Not Living Up To One's Name

2 Kings 11:1,3b: "When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family . . . (and she) ruled the land."

Athaliah, the daughter of King Ahab, presents to us a life that does not live up to the meaning of her name, for the name, "Athaliah" means "the Lord is exalted." Her life of wickedness in no way honored the Lord; rather, she treated with contempt the holiness of God by her defiance to His will.

When her son, King Ahaziah of Judah, was killed by Jehu (commander of the army of Israel), Athaliah responded in a most debased way. Instead of honoring the memory of her dead royal son, she sought opportunity to rule herself. Specifically, Athaliah enacted a massive campaign to destroy the entire royal family so that no other person could assume the throne but herself.





Only one child was saved from the mass murdering of the royal family of Jehoram. Fortunately, Joash, the young son of Ahaziah, was taken by Jehosheba (daughter of King Jehoram) and placed in hiding at the temple for six years. During this time, Athaliah asserted herself as the ruler of Judah.





During the six years of hiding, the young prince was placed under the protection of the priest, Jehoiada. In the seventh year, the priest was able to gain the support of the commanders of the army to serve as the royal bodyguard for Joash; and now with the support of the military leadership, the priest was able to move forward with the coronation of Joash as the rightful king.

At just the right time, Jehoiada placed a crown on Joash, gave him a copy of the covenant/law of God, and declared him king. The people who were in attendance clapped their hands and shouted their allegiance to Joash. The noise of praise for the new king was so great, that Athaliah went to the Temple to see why there was such a commotion; when she saw that the people were rejoicing that a new king had been crowned, she cried out "treason!" and tore her robes in disgust. Isn't it amazing that a person who herself would commit acts of treason against her own royal family in order to promote her own position of power would now point out treason in others. People who perpetrate evil will hide in darkness so that their evil deeds will not be exposed (John 3:20); yet, they will be quick to point out others who violate their so-called "rights."



The queen attempted to rush back to the protection of her palace, but the commanders of the army captured her on the outskirts of the palace grounds; there they executed her, per the instructions of the priest, for her rebellion against the Lord.



Jehoiada the priest then initiated a covenant observance for the king and people before the Lord that they would submit to God. To demonstrate their allegiance to the Lord, they smashed the idols and altars to the pagan gods that were housed in the temple.



In the end, the city was at peace. The people rejoiced that their evil ruler had been deposed and God's anointed had been placed upon the throne of Judah.