TIME TO TAKE OUT THE TRASH

“When Athaliah heard the noise from the guard [and] the crowd, she went out to the people at the Lord's temple.  As she looked, there was the king standing by the pillar according to the custom. The commanders and the trumpeters were by the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed ‘Treason! Treason!’  Then Jehoiada the priest ordered the commanders of hundreds in charge of the army, ‘Take her out between the ranks, and put to death by the sword anyone who follows her,’ for the priest had said, ‘She is not to be put to death in the Lord's temple.’  So they arrested her, and she went through the horse entrance to the king's palace, where she was put to death.”  (2 Kings 11:13-16 HCSB)

I remember a lady coming to me for counseling once who desired that her husband become the leader of the household.  I had preached on this topic.  She was convicted over it—and truly wanted that scriptural relationship in their marriage.

“But…he won’t!”  That was her argument.  She had tried to get him to assume that role, but he basically wanted to come in from work, sit in the recliner and do nothing.  Lethargy and not leadership marked his manner as a husband.  The fact was that she could be pretty assertive and domineering.  He probably got tired of butting heads with her early on in their relationship and decided it wasn’t worth the trouble.  That was no excuse for him, but there was enough blame to go around—and that is typically the case.

As we discussed God’s Word and its practical application, she said, “Why, he won’t even take out the trash!” 

That was just the opening I was waiting for.  “Why won’t he take out the trash?”

“He just won’t.  He won’t take out the trash, mow the grass—he won’t do anything.  I have to do all that.”

“Yes, he will,” I said.  “Try this.  Don’t take out the trash.”

She protested, “It will pile up and stink.”

“I  know--but when it gets bad enough, he’ll get tired of smelling it, and then he’ll take it out.  Try it.”

A couple of weeks later, I saw her beaming.  “It worked!  He took out the trash!”  It may not seem that big of a deal, but it was the beginning of a better relationship between the two of them, as they began to fulfill their God-given partnership in the marriage.  He became a loving leader, taking initiative and she stopped running the show and became a responder to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, by submitting to her husband’s leadership.

The change began with taking out the trash!

You may think that taking out the trash is not that big of a deal, but just let it pile up and you’ll soon find out!  It begins to stink-and only gets worse.  It becomes a breeding ground for germs and feeding source for rodents.

Judah had become a moral trash dump.  An evil witch of a woman had seized power in a bloody purge.  Athaliah had a rotten heart that came from being the child of Ahab and Jezebel.  Someone could have looked at her and said, “You are just like your mother!”  It was true—and it was no compliment! 

After the death of King Ahaziah, her son, Athaliah slaughtered her own grandchildren, so there would be no heirs to the throne!  Can you imagine a soul so lacking in compassion, an ambition so foul, as to do something that evil?  The slimy slug slid onto the throne, took the scepter in her bloody hand, and Queen Athaliah began her reign of terror.

Those young princes were all that remained of David’s line—that royal seed which God had promised would be forever heirs to the throne.  Not only had Athaliah won a crown, but Satan had apparently won the victory over the promises of God—that God which he so despised.

So, it seemed.  But, God’s Word cannot be broken; His will cannot be thwarted.  One infant was rescued and hidden away for six years—the tiny Prince Joash.  They put him where they knew he would be safest from his grandmother’s clutches—in the Temple.  She, an idolater, would have no desire to go to the House of God!

For six long years, the trash piled up in the land.  The stench of sin was horrible.  The godly High Priest, Jehoida, understood that it was time to take out the trash.  Athaliah had to go.

This is an illustration of what needs to happen in many a person, in a lot of churches, and so desperately in our nation.  The flies are swarming, and the smell is overwhelming.  The moral filth and rotten deeds have to be removed if the favor of God is to be restored.  This is repentance.  It has a negative and positive dimension: cleansing and crowning.

THERE MUST BE A CLEANSING.  This is the negative dimension of repentance.

“Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord, the king, and the people that they would be the Lord's people and [another covenant] between the king and the people.   So all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They broke its altars and images into pieces, and they killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, at the altars.  Then [Jehoiada] the priest appointed guards for the Lord's temple.  He took the commanders of hundreds, the Carites, the guards, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king from the Lord's temple. They entered the king's palace by way of the guards' gate. Then Joash sat on the throne of the kings.  All the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet, for they had put Athaliah to death by the sword in the king's palace.” (v.17-20)

There was the DESIRE FOR SIN’S REMOVAL (11:1-12). 

“Then in the seventh year, Jehoiada sent [messengers] and brought in the commanders of hundreds, the Carites, and the guards. He had them come to him in the Lord's temple, where he made a covenant with them and put them under oath. He showed them the king's son  and commanded them, ‘This is what you are to do: a third of you who come on duty on the Sabbath are to provide protection for the king's palace.   A third are to be at the Sur gate and a third at the gate behind the guards. You are to take turns providing protection for the palace.  ‘Your two divisions that go off duty on the Sabbath are to provide protection for the Lord's temple.  You must completely surround the king with weapons in hand. Anyone who approaches the ranks is to be put to death. You must be with the king in all his daily tasks.’  So the commanders of hundreds did everything Jehoiada the priest commanded. They each brought their men-those coming on duty on the Sabbath and those going off duty-and went to Jehoiada the priest.  The priest gave to the commanders of hundreds King David's spears and shields that were in the Lord's temple.  Then the guards stood with their weapons in hand surrounding the king-from the right side of the temple to the left side, by the altar and by the temple. He brought out the king's son, put the crown on him, gave him the testimony, and made him king. They anointed him and clapped their hands and cried, ‘Long live the king!’” (v.4-12)

They had enough!  The godly became nauseated under the dominion of the wicked queen Athaliah. Their hearts longed for freedom from her tyranny.

We must get sick of sin before we will seek deliverance from sin. As long as we are content to live in bondage to iniquity we will never be free.   If we become accustomed to the smell, we will not take out the trash.  Godly sorrow leads to repentance. 

Then there must be DEATH TO SIN’S REIGN (11:13-16). 

“When Athaliah heard the noise from the guard [and] the crowd, she went out to the people at the Lord's temple.  As she looked, there was the king standing by the pillar according to the custom. The commanders and the trumpeters were by the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed ‘Treason! Treason!’  Then Jehoiada the priest ordered the commanders of hundreds in charge of the army, ‘Take her out between the ranks, and put to death by the sword anyone who follows her,’ for the priest had said, ‘She is not to be put to death in the Lord's temple.’  So they arrested her, and she went through the horse entrance to the king's palace, where she was put to death.”  (2 Kings 11:13-16 HCSB)

We must put to death those things that hinder our walk with God. They are to put to death with the sword of the Spirit—the Word of God. Scripture tells us to mortify the deeds of the flesh.  Take out the trash!    

Also, there must be the DESTRUCTION OF SIN’S REALM (11:17-21).

“Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord, the king, and the people that they would be the Lord's people and [another covenant] between the king and the people.   So all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They broke its altars and images into pieces, and they killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, at the altars.  Then [Jehoiada] the priest appointed guards for the Lord's temple.  He took the commanders of hundreds, the Carites, the guards, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king from the Lord's temple. They entered the king's palace by way of the guards' gate. Then Joash sat on the throne of the kings.  All the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet, for they had put Athaliah to death by the sword in the king's palace.” (v.17-20)

If sin has accumulated, it is not just a bag to carry to the curb, it is a trash dump to be bulldozed! 

We must recognize the way sin builds a stronghold in us and remove the occasion of stumbling. During revival services the town drunk would always stagger in and cry at the altar, “Lord, clean out the spider webs!” Then after the revival services concluded, he would return to riotous living. This was an annual pattern. Then one year when he begged, “Lord, clean out the spider webs!” Someone added, “No Lord—this time, kill the spiders!”

THERE MUST BE A CROWNING.  This is the positive dimension of repentance. 

“He brought out the king's son, put the crown on him, gave him the testimony, and made him king. They anointed him and clapped their hands and cried, "Long live the king!" (v.12)

THERE WAS ACCLAMATION.

We need to crown a new king!   Pop musician, Bob Dylan, once sang, “Everybody’s gotta serve somebody!” He’s right. The question isn’t if we’ll serve someone, but whom will we serve.  Someone is going to be in charge.  Joash was only seven years old when he came to the throne, but his heart was tender toward God and he would lead the people in revival.

THERE WAS TRANSFORMATION.

Everything changed in Judah.  I have seen what can happen to a trash dump.  A nasty landfill can be transformed into a beautiful golf course!  Where once buzzards picked through the garbage, now birdies are made on the greens!

Isn’t it time to take out the trash?