The next morning, two young babies awoke in the temple eager to be fed.  Abital and Jehosheba looked after them both, while Jehoiada went about his usual high priestly tasks.  Thus young Joash embarked on what was to be a long period of concealment.

Jehoiada and Jehosheba had lain awake much of the night talking, going over the options available to them.  If the reports were correct, Joash was the only survivor of the king’s sons and Athaliah had snatched control over the kingdom.  That Wicked Woman would doubtless crush all remaining opposition, and Jehoiada believed that there would be little chance of any organised resistance for the present.  Athaliah’s coup had come at a time when public respect for kings of the house of David was at an all-time low.  King Jehoram had married That Wicked Woman, murdered all of his brothers, and so completely mishandled diplomatic relations with the Philistines and Arabians that their resulting combined attack had humiliated the kingdom of Judah.  So little had he been liked that no-one had mourned his death.  His son, the newly dead Ahaziah, had been little better, though less was known of him because he had spent much of his brief one-year reign visiting Israel in an attempt to cosy up to his uncle, King Joram.  Judah was ripe for the picking, and a ruthless harpy had exploited the opportunity.

Nevertheless, the High Priest and his wife were determined to keep the one royal survivor alive.  Perhaps in time an opportunity would arise to reinstate the line of King David.  In the meantime, they would need to keep the child completely hidden and do their best to train him in godliness – and to overcome his terrible family background.

That day, no-one was surprised when Abital was told that she was no longer needed in the palace.  She and the other nurses were all dismissed – after all, there were no princes left to be cared for.  However, Jehosheba quickly took her on, ostensibly to be Zechariah’s nurse.  Her real task, of course, was to care for Joash and make sure that no-one ever guessed that he had survived his grandmother’s attempt to kill him.

“You will need to keep him happy, but quiet,” said Jehosheba when she asked Abital to live with them in the temple.  “King Solomon built the temple well, and its thick walls will help to hide any sound.  But the poor child must not be allowed to go outside at all.”

“Yes, princess,” said Abital.  “Better for him to stay inside all the time than to have any chance of That Wicked Woman getting suspicious.”

“We don’t know how long it will have to last, Abital.  Are you willing to keep on looking after him, possibly for years?”

“Oh, of course, princess!  He’s such a cute little lad.”

“Yes, and vitally important to the leadership of the nation.  King David was promised an enduring dynasty.  It can’t end like this.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“We all will, but it won’t be easy.  We’ll need Yahweh’s help to keep him safe until he is old enough to become king.”

“You mean, until he’s 20 or 30?” asked Abital, wide-eyed.

“Maybe,” said Jehosheba, her eyes widening likewise, as if she had only just realised the impossible magnitude of the task they were taking on.  She paused for moment, and then concluded, “We’ll have to wait and see how things go.”

Over the next few weeks, Prince Joash was kept safe in the High Priest’s home in the temple, but things went badly for Judah as a whole.  Athaliah cut a broad swathe through the nobles and leaders of the kingdom as she sought to establish her despotic reign.  It was a time of fear and betrayal in which no one could be sure of their future from one day to the next.

She came from Israel, not Judah, and had always felt somewhat of an outsider as a result.  There was no outpouring of popular support for the new queen, and the leaders of the nation never welcomed her warmly.  After two or three years, though, during which time she killed thousands of her opponents, she began to feel safer and relaxed a little.  There were, she reasoned, few left with the gumption to resist her overwhelming authority, and her spies were everywhere.  She gradually grew secure in the knowledge that rebellion against her did not stand a chance.

The nation glowered sullenly under her reign.  From time to time, misguided individuals rebelled, but it was never long before she had their heads on spears lining the wall of Jerusalem as grisly warnings to others.

Throughout this time, Joash remained safely in the temple – which was probably the safest place for him to be with Athaliah as queen!  She worshipped frequently at the temple of Baal, and Mattan, the priest of Baal, was one of her favourites, but she avoided the temple of Yahweh.  She probably would have liked to take it over and commit it to some other god – one who didn’t demand obedience from her – but she diplomatically kept away most of the time.

This is not to suggest that there were no occasions on which discovery seemed terrifyingly likely.  On one such occasion, Athaliah herself entered the temple, probably to scout out any riches it might be hiding that she could remove.  And near the store rooms she had come to investigate, she had met Joash himself, who was about six years old at the time.  Jehosheba had been cautiously taking the boy out for a walk in the fresh air when they turned the corner and unexpectedly met the queen, accompanied by her guards.  Fortunately, the cousins bore a family likeness – Zechariah and Joash looked similar enough that people who did not know them would easily mix them up.  Athaliah even spoke directly to him.  Fortunately, as it turned out, she had been unable to remember Jehosheba’s son’s name – Joash might well have corrected her if she had called him “Zechariah”!

Jehosheba had spent the minimum possible time in conversation with the queen and then hurried away to find Jehoiada, who promptly went and confronted Athaliah, demanding that she leave the temple if she had not come to worship Yahweh.  This was not the first confrontation between the pair, and probably it was only Jehoiada’s extraordinary age and good health that had protected him from the treatment she generally meted out to those who opposed her.  She appeared to view him almost as a divine being, and was reluctantly forced to overlook his repudiation of her authority.

Yet it seemed to be confrontations like that that caused Athaliah to keep away from the temple.  Since she was not willing to kill Jehoiada, she seemed to prefer to avoid the confrontations altogether.  However, she didn’t leave the temple entirely alone – shortly afterwards, her contemptible sons broke into the temple and took away many of the items used in worship.  Nobody knew whether this happened at Athaliah’s instigation or not, but it was known that the vessels they stole were subsequently used in the disgusting worship of Baal.

It was these events that caused Jehoiada to bring forward his plans for rebellion.  He had hoped to wait until Joash reached the age of 12 or 13 at least, but such near disasters made him decide that the kingdom could not wait so long.

But what could be done?

It’s easy to look back now and describe it as a successful uprising after a fairly simple conspiracy, but that is to overlook the danger of Jehoiada’s initial plans and actions and the blessing of Yahweh on his work.

It was Athaliah’s attitude to religion that brought her undone in the end – both with the people and with Yahweh.  Jehoiada and the other priests were not alone in their utter rejection of her religious preferences and practices.

Jehoiada secretly began to sound out some of the leaders of the army, often men whose fathers and grandfathers he had known and trusted – men who still worshipped Yahweh.  He chose his men carefully and committed himself to work with them and give them his full support and that of the faithful priests and Levites.  These men were glad to hear that a rebellion was being contemplated, and Jehoiada was able to give them the encouragement that the royal house of David had not been completely destroyed, although he did not give them any details about Joash.  Details like that were best kept secret until the conspiracy had progressed further.

These leaders bravely began to work quietly amongst the priests and Levites spread throughout the kingdom.  It was a dangerous undertaking, but it was not hard to find religious men who were eager to join a rebellion against That Wicked Woman.

At the same time, there were many who were quite content with the freedoms they enjoyed with Athaliah as queen: freedom to indulge their love of violence, cruelty, perverted religion and immorality.  Such people must be carefully avoided and kept in ignorance of the swiftly-progressing plans for rebellion.

The temple had “guards”, priests and Levites who took up ceremonial positions in the temple grounds and whose presence in the temple would not be questioned.  However, they were not normally armed and their numbers were not great.

It would be necessary to use every man available and to arm them with any weapons that could be found if That Wicked Woman was to be overwhelmed and defeated.

These guards worked in weekly duty cycles that began and ended on the Sabbath.  Activity in the temple on that day would be no surprise, and if the men in both shifts – those going off duty and those coming on duty – could be used, That Wicked Woman would meet her well-deserved doom!

So the plans were made and old spears and shields from the time of King David – weapons that probably only Jehoiada still knew about – were brought out of crowded and dusty old storerooms!

Finally, the day came when Jehoiada was at last able to present Prince Joash to the leaders, the priests and Levites.  It was a time of wonderment for all: no-one had ever suspected that any of Ahaziah’s sons might have survived Athaliah’s coup, and Jehoiada had to tell the exciting story of the boy’s escape several times as he presented the 7-year-old Joash to them.  Once again, the family likeness was useful, as Joash bore a clear resemblance to his father and grandfather.  Everyone was convinced and willing to risk their lives to restore the house of David to its rightful place reigning over Judah.

The next Sabbath was chosen as the time to act, and the plans made clear in enough detail that all were convinced that victory was achievable.  Secrecy was paramount, so those who would come to the temple to worship on the Sabbath were not to be told what was to happen, though their presence was important if Jehoiada’s plan was to succeed.  Although ignorant, Jehoiada was certain that they would support Joash and proclaim him king with joy.  Any who might want to support Athaliah would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

Athaliah would know nothing about the rebellion until it was too late – until she had already been deposed and replaced!

Of course, history shows that that was exactly how it worked.  Joash was presented to an amazed crowd while armed men surround and protected him.  Standing by the king’s column in the temple, he was pronounced king, and the sounds of joy were heard all over the city – including inside the palace.  That Wicked Woman stormed up to the temple to find that her kingdom had been taken from her and given to a 7-year-old boy who deserved it more than she did – although I doubt that she accepted that fact!

“Long live the king,” shouted the whole crowd as she was arrested and taken outside the temple.  They executed her near the Horse Gate of the palace.  There really weren’t many deaths that day: her sons and a few of her guards, but even most of the guards were quite happy to change their loyalty immediately.

That Wicked Woman had very few genuine friends.

The city of Jerusalem felt strangely peaceful that night.  Everything was calm and quiet.  Tranquil.  Delightful.  No noisy, violent parties such as her helpers liked to throw.  No sudden attacks on innocent people, no wanton destruction of people’s property.  Just calm and quiet.

So now we’re back to having a king of the house of David ruling over us again – a very young king guided by Jehoiada the High Priest, who is almost a hundred years older than him.  What a wonderful opportunity to get the kingdom back on track: a king and a priest working together to lead the kingdom in the worship of Yahweh.

Good riddance to That Wicked Woman.