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How to Live for God
As we wrap up 2 Chronicles 20 and move into chapters 21–24, Jehosheba stands out as a powerful example of how to live for God. Her story reminds us we’ve all been placed in this particular time and place in history for a reason. When we choose faith over fear and answer God’s call, He moves in incredible ways.
Sin Can Unravel All the Good: 2 Chronicles 20
But first, the Chronicler will teach the exiles a lesson from the story of Jehoshaphat about how to trust God rather than the alliances of ungodly men and women.
In 2 Chronicles 20:31-37 and 2 Chronicles 21:1-3 it’s clear Jehoshaphat is a good king. He follows the ways of his father Asa who was a really good king and does what is right in the eyes of the Lord. He trusts in God for military success.
However, Jehoshaphat is not a perfect king. He makes bad alliances with the evil kings of Israel–one with the wicked King Ahab and another with Ahab’s wicked son Ahaziah.
The worst alliance is a marriage between his son Jehoram, the future king of Israel, and the evil Athalia, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. This alliance ushers evil into the heart of Jerusalem.
Now idolatry is living in the palace just steps from the Temple. The enemy has an opportunity like never before to take out the line of David, even if it means killing her own children.
A Glimpse into What the Bible Says About Marriage
Just one generation away from two good kings, in 2 Chronicles 21:4-7 we now have King Jehoram who does not follow in the ways of his father. Instead, he follows in the ways of his father-in-law Ahab of Israel. These are the ways of idolatry.
And the Chronicler spells out why he does this. It’s because Jehoram married Ahab’s daughter Athaliah.
This is a note to us. The choice of a spouse can be life-altering. Becoming one in marriage is not a small thing. It is a covenant. It’s a relationship, a union, that can draw us closer to Christ or pull us away.
Jehoram is spiritually weak and Athaliah’s evil influence over him trumps any good impact his father had on him. As if to prove it, King Jehoram kicks off his reign by killing all six of his brothers.
It doesn’t say why he does this. Maybe it’s because his father gave them each fortified cities and his wife Athalia doesn’t trust anyone.
After all, she was raised by Ahab and Jezebel to view people as expendable if they are a threat. When in doubt, killing is an option, and she won’t stop at brothers, sons, and grandsons.
When Covenant Trumps Consequences
Even though the people do not set their hearts on God and the king does evil in the eyes of the Lord, God will not destroy them because of the covenant He made with David. Nor will he allow the enemy to destroy them. As Isaiah 14:24 says, what God plans will stand.
Isaiah 11:6-10 mentions the root of Jesse, also known as the line of David (Jesse was David’s father), must not die. Because from this “David root” will come the promised King of Peace, Jesus Christ.
There will be wars, disease, and trouble, but God has a plan. A time will come when there will be complete peace.
A Prophetic Letter
For the Israelites, the one sure way to lose favor is to forsake the Lord for another god. The first commandment given to Moses made that very clear in Exodus 20:3.
Still, in 2 Chronicles 21:8-11, Israel is struggling to remember there are consequences to idolatry. God sends prophets to remind them in 2 Chronicles 21:12-20.
We won’t go into detail about Elijah here because we spent a lot of time with him in 1 and 2 Kings. If you are new to Bible Book Club, you can find those discussions in Season 11 and Season 12.
If you’re not familiar with him, know this. Elijah is considered the second greatest prophet in the Bible, with Moses being the first.
These are the two prophets who appear with Christ at the Transfiguration in Matthew 17, Mark 9, and Luke 9. So a word from Elijah is God-given truth.
King Jehoram’s situation is so bad that Elijah doesn’t even waste his time by delivering the bad news in person, which makes it clear God does not expect Jehoram to repent. God sees the heart, and there is no light in Jehoram’s heart.
The end is painful. All of Jehoram’s sons are killed, except one, of course. God keeps His promise that the line of David will remain on the throne. So Ahaziah survives.
When Evil Becomes a Family Legacy: 2 Chronicles 22
In 2 Chronicles 22:1-6, Ahaziah succeeds Jehoram, which makes Athaliah the queen mother. This gives her even more power to spread the evil ways of Israel.
On top of that, Ahaziah imports advisors from Israel to be his advisors in Judah. He is all-in on his mother’s family and faith.
To drill the point home, the Chronicler reminds us the DNA running through Ahaziah’s veins comes from:
- Omri, the father of Ahab
- Ahab’s wife Jezebel
- Their daughter Athaliah
Ahaziah’s bloodline is the most potent cocktail for evil in the entire Old Testament. It’s no surprise he does evil in the eyes of the Lord.
Jehu Serves as God’s Executioner
In 2 Chronicles 22:6-9 we meet Jehu. He is a military commander and in 2 Kings 9 he was secretly anointed King of Israel by a prophet who is one of Elisha’s disciples.
Jehu is a ruthless man accustomed to war and death. In the book of 2 Kings, he is commanded by God to destroy the house of Ahab, avenge the murder and brutality of Jezebel, and rid Israel of every male from the house of Ahab.
Those who must die include:
- Ahab’s son, King Joram of Israel.
- Ahab’s wife and King Joram’s mother, Jezebel.
- Ahab’s grandson, Ahaziah, the king of Judah, who is the son of Athaliah and nephew of Joram, the king of Israel.
While he is commended for destroying the house of Ahab and Baal worship, he did not turn away from the golden calf worship made popular by King Jeroboam.
Ahaziah, the king of Judah, is part of God’s judgment on Israel because Ahaziah was also part of the house of King Ahab of Israel. It’s all one big evil family that started with King Omri of Israel and spread to Judah through the marriage of Athaliah to Jehoram.
This began with the bad alliance King Jehoshaphat made with Ahab. There is a lot more intrigue and irony to the story in 2 Kings, Season 12, Episode 7.
So Jehu kills Ahab’s grandson, Ahazaiah, the king of Judah, which sets the stage for Queen Athalia to take the throne.
Queen Athalia Takes the Throne
With the death of her son Ahaziah, Athaliah knows her control as queen mother is over. The crown will pass to her oldest grandson.
Her influence as queen mother will pass to the new king’s mother, and she will be ousted. Evil queens don’t ever relinquish control to anyone, which leaves Athalia with only one choice.
Murder.
To retain her power, she has to wipe out the existing line of kings. That means anyone who descends from the line of David.
How many people does she kill? We don’t know. We do know she kills all the royal heirs of Judah, including her own grandchildren.
Except one.
Ahaziah’s sister Jehosheba courageously uses her access to the palace to scoop up a little toddler, Joash, and hide him from Athaliah. And because Ahaziah probably has lots of wives and children, nobody counts how many are killed.
When Love for God Conquers Terror of Tyrants
Who is this Jehosheba in 2 Chronicles 22:10-12? King Jehoram married Athaliah and they had Ahaziah, but he had other wives who had children. These children would have been wicked Athaliah’s stepchildren.
Jehosheba is one of Athaliah’s step-daughters, Ahaziah’s half sister. She is married to a priest named Jehoiada, and they likely live in rooms off the Temple. Living with a priest, Jehosheba is somewhat protected from the Baal worship infiltration in the palace, and she is devoted to the Lord.
In fact, she is so devoted that her love for the Lord is greater than her fear of Athaliah. So she risks her life to save the line of David.
Without God’s divine protection and the courageous Jehosheba, there would be no Christ. Of course God would have used someone else. But the point is, Jehosheba was chosen and she accepted her calling.
Fulfilling God’s Purpose: 2 Chronicles 23
In 2 Chronicles 23:1-11, Jehosheba has done her part and now it is her husband Jehoiada’s turn. After six years of Athaliah on the throne, Jehoiada takes action.
He gathers a secret assembly of military men. After making a covenant with them, he arms them with David’s weapons. Then he reveals the boy Joash and crowns him king.
Jehosheba used her access to the palace to rescue the boy. Jehoiada uses his access to the leaders of the nation to crown the boy.
And just like that God uses this one like-minded, fearless, and faithful couple to defeat the powerful Athaliah. They don’t even need the weapons or an army. They use what little they have and God glorifies it.
Where has God strategically placed you? What gift, resource, or influence do you have that can be used for God? What might He be calling you to do right here, right now? It’s something to think about.
The End of Evil Queen Athaliah
In 2 Chronicles 23:12-15, Athaliah hears the cheers, and she screams treason. How ironic. She is the one committing treason against God, Judah, and her own family.
Like Phinehas, another righteous killer priest we know from the book of Numbers and Joshua, Jehoiada does not hesitate to put an end to her ranting, evil life.
A Kingdom Restored
Now the priests are in control, and they have the little king Joash. Jehoiada makes a covenant between God, the king, and the people in 2 Chronicles 23:16-21, and they promise to only worship God.
Then Jehoiada destroys the temple of Baal and kills all the Baal priests. The boy king moves from the Temple to the palace and takes his place on the royal throne.
Poor little tyke. It has been a traumatic seven years for him. The people rejoice, all is calm, and life is good.
The Golden Years of Faithful Leadership: 2 Chronicles 24
As King Joash grows up, Jehoiada takes no chances with his marriages. In 2 Chronicles 24:1-3, Jehoiada chooses not one but two wives for Joash. They need to repopulate the line of David with some women from Judah.
In 2 Chronicles 24:4-16, Joash orders that money be collected to use for Temple repairs. It sounds like a lot of repairs are needed due to Athaliah’s wicked sons who broke into the Temple and raided it.
The maintenance of the Temple is the responsibility of the king. The execution of repairs is the responsibility of the priests.
This passage makes it sound like the priests were at fault and mishandling the money. That’s probably not the case since Jehoiada is in charge.
However, he is over 100 years old and most likely the priests were just being too slow to get the job done. Joash is anxious for progress, so he takes over collecting the money.
Then he and Jehoiada work together to disperse it. The work gets done at a better pace, and the Temple is restored.
All is well with the priest-king duo. But Jehoiada is not young, and Joash is growing up. In the next chapters, when Joash is on his own, things take a turn for the worse.
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