Chapter 8: Long Live the King

The Sabbath arrived. The guards changed shifts as they always did. But this time, the divisions going off duty did not leave. They stayed. Two full rotations of soldiers now filled the Temple grounds, and no one outside noticed a thing.

A CAPTAIN (to his men)“South side to north side. Around the altar, around the house of the Lord. Hold your positions. No one gets through.”— 2 Kings 11:11

Every man gripping one of David's spears. Every man knowing that what was about to happen would either restore the kingdom or get them all killed.

Then the doors of the inner chamber opened.

A boy stepped out. Seven years old. Most of the men in that courtyard had never seen his face. They had believed, like everyone else in Judah, that the royal family was dead. That Athaliah had killed them all. That the royal line was finished.

And here he stood.

Jehoiada and his sons walked the boy forward.

JEHOIADA (placing the crown on the boy's head)“Receive the crown of your fathers. And receive the Testimony, the law of your God. You are king under the Lord, as every son of David was commanded to be.”— 2 Kings 11:12

Then Jehoiada poured oil over the boy's head and anointed him king.

For a moment, silence. Then it broke.

The people clapped their hands. The trumpets sounded. And the cry erupted across Jerusalem.

THE PEOPLE“Long live the king!”— 2 Kings 11:12

A SOLDIER (gripping David's spear)“He is alive. The son of David is alive.”

The sound carried over the Temple walls, through the streets, and all the way to the palace.