2 Chronicles22:Results of Wrong Relationships

Chapter Summary by Matthew Henry:We read, in the previous chapter, of the carrying away of Jehoram's sons and his wives; and here we find one of his sons and one of his wives left: his son Ahaziah and his wife Athaliah, both reserved to be the shame and plague of his family. Ahaziah was the shame of it as a partaker in the sin and in the destruction of the house of Ahab, verses 1-9. Athaliah was the plague of it, for she attempted to destroy all the seed-royal, and usurped the throne, verses 10-12.

I. Verses 1-7: Ahaziah’s Alliances

A. “Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one

year.”When I started preparing for this chapter, I thought, Wow, this is a short chapter…

followed thereafter by, Wow, this is an even shorter reign! God even gave this guy’s evil

mother more “reign time” than one year.

B. “His mother's name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri.He too walked in the ways of the

house of Ahab, for his mother encouraged him in doing wrong.”

  1. Ah! The northern kingdom’s poison has leaked into the southern kingdom. How? Remember how the good king Jehoshaphat (Judah, southern kingdom) kept making alliances with Israel (northern kingdom)?Well, one thing he did was to marry his son, Jehoram, to one of Ahab’s daughters, Athaliah…thus bringing the northern kingdom’s rebellion against God into Judah’s palace in a physical form.
  2. She is the granddaughter of Omri, who “…did evil in the eyes of the LORD and sinnedmore than all those before him” (1 Kings 16:25).
  3. She is the daughter of Ahab, who “…did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him” (1 Kings 16:30).
  4. And, let’s not forget that she would’ve likewise had the influence of Israel’s most notoriousqueen: Jezebel, wife of Ahab.
  5. So, the wrong relationship between Jehoshaphat and Ahab resulted in another wrong relationship between their children, Jehoram and Athaliah. Those wrong relationships result in Ahaziah’s wrong relationship with his ungodly mother, Athaliah, who “encouraged him in doing wrong.” It is very convicting to think about our great responsibility to our children. Our actions and words will either encourage them to do wrong or encourage them to do right.
  6. But, that’s not the end of Ahaziah’s wrong relationships:

C. “He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, as the house of Ahab had done, for after his father's

death they became his advisers, to his undoing.”How shocking that Ahaziah actually had men

from the apostate northern kingdom come to the southern kingdom as his closest advisers.

The nation’s decisions were all being made by men who did not love the Lord. However, not

even this alliance ends Ahaziah’s wrong relationships:

  1. “He also followed their counsel when he went with Joram son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead.”It makes sense that his advisers from the house of Ahab would counsel him to join with Joram, king of Israel. But, remember that verse 4 warned that his alliance with these advisers would be “to his undoing.” This time, his wrong relationship will bring about his death!
  2. Parents, we must pray for God’s wisdom for our own relationships, as they can have a strong spiritual influence on our children; andeven while they’re yet babies, we must especially be in prayer about their future relationships.
  3. So, as I’ve pointed out before, we of the modern church do a great disservice to Paul’s warning in 2 Cor. 6 against being unequallyyoked because it is almost exclusively applied to dating and marriage. Ahaziah’s bad example shows us relationships through marriage, family, business and friendship that all pointed him toward his path of destruction. In fact, verse 7 explains, “Through Ahaziah's visit to Joram, God brought about Ahaziah's downfall.”Trace these relationships back; it isn’t just Ahaziah’s wrong relationship with Joram that brings about this downfall. They’re all interrelated, and had Jehoshaphat never yoked himself to Ahab, this grandson of his would not be in these circumstances. Indeed, the choices we make affect others…sometimes to their downfall!
  4. We can’t possibly think we’re “above” ungodly influences if we invite them into our lives; otherwise, Paul wouldn’t have warned New Testament believers against the extreme dangers of being unequally yoked.

II. Verses 8-9: Result of Wrong Relationships

  1. “While Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he found the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah's relatives, who had been attending Ahaziah, and he killed them. He then went in search of Ahaziah, and his men captured him while he was hiding in Samaria. He was brought to Jehu and put to death.”
  2. Jehu, son of Nimshi, was the man “whom the LORD had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.”So, by allying himself with the unfaithful house of Ahab…Ahaziah shares in their fate! When our loved ones allow themselves to ally themselves with the unfaithful, they commonly share the unfaithful’s state.
  3. On a related note, perhaps the greatest modern-day idol is The Relationship. Regardless of age, gender, race, or socio-economic background…people are constantly walking away from Truth for the sake of a relationship. Their children, their spouse, their friends all take precedence over God. We all wear many hats, but the Christian hat shouldn’t be any more removable than the Mom-hat or Friend-hat or Employee-hat.

III. Verses 10-12: Another Result of Wrong Relationships

  1. “When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family of the house of Judah.” So, when we add up all of these wrong relationships, we come to the end result: an attempt to wipe out the line of David and establish/continue the corrupt line of Ahab. But, never fear. God’s plan cannot be thwarted.
  2. If you’re tempted to make a negative application because Judah’s royal line was almost snuffed out at the hands of a woman, take note that it is also a woman that God uses to save the royal line:“But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes who were about to be murdered and put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Because Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and wife of the priest Jehoiada, was Ahaziah's sister, she hid the child from Athaliah so she could not kill him. He remained hidden with them at the temple of God for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.”
  3. The people of Judah must have thought there would be no end to the murder and mayhem once Athaliah was on the throne; it must have seemed that God was no longer working at all, and Satan had won. However, while everything appeared hopeless for God’s people, he had a little boy hidden away in the temple, where he was receiving a godly upbringing, preparing him to take the throne.
  4. F. B. Meyer says it well, as usual: “Safe from Athaliah, who would have ruthlessly destroyed him if she had had an inkling of his existence, the young Joash was reared beneath the care of Jehoiada and his wife within the precincts of the house of God. He was hidden in the secret place of the Most High, and abode under the shadow of the Almighty. There let us also live. Let us know what it is to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of our life, and all this day. Let us cultivate the life which is hid with Christ in God.”

Brother or Sister,

If you’re currently experiencing circumstances

that have you believing that God has forgotten about you,

please think about little Joash hidden in the temple,

and realize God is sovereign,

even while the Athaliahs of this life

rule over us at times;

He is still working.