2 Chronicles 22:7-12: a reflection

7Now the destruction of Ahaziah was of God, in that he went to Joram; for when he had come, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to cut off Ahab’s house. 8When Jehu was executing judgment on Ahab’s house, he found the princes of Judah and the sons of the brothers of Ahaziah serving Ahaziah, and killed them. 9He sought Ahaziah, and they caught him (now he was hiding in Samaria), and they brought him to Jehu and killed him; and they buried him, for they said, “He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart.” The house of Ahaziah had no power to hold the kingdom. 10Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal offspring of the house of Judah. 11But Jehoshabeath, the king’s daughter, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stealthily rescued him from among the king’s sons who were slain, and put him and his nurse in the bedroom. 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 didn’t kill him. 12He was with them hidden in God’s house six years while Athaliah reigned over the land.

This is a dark moment in Judah's history. When Athaliah sees that her son the king is dead, she seizes power and sets out to destroy all the royal offspring, the whole line of David. It looks as though the Davidic line, and with it God's promise of an everlasting throne to David, might be wiped out entirely. But one infant, Joash, is stolen away by the king's daughter and hidden in the temple for six years, while Athaliah reigns. The line of promise survives, by a thread, in a hidden child.

Notice how narrowly the promise was preserved, and how. God had promised David an enduring house, a line leading finally to the Messiah. Athaliah's slaughter threatened to end it. And yet, through the courage of one woman and the hiding of one baby, the line survived. When it seemed evil had all but succeeded in destroying the promise, God preserved it, in secret, in a single hidden child.

That is a picture of how God guards his purposes against all threat. There are moments when it seems as though evil has triumphed, when hope hangs by a thread, when God's promises look all but extinguished. Yet God preserves his purposes, sometimes by the narrowest of margins, sometimes hidden where no one can see, but always surely. The promise that ran through that hidden child led, in time, to Christ. When it seems that evil is winning and hope is nearly gone, remember Joash hidden in the temple. God preserves his purposes even by a thread, and no scheme of evil can finally destroy what he has promised.

Lord, when Athaliah sought to destroy the whole royal line, you preserved your promise to David through one hidden infant, kept safe in your house for six years while evil reigned. When it seems that evil has triumphed, that hope hangs by a thread, that your promises are all but extinguished, remind me of Joash hidden in the temple. You preserve your purposes even by the narrowest margin, even in secret, and no scheme of evil can finally destroy what you have promised. Thank you that the line you guarded led in time to Christ. Help me trust that you are guarding your purposes still, even when hope seems nearly gone.