2 Kings – Bible Study 14. The Cruel Act of Athaliah.
Just for your thoughts.
2 Kings – Bible Study 14.
The Cruel Act of Athaliah.
This Athaliah was the daughter of Ahab—that is, the daughter of Jezebel. She was the wife of Jehoram, the king of Judah, and the mother of Ahaziah.
After the death of Jehoram, his son Ahaziah became king. But Ahaziah was killed by Jehu. When Athaliah heard about her son’s death, she began to destroy the entire royal family.
Please. Read 2 Kings chapter 11 Verse 1.
In order to remain in power, she decided to kill even her own grandchildren—that is, all the male heirs of her son Ahaziah. She was even more wicked than her mother Jezebel.
The Bible clearly illustrates—even 2,000 years ago—how terrible the desire for power can be.
Another satanic scheme behind this is that Satan was well aware the Redeemer of the world, Jesus Christ, would come from the line of David.
So, he used Athaliah to try and sever that lineage.
However, Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, rescued Joash—the young prince and son of Ahaziah—from being killed by Athaliah.
She hid him with his nurse in a bedroom. Because of this, Joash was not killed. She protected him for six years, saving her brother’s child from the cruel acts of their mother Athaliah.
God intervened to stop Satan’s plan to destroy the lineage of David.
Athaliah was a worshipper of Baal and was eventually killed violently.
Lessons to Learn:
1.To stop Satan’s plot to destroy the Davidic line, God used a woman named Jehosheba. Just as God used Hebrew midwives to save the male children of Israel during Pharaoh’s reign, here too, He used a woman to preserve the lineage through which the Messiah would come.
2.All events in the world are under God's sovereign control. Our Lord is always in control.
3.From Athaliah’s life, we learn how cruel the desire for position can be. When ambition takes over, even family bonds are forgotten.
4.Like lust, the desire for position is the root of all kinds of evil.