A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

THE REIGNS OF AHAZIAH (841 B.C.)
AND ATHALIAH
(2 Kings 8:25-29; 9:27-29; 11:1-3, 13-20;
2 Chron. 22:1-12) (841-835 B.C.)
The death of Jehoram in Jerusalem did not bring to an end the wickedness that
characterized his reign. His son Ahaziah assumed the throne “and he walked in the way of the
house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was
the son-in-law of the house of Ahab” (2 Kings 8:27). The only significant accomplishment of his
brief reign was an alliance in battle with his uncle, the king of Israel, against Hazael king of
Syria. In the course of the battle, the king of Israel was wounded and returned to Jezreel to
recover from his wound. Rather than return to Judah, Ahaziah decided to visit his sick uncle.
Elisha also sent one of the sons of the prophets to the battle at Ramoth Gilead with a
mission of his own. The prophet was to find one Jehu ben Jehoshaphat and privately anoint him
king over Israel. When the mission had been accomplished, the prophet was to open the door and
flee without delay. The young prophet did as he was commissioned and Jehu was recognized as
king of Israel. Jehu became an efficient and successful king after the Machiavellian order, for he
murdered many dozens of people (9:1-10).
The first act of Jehu was to kill the previous king. He ordered the leaders loyal to his
cause to prevent anyone from going back to Jehoram to warn him. When Jehu was spotted with
his company, a messenger was sent out from the king to determine the nature of the visit. Twice
messengers were sent out who did not return to the city. Eventually, the watchman concluded the
troops were being led by Jehu, who had a reputation for being a reckless chariot driver. It was
not until Jehu was in Jehoram’s room that the king recognized the plot. As Jehoram tried to
escape, Jehu drew his bow and shot him. He then ordered the body to be cast in Naboth’s
vineyard in accordance with the prophecy of Elijah (vv. 11-26).
Ahaziah was with his uncle at the time of Jehu’s attack, but managed to escape
temporarily. Jehu pursued him to Megiddo where the king of Judah died. Because he was a
descendant of David, his body was carried back to Jerusalem for burial. But in the process of
tracking down Ahaziah, Jehu also found forty two nephews of the king of Judah, whom he also
murdered because they were descendants of Ahab (10:1-12).
The next victim of Jehu was Jezebel. When Jehu came to the city gate, Jezebel greeted
him from a window in an upper room of her house. Jehu called out, asking who in that room was
loyal to him. The two or three eunuchs who responded were then ordered to throw Jezebel out.
She died in the fall, and when men came back to get her body for burial, all they could find were
the palms of her hands and feet and remains of her skull. The rest had been eaten by dogs just as
Elijah had prophesied (9:30-37).
Ahab had appointed his seventy sons kings over the cities of Israel. These also were
murdered in Jehu’s purge. The elders of the cities beheaded these sons and sent their heads to
Jehu. Though the new king offered to let the cities elect new kings to replace the descendants of
Ahab, they chose rather to be under the rule of a single king, Jehu.
There was also rampant bloodshed in the Southern Kingdom of Judah. “Now when
Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal
heirs of the house of Judah” (2 Chron. 22:10). Only the baby Joash escaped this plot against the
royal house of Judah. The child and his nurse were hid in a closet from those doing the killing,
and he was eventually moved to the temple where he remained the next six years. During that
time, Athaliah ruled over the kingdom of Judah.