2 Kings 11:1 - Meaning and Application

God had promised David that his family would continue. Scripture calls that promise God’s “lamp” for his anointed king. That promise stands out all the more here, because we have just seen one royal house after another wiped out. David’s promised lamp was almost blown out, yet God wonderfully kept it burning.

First, it was almost extinguished by the cruel rage of Athaliah, the queen mother. When she heard that her son Ahaziah had been killed by Jehu, she rose up and destroyed all the royal descendants, everyone she knew was tied to the throne (2 Kings 11:1). Her husband Jehoram had already killed all his brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 21:4). The Arabians had killed all of Jehoram’s sons except Ahaziah (2 Chronicles 22:1), and Jehu had killed Ahaziah and all his sons as well (2 Chronicles 22:8). Never was royal blood spilled so freely. Happy are those of humble birth, who live far from envy and rivalry.

As if all that were a small matter, Athaliah destroyed the rest of the royal family. It is shocking that a woman, and one who had been a king’s daughter, a king’s wife, and a king’s mother, could be so cruel to her own family. She did it for two reasons. First, ambition drove her. She wanted power and thought she could get it only by killing every possible rival, even infants and nursing babies who might one day rule after her. Second, she acted out of anger against God. Since the house of Ahab had been destroyed, including her son Ahaziah because he belonged to that line, she seems to have tried to strike back by destroying the house of David and cutting off its line, openly opposing God’s promise to keep it alive. But it was a foolish attempt, because no one can undo what God has planned. A grandmother is often thought to love her grandchildren dearly, yet Ahaziah’s own mother became the murderess of her grandchildren, even while they were helpless infants who should have needed her care most of all. Athaliah was truly a wicked woman (2 Chronicles 24:7), Jezebel’s own daughter. Still, God was just in judging the sins of Joram and Ahaziah, those unworthy branches of David’s house, by bringing trouble on their children.

Second, God preserved the royal line through the faithful care of one of Joram’s daughters, who was married to Jehoiada the priest. She stole away one of the king’s sons, Joash, and hid him (2 Kings 11:2, 3). This was like a brand pulled out of the fire. We are not told how many were killed, but it seems this child, lying in the nurse’s arms, was not noticed, or was not searched for, or at least was not found. The one who rescued him was his own aunt, the daughter of wicked Joram. God often raises up protectors for those he means to protect.

The place of safety was the house of the Lord, in one of the chambers connected with the temple, a place Athaliah was unlikely to visit. By bringing him there, his aunt placed him under God’s special care and hid him by faith, as Moses had been hidden. In this way David’s words were fulfilled, “He will hide me in his shelter” (Psalm 27:5). It was fitting that Joash later repaired the house of the Lord, because it had first been a refuge for him. The promise made to David was then resting on one child, and yet it did not fail. In the same way, God will preserve a spiritual family for the Son of David, that is, for Christ. Though that people may sometimes be reduced to very few, brought low, and seem almost lost, they will be kept alive to the end of time, hidden at times and unseen, but safe in God’s protection.

It was also a special act of providence that wicked King Joram gave his daughter in marriage to Jehoiada, a godly priest. Some may have thought it beneath the royal family to marry a daughter to a minister of God, but it turned out to be a blessed marriage. It became the means of saving the royal family from ruin, since Jehoiada’s place in the temple gave her a way to hide the child, and her place in the royal family gave him a way to place him on the throne. Here we should notice the wisdom and care of God’s providence, how he prepares what he intends to do. We should also see what blessings families store up when they give their children in marriage to people who are wise and good.