Key Chapters of the Bible · Pastor Russ Brewer

4/12 2 Chronicles 23 - The Hidden King

April 12, 2026·13 min·1 clip

A baby heir to the throne is hidden in the temple while his grandmother kills the rest of the royal family.

The episode opens with a brief recap of the previous days' coverage of King Asa and King Jehoshaphat, noting Jehoshaphat's otherwise good reign contained a costly compromise: allowing his son Jehoram to marry Athaliah, the daughter of the wicked northern king Ahab and his wife Jezebel. The host traces the generational consequences: Jehoram's wicked reign, then Ahaziah's brief one-year reign ending in death, followed by Athaliah seizing the throne by killing all remaining male heirs. The host introduces the counterplot: Jehosheba, daughter of King Jehoram and wife of the priest Jehoiada, hid the infant Joash — the last surviving heir to the throne — in the temple. For seven years, Joash lived in the temple, raised by Jehoiada in faithfulness to Yahweh and instructed in his identity as the rightful Davidic king. Chapter 23 begins with Jehoiada — after six years of apparent inaction — strengthening himself, which the host interprets as intensive prayer and scripture study. Jehoiada then gathered faithful priests, made covenants with them, and organized the Levites throughout Judah. He divided them into three operational groups: gatekeepers, royal guards, and reconnaissance units. He prohibited bloodshed inside the temple, armed the men with stored weapons, and brought out the child Joash to be crowned king. The city erupted in celebration. Athaliah, hearing the noise, came to the temple and discovered a king she believed was dead — shouting 'treason' before being executed in verse 15. Jehoiada then led the people in making a formal covenant to be the Lord's people, destroyed the Baal worship sites, restored Levitical authority over the temple, and reinstated the temple purity standards. The host draws three principles: God's faithfulness to covenant promises holds even when circumstances appear to disprove it; Athaliah's cry of 'treason' illustrates how people conflate personal success with divine approval, a dangerous error the host warns also occurs in churches; and the episode is considered a 'priestly revival under Jehoiada' because revival is defined as a people returning to formal covenant with God. The host briefly notes that Joash himself will later become a bad king, illustrating that even promising beginnings can end poorly.

As heard by us

A brisk, earnest walk through a coup, a covenant, and the restoration of temple worship.

This episode tracks a hidden child king, a palace power grab, and the public return to covenant faithfulness. It works best when it treats 2 Chronicles 23 as more than a fight for the throne: Athaliah falls, the people declare themselves the Lord's, Baal's places come down, and…

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Why you'd press play

You want a Bible teaching episode where a hidden child king returns and false rule collapses.

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