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2 Chronicles 22 — One woman vs. a grandmother who chose genocide
4 min read
nocap.bible editorialAthaliah straight up murdered her own grandkids to grab the throne — the most unhinged power move in all of Chronicles.
was in chaos. Raiders had wiped out all of King older sons, which meant — the youngest — was the only one left to take the throne. Not exactly how you want to get promoted.
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But here's the real problem: mom, , was the granddaughter of line — most royal family. And she had her son's ear. This chapter is a masterclass in what happens when you let the wrong people speak into your life.
So the people of made king because literally everyone ahead of him in the succession line had been unalived by raiders. He was twenty-two and became king by default — the last man standing.
His mom was , granddaughter of , and she was his primary advisor. That's like getting life coaching from someone who's speedrunning bad decisions. She counseled him in doing wickedly, and after his died, the of people became his advisors too. Every voice in his ear was pulling him toward .
He did what was Evil in the sight of the Lord, following the same playbook as the house of Ahab. The text says their counsel led "to his undoing" — and fr fr, that's foreshadowing you don't want to ignore. 💀
Following his terrible advisors' counsel, allied with ( son, king of ) and went to war against king of at Ramoth-.
The Syrians wounded Joram in battle, and he went back to to recover. then went down to visit Joram while he was healing — just checking on his ally, right? Seemed like a normal move. But that visit was about to cost him everything.
Sometimes the most dangerous decisions don't look dangerous at all. They look like loyalty. They look like showing up for a friend. But when you're rolling with the wrong people, even your good intentions lead you into the blast zone.
Here's where the narrator drops one of the heaviest lines in the chapter: "It was ordained by God that the downfall of should come about through his going to visit Joram." hit different here — God was using own choices to bring .
When arrived, he went out with Joram to meet — the man the Lord had specifically to destroy the house of . Jehu was on a divine mission, and he was not playing. He executed judgment on Ahab's entire house. Along the way, he ran into the princes of and the sons of brothers who were attending him, and he killed them too.
"He searched for Ahaziah, and he was captured while hiding in Samaria."
They found him hiding and brought him to Jehu, who put him to . But they still gave him a burial — not because of who he was, but because of his grandfather. had sought the Lord with all his heart, and that legacy earned a grave even though his own life was an L. The house of was left with no one able to rule. The line looked finished. 🪦
Now here's where it gets truly unhinged. When found out her son was dead, she didn't mourn — she saw an opportunity. She rose up and destroyed the entire royal family of the house of . Her own grandchildren. Her own blood. All so she could seize the throne for herself.
But God always keeps a . — sister and wife of the — grabbed baby and hid him along with his nurse in a bedroom inside the . She literally stole a child from a massacre and smuggled him into the one place Athaliah wouldn't think to look.
Joash stayed hidden in the house of God for six years while Athaliah ruled the land. Six years of a usurper on the throne while the rightful heir was being raised in secret inside God's house. The Davidic line — the line the would come through — survived because one brave woman refused to let it die. That's not luck. That's divine . ✨