The people of Israel and Judah were not really fond of their queens, judging by the stories about them. Most of them are nameless, with all the attention given to the reigning kings. Bathsheba is a rather passive figure. Jezebel of Israel is a wicked idolater who had a man killed for the sake of a bit of land. She is a feisty figure, though; when she heard Jehu was coming to kill her she painted her face, arranged her hair and roundly abused him from the window (2 Kings 9: 30-31). With all her faults, she was courageous.
There was only one woman who reigned over one of the Hebrew kingdoms in her own name: Athaliah. Her story is told in 2 Kings 11. She was probably the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, or possibly Ahab's sister. She had been married to King Jehoram of Judah to try to build peace between Israel and Judah. Her son Ahaziah had been killed by Jehu (2 Kings 9:27), whereupon she seized power for herself in the most brutal way. She had all the royal family, including her own grandchildren, murdered, and ruled the land herself.
Unknown to her, though, Ahaziah's sister Jehosheba rescued one of the little princes and hid him in the temple with his nurse. Joash remained hidden for six years.
After six years of Athaliah's rule, however, the people had had enough. A dramatic coup was led by Jehoiada the priest (Jehosheba's husband). He revealed Joash's existence to trusted army officers, and armed them with the trophy weapons from the temple that David had placed there. He crowned Joash and presented him with a copy of the 'covenant' – either the 10 Commandments or the whole of the Books of Moses – and the people acclaimed him as king. Athaliah was seized and put to death, the temple of Baal was destroyed and the priest of Baal was killed too.
It's a violent story, but one of action and adventure. Jehosheba and Jehoiada ran huge risks in hiding Joash. Jehoiada's palace coup could have cost them all their lives if it had gone wrong. But he read the signs of the times correctly: the people wanted their king, not their murderous queen.
It's not a story that's preached on very much. Perhaps preachers might struggle to think of what to say. But Athaliah's attack was on the House of David, and Joash was to be an ancestor of Jesus. In the providence of God and through the bravery and foresight of his servants, Joash's life was preserved. For all those years, faithful believers had to wait and serve an unworthy monarch in the hope of better days, trying to maintain their integrity at a time when it was very hard to be faithful. At the right time, God brought about a change: 'The king then took his place on the royal throne, and all the people of the land rejoiced' (verses 20-21).
