King Jehoshaphat was a great man of God. But like all of us, he had his blind spots. Irrationally, he concluded that a friendly relationship with Ahab and Jezebel, was a good thing for both kingdoms. So, to seal the deal, he married off his son, Jehoram to their daughter, Athaliah. All of this would add to a lethal cocktail of political intrigue. As soon as Athaliah’s husband and son were dead, she summarily murdered her own grandchildren and made herself Queen over Judah.
But God was watching.
Athaliah, like her mother before her, destroyed with demonic intent. However, the fires of hell are not always best met with fire from heaven. The evil queen’s plans would be thwarted by a humble princess. “Jehosheba stole away Joash, one of the grandsons, and put him and his nurse in a bedroom to hide him from Athaliah (2Kg.11:2).
For six years Jehosheba, with the help of her husband and the nurse, held the future of the Messianic bloodline in her hands. With such danger hanging over her head, she must have lived in a constant state of apprehension.
But such are the faithful who stand alone. Right is right, and that is all that matters. If the consequences prove uncomfortable or fatal, then that must be! Jehosheba had chosen to be as wise as a serpent and a gentle as a dove; a strategy that paid off.
Her last day on earth was one of horror for Queen Athaliah. The wicked lady who had stolen the throne was not the only one who had married into power. Jehosheba had married Jehoiada the High Priest. It was he who restored the throne to Joash in the sight of the people. Athaliah, brash to the end, singlehandedly confronted the King’s coronation crying, “Treason! Treason!” Shortly after, she was cut down with the sword.
Johosheba stands as a testimony that when the world is bold to do evil, the righteous must be bolder to do good.
John Staiger