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Equipping Men with Biblical Knowledge and Leadership Skills
Category: Personal Study
Thread: Enigmatic Bible Characters Who Changed the World
Post Topic: Heroine Rescues Infant Prince from his Evil Grandmother
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Scripture: 2 Kings 11:1-3
Key Verses (but read the whole passage):
2 Kings 11:1-3
When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family. 2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes, who were about to be murdered. She put him and his nurse in a bedroom to hide him from Athaliah; so he was not killed. 3 He remained hidden with his nurse at the temple of the Lord for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.
Enigmatic, Obscure Bible Characters
An enigma is a person that is mysterious or puzzling to understand. The Bible contains many such characters. The writer will drop a name or describe a nameless person, and tell a story about them. As a writer, it always makes me wonder – what makes them tick? Why was that particular name dropped? What’s their backstory?
In this series, I put you in their situations, and describe what we know and what we speculate about these obscure characters from history.
Observations
Context
Family Tree
Before we can comprehend this story, we need to understand the two kingdoms and their kings. After King Solomon, the kingdom split in half, with the kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah having their own line of kings. If you’ve heard of the evil Queen Jezebel, she was the aunt of Queen Athaliah, who joined the southern kingdom by marriage to King Jehoram. The heroine of our story, Jehosheba, was Athaliah’s step-daughter.
The three main people in this story are Jehosheba, Athaliah, and Joash.
Death of the Kings
In the preceding chapter, 2 Kings 10, a warrior of God named Jehu was sent to execute King Joram of Israel and his mother, Jezebel. It so happened that King Ahaziah of Judah was visiting his buddy Joram at the time, so Jehu took him out too.
This turmoil is the backdrop of chapter 11. Queen Athaliah has learned of the death of of her son, King Ahaziah. In her anger, she decides this is her chance to take power.
Queen Athaliah’s Power Grab
Verse 1 of the passage is so matter-of-fact: When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family.
Nothing about a period of mourning. Nothing about installing one of her grandsons as the next king. Nope – this was her chance to become queen of the south, and she was going to take it. How? By callously eliminating the competition – her own grandsons.
Jehosheba Risks Her Life to Save Joash
Jehosheba had the foresight to know what was about to happen. She was the wife of a priest named Jehoiada, who we learn in 2 Chronicles 22 and 23 was a godly man. Even as the daughter of godless king and the half-sister of another godless king, Jehosheba trusted the Lord.
It seemed all the royal princes were gathered in one place to await execution. Somehow, Jehosheba managed to sneak one of them away, the 1-year-old infant Joash. She hid Joash away in her bedroom, along with a wet-nurse (presumably, Athaliah had Joash’s mother struck down too). Later, Jehosheba snuck Joash and his nurse out to the temple, where they lived for six years while Athaliah reigned.
The Boy King
The rest of the chapter is a great story of how Jehosheba’s husband, the priest, organized a revolt against Athaliah, and installed 7-year old Joash as the king of Judah. As long as this priest, Jehoiada, lived, Joash ruled in a manner that honored the Lord. Sadly, upon the death of Jehoiada, Joash listened to worldly influences and turned away from God.
But the legacy of Jehosheba was established. God had promised that the Messiah, the savior of the world, would come to earth through the line of Judah and King David. This line was preserved through Joash and through Jehosheba’s brave and decisive actions that day.
Interpretation
Setting
The King’s palace, Jerusalem.
Genre
Historical narrative.
Takeaways
The line of David in peril
Satan was hard at work during these times trying to destroy the kingly line of David. Why? In 2 Samuel 7, the Lord spoke to David through the prophet Nathan, promising that God’s son, the Christ, would be sent through the seed of David, and would establish his kingdom forever. Prior to our passage, the following events happened to almost wipe out David’s descendants:
- When King Jehoram (Athaliah’s husband) took the throne, he eliminated immediate threats, by slaying his own brothers (2 Chronicles 21:4).
- Jehoram’s sons other than Ahaziah had all been killed by Arabian raiders (2 Chronicles 22:1).
- Jehoram himself died a nasty death as part of God’s judgment of his evil ways, suffering from an incurable bowel disease for two years (2 Chronicles 21:18-19).
- Jehu had slain all of Jehoram’s grandsons and Ahaziah himself (2 Chronicles 22:8). This is a long story for another blog.
- There was nobody left except the sons of Ahaziah, which included little Joash. Queen Athaliah tried to wipe all of them out.
What was her motivation? Ambition, certainly. But it seems it would take more than ambition to harm one’s own grandchildren. Athaliah was likely full of rage at the death of her son Ahaziah, and full of hatred for God who’d ordered it of Jehu. Rage combined with ambition is a deadly combination.
God’s Protection
God raised up an unlikely protector in Jehosheba. She was the daughter of the evil Jehoram and the half-sister of the evil king Ahaziah. Her step-grandmother was from the poisoned tree of Jezebel.
So how did she end up marrying a righteous priest? What was King Jehoram thinking when he sanctioned this union of his daughter to a man like the priest Jehoiada? Perhaps he was trying to curry favor with the people. Or maybe he thought it would placate God for his other sins. Regardless of the reason, Jehoiada’s influence was strong with Jehosheba. She risked her life to defy Queen Athaliah’s order and to rescue her infant nephew.
But God’s providence extends even deeper. Think about it – where’s the last place in Jerusalem that Queen Athaliah would ever step foot? The temple, of course. Jehosheba, the wife of the priest, knew everything about the temple. She knew exactly what she was doing when she scuttled off Joash and his nurse to a private room in the temple for safety, right under Athaliah’s nose. Joash would spend his next six years there, before a revolt made him king.
Imagine
Her husband’s apprentice burst into the room without knocking, his face flushed. “Where’s the Rabbi? It’s urgent.”
“Slow down,” Jehosheba said. “Tell me what’s wrong, and I’ll see if he’s available.”
“This can’t wait. I ran straight here from the palace. Athaliah just found out-she’s going crazy. They’re all in danger!”
Jehoiada strode through the door. “Who’s in danger? What’s that ruckus by the city gates?”
The apprentice fell to his knees, clutching the priest’s robe. “That was one of Jehu’s men, stirring up the people. The king is dead. Jehu killed him, saying he was following God’s instructions. And now the queen… she’s furious!”
Jehosheba understood immediately. “The children! The king’s boys! Surely, she wouldn’t… Her own grandchildren!” She bent over, putting a hand on the wall to steady herself.
“She would,” Jehoiada said grimly. “This is up to you Jehosheba. You’re family. They’ll let you in the palace.”
“They don’t treat me like family. Ever since I married you.”
“This is different,” her husband said. “The king is dead. You’re entitled to know what’s going on.”
“But what can I do?”
“If Athaliah means to wipe out the line of David… I don’t know what you can do.”
“The boy,” the apprentice said. “Joash. He’s so little, maybe they wouldn’t notice if you stole him away.”
Jehoiada’s eyes widened. “Yes. We can keep him here, in a room in the temple. Athaliah wouldn’t step foot in here.”
Jehosheba straightened her back. Her husband squeezed her hands. “I can do this,” she whispered. “But only with the Lord’s help. Pray for me.”
As she scurried toward the palace, the realization hit her. She’d have to get the boy’s nurse out too. “Lord, grant me the courage. How can I do this?”
Correlations
2 Kings 11:4-21 – Here we have the account of how the Jehosheba’s husband, the high priest Jehoiada, organized a revolt against the evil queen and installed Joash as king at the age of 7. The post could have just as well been about Jehoiada, whose courage and devotion to God was also instrumental in preserving the line of David through Joash.
Psalm 27:5 – In the secret of his tabernacle he shall hide me. – Was David prophesying about Joash when he wrote this?
For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.
Application
Generic Applications
God’s Protection
If God wants someone protected, he will raise up protectors like Jehosheba and Jehoiada. And not only that, he won’t be surprised when one of his sheep needs protection. We see that in the story of Jehosheba, who was the aunt of the one needing protection. She was a godly woman with the ability to hide the prince in the temple because of her marriage to the priest. God began the work of positioning her for this moment years in advance.
We can trust God to position people in our lives for when they are needed the most. And we can trust God for the same with those whom we love.
Alert to the Moment
It wasn’t enough that God placed Jehosheba in the perfect place. She had to recognize God’s will for her in that moment. And she had to be willing to act. When others were fearfully turning their heads away, she stepped into the fray and rescued the child.
When God puts me in a position to make a difference in another person’s life, will I recognize that call? Am I in tune with the Holy Spirit, who gives me power to know God’s will and the courage to follow God’s will? This is something we can pray for – insight and courage from the Spirit.
Personalize it
None of us know how we would act if placed a terrible situation like Jehosheba faced, unless we’ve been there already. If heroism like Jehosheba demonstrated seems daunting, know that there are other ways to be heroic. To be an every-day hero, if you will. For example:
- Does my church need volunteers? Can I ask the youth director if I can help with the youth group once a month or once a week?
- Have I noticed someone sitting alone in church? Could I invite them to lunch after the service?
- Does an elderly neighbor need help with their lawn?
- Can I engage with a young server at a restaurant and surprise them with an outrageously generous tip?
Comments: Share your tips on how to be an every-day hero
Is there something you’ve done, or noticed someone else do, that made a difference in someone else’s life? Share in comments your ideas. Also share if God put you or the other person uniquely in that position at that time.
Bible study methodology adapted from Searching the Scriptures with permission from Tyndale House:
Swindoll, Charles, Searching the Scriptures. Tyndale House Publishers, 2016.
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