes into prominence in Acts almost immediately. It says of the Lord, “And, being assembled with them”, Acts 1: 4. The King was there but going away and the assembly was to occupy the ground.
Jehosheba did her work well, in relation to this principle of hiding. The secretive thought belongs to [p. 389] the subjective side, but when publicity comes in, there must be the king. The full thought is reached spiritually in the seventh year, so we have something designated as “The king”, and he is to live long. Jehoiada fosters that, hence it is to his credit that in chapter 12 we have a king reigning forty years. His mother came from a covenant place. So you have a full spiritual product, the full position is in view as in David and Solomon. The priest and king (or, since David, king and priest) is the divine order. So if a meeting is weak, this describes what you get, as the priest is the development of a spiritual state in the woman, and that, in turn, develops into authority. Jehoiada is owned as introducing the king’s son.
Ques What place has Nathan?
JT Nathan and Gad are subservient to David’s prosperity. Gad is David’s seer. A man like David, though king, needed that. Nathan saved David, as did Gad. The most spiritual need the prophet.
Rem Zechariah alludes to the Branch growing up from His own place and then a priest upon His throne.
JT Priesthood and kingship should go together. God said He would raise up a faithful priest who would walk before His anointed continually. Priesthood is subservient to that. Christ is said to be the Branch, as remarked, a dependent Man, a Priest on His throne, meaning He is sympathetic with His subjects, not arbitrary. In Jehoiada you have the official side as the outgrowth of the subjective — what God can commit Himself to; it is the subjective side nursing this element till it develops.
Ques What is the thought in kingship?
JT Power really. How much you need power! “The shout of a king is in his midst”. Now, in chapter 12 you get the king in charge taking the initiative in regard to the money; he is acting as [p. 390] king and calls for Jehoiada and the priests. Similarly Paul sends Timotheus to Corinth in view of the low state there to revive subjective and priestly features among the saints. God goes on patiently to secure this, to show how He can intervene in weakness, indeed in a desperate situation, so that we are never driven to the wall. As was said earlier, this indicates the place sisters can have in nursing what is of God. In Montreal sisters went on and on for many years, till the king came in, so to speak.
Rem The birth of Joash seems to correspond with the activities of Jehu.
JT Jehu went on in God’s service against Ahab; he was raised up and anointed to do that. God allowed his dynasty to stand through four more kings. Athaliah’s attack was against the seed royal; there was no seed royal in the ten tribes. Sometimes one man slew another and reigned in his stead, but not so in Judah. Jehu did what was right up to a point. The seed royal is Christ preserved in the hearts of the saints in relation to the counsels of God. That is what Philadelphia has got.
Rem Tamar preserved the seed royal.
JT And she has a place in the generations in Matthew. The book of Ruth, too, brings that out. “Book of the generation of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham”; that must have in mind the assembly. The assembly represents what conserves things in the absence of Christ. The virtuous woman’s husband is known in the gates.
Kingship is seen in chapter 12: Joash reigns for forty years, and the first thing he directs relates to the money, as it says, “The money of everyone that passes the account, the money at which every man is valued”. We must have the values of the brethren. It says in verse 6, “The priests had not repaired the breaches of the house”. How serious! The priests were behind. There are peculiar qualities in this king. The only [p. 391] point in which he shines seems to be in this matter, bringing out of the saints, so to speak, for God’s purposes, what is in them. This is important. The position is very weak, and the breaches are a matter for everyone in the meeting. The priests failed in relation to this, and yet Joash had been twenty-three years on the throne! (verses 5, 6). Then we find Jehoiada introduces this chest; it may have been the priests were appropriating the money to themselves. Joash had said, This must be changed; “Why have ye not repaired the breaches of the house?” He sounds a great kingly note. The chest is put beside the altar. You are prepared to sacrifice now, to serve God. The position is clearly of God.
Rem The special collection has a great place.
JT It is remarkable how much is made of it in Corinthians and in Acts.
Rem So things move here on more positive lines; you get the constructive side suggested in the carpenters and builders.
JT Yes, skilled workmen. How everything is developing! If brethren are right and subject, everything comes along that is needed. Brethren do things in a skilled way. God developing things among us. But how are things to be done without a priestly and skilled element? So this glorious chest — never one more so! — is introduced, and the money contained in it is tied up for the purpose of weighing, ready to give into the hand of those who do the work.
Rem Expert workmen were employed.
JT How important to develop skilled workmen! It is a question of what your value is, or mine. If I dedicate myself, I am not taken at my own valuation. Leviticus 27 brings that out; valuation is there according to age. Ii is a question of what one is worth; everything must be according to divine value.
Rem The chest was put beside the altar.
[p. 392] Rem There are the two sides here, the money in the box, and then the distribution left to the king’s scribe and the high priest.
JT That is like the care meeting. You get wisdom and counsel there.
Ques What is the thought in weighing the money?
JT You get a balance here, both counting and weighing. One might say, There are fifty breaking bread in a certain place. Yes, but what is the moral weight? Recently I had some copies of letters sent me from the other side, which letters were acknowledgments of gifts of money received from the brethren. These gifts were allocated, some receiving more than others. Think of the worth of such recipients! The thanksgivings were beautiful. Brethren know who’s who!
Rem “And they did not reckon with the men into whose hand they gave the money”.
JT No, it is the principle of confidence that governs the care meeting. There has been great progress in this matter of recent years. At first they did not make proposals as they do now. A better state of things prevails today. Confidence is the greatest thing among us. It has become established among us. You marvel at this instruction on the part of Joash, and as to why it is put in here. The boy had been wonderfully preserved and this is all he is stated as doing. He arranges for the money; he is looking after the affairs of the house. He is thirty years of age and at that age a man ought to be at his best. The ‘box’ is given a glorious position in 2 Corinthians. See how the bearers of the money are mentioned in chapter 8: 23, “Our brethren, they are deputed messengers of assemblies, Christ’s glory”.
Rem No amounts are mentioned.
JT That would link with people laying by at home on the first day of the week. If money is laid [p. 393] aside in the house, you do not reduce it, as it is what is in the heart that counts, but you can add to it. If something touches you in the meeting, you might feel you would like to give more.
Ques Why the right side of the altar?
JT The right side is the side of power. Then you get the trespass- and sin-offerings mentioned in verse 16: “The money ... was not brought into the house of Jehovah: it was for the priests”. The priests are taken care of. You take the thing to yourself, whatever happens.
2 Chronicles 24: 14 gives an addition to verse 13 here. There is more wealth in Chronicles. Here the utensils were not made, but they ought to have been. The idea here is that they were needed; Chronicles indicates they were provided. They would allude to the persons of the saints, the progress of saints spiritually that meets this situation. The thought begins in Exodus, where the Israelites asked utensils from the Egyptians as leaving Egypt. The idea is saints are usable. As we advance spiritually we become usable. Some are not visiting the saints or doing anything; where is a brother or sister under such circumstances?
What follows from verse 17 is humbling. Joash is robbing the house of God to bring an offering to Hazael.
Rem “The pots in Jehovah’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar”. Zechariah 14: 20. They are finally all right.
JT That is very comforting.