Women with a Story to Tell: Jehosheba and the Queen Mother.

 This is a complex story about intrigue at the seat of power. We see stories like this in novels and movies, on TV in news and shows, and in real life right before our eyes. 

 Judah’s kings have died, first the husband Athaliah, and then their son. Athaliah was close to power in the northern kingdom of Israel because her parents were King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. They arranged a marriage to Jehoram, King Jehoshaphat’s son, in order to seal an alliance with the Kingdom of Judah. That put her close to power in the southern kingdom of Judah too. What was Jehoshaphat thinking? 

 We have read the story of how Athaliah’s parents were killed. The presenting issue was that Jezebel, who was a Phoenician, not an Israelite, brought into Israel the worship of Ba’al. Israel was supposed to be dedicated to the worship of YHWH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Athaliah has taken up the cause and now is trying to establish Ba’al worship in Judah. She operates from the seat of power in Jerusalem, and she even impacts what happens in the temple of YHWH. A classic intrusive government seeking to warp even the people’s spiritual beliefs. 

 With her husband and son gone, Athaliah became the Queen Mother, the regent for the younger generation in the royal line. However, that position will last only until someone is crowned king. Athalia clings to power by eliminating all the possible heirs to the throne. Herein lies the crisis. 

 These children are in the line of King David. Let me repeat that; they are in the lineage of King David! If she kills them all, then that line will be extinguished. No more ‘sons of David’ on the throne, not even Jesus.

 That is where the last king’s sister, Jehosheba comes in. She has defied the government. She has secreted away the oldest grandson Joash and is hiding him as if from the Nazis. Despots do not share power. They are self-possessed to do everything they can to eliminate opposition; nothing is illegal for a despot.

 How does Jehosheba pull this off when so many government officials who are hungry for power themselves have aligned themselves with Athaliah? Jehosheba is the wife of the high priest Jehoiada. She also has in her care Joash’s nurse. Jehosheba keeps a low profile in the temple, not drawing attention to herself, and keeps Joash and his nurse in a bedroom. 

 Athaliah has other business. As the text says, “Now when Athaliah, Ahaziah’s mother, saw that her son was dead, she set about to destroy all the royal family of the house of Judah (II Chronicles 22:10).

 When that was accomplished, or so she thought, Athaliah moved on to destroy the sites where YHWH was worshipped, and she replaced them with Ba’al worship. As the text says, “For the children of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken into the house of God and had even used all the dedicated things of the house of the LORD for the Ba’als” (II Chronicles 24: 7).

 What might this be the equivalent of today? It is similar to the subversion of Christianity for secular purposes. It would be as if some leaders of the church had woven a narrative about nationalism and racial purity and cast immigrants and the opposition as threats to the nation. That is exactly what Hitler’s crew did by proposing that the ‘Aryan nation’ was chosen by God to eliminate non-Aryan and immigrant populations, to dominate its neighbors in Europe, and to honor Hitler as the savior sent by God to make Germany great again.  

 Did the churches buy this nonsense? Yes, for the most part the leaders of the Protestant church (called the ‘Evangelical Church’ in German terms) fell in line and marched behind Der Fuhrer. Those who resisted were chased down and persecuted. Many were killed, including Dietrich Bonhoeffer who, among other writings, left us this book: The Cost of Discipleship.    

 There is no nation that is so ‘special’ or ‘exceptional’ that it can do whatever it wants to do. No nation, not the modern-day Israel, not the United States, not Russia, not China, is given a pass to behave any way that they want. 

 In the Kingdom of God, ushered in by Jesus Christ, certain ideas, values, and behaviors have been established by Jesus’ teachings and examples, and certified by his death and resurrection. Even the Old Testament says that God is a god of love, mercy, and justice, and God expects us to reflect his character to others. Even Israel, in the person of Abraham, was blessed in order that they would become a blessing to the nations (Genesis 12: 1-3). Israel followed its own agenda, but that is where Jesus succeeded (John 19: 28). 

 Jesus was among us as one who serves, one who forgives, and the one who includes and incorporates into the kingdom all the sinners who repent and follow him. Jesus is the one who loves even his enemies and also does good to those who persecute him. 

 A disciple of Christ, a true Christian, can do no less than love his or her enemies, do good to those who persecute them, and look after the marginalized and oppressed in society, that is, the orphan, the widow, and the alien (immigrant), as well as give generously to the poor and the needy.

The measure of a godly society, says the Apostle Paul, is that we share our resources so that there will be a “fair balance” (II Corinthians 8: 13 and 14, the phrase is repeated and therefore important). Paul concludes by quoting Exodus 16: 18 to confirm how much we should share with the marginalized, poor, and needy. It is so that, “The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little” (II Corinthians 8: 15).  

 In our society, how much is ‘too much’ wealth for a person to have? How little is ‘too little’ for people to live on? Do we follow Jesus, or do we follow idols that reflect the worst of human behavior? Athaliah, the Queen Mother, wants to know.