A Familiar Story

Athaliah is not your average mom. She's vengeful, wicked, hateful, and evil. And that's putting it lightly. What she does in 2 Kings 11 is shocking. Upon the death of her son, King Ahaziah in Judah, she eliminates the entire royal family. Thankfully, one of Ahaziah's sisters, Jehosheba and her husband, Jehoiada the high priest at the time steal one son away and protect him for 6 years. His name was Joash and he would be the saving grace of Judah. 

2 Kings 11:1–3 (ESV) Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family. 2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus they hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not put to death. 3 And he remained with her six years, hidden in the house of the LORD, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

It's a story played out in Disney and Pixar movies to this day. The rightful king is stolen away during a bloodbath of a coup. The nation lies under the spell of evil until the time is right and the true King can come back to clean house and purify the nation so that he might rule and reign in peace and justice. All these stories have their root in this story from the Bible. 

But the story here is pointing to the ultimate story we all live out.

The true King is Jesus. The true wicked one is that devil who is a liar and murder from the beginning. We are the subjects who await God's timing and Christ's return. Interesting is the number of years Joash is hidden = 6 years. That is the number for men as listed in Revelation. We are in the age of men's rule as inspired by the wicked one who is named the "god of this world."

Now if you don't know the story you have every reason to fear and be depressed. The wicked one is at work and he seems to be winning. Death abounds and people are awful to each other. We see racism and sexism and all other kinds of vengeful hate expressed in our age no matter how much we have or how blessed we seem. There's a spiritual war at work in our world and it cannot be denied. 

Now there's hope for those who are in Christ. You see, the hero of this story (other than the soon reigning king) is the woman Jehosheba. She is a princess in her own right and her name is significant. It means, "The LORD’s oath." Another word for "oath" is "promise." You see what is happening here? Jehosheba represents someone at work to make way for the Lord at the time of His coming. That is the Church. All through the scriptures, we see the Church mentioned in the feminine pronoun and listed as a member of a royal class in the heavenly realms. 

1 Peter 2:9 (ESV) But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood...

Secondly, and most important. You are filled with the PROMISE of the Lord. Who is that? It is the Holy Spirit. He is the Promise of God for you. 

Acts 1:4 (ESV) And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father

If you do not have Christ and the Holy Spirit, then you have every reason to fear and feel overwhelmed. But if you are in Christ and full of the Holy Spirit, you are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3), and certain of the future glory to be revealed (Romans 8:18). 

In this time of particular crisis and fear, I would suggest you see your story as part of the GRAND story of Jesus. The King is coming, and those who know He is the true King will brave the wicked age in which we live with hope in spite of the circumstances.