The woman who sat on David’s throne

In my Old Testament class, I studied the story of Athaliah in 2 Kings 8:16-11:6 and 2 Chronicles 21:4-23:15, and I was astounded by her profound brutality and wickedness. She was raised in an environment saturated with violence and idolatry. She was the granddaughter of Omri, who seized the throne violently, and the daughter of the infamous couple Ahab and Jezebel, who rejected Yahweh and introduced Baal’s worship in Israel, and polluted the land with infidelity and immorality.

Athaliah married Jehoram, the son of King Jehoshaphat of Judah. At age thirty-two, Jehoram ascended to the throne and rejected his father’s righteousness for Ahab’s wickedness for he married Athaliah who promoted Baal worship. Jehoram even murdered his own brothers and loyal officials. His reign lasted only for eight years, ending with Elijah’s prophesy of his death from an incurable disease of the bowels and the capture of his wives and sons by the Philistines. Only, Athaliah’s son Ahaziah survived, who became a king at twenty-two and like his father, he relied on Athaliah’s malevolent counsel. In one short year, Ahaziah was fatally wounded by Jehu and died. Instead of mourning for her son, Athaliah seized the throne and proceeded to massacre all potential heirs including her grandchildren so her queenship would not be threatened. This unveiled the legacy of her idolatrous home, where innocents were sacrificed to satiate one’s pleasure.

For six years, Judah was oppressed under Athaliah, who defied God and desecrated the Temple’s holy vessels. Amid all overwhelming evil, people may have thought God is quiet, but God never forsook Judah for He “promised to maintain a lamp for David and his descendants forever.” Jehosheba, Ahaziah’s sister courageously rescued Ahaziah’s infant son, Joash, and hid him in the Temple. When the time came, her husband, Jehoiada the priest, bravely revealed a seven-year-old Joash as the rightful king with the support of the mighty men. Inside the Temple, everyone hailed “Long live the king!” This affirms that God never fails to shine upon His people even in their bleakest times. While everyone was cheering, Queen Athaliah cried out “Treason! Treason!” The priest commanded that she must not be killed in the Lord’s house so she was killed by the way of the horse’s entrance into the king’s house, and no one mourned for her.

Athaliah exemplifies a life stuck in a vicious cycle of violence begetting violence. Although her upbringing played a vital role, she had multiple chances to submit before God—through the influence of pious Jehoshaphat, the deaths of her husband and son, or her grandson’s rise to kingship. Instead, she worsened in her callousness toward God and hurt the innocents, attacking God’s heart, and she reaped what she sowed. Today, when we survey the bloody narratives of 1&2 Kings and 1&2 Chronicles, Athaliah’s story emerges as a cautionary tale for womanhood. She is a prime example of an evil wife, mother, and grandmother, who was never worthy of David’s throne or for motherly legacy. Her idolatrous lifestyle led her to such wrong ambitions and moral decay that she ripped the beautiful tapestry of godly love and blood relations with her own hands.