Jehoiada Sets Joash on the Throne of Judah
23 Now in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took captains of hundreds: Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son of Johanan, Azariah the son of Obed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri, and they entered into a covenant with him. 2 They went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the heads of the fathers’ households of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. 3 Then all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And [a]Jehoiada said to them, “Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as the Lord has spoken concerning the sons of David. 4 This is the thing which you shall do: one third of you, of the priests and Levites who come in on the sabbath, shall be gatekeepers, 5 and one third shall be at the king’s house, and a third at the Gate of the Foundation; and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the Lord. 6 But let no one enter the house of the Lord except the priests and the ministering Levites; they may enter, for they are holy. And let all the people keep the charge of the Lord. 7 The Levites will surround the king, each man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever enters the house, let him be killed. Thus be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”
8 So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And each one of them took his men who were to come in on the sabbath, with those who were to go out on the sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss any of the divisions. 9 Then Jehoiada the priest gave to the captains of hundreds the spears and the large and small shields which had been King David’s, which were in the house of God. 10 He stationed all the people, each man with his weapon in his hand, from the right [b]side of the house to the left [c]side of the house, by the altar and by the house, around the king. 11 Then they brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him, and gave him the testimony and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and said, “Long live the king!”
I’ve never seen anything that said there was a minimum age to be king, but Jehoiada the priest waits seven years, until the king’s son was 8 years old, to make him king. It makes it sound like he waited this long to gather allies as well, though it’s possible he was finding out who could be trusted during those seven years. It certainly would have been a hard secret to keep if they told too many folks about the king’s son.
Ultimately, he binds them all to follow the commands of God, and as priests and levites, this was their duty. Likely they saw it as a high honor to help the Lord fulfill his promise to King David, that his sons should always sit on the throne.
Whatever the case, God always keeps his promises, and he has this odd habit of using people to do it. Sure, he could come down and solve every situation with miracles. But the better miracle is when God’s people listen to His voice to accomplish His will. In that, God takes great joy, so what will you do today that brings Him joy?