When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was
dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family (2 Kings 11:1).
Jehoshaphat was one of the great kings of Judah, but he had
a blind spot when it came to Ahab. Perhaps as part of a sordid plan to extend
their power over Israel’s neighbor nation to the south, Ahab and Jezebel gave
their daughter Athaliah in marriage to Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram. Out of his
naïve desire to restore good relations between the two nations, he never saw
Ahab’s ploy for what it was, and opened Judah to a nearly disastrous wicked
influence.
Jehoram and Athaliah gave birth to Ahaziah. In the wrong
place at the wrong time, Ahaziah was mortally wounded in Jehu’s purge, which
eradicated all of Athaliah’s family members still in Israel. When the news
reached the palace, she set out in a venemous rage to kill every member of the
royal family – which by the way would have ended David’s line – and seize the
throne for herself.
In the nick of time, High Priest Jehoiada spirited Ahaziah’s
youngest son Joash into hiding. He was the only one to survive Athaliah’s
pogrom. The priests cared for Joash until Jehoiada proclaimed the young man
king at the tender age of seven. The bodyguard priest then ordered the
execution of Athaliah ending her reign of terror.
Against overwhelming odds, God’s promise to David (2 Samuel
7:16) remained intact.
TODAY’S MEDITATION
So when the odds are
against you, what are the chances God will keep his promises?
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