2 Kings 11:17-12:3
"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.
12 In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2 And Jehoash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all his days, because Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3 Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away; the people continued to sacrifice and make offerings on the high places."
The inspiration of Jehoiada was obviously a driving power in the great work of reformation that took place in Judah in those days, reminding us of Samuel's earlier herculean accomplishment in restoring spiritual values to the nation. Something of the quality of this work may be seen from 17; the covenant Jehoiada made between the Lord and the king and the people was that king and people might be the Lord's people. It was no mere ethical ref- ormation, but a spiritual awakening characterised by a return to the things of God and a new personal dedication to Him. All this has lessons for us today. It would not be strictly true to say that spiritual awakening has always been brought about through the instrumentality of one man whom God has raised up for this purpose, but very frequently it has been so, and when it has, such men have been characterised by this singleness of heart that directs men into fellowship with the Lord and devotion to Him. They have been men of a 'one-track' mind - 'This one thing I do' with a thoroughness and a gracious ruthlessness which frighten and dismay the easy-going, diplomatic natures of many conventional Christian folks. Let us re- member however, that spiritual awakenings have not been born in the drawing-room so much as in the desert, where ruggedness and burning fire rather than polite gentility have been the order of the day. Remember John the Baptist - and think of what he was able to accomplish!