2 Chronicles 22:1 – 12 Ahaziah Reigns in Judah (2 Kings 8:25-29)
“Then the people of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, the youngest son of Jehoram, king in his place, since the raiders who had come into the camp with the Arabs had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah. Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah, the granddaughter of Omri.
Ahaziah also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor in wickedness. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, as the house of Ahab had done, for to his destruction they were his counselors after the death of his father.
Ahaziah also followed their counsel and went with Joram son of Ahab king of Israel to fight against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-gilead. But the Arameans (Syrians) wounded Joram; so he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds they had inflicted on him at Ramah when he fought against Hazael king of Aram (Syria.) Then Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to Jezreel to visit Joram son of Ahab, because Joram had been wounded. Ahaziah’s downfall came from God when he went to visit Joram. When Ahaziah arrived, he went out with Joram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.
Jehu Kills the Princes of Judah (2 Kings 9:14-29)
So while Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he found the rulers of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers who were serving Ahaziah, and he killed them. Then Jehu looked for Ahaziah, and Jehu’s soldiers captured him while he was hiding in Samaria. So Ahaziah was brought to Jehu and put to death. They buried him, for they said, “He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart.” So no one was left from the house of Ahaziah with the strength to rule the kingdom.
Athaliah and Joash (2 Kings 11:1-3)
When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to annihilate all the royal heirs of the house of Judah. But Jehoshabeath daughter of King Jehoram took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the sons of the king who were being murdered, and she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Because Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram and the wife of Jehoiada the priest, was Ahaziah’s sister, she hid Joash from Athaliah so that she could not kill him. And Joash remained hidden with them in the house of God for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.”
Spiritually, night is falling on Judah! When the raiders carried off King Jehoram’s sons, only Ahaziah escaped. The people of Jerusalem have made Ahaziah king; however, Ahaziah’s mother is Athaliah, Ahab’s daughter and Omri’s granddaughter. It is likely that Athaliah might also be Jezebel’s daughter; certainly, she behaves like it.
King Ahaziah is a wimpy twenty–two-year-old who is firmly under his mother’s control. Ahaziah takes all his advice from Athaliah and the rest of Ahab’s family. Ahaziah and King Joram of Israel join together to attack the Syrian – held city of Ramoth – gilead. This is the same city that Ahab attacked in the battle that led to his death, and this attempt also is a dismal failure.
Joram is wounded at Ramoth – gilead and returns to Jezreel to recover. Joram’s buddy Ahaziah goes to Jezreel to visit Joram. Meanwhile, Jehu, son of Nimshi, has been divinely appointed to destroy the house of Ahab, including Joram. When Joram and Ahaziah see Jehu approaching Jezreel in his chariot, they each mount their chariots and go out to meet Jehu. Jehu and the two kings meet at the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, the man whom Jezebel had killed because Ahab lusted after his vineyard. Jehu immediately kills both kings, throwing Joram’s body out onto Naboth’s field for the dogs to eat. While Jehu and his men are killing Joram, they also kill Ahaziah. The only concession made to Ahaziah’s position is that his body is buried out of respect for Jehoshaphat, his father.
With Ahaziah out of the way, Athaliah proceeds to eliminate as many of the royal heirs to the throne of Judah as possible; however, one boy escapes her murderous intent. Ahaziah’s daughter Jehoshabeath, is a righteous woman married to Jehoiada the priest, and she takes little Joash and hides him in the priests’ quarters in the temple for six long years while Athaliah turns Judah into an idol – worshiping disaster area.
APPLICATION: Once more, the royal family of Judah is suffering because a righteous man made a lousy decision without praying about it first. Two generations earlier, Jehoshaphat could have married a virtuous believing woman; instead, he married one of wicked Ahab’s daughters with disastrous results. Jehoshaphat was probably only attempting to neutralize Israel and prevent Ahab from attacking Judah; however, Jehoshaphat wound up heavily involved in the affairs of Israel.
While Jehoshaphat was sending teachers of the Law throughout Judah, his idolatrous wife was schooling his children in Baal worship. While Jehoshaphat was tearing down Asherah poles and removing those high places, he left other high places alone, perhaps at the behest of his idolatrous wife. Jehoshaphat’s final bad decision was to name his oldest son Jehoram as his successor, even though there were other sons of far better character who would have ruled righteously. God was so unhappy with Jehoshaphat’s decisions that He sent two different prophets to rebuke Jehoshaphat.
Following Jehoshaphat’s example, Jehoram also married one of Ahab’s daughters, one of his aunts, a relationship that likely contravened the Law of Moses. Jehoram’s wife Athaliah turned out to be just as evil as her mother Jezebel. The amazing thing is that out of this mess there was one righteous woman. Jehoshabeath, Jehoshaphat’s granddaughter, was a believer married to Jehoiada, the high priest. The name Jehoshabeath means “the oath of Jehovah,” and this woman was a great lady who risked her life to save little Joash from Athaliah’s assassins. Jehoshabeath
What can we learn from all of this? We must choose very carefully when considering marriage! We are never merely marrying one person; we are marrying into a family, and we must closely examine that family before committing our lives to it. It is a sad mistake to assume that we will be the ones to have the major influence on our children. Accidents and sudden illnesses can sweep us away, leaving our children to be raised by others.
When seeking a wife, Jehoshaphat behaved no differently from his pagan neighbors; he only thought about diplomacy and military alliances. This righteous man whose faith stood firm in the face of attack from an overwhelming army trusted his own judgement rather than asking God for guidance. The results of that bad decision would blight the throne of Judah for generations.
How many of us make similar mistakes? We trust our own judgement when it suits us and then beg God for help and guidance when our “common sense” fails us. Many times, we trust more in “self – help” books or advice we pull from the internet or from podcasts than we do in God. We will never know how many times God tried to get Jehoshaphat to marry a virtuous girl, rather than one of Ahab’s daughters. Let us learn from Jehoshaphat’s tragic mistakes and allow God to guide us at all times.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to trust that You know our needs far better than we do and that You have our best interests at heart. Let us go to You first for guidance, rather than waiting until we have created messes. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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