Jehosheba

By Anthony Van

Biblical text has accounts of some amazing and memorable heroes. There is one that few people know well; a young princess who was a remnant of a noble line. Her heroism, though recorded in few words, was, in many ways, more important, more consequential than all other brave deeds. Who knows the story of Jehosheba? Perhaps it goes something like this.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anthony Van
• Release date: May 7, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224485130

Anthony Van

What does a retired teacher do? Especially a teacher with a hyperactive imagination and ingrained work habits. Well this one writes. And being a Christian, each novel I have written necessarily is pieced together from a Christian perspective. I have a broad range of interests which include science and technology, mathematics, travel, sports and the interrelationship of people. Much of what intrigues me about people is that some pursue truth with the determination of a bloodhound while others almost ignore existential ideas and while away their short time spent on earth being distracted by people or pleasures or possessions or power. Writing is a hobby. It allows me to research and self educate, and it also permits me to refine my perspectives of concepts existential and theological.

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Prologue

She sat in her favourite meditation place on a hill overlooking Jerusalem. The hot sunshine lulled her as she whispered prayers for her family. Her memories of her early childhood were warm and reassuring, even in these times of strife. She recalled her grandfather; he was the last of the ‘good kings’. There were those times when she sat on his knee and he told stories of the great prophets and leaders who relied on the Lord. He had coined the pet name Sheba for her, and only those who loved her still used the name.

She had been fourteen when her grandfather died. Her father had become king. Even years earlier, before he had acceded to the throne, she knew that her father was different from his father—her grandfather. He had no respect for the Lord, for the temple and for the priests. Her mother was a faithful follower of Yahweh, like her grandfather. One of several wives, her mother wanted her children to hear about the true God. She took her with her two biological, full brothers to a Levite teacher who instructed them in the Law of Moses. Being a princess of the realm, concessions were made for her, because such teaching was usually confined to male students.

Later, when she was a rebellious eighteen-year-old, tragedy struck. Her mother and brothers were taken hostage. Whether they were slain or sold into slavery, she never found out. Of the four wives her father had, only Athaliah, Ahab’s daughter, remained with him. His other wives and children had all been taken in the raid on Jerusalem. She was not among those taken as she had heard that Elijah, the prophet from the north, could be passing through. It was too great a temptation. Concealing her identity in a hooded cloak, she had gone to the northern extent of the city and mingled with priests and fellow citizens. They waited all day but there was no sign of the prophet. Unknowingly, she had escaped the calamitous attack on the city by enemy raiders.

Of her siblings, only her half-brother, Ahaziah, had escaped the raid. He had been with his mother, Athaliah, visiting the cursed temple of Baal.

On hearing of the raid, Sheba decided she had no reason to return to the palace. She went to the High Priest’s house and asked him if he knew of anywhere that she could stay. She explained that the palace had become abhorrent under her father’s rule. Jehoiada, the High Priest, directed her to his daughter’s home nearby. Maacah, and her husband Jael were pleased to look after the young princess for a time at least. Soon, however, they would have a child and it would become more difficult as the family grew. To stay out of the way, Sheba started attending lessons Jehoiada was giving young men. He had been impressed with her understanding and, given that his daughter and her husband also needed time to themselves, he accepted her attendance. In gratitude, Sheba started working chores around the home of the old, widowed priest. She cooked and cleaned and attended lessons. Her growing affection for the old man may have had a lot to do with her relationship with her grandfather, Jehoshaphat.

Within a year, Sheba agreed to marry Jehoiada. At the time it was more to do with security and convenience, but her affection for the old priest continued to strengthen. It was a shock to King Jehoram and Athaliah to learn that Jehosheba was still alive. She informed them that she was marrying the High Priest, Jehoiada. Their thoughts were a mix between considering her mad, finding it amusing, and being relieved that she didn’t want lodging in the palace precinct. Jehoram had been in a bad mood as Elijah’s letter had recently arrived condemning him and predicting his death. Athaliah had told him it was nonsense. As for Jehosheba, Athaliah told her that her son’s harem was increasing so there was no room for the princess anyway. She would be allowed to visit the growing clutch of nephews and nieces in the harem as a concession to the belief that it would be the only time she would experience the raising of little children. To Sheba it sounded like she was now unwelcome in the palace proper. It also occurred to her that it was strangely suspicious that the queen and her son happened to be absent from the palace on the day of the Canaanite raid. This was especially significant since her son Ahaziah was the youngest of the heirs, and had been least likely to become the next monarch.

So Jehosheba and Jehoiada were married, much to the consternation of many of the dwellers of Jerusalem. One year later, Zechariah was born. For the young princess, life was far better than when she lived in the palace under the rule of her father. She had a loving husband who was far more spritely than his age would indicate. She was surrounded by the relatively few people—in proportion to the population—who were pursuing the dictates of the law and scriptures, and she had begun a family that could be raised following the Lord Yahweh.

By the time she heard of her father’s failing health, Jehosheba had two daughters, Leah and Yoana, in addition to her son. Her last child was born shortly before the death of her father. She would have gone to the palace to try and comfort him had she known of his precarious hold on life.

Instead, on the day it occurred, she heard that King Jehoram had suffered a gruesome death. It was the result of a bowel disease that caused an agonising and distressing premature end to the king’s life. Her step-brother, Ahaziah, the one remaining son of Jehoram, became king. At twenty-two he was proud and arrogant, and wanted to flex his newly gained power at every opportunity. Athaliah was much the instigator of his bluster as he sought to impress Joram, king of the northern kingdom of Israel. He boasted about the prowess of his army and tried to gain stature by strengthening the alliance between the two nations. He also quickly expanded his harem with five wives and seeking a sixth. The young king had started his family early when he was still a prince, and had several wives and children before he was twenty.

Having separated herself from royal intrigues, Jehosheba had then looked forward to a quiet life. It was a blessing to be away from the cesspit of evil and immoral machinations rife in the palace. She was beginning to get to know her husband’s children from his first wife. They were already older than her father had been when he died at age forty. The men were involved in responsible priestly roles. Much like their father, Jehoiada, they lived good lives and seemed young for their ages.  His daughter, Maacah, was still considerably older than she, but her children were only a couple of years more advanced than hers. It meant the two had much in common and they soon became good friends.

The young princess opened her eyes. A rustle of leaves in nearby olive trees had disturbed her musings in the early season warmth. It was time to go back home and collect the children. How good it was to be an anonymous member of the royal family in a kingdom where leaders were viewed with disdain and distrust.

Chapter 1

Staring at the parchment, he lost focus. Tears welled up in his eyes. It was not the first time that the elderly priest had read the sacred text and was overcome with grief. What had become of the Lord’s people? The words attributed to Moses had clearly outlined the responsibilities of the king. Had any of the nation’s kings abided by the strict instructions? David, who had been closest to the Lord, even he had strayed. Yet, despite his failings, his heart had usually been inclined to God. Israel’s second king had been a steadying influence after the erratic rule of Saul. David’s son, Solomon, had started well and then failed miserably. Since then, Israel had divided into north and south and the two kingdoms were both in decline. Ahab’s wicked influence in the northern kingdom had infected Judah, the southern kingdom. As with many kings, marriage was the problem. It was too many wives or bonding with evil idolators and abandoning the one true God.

The southern kingdom’s King Jehoram had married one of Ahab’s daughters, Athaliah. His father, Jehoshaphat, had been a relatively good king, but Jehoram had Ahab as a bad example and his wife was, no doubt, influencing him in the worship of false gods. She had been despicable. The sons of that wicked woman, Athaliah, had broken into the temple of God and had used even its sacred objects for the Baals. Surely, they had received just retribution because the ones responsible had been taken in an attack on the city and they were no more.

Jehoiada shook his head. The king had died recently and his son, Ahaziah, had taken up the throne. Already, after only a short time, it was clear that the new king was no better. He not only continued in the wickedness of his father, but now sought to emulate the errors of the northern kingdom. The priest rubbed his forehead. Ahaziah was too bound to Ahab’s evil ways because his mother was King Joram’s sister. It seemed the two remnants of Solomon’s mighty kingdom sought to gain reassurance for their security from each other. They merged by intermarriage and mutual rebellion against Yahweh to worship foreign gods.

The high priest went to the elevated window of his favourite room, opposite the one which abutted the inside of the northern city wall. He looked over the city, toward the southwest, and studied the old City of David. Though the famous King David had many faults, his desire was to seek the Lord. The many parchments in the temple attested to David’s cries for mercy, his pleas for deliverance, and his songs of worship. Not since Jehoshaphat had the king sought the word of the Lord. It worried the priest. Where would this young reprobate king lead the country? The priest turned his face to the blank wall visible through the doorway, behind which stood the massive inner-city wall proper. He prayed once more for the people, for the priests and for someone in David’s line to rise up and re-establish a God-fearing kingdom.

When he had ended his lengthy supplications, he went downstairs to the common room allocated for family meals. There he ate of the bread and fish supplied by some of the faithful. Despite his advanced age, the priest had a new lease on life. He was no longer lonely. The solitary vigil of service and worship for the aging man had ended when he married the young king’s older sister. His wife had become a faithful servant of the Lord several years back when she had learned obedience to the law from her grandfather, Jehoshaphat. Now their eldest, Zechariah, who was six, and his two daughters were keeping him young at heart. His sons and daughters, from his first, now departed wife, were married to decent citizens. One daughter married a farmer and the other a merchant who dealt in a variety of goods. Both girls were busy raising families but made the time to visit their father. It was one of the blessings that he was grateful for. His three sons, as part of the Levitical line also married well and were exercising Mosaic values in their roles. They had taken leading roles as priests in large towns teaching the law. Of course, his current wife, Jehosheba, and the young family had been an unexpected boon from God. It was a mystery to the old man that a comely woman of royal blood should deign to be wed to him. Yet her devotion to God had meant that, for her, the palace was a detestable place to stay, and she was pleased to marry him. Her oft repeated jest was that he was spry for his age.

The other glimmer of hope was that many high-ranking army officers were appalled at the decaying morals of the realm, and shared with him their frustration that faithful kings had become a thing of the past. They knew the victories that had been attained were due to the hand of God leading obedient kings, or their God guarded the land despite their disobedience. Jehoiada snorted softly. That golden era was short lived. It was established in David’s time and continued in Solomon’s early years. But all too soon compromise began to erode the kingdom. He conceded that Jehoshaphat and, before him, Asa had been conscious of the need to rid the kingdom of idolatry. They had varying degrees of success yet the evil practice had persisted. Jehoiada sighed; it had been good for the nation that they had tried.

His task now was to penetrate the cohort of fools purporting to advise the new king, and draw Ahaziah’s attention to the covenant God had made with Moses. It was a promise of blessing, and had been repeated to David and Solomon. It was conditional on the obedience of the king and the people. Perhaps the young king could recognise the wayward direction he was taking the nation and repent. His growing family might awaken some sense of responsibility. Maybe he would recognise his family line was doomed unless he began to adhere to the decrees of the law. His youngest child was born around the time of his coronation. It was too soon for young Jehoash to be imbued with the depraved rituals of idol worship. Neither he nor his older siblings had yet been exposed to the pagan artifacts and graven images that had spread through the land.

***

It was the day after the sabbath that Jehoiada decided to have an audience with the young king. Ahaziah’s mother, Athaliah, was attending some vile Baal worship ceremony, so it gave the old priest incentive to make a case for reviving the worship of Yahweh. Only a remnant of the faithful still observed the sabbath, the feasts, and recognised the need to follow the worship practices outlined in the law. He guessed there were more who were sympathetic to the reintroduction of temple worship but were reluctant to show any dissent toward the king and his pagan relatives belonging to Ahab’s dynasty.

After early morning prayers with a small group of priests, and reading some of the law with his son, Zechariah, he mustered his courage to go to the palace. Jehoiada was ever in awe of the buildings that Solomon had constructed. The temple, the palace and the royal complex situated on top of the hill, had pride of place over the whole city. Huge stones had formed the foundations and the massive bulwarks surrounding the city. The midmorning sunlight bounced off the white pavement as he walked to the palace entrance. Given that he had married Ahaziah’s older sister, and that he still represented the power of the old religious order, the elderly priest had little trouble gaining access into the forecourt and welcoming hall. It was here that he encountered one of the king’s advisors. The king wasn’t interested in the old beliefs, said the man. Since Solomon’s time there had been nothing but trouble, he argued. Wasn’t God satisfied with the magnificent temple built for him? Things were different now. They now worshipped a god who gave success to their enemies.

The priest chose not to argue with the queen mother’s acolyte. There was nothing to be gained trading