Plots and Assassinations



2 Kings 11:1-16
1 Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah [and daughter of Jezebel] saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family.
2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus they hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not put to death.
3 And he remained with her six years, hidden in the house of the Lord, while Athaliah reigned over the land.
4 But in the seventh year Jehoiada sent and brought the captains of the Carites and of the guards, and had them come to him in the house of the Lord. And he made a covenant with them and put them under oath in the house of the Lord, and he showed them the king’s son.
5 And he commanded them, “This is the thing that you shall do: one third of you, those who come off duty on the Sabbath and guard the king’s house
6 (another third being at the gate Sur and a third at the gate behind the guards) shall guard the palace.
7 And the two divisions of you, which come on duty in force on the Sabbath and guard the house of the Lord on behalf of the king,
8 shall surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand. And whoever approaches the ranks is to be put to death. Be with the king when he goes out and when he comes in.”
9 The captains did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded, and they each brought his men who were to go off duty on the Sabbath, with those who were to come on duty on the Sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest.
10 And the priest gave to the captains the spears and shields that had been King David’s, which were in the house of the Lord.
11 And the guards stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, from the south side of the house to the north side of the house, around the altar and the house on behalf of the king.
12 Then he brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him and gave him the testimony. And they proclaimed him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, “Long live the king!”
13 When Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she went into the house of the Lord to the people.
14 And when she looked, there was the king standing by the pillar, according to the custom, and the captains and the trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets. And Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, “Treason! Treason!”
15 Then Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains who were set over the army, “Bring her out between the ranks, and put to death with the sword anyone who follows her.” For the priest said, “Let her not be put to death in the house of the Lord.”
16 So they laid hands on her; and she went through the horses’ entrance to the king’s house, and there she was put to death.

Even though the evil Queen Jezebel is dead and gone, her influence lingers on in the form of her daughter, Athaliah. Athaliah is the “queen mum” if you will. Her son, Ahaziah, was the king of Judah, killed by Jehu. Upon his death, she leaps into the power void and declares herself as the new queen and leader of Judah. In order to secure her position, she has all the rest of her family, children and grandchildren included, murdered. But Ahaziah’s sister secures the life of one of his sons – Joash. She hides him away for 6 years. When the time is right, the court guards and the temple priest collude together to bring Joash out of hiding and crown him the rightful king. Athaliah tries to muster the support to stop this coup, but the effort is in vain and she is killed.

The thirst for power is quite a motivator. It ties back to the Garden of Eden when Satan tempted Adam and Eve with the phrase “you will be like God.” Fortunately, very few of us would be willing to kill our entire families to secure our position of power. But everything can always be scaled back to bring it a little closer to home. This story causes me to look at my own life and see how I might inappropriately wield my limited power to hold on to things that perhaps don’t belong to me. Or maybe I use my power to hurt others or manipulate situations. It doesn’t matter the manifestation – it’s all sin. And it is all an illusion. All power ultimately belongs to God and never to us. For 6 years, it looked like Athaliah had power. But in the end, she was killed by her own guards. That power was an illusion. None of us is immune to the original temptation lobbed at Eve to be like God. But we can be aware of that particular tool of the devil and step away from it, all the while recognizing that when we fail (and we all do) we are a forgiven by the work of our Savior, Jesus.

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