We are in 2 Chronicles 22-24 today. We have looked at several stories out of 2 Chronicles in the last year, and now we come to the story of King Joash, although it just as much the story of Jehoiada, the high priest during this time. Let’s get oriented.
Background: A tale of two women
After her son was killed, Athaliah, the queen mother (a very powerful position) decided to kill off the Davidic line – including her own grandchildren (22:10)!
She probably did this because she wanted to promote Baal worship, and the line of David was tied to worship of Yahweh and the temple. Also, it may have been in retaliation for the killing off of the royal line in northern Israel (of which she was a part) by a follower of Yahweh. And she was probably a bit crazy too, killing her own family.
Whatever the case may be, the promise of God to David that “his throne shall be established forever” (1 Chronicles 17:14) was being threatened by this evil woman.
Well, as this massacre was going on, a righteous woman rose up. This was Jehoshabeath, Jehoiada the priest’s wife. She was a royal herself and she acted to save one descendent of David, Joash, her nephew.
22:11 says, she “took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were about to be put to death, and she put him and his nurse in a bedroom.”
The story of King Joash
We begin with Jehoiada’s kindness to Joash:
1) Jehoiada took Joash in as his own, like a son. v. 12 says, “And Joash remained with them six years, hidden in the house of God, while Athaliah reigned over the land.” The language of “them” shows that Jehoiada was involved with what his wife was doing. Can you imagine? All it would take was for one person to let it slip, one person to find out – in six years of hiding the boy – and they would have been killed for treason. Six years of constant tension and not knowing.
2) Jehoiada set Joash up as king. 23:1 says he “took courage” and it would take courage to do this.
He engineered the enthronement of Joash at seven years old with an elaborate plan he devised. He said to Jerusalem, “Behold, the king’s son! Let him reign, as the Lord spoke concerning the sons of David. (23:3). This last phrase is a reference to 1 Chronicles 17:14, and Jehoiada’s concern for God’s promise.
He also led the overthrow of Athaliah, the murderer and royal pretender (23:2-15).
3) Jehoiada set the kingdom in order as royal regent for Joash, while he was a child. He ruled the kingdom on his behalf and did so righteously. “And Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king that they should be the Lord’s people.” (23:16).
They acted against idolatry (v. 17) and Jehoiada reestablished proper worship and order in the temple of God according to what Moses and David taught (vs. 18-19).
4) Jehoiada provided Joash wives. “Jehoiada got for him two wives, and he had sons and daughters.” (24:3). He was, no doubt acting as a father to him, but more importantly, he acted in order to preserve the Davidic line and God’s promise.
5) Jehoiada gave Joash good counsel, when he began to rule for himself. “And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest.” (24:2). He was a good king.
Lets look at . . . Joash under the counsel of Jehoiada. He did what is the sign of all good kings in Chronicles – he acts to help the temple. Specifically, 24:4 says, “Joash decided to restore the house of God.”
24:7 tells us that it was still in disarray from Athaliah’s reign. And so he acted, and continued to pursue it even after hitting some administrative snags. Joash did what was right. And the temple was restored and they offered regular burnt offerings.
But next comes . . . The turning point of our story – when Jehoiada dies. “But Jehoiada grew old and full of days, and died. He was 130 years old at his death. And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, and toward God and his house.” (2 Chronicles 24:15-16).
This is the turning point because after this, everything goes wrong; indeed, in reverse order of what we have seen thus far.
First of all, instead of being under Jehoiada’s good counsel . . . Joash comes under the counsel of the princes. Joash listened to the princes of Judah and he abandoned the temple and worshipped idols (24:17-18).
The result of this sudden change of direction by Joash was that judgment came from God (24:18). But, even then, God “sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord” (24:19). And in v. 27 we hear that there were “many oracles” spoken to Joash to warn him.
This leads us to the conclusion; the depressing and even shocking end of the story.
Joash’s evil to Jehoiada’s son. Jehoiada’s son, the prophet Zechariah called Israel to repentance (24:20). Joash had him stoned to death in the temple court (24:21). Notice the contrast:
- Jehoiada saves Joash from death, by bringing him into the Temple
- Joash kills Jehoiada’s son, in the temple precincts
This was a horrible event. Jesus even refers to it in Luke 11:51, noting how Zechariah was killed between the altar and the sanctuary.
24:22 sums this up, “Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, had shown him, but killed his son.”
This brought judgment upon Joash:
- He was wounded in battle (24:23-24)
- His own guard killed him (24:25)
- He was not buried with the kings – (24:25), even though Jehoiada was.
Lessons from our story
1. God will accomplish his purposes in one way or another. Just when it looks like everything is about to fall apart; the line of David is done and God’s promise is broken, God acts. You have:
- A homicidal Queen mother? God raised up Jehoshabeath who was faithful to him. And God used her to stop Athaliah.
- A series of faithless kings? God raised up Jehoiada who was faithful to him. And God used him to keep the line of David going and to push back the hold of idolatry.
2. The importance of good counsel. Joash did well under the good counsel of Jehoiada. But he immediately went downhill when he listened to the princes of Judah.
Who do you listen to? Who do you surround yourself with? Who are your friends? As we see from this story it certainly affects your choices.
- Psalm 1:1 says, “Blessed is the one who walks not in the counsel of the wicked.”
- Paul says, “bad company corrupts good morals” (I Corinthians 15:33).
We see this play out in Joash’s life.
To say it positively, we need godly friends around us; Christians who can help us walk in righteousness and truth.
But going a bit deeper, to the core issue here, apart from who you surround yourself with . . .
3. You need real commitment to God; your own faith commitments. Joash never seemed to develop his own convictions. He was fine when Jehoiada was there, because his convictions were clear and deep and based on the word (for instance, God’s promise to David and how to run the temple).
But when Jehoiada died and others came around him, Joash turned and went in a completely different direction.
He had a dependent, weak commitment to God, so when circumstances changed, he changed;
when the people around him changed, he changed – and it led him to disaster.
You need true commitment! Not because someone told you to have it, but because it is your own choice; your own deeply held beliefs and convictions. And you need true commitment to God that is based on God’s word to us.
Then you will be solid, no matter what the circumstances are or the people around you. You will not be blown about here and there by everyone’s opinions. You will stand firm, and do what is right.
William Higgins
Christian teaching 