The Hidden King and the Hinge of History Text: 2 Kings 11:1-3
Introduction: The Serpent's Fury
History, as it is written by God, is not a straight, clean line. It is a story full of sharp turns, dark valleys, and brutal assaults. The central conflict of all time, announced in the Garden, is the war between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. The serpent was told that the woman's seed would crush his head, and so his entire strategy, from that moment on, has been to strike at the heel, to stamp out that promised line of descent. He is ever trying to sever the covenant line that leads to Christ.
We see this murderous rage in Pharaoh's decree to kill the Hebrew infants. We see it in Herod's slaughter of the innocents in Bethlehem. And we see it here, in our text, in the bloody rampage of a wicked queen named Athaliah. This is not just a palace coup. This is not simply a sordid tale of political ambition. This is a satanic assault on the promise of God. Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, that venomous pair, is the serpent's chosen instrument to wipe out the royal line of David and, by doing so, to make God a liar. If the line of David is extinguished, then the promise of a Messiah who will sit on David's throne is nullified. The whole gospel is at stake.
But our God is a God who delights in hiding His greatest treasures in the most unlikely of places. He hides a nation in the womb of a barren woman. He hides a deliverer in a basket in the reeds. And as we will see, He hides the future of redemption in a back bedroom of the Temple, under the care of a faithful woman, while a monster reigns outside.
This story is a stark reminder that God's covenant promises often hang by a thread, a thread held securely in His sovereign hand. It shows us that when the world is at its darkest, when evil appears to have triumphed completely, God is quietly and effectively working out His purposes through the courageous faith of otherwise obscure people. This is a story about the serpent's fury, but it is much more a story about God's fidelity.
The Text
Now Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son had died. So she rose and caused all the royal seed to perish.
But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and put him and his nurse in the bedroom. So they hid him from Athaliah, and he was not put to death.
So he was hidden away with her in the house of Yahweh six years, while Athaliah was reigning over the land.
(2 Kings 11:1-3 LSB)
The Serpent's Seed on the Throne (v. 1)
We begin with the catalyst for this crisis:
"Now Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son had died. So she rose and caused all the royal seed to perish." (2 Kings 11:1)
Athaliah is the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, which tells you everything you need to know about her spiritual genetics. She was a cancerous graft onto the tree of Judah, a political marriage intended to create an alliance with the apostate northern kingdom of Israel. And as is always the case, this unholy alliance brought nothing but corruption and misery. When her son, King Ahaziah of Judah, is killed by Jehu in his purge of Ahab's house, Athaliah does not mourn as a mother. She sees an opportunity. She acts not with grief, but with a cold, calculating, murderous ambition.
Her response is absolute and breathtaking in its wickedness. She "caused all the royal seed to perish." The phrase "royal seed" is crucial. This is the zera ha-mamlacha, the seed of the kingdom. This is the line of David, the very lineage through which the Messiah, the Son of David, was promised to come. Athaliah sets out to commit a kind of reverse-Passover. She intends to exterminate every male heir, every grandson, every potential claimant to the throne. This is not just political maneuvering; it is theological warfare. She is trying to cut the throat of the gospel promise in its cradle.
This is what happens when paganism is given power. Athaliah is a true daughter of Jezebel, a worshipper of Baal, and she brings the ethics of that dark religion to the throne of Judah. Baal worship was a religion of power, fertility, and death. It had no room for covenant faithfulness, for promises, or for a transcendent God who rules history. Athaliah's actions are the logical outworking of her worldview. If there is no God who keeps promises, then all that matters is seizing power for yourself, by any means necessary. She is the perfect embodiment of the serpent's seed, seeking to devour the seed of the woman (Rev. 12:4).
The Courage of a Covenant Woman (v. 2)
Just as the serpent's assault seems total, God raises up an unexpected instrument of deliverance. And notice, it is a woman who foils the wicked queen.
"But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and put him and his nurse in the bedroom. So they hid him from Athaliah, and he was not put to death." (2 Kings 11:2)
The word "But" is one of the great hinges of Scripture. Athaliah did this, "but Jehosheba..." God always has His "but." When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. Here, that standard is a woman named Jehosheba. She is the daughter of a king and the sister of a king, placing her right in the heart of the palace and its dangers. We learn from 2 Chronicles 22 that she was also the wife of Jehoiada the high priest. This is a crucial detail. She represents the faithful union of the royal and priestly lines against the usurper.
Her actions are decisive and brave. She "took" and "stole" the infant Joash. This was not a polite request. This was an act of high treason against the reigning monarch. She snatched the baby boy, the rightful king, from the slaughter. She risked her life, her position, everything, to preserve this one child. Why? Because she understood what was at stake. This was not just her nephew; this was the "royal seed." This was the promise of God embodied in a helpless infant.
Jehosheba is a glorious example of biblical womanhood. In a world that is confused about what women are for, the Bible is crystal clear. Women are created to be life-givers and life-nurturers. Athaliah is the anti-woman, a perversion of her created purpose, a life-taker. Jehosheba is a true woman, a life-preserver. She acts with courage, not by seizing a sword or a throne, but by protecting a child. She uses her access and her position not for self-aggrandizement, but for self-sacrificial service to the covenant. She, along with the unnamed nurse, hides the future king "in the bedroom," a place of domesticity and vulnerability, turning it into a fortress for the promise of God.
The Hidden King in God's House (v. 3)
The final verse of our text shows us where God's promise finds its refuge.
"So he was hidden away with her in the house of Yahweh six years, while Athaliah was reigning over the land." (2 Kings 11:3)
The child is moved from a temporary hiding place to the ultimate sanctuary: the Temple, the house of Yahweh. For six years, the rightful king of Judah is hidden within the very precincts of God's throne room on earth. Outside, the idolatrous, murderous queen Athaliah reigns. She controls the palace, the army, the government. From all outward appearances, evil has won. The line of David is finished, and a Baal-worshipper sits on the throne. The land is defiled.
But appearances are deceiving. The real king is alive. The covenant is secure. And he is being kept in the one place that symbolizes God's faithfulness to His people. The Temple was the heart of Israel's life, the place where God dwelt among them. It is profoundly significant that the king is hidden there. It tells us that God's purposes are not thwarted by the political machinations of wicked rulers. While the world sees only the reign of Athaliah, God is nurturing His king in His own house.
This sets up a fundamental contrast that runs throughout Scripture. There is the kingdom of man, visible, loud, and seemingly powerful. And there is the kingdom of God, often hidden, quiet, and seemingly weak. Athaliah has the throne, but Jehoiada and Jehosheba have the king. The world has its pomp and its power, but the Church has Christ. For six years, the true authority was hidden, waiting for the appointed time. This is a picture of the Church age. The world thinks it is in charge, but the true King is hidden at the right hand of the Father, and we, His people, are hidden with Him in God (Colossians 3:3).
The Gospel According to Athaliah
This is not just a fascinating piece of Old Testament history. This is our story. This is the gospel, written in blood and intrigue.
First, we see the unrelenting hostility of the serpent's seed toward the seed of the woman. Athaliah's attempt to destroy the royal seed is a picture of the world's hatred for Christ and His Church. The world system, in its rebellion, always wants to stamp out the line of promise. It wants to kill the babies, silence the prophets, and erase the name of Christ from the public square. We should not be surprised when we see the spirit of Athaliah raging in our own day.
Second, we see God's preservation of His remnant by grace. When it looked like all was lost, when the line was down to just one infant boy about to be murdered, God intervened. He always preserves a remnant. The covenant promise did not depend on the strength of the Davidic kings, many of whom were wicked. It depended entirely on the faithfulness of God. And He used the quiet courage of a woman and a priest to be the instruments of that faithfulness. God loves to use the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
Finally, and most importantly, we see a picture of Christ, the true King. Joash is a type of Christ. He is the rightful king, born to rule, who is hunted from his infancy by a usurping power. He is hidden away, his existence unknown to the world, while an illegitimate ruler reigns. For a time, he is concealed from public view, protected in a place of holiness. But the hiddenness is not permanent. After the period of waiting, he will be revealed. Jehoiada will bring him out before the people, and he will be crowned king, and the usurper will be cast down and destroyed.
This is the pattern of the gospel. Our King, Jesus, came and was hunted by Herod. He lived in obscurity for thirty years. He was revealed for a short time, and then He was "hidden" again in the tomb. But God raised Him up and has hidden Him at His right hand in glory, while the powers of this world, the spiritual Athaliahs, continue their temporary and illegitimate reign. But the time is coming when He will be hidden no longer. The High Priest will present the King, and He will come forth from the heavenly temple. Every usurper will be cast down, and our King will take His rightful throne, and of His kingdom there will be no end.