When the wicked Queen Athalia saw that her son was dead, she attempted to murder all of her grandsons, thus leaving her to be the sole monarch of the southern kingdom of Judah. She proceeded to do so but somehow in all of the chaos that ensued, she missed one—Joash who was secretly hidden away in the Temple.
Millennia earlier, God had promised in Genesis 3:15 that there would be what can only be described as a war between the seed of Eve (humanity) and the devil. The prophecy was that Eve’s seed would ultimately deliver a death blow to the devil, i.e., “crush his skull”. Before the Messiah could be born, Satan aggressively countered by seeking to wipe out the Messianic lineage and on more than one occasion came very close to doing so (e.g., Cain, Nephilim, Pharaoh, Athalia, Haman, Herod the Great).
This particular event with Athalia and Joash is a reminder of the absolute ruthlessness found in the devil’s plans. Although Jesus has already paid for our sins and bodily risen from the grave, even today the devil still seeks to be worshipped and to rule this world. He still opposes the unfulfilled biblical prophecies.
Had Athalia or Herod the Great succeeded it would have put an end to God’s promise that a descendant of David would establish an everlasting Kingdom. Regarding Athalia and her execution of the “sons of David” (all but one that is), without a doubt, it must have seemed to many that evil had triumphed. 99.9% of the Hebrews were unaware of Joash’s existence. The “sons of David” were dead and there would be no Messiah, no end to evil.
Years went by. However, the day came when it was revealed that a rightful heir to the throne, a son of David, had survived—Joash. The prophecy and the promise were alive! Upon his revealing, Athalia was destroyed.
For some of you, it may appear that evil has won. And maybe, for a season, evil will rule and reign. But, the prophecy is very much alive. Jesus, the rightful Heir to the throne, the King of Kings will most certainly return to rule and reign (Matthew 25:31-46) and His reward will be for the faithful (Revelation 22:12).
May we be found faithful in the interim. “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of this prophecy written in this scroll” (Revelation 22:7).
