A Tale of Two Women

Take your Bibles with me and turn to 2 Kings 11. 2 Kings 11 tonight. Tonight we're going to look at the story of Athaliah and Jehosheba. This is one of my favorite stories in the Old Testament. I've preached from this passage on several different Mother's Days. And we're just back at it here as we go through the stories of the Bible. Before we get into what happens in 2 Kings 11, I need to remind you of what has happened in recent times. So I think we have to go back to the northern kingdom of Israel and talk about the worst king and queen that they ever had. That would be Ahab and Jezebel. Now Ahab wasn't a bad king in the sense that he was an incompetent ruler. He certainly was a competent ruler. He was bad in that he was evil and the worst evil that he did was to marry this pagan woman, Jezebel, and basically let her run the show. One of Jezebel's first acts was to get Ahab to build a temple for Baal. Up until that point they worshiped the right god; they worshiped Jehovah but they worshiped him the wrong way, with the golden calves at Dan and Bethel. Once Jezebel came in they started worshiping Baal and then they brought in prophets of Baal and they started persecuting the followers of Jehovah. And during this time in Judah they had one of their best kings: Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was a godly king and had a long reign and God blessed him greatly. But he wasn't perfect and one of the worst things that he did was to form an alliance with the northern kingdom, an alliance with Ahab, and to formalize that alliance by marrying his son Jehoram to the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. And that is how the Southern Kingdom got their very own Jezebel. Actually the daughter of Jezebel and her name was Athaliah. Athaliah was married to the king, King Jehoram. Jehoram was a wicked king. One of the first things he did as king was to kill all of his brothers so that he had nobody else to fight for the throne. And God judged Judah during this time. There were lots of invasions by other countries that hurt the southern kingdom. Jehoram only reigned for eight years and he died at the ripe old age of 40 but he must have gotten a pretty early start because he already had a 22-year-old son named Ahaziah that became the next king of Judah. So Ahaziah is Athaliah's son. Athaliah, then, is the queen mother. His grandmother would have been Jezebel. His grandfather would have been Ahab. And Ahaziah only reigned for one year because he went to visit his uncle Jehoram in the northern kingdom and was killed there by Jehu. So Judah has a problem. They have a very young king who's just been killed and they don't have a lot of heirs that are left. And into that power vacuum steps the Queen Mother, Athaliah. And she does something that never happened in the whole history of Judah or Israel. She, a woman, makes herself the ruling monarch. I guess we could call her the queen or the king, I guess. I don't know but she makes herself the ruling monarch. And remember this is the daughter of Jezebel, the daughter of Ahab, a wicked Baal-worshipping woman seeking power for herself. And that's where chapter 11 of 2 Kings starts. Let’s start by reading verse 1: > [1](#) And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal. > 2 Kings 11:1 (KJV) So Athaliah, this woman who has made herself the supreme leader, if you will, of Judah, her first act is to go and kill all of the heirs to the throne. All the royal seed. And this is a wicked, horrendous act. This is their grandmother. These children have just lost their father. She should be comforting them at this time. All she's thinking about is herself and her own rise and her own power. And you look back at Jehoshaphat, the godly king of Judah, who arranged this for this wicked woman to marry his son. You think, "What were you thinking?" Church, I just want to remind you: one of the worst things that could ever befall you is for you to marry a godless person. For you as a Christian to bring into your home and to center your home around a person that doesn't worship the Lord, that doesn't have the Lord living inside of them. The consequences for that can be unbelievably difficult. The consequences can span far more than you could possibly imagine. When you marry the wrong person and you marry outside the faith, you are not just hurting your own walk with the Lord but you could be having ripple effects on your children and on your grandchildren. Who knows how bad it could be? Guys, you meet an Athaliah, you run. You meet a Jezebel, you run. You get as far away from that woman as you could possibly get. It is so much better to be married to a godly woman than to an Athaliah. And girls, it's just as bad if not worse for you. You meet some guy. He is cute. He has a nice truck. He wears the right kind of boots. He smiles just the right way but he doesn't love the Lord. He doesn't follow the Lord. Oh he might come to church with you once in a while but it's not real and you know it and he knows it. Oh you could be inviting terrible consequences into your life if you marry outside the faith. So that's Athaliah. She comes to the throne and kills all her grandchildren so that she can get power. But thankfully there's another woman in this story. Let’s read verses 2-3: > [2](#) 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 which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain. > [3](#) And he was with her hid in the house of the Lord six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land. > 2 Kings 11:2-3 (KJV) Jehosheba is the king that's just passed away's sister. Now you might think that makes her Athaliah's daughter and Jezebel's granddaughter but most likely she was not the daughter of Athaliah. Most likely she was from another wife. But she's still the king's sister and she's part of the royal family. She sees what Athaliah is doing and she goes and she grabs a baby, the one baby that's left. She hides him. She hides him in his nurse in the temple, in the house of the Lord. Jehosheba was married to the high priest. If you look at this family, it's like everything that's wrong with Athaliah and Jehoram. Jehosheba is doing right. They're like mirrors of each other. Jehosheba is married to a godly man. Jehoram married a godless woman. Athaliah is killing these babies and Jehosheba is saving them. Athaliah is building a temple to Baal in Israel or in Judah and Jehosheba is hiding in the house of the Lord with baby Joash. And I can say this: As bad as it is to be married to an Athaliah, it's as blessed in the other direction to be married to a Jehosheba. Women, take note of this woman. She is a hero. She saved her kingdom. She was used to keep the promises of God going. Think about this. The seed royal. This is the seed of David. This is David's family and God had promised that Messiah would come through David's family. Athaliah was trying to wipe out the possibility of Jesus coming and Jehosheba stepped in. By saving this baby and raising this baby in the house of the Lord, it's not an exaggeration to say she saved the world. One of the most significant things that you can do for the kingdom of God is to raise babies in the house of the Lord. One of the most significant things that you can do is to take little ones and teach them how to follow God and how to love God. People think this world is going to be saved by a politician or this world is going to be saved by a businessman or by an inventor and I say no. The greatest chance that we have of turning this world around starts at home. It starts with Christian families. It starts with Christian mamas that are teaching the word of God to their kids, teaching them to love God, singing Bible songs to them. Catechizing them. > [4](#) As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. > [5](#) Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. > Psalm 127:4-5 (KJV) If you want to rain devastating fire down on the devil, if you want to shoot arrows at the devil and at the enemy, one of the greatest things that you can do is to fill your quiver up full of children and point them at the Lord. That's one of the greatest impacts that you can have with your life. Let’s read on: > [3](#) And he was with her hid in the house of the Lord six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land. > [4](#) And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the Lord, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the Lord, and shewed them the king's son. > [5](#) And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king's house; > [6](#) And a third part shall be at the gate of Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard: so shall ye keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down. > [7](#) And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the Lord about the king. > [8](#) And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be slain: and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in. > [9](#) And the captains over the hundreds did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that should go out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. > [10](#) And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give king David's spears and shields, that were in the temple of the Lord. > [11](#) And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, round about the king, from the right corner of the temple to the left corner of the temple, along by the altar and the temple. > [12](#) And he brought forth the king's son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, God save the king. > 2 Kings 11:3-12 (KJV) So Jehosheba is married to a high priest. His name is Jehoiada. And for six years these two hide baby Joash in the temple for six year. That means for six years Athaliah had her godless reign of terror. This woman, who had no business being in power, this woman who grasped it by this murderous treason, is leading Judah. And after six years Jehoiada the high priest gather some of the civic and military leaders of Judah and I imagine he asked them, "What if there was one of David's heirs that was still alive, what would you do?" And they say, "Well, we'd make him king." And he says, "Okay there's one of David's heirs. We saved Joash and we've been hiding him." I cannot imagine the relief that would have been on any God-fearing person when they found out that God's promises were not wiped out by this wicked woman, that the forces of evil had not won, and that there was hope for Judah. And so they make a plan. They make a plan to protect little Joash. They break the army up into three parts for his protection. And they march little Joash by the altar in the temple. In the witness of all these people they anoint him. Everybody claps their hands and they say, "God save the king." Oh this had to be a glorious day! A day when God's promises came true. A day when the dynasty of David was restored. Lets keep reading: > [13](#) And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people into the temple of the Lord. > [14](#) And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets: and Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, Treason. > [15](#) But Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the host, and said unto them, Have her forth without the ranges: and him that followeth her kill with the sword. For the priest had said, Let her not be slain in the house of the Lord. > [16](#) And they laid hands on her; and she went by the way by the which the horses came into the king's house: and there was she slain. > 2 Kings 11:13-16 (KJV) Athaliah hears this noise. She's like, "What is this?" She hears them blow the trumpets. She knows exactly what's going on. She rips her clothes apart and she cries, "Treason, treason!" And ain't that cute? Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black? This woman who killed all of the actual heirs, her own grandchildren, to get power, she's claiming treason. She's accusing them of what she herself is guilty of. But she has to be rid of. I imagine she comes into the temple and Jehoiada tells the army. He says, "Take her out of here. Get her out of the building and kill her with the sword because nobody needs to be killed in the house of the Lord." They drag her out to the horse gate. They drag her out to where the horses are and they kill her. And I'm going to say something here, just my honest opinion. God knows what he's doing but I was kind of hoping that Athaliah would go out in a little bit more dramatic fashion because of how terrible she was. Something like the death of Jezebel but she does die in at the horse gate so I guess there's that. Let's keep reading. > [17](#) And Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people, that they should be the Lord's people; between the king also and the people. > [18](#) And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the Lord. > 2 Kings 11:17-18 (KJV) I just love this. They have a revival. Jehoiada the high priest leads a revival. He leads the people into a renewed relationship with God. They make the determination that they are going to be God's people. And in doing that they've got to get rid of some things. You can't have God and Baal at the same time. You can't have the prophets and the priests of Baal at the same time. They get rid of the house of Baal. They break down this temple that Athaliah probably built to Baal. They rip down the altars and the images and they kill the high priest of Baal. They once again set appointed officers over the house of the Lord. You know this sounds like one of the things that Athaliah did was have priests of Baal in the Holy Temple. And Jehoiada sets that straight. Listen whenever there is revival in our life there is a renewed relationship with God but when we bring in God, it's like the light that drives out the darkness. We have to get rid of some things in our life too because We're not going to have a relationship with God in our life alongside wickedness. God is a jealous God. Let's finish up the chapter. > [19](#) And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and the guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king from the house of the Lord, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king's house. And he sat on the throne of the kings. > [20](#) And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in quiet: and they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king's house. > [21](#) Seven years old was Jehoash when he began to reign. > 2 Kings 11:19-21 (KJV) So this chapter ends happy. It ends with rejoicing. A proper king is on the throne. We'll talk about that king next week. Let's stand and stand for prayer and we'll have Brother Adam come and take prayer requests.

A Tale of Two Women

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Ryan Hayden