Ironworks

          And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets: and Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, Treason.  2 Kings 11:14      Athaliah obviously was not a king of Israel, however, she wielded the power and certainly the bloodthirst of some of those who came before. The Scripture tells us that Athaliah was mother of Ahaziah of Judah. After seeing that he was dead, she worked to kill all of his children (cf. 2 Kings 11:1). This type of evil was not new for a people whose hearts were often in opposition to God, but this is truly audacious that a grandmother would seek to kill all of her grandsons.      Fortunately, Jehosheba, the sister of Ahaziah, took Joash and protected him (cf. 2 Kings 11:2). The boy’s aunt protected him from her mother, the child’s grandmo...