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Athaliah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, knew she had to protect herself. She was related to the Davidic line only by marriage, and knew that many in Judah would be suspicious of her. A live Davidic prince could become the focal point for a revolt that would topple her from power.
So she made sure that no Davidic princes were alive to revolt, and she did it in a way that would be sure to spread fear. She protected herself in the only way she knew, the way her parents had taught her: She killed "all the royal seed," setting up her throne of blood on the corpses of murdered princes. Six years passed without apparent incident. No one revolted. No one tried to restore the Davidic kingdom. For all she knew, she got away with it.
She should have reviewed a little family history. Some years before, Ahab and Jezebel had plotted the murder of Naboth, and it all seemed to work out very cleanly. Naboth was executed in Jezreel, Ahab seized his coveted vineyard, and everyone who knew about the real story was in on the plot. But the Lord had seen and sent Elijah to confront Ahab with his sin.
The Lord didn't send a prophet to Athaliah. Instead, He preserved a single prince of the Davidic house, a baby, and hid him away in the temple. During the six years when Athaliah thought everything was going her way, the Lord was plotting a revolution in secret, preparing to break Athaliah's world in pieces.
God sees in secret and works in secret, but He makes sure that what is whispered in the corners is eventually proclaimed on the housetops and He causes unknown things to overturn those that are known. He is the God of the secret things.
We keep up to date on all the latest news, but we have only the slightest knowledge of what God is actually doing. We sin and think we have successfully hidden the bodies, but He may well be plotting exposure. The church appears to be weak and crippled, but somewhere in the backwoods He has already sparked the flame of revival. So, fear Him; and hope in Him.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Sunday, February 12, 2006 at 07:47 AM
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