2 Chronicles · chapter 22 of 36
Updated on
2 Chronicles 22 tells the brief reign of Ahaziah, son of Jehoram, counseled by the house of Ahab and killed by Jehu. His mother Athaliah destroys all the royal offspring of Judah, but Jehoshabeath, wife of the priest Jehoiada, rescues Joash, a baby, and hides him six years in the temple.
The previous chapter ended with Jehoram dead and only one son alive. Now the Chronicler shows how the influence of the house of Ahab reaches its darkest point in Judah: a queen mother who tries to wipe out David's family. It is the chapter in which the promise of David's lamp seems to hang by a thread.
The inhabitants of Jerusalem make Ahaziah, Jehoram's youngest son, king, because the raiders who came into the camp had killed his older brothers. He reigns one year. His mother is Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri, and she counsels him to do evil. He follows the ways of the house of Ahab, with advisers from that family who, after his father's death, become his ruin.
Following their counsel, Ahaziah goes with Joram son of Ahab, king of Israel, to fight Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead. Joram is wounded and returns to Jezreel to recover, and Ahaziah goes to visit him. The Chronicler says that this visit was God's doing for Ahaziah's downfall. When he arrives, he goes out with Joram to meet Jehu, whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.
While Jehu carries out judgment on that house, he finds the princes of Judah and Ahaziah's nephews who served him, and kills them. He searches for Ahaziah, who had hidden in Samaria; they capture him, bring him to Jehu and put him to death. They bury him because he was a grandson of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with all his heart. No one in Ahaziah's house is left fit to rule.
When Athaliah sees that her son is dead, she rises and destroys all the royal offspring of the house of Judah. But Jehoshabeath, daughter of King Jehoram and wife of the priest Jehoiada, takes Joash son of Ahaziah from among the princes about to be killed and hides him and his nurse in a bedroom. So Athaliah cannot kill him. Joash stays hidden six years in the house of God while Athaliah rules the land.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Ahaziah walked in the ways of the house of Ahab because his mother counseled him to do wrong. It shows how much family influence weighs on the course of a life, even a king's.
The Chronicler says that Ahaziah's downfall came from God, when he went to visit Joram and went out with him to meet Jehu. God's providence works even through seemingly casual human decisions.
When Athaliah sees her son dead, she moves to destroy all the royal offspring of Judah. It is a direct attack on the line of David from which, by God's promise, the Messiah would come.
Jehoshabeath hides Joash in the house of God, and he stays there six years. A courageous woman protects a child and, with him, God's promise to David. The Chronicler notes that Jehoiada is her husband, a priest.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Because a band of raiders had killed all his older brothers. — 2 Chronicles 22:1
Answer: Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri, who counseled him to do evil. — 2 Chronicles 22:2-3
Answer: With Joram son of Ahab, king of Israel, against Hazael king of Syria. — 2 Chronicles 22:5
Answer: Jehu, the son of Nimshi. — 2 Chronicles 22:7
Answer: Because he was a descendant of Jehoshaphat, who had sought the Lord with all his heart. — 2 Chronicles 22:9
Answer: Jehoshabeath, wife of the priest Jehoiada, hid him with his nurse in a bedroom and then six years in the house of God. — 2 Chronicles 22:11-12
This chapter shows how much the voices we listen to weigh. Ahaziah had a mother and advisers who pushed him toward evil, and his reign lasted a year. In a Sunday school class you can ask whom we listen to when we decide and which counsel moves us closer to the Word of God.
The figure of Jehoshabeath also stands out. Her name appears rarely, but her act saves a child and with him the line of David. Some services are seen by almost no one: protecting, hiding, caring. God uses them to sustain his promises. We can think about who in our church looks after the little ones with that kind of quiet bravery.
2 Chronicles 22 closes with Judah ruled by Athaliah and a child hidden in the temple, the only living heir of David. The story is not over: in chapter 23 the priest Jehoiada will step out of silence to present the legitimate king.
Because the Lord had anointed Jehu to destroy the house of Ahab, and Ahaziah, tied to that house by blood and alliance, was caught in that judgment. The Chronicler does not remove Ahaziah's responsibility, since he followed that counsel, but shows that God governs events.
She was Ahaziah's mother, a granddaughter of Omri and, according to 2 Kings, a daughter of Ahab. She tried to destroy the whole royal family of Judah and reigned six years over the land.
She was the wife of the priest Jehoiada, so she had access to the house of God, and she was Ahaziah's sister (a daughter of King Jehoram), so she was positioned to recognize and protect the child. The text says she kept him hidden six years while Athaliah reigned.