WHEN ATHALIAH THE mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family. 2But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes, who were about to be murdered. She put him and his nurse in a bedroom to hide him from Athaliah; so he was not killed. 3He remained hidden with his nurse at the temple of the LORD for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.
4In the seventh year Jehoiada sent for the commanders of units of a hundred, the Carites and the guards and had them brought to him at the temple of the LORD. He made a covenant with them and put them under oath at the temple of the LORD. Then he showed them the king’s son. 5He commanded them, saying, “This is what you are to do: You who are in the three companies that are going on duty on the Sabbath—a third of you guarding the royal palace, 6a third at the Sur Gate, and a third at the gate behind the guard, who take turns guarding the temple—7and you who are in the other two companies that normally go off Sabbath duty are all to guard the temple for the king. 8Station yourselves around the king, each man with his weapon in his hand. Anyone who approaches your ranks must be put to death. Stay close to the king wherever he goes.”
9The commanders of units of a hundred did just as Jehoiada the priest ordered. Each one took his men—those who were going on duty on the Sabbath and those who were going off duty—and came to Jehoiada the priest. 10Then he gave the commanders the spears and shields that had belonged to King David and that were in the temple of the LORD. 11The guards, each with his weapon in his hand, stationed themselves around the king—near the altar and the temple, from the south side to the north side of the temple.
12Jehoiada brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him; he presented him with a copy of the covenant and proclaimed him king. They anointed him, and the people clapped their hands and shouted, “Long live the king!”
13When Athaliah heard the noise made by the guards and the people, she went to the people at the temple of the LORD. 14She looked and there was the king, standing by the pillar, as the custom was. The officers and the trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her robes and called out, “Treason! Treason!”
15Jehoiada the priest ordered the commanders of units of a hundred, who were in charge of the troops: “Bring her out between the ranks and put to the sword anyone who follows her.” For the priest had said, “She must not be put to death in the temple of the LORD.” 16So they seized her as she reached the place where the horses enter the palace grounds, and there she was put to death.
17Jehoiada then made a covenant between the LORD and the king and people that they would be the LORD’s people. He also made a covenant between the king and the people. 18All the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols to pieces and killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars.
Then Jehoiada the priest posted guards at the temple of the LORD. 19He took with him the commanders of hundreds, the Carites, the guards and all the people of the land, and together they brought the king down from the temple of the LORD and went into the palace, entering by way of the gate of the guards. The king then took his place on the royal throne, 20and all the people of the land rejoiced. And the city was quiet, because Athaliah had been slain with the sword at the palace.
Original Meaning
THE MERGING OF the monarchies of Israel and Judah that occurs with the death of Jehoshaphat only endures for a short period. Joram king of Israel began his reign with the death of Ahaziah, one year after his father’s death in 853 B.C. The sole reign of Jehoram of Judah began in the fifth year of Joram and lasted for eight years (2 Kings 8:16–17). Ahaziah ruled briefly until his death, the year that Jehu became king and subject to Shalmaneser (841 B.C.).
Athaliah now attempts to take over the throne following the death of her son Ahaziah (11:1), showing the callous self-interest that has characterized her ancestry. She is unsuccessful in purging every Davidic claimant to the throne since the sister of the murdered Ahaziah hides his son Joash. When Joash is seven years old, the high priest plots to execute the Queen Mother and install the Davidide heir. With the accession of Joash the lamp is preserved in Judah (cf. 8:19); mercy is shown on Judah because of God’s promise to David.
From the Deuteronomistic point of view, Athaliah does not have a legitimate reign. There is no formal statement of the length of her reign or a concluding summary. Her seven years of rule are an interim period and are not counted in the forty years assigned to Joash (12:1).1 With Athaliah the prophetic history shifts to a focus on Jerusalem and sources that derive from Judea (cf. 12:20). The death of Ahaziah in Megiddo sets off a chain of events that leads to the high priest restoring the monarchy and renewing the covenant in Judah. The narrator of the story focuses on the pivotal role played by Jehoiada the high priest. He is familiar with the details of the conspiracy and knows his way around the temple and the palace compounds. This story is an apology for the unprecedented intervention of a high priest in preserving the Davidic dynasty.
The Conspiracy of Jehoiada (11:1–16)
THE RELATIONSHIP OF Athaliah to the Omride dynasty has been much discussed, as her paternity and the identity of her husband are not clearly stated.2 She is said to be the daughter of Omri (8:26). Two conclusions are possible: Either she is the granddaughter of Omri and daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, or she is the sister of Ahab, and Ahaziah is her grandson. It has been assumed she was married to Jehoram of Judah, but his Omride wife is never named. Jehoshaphat is said to have intermarried with the house of Ahab, but the identity of this woman is not given (2 Chron. 18:1). It may be that Athaliah is a daughter of Omri and under the jurisdiction of her brother Ahab.3 Ahab enters a treaty of cooperation and protection with Jehoshaphat. This agreement includes the marriage of Athaliah to the Judean king or to his heir apparent, which gives her extensive authority within the court. Her influence explains why the Judean kings (Jehoram and Ahaziah) have the same names as their Omride counterparts.
Athaliah comes into the Judean court as the head of an entourage representing her personal and cultic concerns (cf. 2 Chron. 22:3–4). She was the Queen Mother, either as the wife of Jehoshaphat or as his daughter-in-law. As other great ladies, she keeps her position for several reigns. The wife of Jehoram is referred to as a daughter of Ahab (2 Kings 8:18), a possible indication that Athaliah exercises the real authority over the throne. When Ahaziah dies at the hands of Jehu’s forces (9:27), Athaliah attempts to kill all the heirs and assume the throne herself (11:1, 3). Her conduct is consistent with that of Jehoram, who killed all the other sons of Jehoshaphat when he came to the throne (2 Chron. 21:4). The elimination of all rival claimants furthers the goal of retaining Omride power in Judah. Athaliah may have prevented Jehu from entering Judah and reuniting Judah and Israel. She is able to retain control of the army and retain the independence of Judah for six years.
The despotism of Athaliah is unsuccessful. Jehosheba, sister of Ahaziah, is able to hide Joash, son of the king and heir to the throne, in the temple. The Chronicler (2 Chron. 22:11) and Josephus (Ant. 9.141) say that Jehosheba is also the wife of Jehoiada the priest, which may explain why the young prince is hidden in the temple. The temple must have remained relatively undisturbed by the Baal cult during Athaliah’s reign, as the heir to the throne is not discovered.
Jehoiada is in complete charge of the temple and its guards. He swears the guards to secrecy and shows them the surviving heir to the throne. The Carites are of uncertain identification (11:4); they appear to be related to the Kerethi and Pelethi, elite troops of Aegean origin in David’s army (2 Sam. 8:18; 15:18; 20:23).4 Jehoiada summons all the temple guards, who apparently serve on a rotation of one week out of three (2 Kings 11:5–7). Those on duty he assigns to positions at three locations: one-third are at the palace, one-third at the Sur Gate, and one-third at the gate behind the guards. All those off duty (i.e., two-thirds of the total guard) take up positions at the temple to guard the king. Anyone attempting to break through the ranks of the guards will be put to death (v. 8). Highest care is taken to protect the king.5
The Sur Gate is otherwise unknown; the Chronicler calls it the Foundation Gate (2 Chron. 23:4). Some have attempted to relate it to the Horse Gate (sûsîm) of the palace mentioned later in the story (2 Kings 11:6). The temple and palace complex had various gates known to the authors of the original account. The narrative is based on a Judean source; the assignments of the guards are obvious to those familiar with the architectural layout.
All the guards assigned to the palace and the temple take their stations with their weapons as instructed (11:9). No further mention is made of the guards at the palace (cf. v. 5), as the focus of activity shifts to the anointing of the king at the temple on this extraordinary Sabbath day. The officers are all given spears and shields, apparently ceremonial armor appropriate for the anointing of the king (v. 10).6 David captured gold shields from the officers of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem (2 Sam. 8:7); it is probable Jehoiada uses these ceremonial armaments for the occasion. The guards take up their stations around the temple, from south to north around the altar, in order to protect the king (v. 11). The guards seem to have formed a semicircle around the front of the temple.
Once the officers and guards are stationed, the king is brought out for the ceremony. The anointing with oil, the blowing of the horns, and the shouts of the people are reminiscent of the coronation of Solomon (1 Kings 1:39–40) or Jehu (2 Kings 9:13). Joash receives a crown and a copy of the covenant. A diadem served as a sign of royalty in ancient Israel (Ps. 89:39; 132:18). The king was required to keep with him a testimony of the covenant as a constant reminder that he must rule according to divine order (Deut. 17:18–19). The actual presentation of the covenant copy is probably an engraved amulet, which will serve as a reminder of the written covenant testimony, or it may be an inscription like that on the diadem the priest wore, which had the words “Holy to the LORD” (Ex. 28:36).
The tumult of the coronation rouses the attention of Athaliah, who makes her way to the temple to investigate (11:13). Gathered there are the civic leaders (people of the land) who are part of the coronation ceremony (vv. 14, 18, 20). Their activity at times of dynastic crises is regularly noted (21:23–24; 23:30), and they are listed with other civic leaders (Jer. 1:18; 34:19; 37:2). Their presence is required to confirm the accession of the new king; they represent the residents of the land. When Athaliah sees the king, she recognizes immediately that her time as queen is over; she is seized by force and taken to the entrance of the Horse Gate, a gate that opens directly to the palace (cf. Jer. 31:39–40; Neh. 3:28). She is summarily executed, allowing no time for her supporters to raise resistance to the new king.
The Renewal of the Covenant (11:17–20)
THE ANOINTING OF a new king requires renewal of the covenant. The covenant with Yahweh (11:17) is different from the covenant Jehoiada made with the officers and the guards (v. 4). The definite article indicates the covenant that distinguishes the king and the people in their particular relationship with God. This is the first occasion that the making of the covenant is mentioned during the time of the monarchy.
Some commentators find here three covenants: one between the king and Yahweh, one between the people and Yahweh, and one between the king and the people.7 There is precedent for such relationships: A covenant relationship existed between David and Yahweh (2 Sam. 7:12–14; 1 Kings 1:17), between the people and God (Josh. 24:25–26), and between the people and their king (2 Sam. 5:3). All three aspects may have been included in a single vow to renew the Deuteronomic covenant.
Both the Chronicler (2 Chron. 23:16, 18) and Josephus emphasize the restoration of the Davidic line.8 This is primary, since the “lamp” of David has come near to extinction. The coronation includes the covenant obligation of the young king in the presentation of the crown jewels (2 Kings 11:12); these affirm the renewal of the Davidic dynasty and the commitment of the king to lead the people according to the book of the covenant kept at his side. Such a commitment obligates the people to loyalty to the new king.
The leaders then follow the pattern of Jehu in the north by purging the land of Baal influence (11:18). The Baal temple is destroyed and its priest killed, and all the artifacts of the temple thoroughly crushed and burned. This is not the end of Baal cult in Jerusalem, however; Hezekiah again removes altars and shrines of Canaanite religion (18:4), as does Josiah following the days of Manasseh (23:4). But a new beginning is established with Joash. Special custodians are appointed for the security of the temple (11:18b–19), providing protection for acts of revenge that might be taken by those loyal to Athaliah.
The restoration of the Davidic dynasty and the renewal of the covenant are the essence of being God’s people. The report of the restoration of the temple and the destruction of the Baal temple is concluded by summarizing statements of the coronation of the king and the death of Athaliah (11:19–20). The repetition joins the making of the covenant with the restoration of the dynasty. The summary provides more details on the crowning of the king. Joash is escorted from the temple to the palace, where he is placed on the throne. Guards provide security along a route through Guard’s Gate. The procession goes south from Temple Mount toward the “City of David.” The restoration of a true Davidide king and the death of Athaliah bring an end to the domination of the Baal cult in Judah.
Bridging Contexts
THE PRIESTLY PEOPLE of God. Restoration of king and covenant are pivotal to God’s purpose for Israel. This essential requirement is focused around the high priest. Most critics argue that the narrator has joined two accounts in this story of the plot against Athaliah. This would not be unusual, since Kings regularly acknowledges its reliance on official royal sources. Unique to this section is the sudden appearance of the people, who have not been part of the ceremonies up to this point (11:13), and the double notation of Athaliah’s death (vv. 16, 20). One source is termed priestly and official (vv. 1–12, 18b–20), while the second is regarded as more popular (vv. 13–18a). Such observations are not conclusive, and the narrative has cohesion as it stands.9 The narrator concentrates on particular aspects of the drama so that new aspects seem to appear suddenly.
Jehoiada the high priest is central here; he organizes the rebellion, presides over the coronation ceremonies, and orders the death of the queen and the abolition of her cult. After a brief introduction to the coup of Athaliah (vv. 1–3), the narrative describes the removal of Athaliah (vv. 4–16) and the renewal of the covenant (vv. 17–20).10 Both sections conclude with the installation of the king (vv. 12–14, 19) and the death of Athaliah (vv. 15–16, 20). The removal of Athaliah makes possible the removal of the Baal temple. The priesthood, the army, and the populace are united in the renewal of a Davidic dynasty under God.
The covenant at Sinai established the distinction between the people of Israel and all the other nations of the world (Ex. 19:5–6). It made them a “treasured possession” (segullâ) to God, a kingdom of priests, a people distinguished in their role in the world. In their collective role as priests they represented the majesty of the Creator to his world (Ps. 8:1, 9). Through them all the families of the earth can receive the blessing of Abraham (Gen. 12:3). At the same time they were to be the means of the families of the world being represented before God.
At Mount Sinai God fulfilled his promise to Abraham in his revelation to them as Yahweh (Ex. 6:2–4). As part of that promise God granted the Israelites the land so that they might be redeemed from Egypt and be a nation of priests. They would be a people to God and he would be a God to them (v. 7). This was the significance of knowing the name “Yahweh.” The key phrase of Exodus is, “You will know I am the LORD.” This was true for Pharaoh and the Egyptians (7:5, 17; 8:18; 14:4, 18) and for the Israelites (10:2; 16:12; 29:44–46). Yahweh did not simply refer to God as Creator, but God in relationship to his people and the world.
The people of the covenant were to be the means of the world coming into relationship with God. This was already observed in affirming the promise to Abraham. God commanded Isaac to sojourn amongst the Philistines at the time of famine (Gen. 26:1–4). There God would fulfill the blessing he had promised Abraham. The sojourn was one of continuous testing until Isaac found sufficient space to live (v. 22). At that point the Philistines came to him seeking the blessing, for they recognized the special relationship Isaac had with God (vv. 28–29). When the Israelites left Egypt, there was a great mixture of peoples who went with them (Ex. 12:38). All who lived with Israel could join in redemption and be as the native born if they were willing to affirm the covenant (vv. 43–49). The nation of priests was the means of the nations coming to know God and being in relationship with him.
The covenant at Sinai was not a once-for-all historical event in the life of the people. It was the beginning of a continuing relationship between God and Israel, initiated earlier in the promise to Abraham.11 For this reason the covenant had to be renewed regularly (cf. Deut. 31:9–13), so that love and obedience to Yahweh would continue. The sermons of Moses in Deuteronomy were his call to renew the covenant in the land after the rebellious generation had died in the desert (11:26–32; 27:1–10). Joshua did renew that covenant when the people entered the land (Josh. 8:30–35; 24:21–26). That covenant renewal was evidence of God’s fulfilling his promise, so that not one single word could be said to have failed (21:45). The land was God’s gracious gift to his people (Deut. 7:6–8). As a nation in the land they were to be a people peculiar in their relationship to God that they might show his glory and reveal him to the nations.
Preserving God’s people in apostate times. The dominance of the Baal cult utterly destroyed the purpose of Israel’s being in the land. Yahweh was no longer the warrior defending his people in the land. With Baal becoming dominant over Judah, there was a danger that all knowledge of the exclusive covenant relationship might be lost. The hope of this relationship being fulfilled rested in the promise to David. Athaliah’s attempt to eliminate all Davidic heirs of the promise had the potential to extinguish the light Yahweh had provided for his people and the world. It was this urgency that propelled the radical and violent revolt against the Omride rule.
The purge of Jehoiada the priest is not equivalent to that of Jehu for theological reasons. Jehu attacked the cult of Jezebel but continued to promote worship at the northern shrines. Jehoiada removes the obstacles to covenant renewal and restores the possibility of the blessing. He restores the hope of David and worship at the temple as prescribed in the covenant. It is a critical turning point in the preservation of the promise. According the prophetic viewpoint of Kings, this is nothing other than the work of Yahweh in preserving Judah for the sake of David (cf. 8:19). The deliverance of Judah from Baal worship is not merely political and social change; it means the preservation of the purpose God ordained for the people of Israel, namely, that his will may yet be done on earth as it is in heaven.
The account of Athaliah is part of a pattern found in the Deuteronomistic History. Rebellion repeatedly brought the promise to the brink of extinction, but God’s mercy prevailed in preserving the promise. Judges portrays a spiral of decay, each successive leader leaving the nation in a more perilous state, each of them failing in more grievous ways. The book concludes with examples of how the Israelites brought the land given them in the Conquest back to the idolatrous ways of the Canaanites. The Danites founded their own sanctuary in the north with the help of a priesthood, which traced its roots back to Moses (Judg. 18:30). This sanctuary became the permanent establishment of an idolatrous shrine when Jeroboam made it one of two places where a gold calf served as the symbol for worship.
During the period of the judges, the Benjamites proved they were no different than the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. This is shown in the story of a Levite from Ephraim, who went with his servant to Bethlehem to fetch his concubine, who had run away. On their return, the Levite and his servant deliberately avoided Canaanite cities in their search for a place of lodging (Judg. 19:11–30). The citizens of Benjamin showed them no hospitality, a moral failing of the highest order within that culture, and further treated the man and his concubine exactly as the citizens of Sodom had treated the guests visiting Lot (Gen. 19:1–14).12 This story was the ultimate condemnation of Israel, for Sodom was the quintessence of the iniquity for which the peoples of Canaan were judged.
The Benjamites had proved themselves to be among the worst and most base of the Canaanites. If Benjamin, a leading tribe in Israel, was perverted to the point of exemplifying Canaanite behavior, then a presence of Israel in the Promised Land was virtually extinguished. Hope was restored by the mercy of God through Elkanah and his wife Hannah, one of the few remaining pious homes in Ephraim (1 Sam. 1:1). Hannah, in making petition for a child, vowed to give this child back to Yahweh. Samuel became the corrective to the wicked priests of the time, eventually anointing David to preserve the hope of the covenant in Israel.
It was not only in ancient Israel that the “lamp of David” is brought to the edge of extinction. Matthew tells a parallel story at the time of the birth of Jesus, the Son of David destined to fulfill all the hopes held in the confession of Psalm 2. Matthew begins his Gospel with a specific objective: to show that Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of Abraham, is the legitimate heir of promise (Matt. 1:1). Having established that the child born to Joseph and Mary is Emmanuel, the child of prophetic promise for the establishment of the kingdom of God (Isa. 7:14; 9:6–7), Matthew relates the attempt of Herod to kill the newborn king of the Jews (Matt. 2:1–18). The Magi, who inquired about the birthplace of the king, are warned in a dream not to report back to Herod, and Joseph is warned to flee to Egypt until Herod dies. Herod, in fear and rage, has all the children in the region of Bethlehem up to two years old put to death, according to the time that the Magi made their inquiry (v. 16). Though in human terms these events may be thought of as a danger to the dynasty of David, the preservation of the child in each instance is evidence of sovereign control that constantly ensured the safety of the promise.
Contemporary Significance
THE SURVIVAL OF God’s church. The church of the new covenant is called to be the treasured people in this age. The apostle Peter identifies them with those called apart at Mount Sinai in exhorting them to be distinguished by their speech and conduct (1 Peter 2:1–10). Jehoiada restores the temple as a focal point for covenant renewal and the worship of God. The temple was the palace of the King of kings in the midst of the people; in the time of the kingdom of Israel worship was to be exclusively at the one place Yahweh had chosen (Deut. 12:1–5).
Jesus came as the very presence of God represented by the temple; there was no more need for a physical temple after the Incarnation (Matt. 24:1–3; John 2:18–22).13 With the ascension of Jesus the church has become his visible presence in the world, the living stones, elect and precious, built into a spiritual house with the spiritual sacrifice of praise, well-pleasing to God (1 Peter 2:4–5). Peter describes this spiritual house by quoting the words given by Moses to the people at Mount Sinai: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (v. 9).14 The church’s mission to declare God’s glory in this world, and to declare his glory to the world continues the mission of Jehoiada the priest and the people of Jerusalem. The church can be no less zealous in its mission than Jehoiada in his time.
The church in this world may feel threatened, even as the temple seemed to be threatened in the time of Athaliah. At the confession at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus assures Peter that he is the rock on which the church will be built and the gates of death will not prevail against it (Matt. 16:13–18).15 The light of the church is as secure as the lamp of David (2 Kings 8:19); indeed, it is a lamp shining in its own right. Matthew’s Gospel is the account of Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of Abraham (Matt. 1:1). Both the blessing of Abraham and the promise to David find their fulfillment in the person of Christ.
Though the church is the treasured people and the lamp of David in this world in terms of New Testament fulfillment, the times of the church are not equivalent to those of Jehoiada and Judah in the days of Athaliah. Jehoiada takes drastic and violent measures in order to preserve the lamp of David and the covenant against the threats of Athaliah. Political and armed intervention is not the means by which the church shall be preserved from the gates of death. It is rather true that the blood of the martyrs has been the seed of the church. Stephen (Acts 7:59–60), the apostle James (Acts 12:1–2), Paul (cf. Phil. 2:17), Antipas (Rev. 2:13), and Polycarp bishop of Smyrna are but the first of a vast multitude of every tribe and tongue and nation who are saved out of great tribulation in which they give their lives for their faith (Rev. 7:9–15).16
From its beginnings the strength of the church has been the willingness of believers to give up their lives for the truth of the death and resurrection of Christ. This is their calling (1 Peter 2:21); Christ suffered on their behalf and left an example that they should follow in his way. The strength of the church is not violent political resistance but a willingness to obey God rather than human beings even to the point of death.
Resistance to the church may be as virulent as that exercised by Athaliah in her determination to extend both her political power and religious influence. Considerable judicial conflict over the concept of the separation of church and state took place in Alabama over a monument inscribed with the Ten Commandments placed in a courthouse in Montgomery County. Columnist Christopher Hitchens recently expressed his hatred against such a testimony to the basis of constitutional law.17 Hitchens “indulges in a prejudiced and supercilious deconstruction of the divine Decalogue, saying ‘the true problem is our failure to recognize that religion is not just incongruent with morality but in essential ways incompatible with it.’”
Hitchens expressed his contempt for the Alabama Chief Justice and Ten Commandments advocate Judge Roy Moore as “a fool and a publicity hound.” He was resolutely unwilling to recognize that religion is imbedded in all humanity, including himself, and still less able to consider the value of the Christian faith for moral understanding of human conduct. He resented the impact that it has had in determining the legal values of Western culture.
Moore goes on to quote Malcolm Muggeridge, another journalist and sometime British Intelligence operative who started out in life as an atheist but became one of the twentieth century’s most articulate Christian apologists. “Who would not rather be wrong with St. Francis of Asissi, St. Augustine of Hippo, all the saints and mystics for 2,000 years, not to mention Dante, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Milton, Pascal, than right with Bernard Shaw, H. G. Wells, Karl Marx, Nietzsche, the Huxleys, Bertrand Russell, and such like?” Moore concludes with the provocative words of G. K. Chesterton:
People have fallen into a foolish habit of speaking of orthodoxy as something heavy, humdrum and safe. There never was anything so perilous or so exciting as orthodoxy. It was sanity; and to be sane is more dramatic than to be mad …
The orthodox Church never took the tame course or accepted the conventions; the orthodox Church was never respectable … It is easy to be a madman; it is easy to be a heretic.
It is always easy to let the age have its head; the difficult thing is to keep one’s own. It is always easy to be a modernist; as it is easy to be a snob … It is always simple to fall; there are an infinity of angles at which one falls, only one at which one stands.
To have fallen into any one of the fads from Gnosticism to Christian Science would indeed have been obvious and tame. But to avoid them all has been one swirling adventure; and in my vision the heavenly chariot flies thundering through the ages, the dull heresies sprawling and prostrate, the wild truth reeling but erect.18
Many times, including the present, political forces have determined to extinguish the church, only to have the church grow in the process. The evangelical church in Ethiopia is a notable example. In 1974, the Mennonite church in Ethiopia consisted of fourteen local congregations and approximately five thousand members.19 Then came the Communist takeover, known in Ethiopia as the derg. Mengistu Haile Mariam, an army officer, participated prominently in the overthrow of Emperor Haile Selassie. Emerging through violence as preeminent military ruler by 1977, he sought Soviet aid, established a socialist People’s Republic, and fought off Somali incursions and Eritrean rebels. In 1982 the church was driven underground; all church properties were seized, church leaders were arrested and imprisoned.
Politically and economically things did not go well for the people of Ethiopia. Mengistu was elected president in 1987. Regional rebellions increased while Soviet aid receded amid economic deterioration. Mengistu abandoned socialism, but unable to mobilize military resistance, he was forced to flee to Zimbabwe in 1991. The Meserete Kristos Church by that time had become fifty-three congregations with approximately fifty-one thousand members. In 1994 Meserete Kristos College was established to help meet educational needs. By 2005 there were 335 congregations and 780 outreach centers; in 2004 the Meserete Kristos Church added 13,000 new baptized members, in a total faith community of 246,000.
The Meserete Kristos College has been established to become a full Christian university, offering a broad range of programs that will impact Ethiopian society toward a more honest, just, compassionate, and prosperous future. The current government of Ethiopia has granted the college thirteen acres of land, enabling it to move out of the congested rented facilities in the city. Construction of the first phase of a new campus has begun. The college will be a critical resource to a rapidly growing church.
The specter of an Athaliah determined to eliminate the worship of God will continue to arise in different places and different times. The church must not fear, not even at the prospect of great suffering, as has happened so frequently. The “lamp” of David will not be snuffed out. One of the important lessons of the Deuteronomistic History is the preservation of the promise; that promise will prevail in spite of the eventual failure of the kingdom and the exile of the dynasty. As the history concludes, hope is still to be found in Babylon.