II Chronicles: Ahaziah and Athaliah

Judah's history went through a dark time when a wicked king was followed by a wicked queen. Mercifully, their combined reigns lasted only seven years. King Ahaziah's rise to the throne was rather unique. As the youngest son, Ahaziah would ordinarily never have had the opportunity to be king. All of his older brothers, however, had been captured and then killed, so Ahaziah became king at the young age of twenty-two.

Neither his birth order nor his youth needed to be a problem. Because of his youth, Ahaziah needed counselors, and the right counselors could have made all the difference. Ahaziah's following of the wrong counselors was sadly his undoing. "He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor to do wickedly" (II Chronicles 22:3). It was bad enough that his own mother was such a disastrous counselor, but she was not the only one. "He did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab, for they were his counselors after the death of his father" (22:4). "He also walked according to their counsel" (22:5).

Ahab was the epitome of wickedness in a ruler. Based on the identification of his counselors, there was no expectation that Ahaziah would do what was right. His wicked father was his counselor until he died; then the role was taken over by his wicked mother and by other wicked counselors from the house of Ahab. With all of this wicked input, which Ahaziah both heard and followed, the only possible expectation for his reign was disaster.

Ahaziah's wrong counsel led to wrong associations. Because he was heavily influenced by the house of Ahab, he readily aligned himself with them. In fact, everything mentioned about Ahaziah's entire reign was somehow associated with the house of Ahab.

Ahaziah's first error was joining in battle with Jehoram, Ahab's son. As they fought side by side, Jehoram was wounded, effectively ending the war. Instead of returning to his own kingdom, however, Ahaziah stayed with Jehoram. When Jehoram recovered, Ahaziah joined him in another war. As the battle intensified, Ahaziah hid, but the enemy army found and then killed him.

Ahaziah's choices brought about his death. It was not enough that he joined the house of Ahab in battle once; he stayed with his wounded friend after the defeat and then joined him in battle a second time. This strong association with the house of Ahab stemmed from Ahaziah's reliance upon the counsel of these wicked people. Ahaziah's demise is placed on his own head; he followed the house of Ahab and listened to their counsel "to his destruction" (22:4).

While Ahaziah was responsible, it was ultimately God who brought judgment. Ahaziah made choices, but "the destruction of Ahaziah was from God," orchestrated by his staying with his wounded friend (22:7).  Ahaziah's death came because he was in the wrong place and with the wrong people. If that had been unintentional or accidental, God would likely have shown mercy, but Ahaziah was in the wrong place and with the wrong people because his heart was wrong. Ahaziah was on a self-chosen destructive path, and God brought that path to its inevitable end after a reign of only one year.

Ahaziah's death led to a tenuous situation. Ahaziah had died at the young age of twenty-three. He had sons, but they were too young to become king. All of Ahaziah's brothers had been killed (22:1). Ahaziah's brothers had sons, at least some of whom would have been older than Ahaziah's sons, but all of those young men were killed when Ahaziah was killed (22:8). The previous generation, Ahaziah's uncles, had all been killed when his father took the throne (21:4).

All of these potential kings had been slaughtered in one way or another. The only hope lay with the young sons of Ahaziah, and their lives were in jeopardy. "Now when Athaliah [Ahaziah's wicked mother] saw that her son was dead, she rose and destroyed all the royal offspring of the house of Judah" (22:10). Or so she thought! Unknown to her, baby Joash was rescued by his aunt and hidden in a safe place.

God preserved David's line by the narrowest thread. For three generations in a row, there was a single heir. Jehoram was the only surviving son of Jehoshaphat, Ahaziah was the only surviving son of Jehoram, and Joash was the only surviving son of Ahaziah. Against all odds, God preserved this infant, and in so doing, continued to keep His word. Man "made it hard" for God by murdering off the kingly line for three generations in a row, but God's power was as great as His faithfulness, and He preserved the requisite person in each generation to keep the thread going.

As for Athaliah, after the shocking depravity of killing her young grandsons, she seized the throne for herself. There are no recorded accomplishments of this queen, even though she ruled for six years. Quite simply, she was wicked. She had already shown this by being a primary source of wicked counsel for her son (22:3). If there was any doubt, her brutal murder of her grandsons erased it. After only six years of her reign, her hidden grandson was not yet old enough to be king, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

Joash was supported and crowned by a conspiracy of godly people. When Athaliah learned of the political and military coup, she cried out, "Treason! Treason!" (23:13). The citizens, however, had suffered under her long enough. It is no wonder that the people were ready to welcome a new king, even though he was only a child. They rejoiced when Joash was presented as king (23:12). "So all of the people of the land rejoiced and the city was quiet. For they had put Athaliah to death with the sword" (23:21).

Wicked people can make wicked choices, and they will suffer as a result of their choices. Ultimately, though, God has power over all wickedness; His plan cannot and will not be stopped.