“When Athaliah, Ahaziah’s mother, saw that her son was dead, she set about to destroy all the royal family” (II Kings 11:1). The text gives little information about Athaliah’s accomplishments, though it certainly does not consider her to be a good ruler: yet we should note that she did in fact reign as queen over Judah for six years.

There are a few minor hints to suggest she may have been the sister of King Ahab of Israel, but most of the evidence suggests she was his daughter (8:18, 8:26-27). It appears she was married to King Jehoram of Judah in order to help establish a political alliance between the northern and southern kingdoms. Her son Ahaziah fought alongside King Joram of Israel, and as we saw yesterday, he was among those slain during Jehu’s coup (9:27).

Athaliah’s reign might have gone on even longer, but when she was murdering all those of royal stock – which is to say, when she was murdering her grandchildren – she inadvertently missed one: Joash, sometimes called Jehoash, just a baby at the time, who was rescued by his aunt, Princess Jehosheba (11:2). She was the sister of King Ahaziah, and thus Athaliah’s daughter (or perhaps step-daughter). Jehosheba hid Jehoash in the temple under the care of Jehoiada the priest. When Joash was seven, he was formally anointed king, to high public acclaim, and Athaliah was arrested and murdered (11:13-16).

There were a lot of reasons to hate Athaliah and want her dead. She was, like her family, a worshiper of Baal; she was not in the royal line of David or even from Judah, but an outsider from Israel; she was a woman in an era where only a man could become the monarch. It is quite surprising that she reigned for six years; it would have taken remarkable political skill for her to be able to maintain her position for that long before she was assassinated.

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If you gave Athaliah such impressive leadership abilities, O God, why did she use them so badly? Why do so many politicians today do the same? Why do we all misuse the capabilities you have entrusted to us, seeking our own will rather than yours? Help us, Lord. Despite all the gifts you have given us, we are all so lost, apart from your grace.

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