Returning to the Rule of David's Son

Dearly beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, our text tonight is in many ways a coup more exciting than the coup we saw in the previous two chapters. There, Jehu ben Nimshi, an army officer, managed to seize power in Israel with military and prophetic backing. In our text tonight, though, it is no piece of military brass who decides that he’s fit to rule but whose “zeal for Yahweh” makes us a bit queasy. Here we see the rightful king returning to David’s throne with the full backing not only of the military and religious establishment, but also with the full consent of the people of the land. Yes, there are saddening things about this text — for instance, that David’s family is now so messed up that a seven-year-old is coming to power over his grandmother’s dead body. But the message, twice highlighted, is ultimately one of joy. What I hope to show you tonight is that the restoration of Davidic rule in Judah in 836 B.C. shows us what our own submission to Christ’s rule should look like.