Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. (2 Kings 8:26)
Athaliah was the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. She was born a princess in Israel (the Northern Kingdom). Her parents arranged a marriage for her with Jehoram, king of Judah (the Southern Kingdom). Jehoram was the son of the godly king Jehoshaphat who was the king of Judah at that time.
In those days countries often sealed alliances by arranging marriages between their royal children. But we have to wonder why Jehoshaphat made this arranged marriage between his son and the daughter of the evil Ahab and Jezebel. Didn’t he realize that the daughter of the wicked Jezebel might not be a good influence on his son?
And indeed, Jehoram did not honor God but followed the ways of the evil kings of Israel because “the daughter of Ahab (Athaliah) became his wife” (2Kings 8:18). Though this marriage between Jehoram and Athaliah was evil, God would still sovereignly protect David’s line in Judah as He promised. Though Jehoram only did evil in the sight of the Lord, God did not completely destroy him as he often did the kings and queens in the Northern Kingdom. This was because of God’s covenant with David.
Jehoram reigned eight years and then died. His son Ahaziah became king. But Ahaziah was assassinated after only reigning one year.
During these nine years that her husband Jehoram and son Ahaziah were reigning, Queen Athaliah’s mother Jezebel was still doing as much evil as she could up in the Northern Kingdom.
Recall that while Ahab was alive, he and Queen Jezebel tried to make Baal the god in Israel. They murdered many of God’s prophets and set up their own. Jezebel fought against Elijah because with the true God’s help, Elijah had made a mockery of the prophets of Baal. (See I Kings 18.) Eventually Ahab died. Elijah prophesied that Jezebel would die a horrible death, cursed of God. Elijah said, “The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.” (I Kings. 21:23) This would come to pass later.
There were several men who became king in the Northern Kingdom after Ahab’s death. One king was Jehu. Jehu fought and killed Ahaziah, who was after all Jezebel’s grandson through her daughter Athaliah. After defeating Ahaziah, Jehu went to Jezreel. Jezebel heard that he was coming and “painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out the window. As Jehu entered he gate, she said, ‘Is it well, Zimri (a traitor who became king by killing the previous king. See below.), your master’s murderer?’”
Now was the time that Elijah’s prophecy would be fulfilled. Jehu asked two or three officials to
throw Jezebel off of a high wall. “So they threw her down, and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall and on the horses, and he trampled her under foot.” Jehu realized that Jezebel was after all a king’s daughter and should have a proper burial. He sent men to get her to bury her, “but they found nothing more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands.” (2 Kings 9:33-35) The dogs had eaten Jezebel’s corpse.
Surely, Athaliah must have known how her mother died. Why wasn’t this a warning to her not to defy God? She must have been a truly evil woman. In her case, you could say that the apple did not fall far from the tree.
When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she rose and destroyed all the royal offspring. But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and placed him and his nurse in the bedroom. So they hid him from Ahtaliah, and he was not put to death. So he was hidden with her in the house of the Lord six years, while Ahtaliah was reigning over the land. (2 Kings 11:1-3)
Why did Athaliah have all of the family of the king put to death? Why didn’t she just reign as a queen mother? It was common then as now for a regent to be appointed to advise a youthful monarch until he reached a certain age and could be crowned king. Athaliah had only to rule on behalf of her son until he was old enough to assume the throne. But this wicked woman chose to murder all of the royal heirs and assume absolute power for herself.
We should not be surprised that this woman who worshipped a god who demanded brutality and bloodshed in worship, would think nothing of committing murder herself. And, after all, how many kings in her home country of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) came to the throne by bloodshed? Baasha became king after he killed Nadab. Zimri became king when he killed Elah. Then Zimri killed all of Baasha’s male heirs. There is a pattern here.
Athaliah sought to make a kingdom for herself but she was not reckoning with Jehovah. God was still in control and would foil her plans as part of His great plan of redemption. That involved keeping His promise to David that one in his line would always sit on the throne. Unknown to Athaliah, one baby son, Joash was rescued by his aunt and hidden in safety.
In the seventh year of Athaliah’s reign, the priest Jehoiada decided it was time to bring Joash out of hiding and proclaim him king. Jehoiada gathered hundreds of guards and made them take an oath to protect Joash. Athaliah was very powerful, but if Joash could be crowned king and recognized by the people, her reign of terror would be over.
The priest gave to the captains of hundreds the spears and shields that had been King David’s, which were in the house of the Lord. The guards stood each with his weapons in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, by the altar and by the house, around the king. Then he brought the king’s son out and put the crown on him and gave him the testimony; and they made him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, “Long live the king!” (2 Kings 11:10-12)
Athaliah saw what was going on and ran to the house of the Lord. She noticed that Joash was standing there in the royal robes. People were blowing trumpets and shouting their acceptance of Joash as their king.
It didn’t take this shrewd woman long to see that another was put in her place. She tore her clothes and shouted, “Treason! Treason!”
Jehoiada commanded the guards to take her outside because he didn’t want her put to death in God’s house. The armed guards seized her and took her to the horse’s entrance of the king’s house. They put her to death there.
Athaliah’s wicked reign was over. The people rejoiced and showed God their thanks by going around the land and pulling down all of the altars to Baal that Athaliah had erected. They killed Mattan, Baal’s high priest.
Now, seven-year-old Joash was brought to the throne in the king’s house. He would honor God and reign for forty years doing “right in the sight of the Lord all his days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him.” (2 Kings 12:2)
Though Athaliah had sought to destroy the descendants of Jehoram (and David) God had intervened and protected one small heir. This story is about a wicked woman, but much more it is a story of God’s sovereignty and His faithfulness to His covenant.
