Meanest Women of the Bible – Queen through Marriage and Murder

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Category: Group Study

Thread: Meanest Women of the Bible

Post Topic: Queen Athaliah

Post in Thread: #3

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Scripture: II Chronicles 22:10-12; II Chronicles 23:1-17

Key Verses:
¹⁰When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family of the house of Judah. ¹¹But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes who were about to be murdered and put him and his nurse in a bedroom.
II Chronicles 22:10-11

¹²When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and cheering the king, she went to them at the temple of the Lord. ¹³She looked, and there was the king, standing by his pillar at the entrance. The officers and the trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and musicians with their instruments were leading the praises. Then Athaliah tore her robes and shouted, “Treason! Treason!”
II Chronicles 23:12-13

Observations

Context

Athaliah was a granddaughter of Omri, the father of Ahab and a former evil king of the northern kingdom of Israel. She had married into the kingly line of the southern kingdom of Judah.
Athaliah’s husband King Jehoram died around 841 BC.
Their son Ahaziah became king at age 22.

Events – Athaliah Usurps the Throne

After one year, Ahaziah was killed by Jehu. (King Jehu of the northern kingdom killed the entire family of Ahab as commissioned by Elisha.)
When she learned of her son’s death, the power-hungry Athaliah murdered her grandchildren, Ahaziah’s children, so she as queen mother, could claim the throne.
One child was scuttled off into hiding by his aunt, the wife of the high priest Jehoiada.

Events – Six years later – the coup

When Athaliah had ruled six years (841-836 BC), the high priest Jehoiada conspired to crown the one child she’d failed to kill.
- He allied with five commanders who gathered forces from throughout the towns of Judah.
- They marched into Jerusalem, where they made a covenant with Jehoiada and the boy king Joash.
- Jehoiada crowned seven-year-old Joash as legitimate king of Judah in front of everyone to sounding trumpets and the shouts of the people: “Long live the king!”
Hearing the ruckus, Athaliah rushed out from the security of the temple, ripping her robes and screaming “Treason, treason!.”
Sickened by Athaliah’s illegitimate and ungodly rule, the royal guards dragged her away from the holy temple grounds and executed her.
The people raced to the temples of Baal to tear down its statues that she’d commissioned. There they also put Baal’s high priest to the sword.

Discussion

Athaliah put her own grandchildren to death in her quest for power. How can one person be so evil? Was she demon-possessed?
Who was Athaliah? She reigned for six years after her son died. See the web of relationships in the diagram below. Does anything stand out?

Interpretation

Setting

Jerusalem. The crowning of the boy king happened at the temple steps.

Genre/Author

This historical narrative was written by an anonymous author, but Jewish tradition speculates it was the prophet Ezra.

Takeaways

God’s plan preserved
- Athaliah didn’t know it, but she failed to kill one child in the line of David–little Joash. He was one-year-old.
- Joash was whisked away and hidden by Ahaziah’s sister and her husband, the high priest Jehoiada, during the massacre.
- Joash was the only remaining heir of David’s line through whom the Messiah must come.
- Yahweh foiled the attempt of Satan to wipe out the line of the Messiah.
Six years later, heroes emerge from witness protection
- Jehosheba – not much is known about her beyond that fact that she was the daughter of Athaliah’s husband King Jehoram. She was probably a step-daughter of Athaliah. This heroine rescued a one-year old Joash during the murders, hiding him away in another room, and then likely raising him as her own for seven years.
- The high priest Jehoiada – How much freedom he was given to worship Yaweh in the temple during a time of Baal worship by the queen is debatable. He was married to Jehosheba, and conspired with her to protect Joash. Seven years later, he organized the rebellion against the queen.

Discussion

Athaliah probably knew Jezebel quite well. Maybe called her Aunt Jez. Likely admired her. What traits of Jezebel did Athaliah emulate?

Correlation

Proverbs 14:1 – The wise woman builds her house. The foolish one tears hers down with her own hands. Athaliah tore down her own house.
Ecclesiastes 9:17 – “The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools.”

Discussion

In the end, what ruler’s foolish shouts were ignored?
Whose quiet words were heeded in this story? Whose secrets were kept by so many people until the surprise was sprung on the queen?
Oh that we would be so respected as this man…
- Patiently, for six years he prepared the boy for this day
- He managed to persuade the influential to his side
- He convinced them to keep the secret plan. Not one of them ratted him out…
- He designed a perfect plan, and they orchestrated it beautifully
- He didn’t seek power for himself, but installed God’s heir to the throne

Application

Generic Applications

God’s plan doesn’t always work out on our timeline. Imagine how difficult it was for such a godly couple to stand by while wild Baal worship ravaged the land.
Jeremiah 23:5 says the Messiah would be a descendant of David, from the tribe of Judah. Matthew traces Jesus’ genealogy back to David. Joash’s story of preservation can encourage us when we see evil people like Athaliah apparently winning.
One person can make a huge difference. One courageous act, like Jehosheba saving an infant’s life, can change the course of history.

Group Discussion

What quality of Jehoiada do you most admire? What would you most like to emulate?

Dig Deeper (optional)

The evil queen has been deposed. The boy king Joash is installed, with the good high priest Jehoiada in place as his mentor. There were both good kings and bad kings in Judah’s history. Speculation – do you think Joash will turn out to be one of Judah’s faithful kings?

Skim over II Chronicles 24:1-16. How does it look so far for the young king? Do verses 15-16 worry you?
As a group, read II Chronicles 24:17-27. Pay close attention to verse 22.
What happened? List of Joash’s failings from this section. What caused this change in Joash?

Bible study methodology adapted from Searching the Scriptures with permission from Tyndale House:

Swindoll, Charles, Searching the Scriptures. Tyndale House Publishers, 2016.

Daniel P Warner