Gtcotr/ws090810
Athaliah
We ended last week with my promise that, should the Lord tarry, I would pick up right where I left off and reveal how to break generational curses.
Remember we talked about Jezebel and how she was a wicked and evil woman. You can catch up on her personal history, her reign as Queen of the northern ten tribes called the Kingdom of Israel, her children and her death. We saw how that Jezebel’s husband, King Ahab, was controlled by her witchcraft and her charm. If you were not here please get a copy of the message or log onto cotr.com or churchonline.tv and watch the archived message.
Time ran out on us before we got to Jezebel’s evil daughter, Athaliah. So, allow me to set the stage for tonight’s story.
In those days, around 860BC, give or take a few years, Ahab was king of the northern ten tribes called Israel and Jehoshaphat was king of the southern kingdom called Judah. Ahab ruled from Samaria while Jehoshaphat’s palace was in Jerusalem. The distance between these two cities is only 30 miles as the crow flies, not more than 40 miles along the ancient valley roads called the way of the Patriarchs.
Jezebel was not content with being Queen of the North and ruling only half of the country, she wanted to control it all. Her father had been King of the Sidonians to the North of Israel in what is now Lebanon, and since her father’s death, her brother had taken his place. She had influence there but none to speak of yet in Judah. How could she get her hands on that Kingdom too?
Jezebel had a daughter named Athaliah whom she raised in idolatry. While Athaliah was growing up she was continually surrounded by almost 1000 false prophets, 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Ashera. These lewd, crude and rude demon inspired men ate at the table of King Ahab. In this mix, Athaliah was indoctrinated in the evil which her mother was sworn to uphold.
In accordance with her selfish ambitions, Jezebel concocted a plan to get her hands on the Kingdom of Judah by using her daughter as both bait and trap. Jezebel convinced her husband, King Ahab, to make an alliance with King Jehoshaphat. While on one of his visits to Samaria, Jezebel had Ahab arrange a marriage between King Jehoshaphat’s son, Jehoram, and her daughter, Athaliah.
So, when King Jehoshaphat died, guess who became queen? Right … Athaliah. Sure, her husband was King, but that paled in comparison to her being Queen of Judah.
At this point in history, Jezebel was the older sister of the King of the Sidonians and acted as such; Jezebel was also the mother of the King of Israel, and the mother of the Queen of Judah. She was at the top of her game; she had strategized and had won! Her wickedness was felt all throughout the Middle East and none would dare challenge her.
King Jehoram ruled eight years, 4 years during his father’s life, and 4 years afterwards. During his reign he killed his 5 brothers and seized the property his father had given them. He was so evilly influenced by his wife that he participated in idol worship and was a miserable man. He ended up dying from a dysentery type of disease, his body was so ravaged that he was denied burial in the royal sepulcher among the Kings of Judah.
At King Jehoram’s death his youngest son Ahaziah, the son of Athaliah who had been brought up in her house, became king. King Ahaziah did evil in the sight of the Lord as did his grandparents, Ahab and Jezebel. He reigned only one year.
When God raised up Jehu to rid the land of the house of Ahab, he killed King Joram of Israel, Ahab’s son and King Ahaziah, King of Judah, before going on to kill Jezebel that same day.
When Athaliah heard that her son, King Ahaziah of Judah was killed, she declared herself Queen of Israel took over the Kingdom. In order to solidify her claim to the throne, she immediately put all of her grandchildren to death along with anyone who carried the bloodline of David. This was a wicked and evil woman who evidently grew tired of manipulating and controlling husbands, sons and kings, so she decided to do away with them all together and just rule the Kingdom on her own.
But, what could one expect? She was only following a family tradition. She was no doubt cursed with a generational curse! Captured by and commanded to repeat the same mistakes and practice the same evils as her mother before her, and her grandfather before her, as did her siblings and the children who were raised in that evil house of idolatry.
Brought up at her wicked mother’s feet in the palace of Jezebel, taught by the prophets of Baal and the groves, Athaliah turned out to be a wicked and evil woman herself – as did her children … all that is but one!
After Ahaziah’s death, now Queen Athaliah took the throne for herself and began her reign of terror for 7 years.
2 Chronicles 22:10 But when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah.
2 Chronicles 22:11 But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons that were slain, and put him and his nurse in a bedchamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, (for she was the sister of Ahaziah,) hid him from Athaliah, so that she slew him not.
Jehoshabeath was the daughter of the King of Judah, Jehoram, and sister to Ahaziah, who was son of Athaliah. This perhaps makes Jehoshabeath the daughter of Athaliah, certainly she was the aunt of Joash, the young boy heir to the throne of Judah.
What made this woman stand against her evil mother? No doubt it was because she had been affected and influenced by living with Jehoida, the High Priest, who was her husband. Athaliah probably thought it good to have a son who was King and a daughter who was first lady of the church. She had both church and state sewed up … or though she thought! However, Athaliah underestimated the power of God’s Word and His Church to change a life from the inside out.
Living in the House of God and being married to a godly spouse makes a difference and changes a life. This marriage, the man, the ministry, living in the House of God, broke the generational curse and demonic influence of Jezebel and Athaliah off of Jehoshabeath. And, just like Jehoshabeath, the curse can stop at the house of God for you as well!
2 Chronicles 22:12 And he was with them hid in the house of God six years: and Athaliah reigned over the land.
When Joash was 7 years old Jehoiada the Priest brought him forth from hiding and showed him to some of the elders of the city who swore to protect him as the only rightful heir to the throne of David. They set a day and arranged guards who stood watch over the coronation of King Joash.
Athaliah heard the noise …
2 Chronicles 23:12 Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people into the house of the LORD:
The temple guards kept Athaliah’s army outside and captured her while she cried treason. When all had been discovered Athaliah was taken out of the temple and killed.
2 Chronicles 23:21 And all the people of the land rejoiced: and the city was quiet, after that they had slain Athaliah with the sword.
2 Chronicles 24
1 ¶ Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2 And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.
He was of the same blood but not of the same house. Joash was born again, you might say, in the House of God. Joash was raised in the House of God instead of the house of Baal or the evil house of Jezebel. Believe me, how and where you are raised makes a difference.
In order to break generational curses we must move ourselves and our children under the umbrella of God’s Word which is found in the House of God. Continual attendance to the things of God breaks all curses.
This story reveals the direct results of raising your children in Church. The absolute result of raising children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord is that they are good.
Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
The Joash Box (Where the children bring their offerings at the front)
2 Chronicles 24
7 For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up the house of God; and also all the dedicated things of the house of the LORD did they bestow upon Baalim.
8 And at the king’s commandment they made a chest, and set it without at the gate of the house of the LORD.
