Judah’s King Joash
24 Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beer-sheba.
Joash was a direct decendent of David. He was hidden for six years. When he was seven years of age he was anointed to be the rightful king according to the covenant God made with David.
2 Throughout the time of the priest Jehoiada, Joash did what was right in the Lord’s sight.
As long as Jehoiada was alive Joah did what was right. God's eyes are always open and He can see what we do at all times.
3 Jehoiada acquired two wives for him, and he was the father of sons and daughters.
Jehoiada chose wives for King Joash and he was the father of sons and daughters.
Repairing the Temple
4 Afterward, Joash took it to heart to renovate the Lord’s temple.
5 So he gathered the priests and Levites and said, “Go out to the cities of Judah and collect silver from all Israel to repair the temple of your God as needed year by year, and do it quickly.”
However, the Levites did not hurry.
King Joash gave a command and the priest did not follow his command.
6 So the king called Jehoiada the high priest and said, “Why haven’t you required the Levites to bring from Judah and Jerusalem the tax imposed by the Lord’s servant Moses and the assembly of Israel for the tent of the testimony?
Why have you not collected money as Moses instructed by the Lord for the tent of the Word of God?
7 For the sons of that wicked Athaliah broke into the Lord’s temple and even used the sacred things of the Lord’s temple for the Baals.”
The sons of Athaliah broke into the Lord's temple and used the things that were dedicated to God and used them for the worship of the Idol God Baal.
8 At the king’s command a chest was made and placed outside the gate of the Lord’s temple.
This time the priest obeyed King Joash.
9 Then a proclamation was issued in Judah and Jerusalem that the tax God’s servant Moses imposed on Israel in the wilderness be brought to the Lord.
The people returned to giving as Moses instructed.
10 All the leaders and all the people rejoiced, brought the tax, and put it in the chest until it was full.
The people were happy to give. When we follow God's instructions people are happy to give.
11 Whenever the chest was brought by the Levites to the king’s overseers, and when they saw that there was a large amount of silver, the king’s secretary and the high priest’s deputy came and emptied the chest, picked it up, and returned it to its place. They did this daily and gathered the silver in abundance.
The offering was accounted for. People gave and the chosen staff made sure of what they collected and counted was recorded.
12 Then the king and Jehoiada gave it to those in charge of the labor on the Lord’s temple, who were hiring stonecutters and carpenters to renovate the Lord’s temple, also blacksmiths and coppersmiths to repair the Lord’s temple.
The king and priest paid the people who renovated the temple fairly.
13 The workmen did their work, and through them the repairs progressed. They restored God’s temple to its specifications and reinforced it.
The workmen did what they were hired to do.
14 When they finished, they presented the rest of the silver to the king and Jehoiada, who made articles for the Lord’s temple with it—articles for ministry and for making burnt offerings, and ladles[a] and articles of gold and silver. They regularly offered burnt offerings in the Lord’s temple throughout Jehoiada’s life.
The king and priest took what was left and bought what was needed for the temple. They did not say, I will pay myself for all the work I thought of for the house of God.
Joash’s Apostasy
15 Jehoiada died when he was old and full of days; he was 130 years old at his death.
16 He was buried in the city of David with the kings because he had done what was good in Israel with respect to God and his temple.
Jehoiada lived to be 130 years old and was buried with kings because he did what was right for Israel.
17 However, after Jehoiada died, the rulers of Judah came and paid homage to the king. Then the king listened to them,
When Jehoiada died, king Joash listened to the wrong words. When we allow other to speak against God's Word to us, we give them permission to mislead us if we do not speak up. King Joash had the power to stop them from speaking against God, but he agreed with the deception they brought and spoke to him.
18 and they abandoned the temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and served the Asherah poles and the idols.
Asherah
So there was wrath against Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs.
Judah left God for nothing. Judah left everything for nothing. Judah and Jerusalem were guilty of participating in what the king allowed in serving Asherah. One king brought guilt on a whole nation. Jesus brought the forgiveness of sin on the whole nation.
19 Nevertheless, he sent them prophets to bring them back to the Lord; they admonished them, but the people would not listen.
20 The Spirit of God enveloped[b] Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood above the people and said to them, “This is what God says, ‘Why are you transgressing the Lord’s commands so that you do not prosper?
Because you have abandoned the Lord, he has abandoned you.’”
21 But they conspired against him and stoned him at the king’s command in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple.
22 King Joash didn’t remember the kindness that Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had extended to him, but killed his son. While he was dying, he said, “May the Lord see and demand an account.”
What was Joash doing to forget the kindness of Jehoiada who protected his life from the age of one until he was king at age seven and many years after? It seems as if though King Joash only walked with God because Jehoiada the priest advised him. Jehoiada died. King Joash left God. When it came to reading for himself, he failed to do so. He killed the son of the priest who took care of him. Zachariah, the son of Jehoiada, told God to cause Joah to pay for what rejecting him. Jesus said while he hung from the tree, Father, forgive them because they do not know what they are doing. The next time Jesus comes, I believe his Words will be as Zachariah the son of Jehoiada.
Aramean Invasion of Judah
23 At the turn of the year, an Aramean army attacked Joash.They entered Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the leaders of the people among them and sent all the plunder to the king of Damascus.
24 Although the Aramean army came with only a few men, the Lord handed over a vast army to them because the people of Judah had abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors. So they executed judgment on Joash.
God uses our enemies to conquer and sometimes destroy us. When we turn from the Word of God, we join the enemies. And enemies will kill their own kind. When we leave God, satan leaps at the chance to destroy us.
Joash Assassinated
25 When the Arameans saw that Joash had many wounds, they left him. His servants conspired against him, and killed him on his bed, because he had shed the blood of the sons of the priest Jehoiada. So he died, and they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.
Joash was king. The decision he chose in life cost him his life. He did not continue in God's Word. We have to start and finish well. The two servants took matters into their own hands because he killed an innocent man and slew him while he was lying in his own bed.
26 Those who conspired against him were Zabad, son of the Ammonite woman Shimeath, and Jehozabad, son of the Moabite woman Shimrith.[c]
These men saw that he was in no condition to fight and took the life he had left in him. People who hate bad leadership think nothing of taking your life no matter what. Some will see you struggling and do more to cause you pain. We will find out later what happened to these two men.
27 The accounts concerning his sons, the many divine pronouncements about him, and the restoration of God’s temple are recorded in the Writing of the Book of the Kings. His son Amaziah became king in his place.
In 2nd King chapter 12, you can read more accounts of Joash. The lesson I take from 2 Chronicles 24 is to make sure I stay in the Word of God. Joash had support from Jehozabad, the priest. When he died Joash had to read for himself and failed to do so. It does not matter how much good we've done in our service toward God, we must not give up. We must Study God Word Every Day.
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