17 And Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and people, that they should be the Lord's people, and also between the king and the people. 18 Then all the people of the land went to the house of Baal and tore it down; his altars and his images they broke in pieces, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest posted watchmen over the house of the Lord. 19 And he took the captains, the Carites, the guards, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king down from the house of the Lord, marching through the gate of the guards to the king's house. And he took his seat on the throne of the kings. 20 So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet after Athaliah had been put to death with the sword at the king's house. 21 Jehoash was seven years old when he began to reign. (II Kings 11)
God has very little tolerance for ingrained evil. Things had gotten so bad in Israel after the reign of Ahab and Jezebel and their family that He cleaned house. He also protected the young king-to-be through His special servants. A child king was better than a wicked queen. Not only did God's servants clean out the evil leadership; they cleaned out the evil worship and protected the temple from retaliation. It's what everyone wanted and longed for, but had been afraid to do themselves. Peace ruled. That's what happens when we give ourselves fully to God cleaning house in our lives. Peace rules. New life comes. Hope begins again. God is the God of new beginnings.
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