day no. 16,173: an act of "treason!"

2 Chronicles 23:11-15

Then they brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him and gave him the testimony. And they proclaimed him king, and Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and they said, “Long live the king.” When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she went into the house of the LORD to the people. And when she looked, there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance, and the captains and the trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and the singers with their musical instruments leading in the celebration. And Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, “Treason! Treason!” Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains who were set over the army, saying to them, “Bring her out between the ranks, and anyone who follows her is to be put to death with the sword.” For the priest said, “Do not put her to death in the house of the LORD.” So they laid hands on her, and she went into the entrance of the horse gate of the king’s house, and they put her to death there.

Athaliah had no issue with treason per se as evidenced by her having committed it to obtain her position. She was not opposed to treason in principle, but was opposed to being opposed. She was guilty of usurping the throne. She was an illegitimate authority sitting in a authoritative seat. The seat, however, retained its real authority even she did not. She did not acquire it lawfully and so her occupation of the authoritative seat was lawless. When Jehoiada was presented with the legitimate heir to the throne, he did the right thing and anointed him and then led the charge to unseat the lawless squatter, thus bringing that tyrant to justice. And what did that tyrant do when confronted? To what standard did she appeal? She cried, "Treason!" She expected justice to come to her aid, but justice was coming for her head. Athaliah did not oppose treason for treason's sake, but opposed being deposed. Hers was only an act of, "treason!" for true treason she cared nothing for. She feigned a desire for justice because she defined injustice as anything that opposed her.

The very thing some imagine will save them will, in fact, secure their death. The goodness of God is not a safety net for sinners, it is a guarantee of their demise. The Lord saves sinners by separating them from their affections of their former ways. That isn't to say that anyone who still wants to sin sometimes can't be saved, but to say that only those who sometimes wish they didn't sin have any reason to believe that they actually are saved, while the one who wants to be left alone to his sinning has good reason question to his confession -- but he never does.

If Athaliah had been asked before this episode what traitors deserve, she would have said death! She would have said this because she did not see herself as a traitor even though she had single-handedly been responsible for executing every other heir apparent. Mind you, she missed one; but she thought she had killed every last one. It had been her intention to eradicate every ounce of royal blood from existence. So what would somebody deserve who tried to do that to her and her bloodline? She would say, "Death to traitors!" not seeing the hypocrisy of her double-standard. She despised traitors once they traded places

Finally, note that Jehoiada was right. He was the one pursuing justice and respecting the throne. And what was he accused of by the powers that be? Treason! Illegitimate authorities will always appeal to the standards of legitimate authority in order to secure their illegitimately acquired authority. In other words, tyrants gonna tyrant. All that to say, Jehoiada was accused of being wrong for doing the right thing by a person wrongfully occupying a rightful authority.