Most of our last study concentrated on Jehu and his ruthless removal of all those associated with Baal worship in Israel. But this also included the slaughter of Ahaziah, king of Judah – in the south, the other half of the Land of Israel. Who would succeed him?
Read 2 Kings 11:1
1 When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family.
Remember 2 Kings 8:26-27 told us that Athaliah was a granddaughter of Omri, father of Ahab, and that Ahaziah ‘followed the ways of the house of Ahab and did evil in the eyes of the Lord’
It was her obvious intention as a worshipper of Baal and Asherah to deliberately go against God’s promise to David in 2 Samuel 7:16 ‘Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever. ’
Also, of course, that would mean the prophecy concerning Jesus in Jeremiah 23:5-6 would also fail:
5 ‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord,
‘when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Saviour.
Fortunately, unknown to most people around the palace, there was a new-born baby.
Read 2 Kings 11:2-3
2 But 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. 3 He remained hidden with his nurse at the temple of the Lord for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.
Who could be trusted with this information? How about Jehoiada, a true priest of God?
What could he do? Have you ever had an impression in your mind that you have to do something for the Lord, and however much you resist it, it won’t go away? I’m convinced the Lord directed what happened next.
Read 2 Kings 11:4
4 In 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.
Of course, it would be obvious to these senior army officers that this young boy, Joash, was the rightful heir and thus should be King of Judah. (The NIV Study Bible says that Carites were mercenary soldiers from Caria in south-west Asia Minor (Anatolia / Turkey) who served as royal bodyguards).
Read 2 Kings 11:5-12
5 He 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, 6 a third at the Sur Gate, and a third at the gate behind the guard, who take turns guarding the temple – 7 and you who are in the other two companies that normally go off Sabbath duty are all to guard the temple for the king. 8 Station yourselves round the king, each of you with weapon in hand. Anyone who approaches your ranks is to be put to death. Stay close to the king wherever he goes.’
9 The 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. 10 Then he gave the commanders the spears and shields that had belonged to King David and that were in the temple of the Lord. 11 The guards, each with weapon in hand, stationed themselves round the king – near the altar and the temple, from the south side to the north side of the temple.
12 Jehoiada 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!’
A proper coronation celebration!
Read 2 Kings 11:13-18a
13 When Athaliah heard the noise made by the guards and the people, she went to the people at the temple of the Lord. 14 She 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!’
15 Jehoiada 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.’ 16 So they seized her as she reached the place where the horses enter the palace grounds, and there she was put to death.
17 Jehoiada 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. 18 All 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.
Firstly a covenent that bound both king and people to serve the Lord, then a covenant between king and people to serve each other. What an excellent start.
‘all the people of the land’ suggests to me that they too had had enough of the ways of Ahab, and were now keen to return to the God of their fathers.
Read 2 Kings 11:18b-21
Then Jehoiada the priest posted guards at the temple of the Lord. 19 He 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. 20 All the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was calm, because Athaliah had been slain with the sword at the palace.
21 Joash was seven years old when he began his reign.
As I was writing this, it came to me that I now had a blank sheet of paper in front of me waiting for whatever came next!
I wonder, what could a seven year old boy do?
Read 2 Kings 12:1-3
1 In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba. 2 Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3 The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.
Well, Joash started well although verse 2 might suggest that he did not end as well – we’ll have to wait and see. And what was the problem with the ‘High Places’?
In the early days of the nation of Israel, after they had settled in the land, travelling three times a year to worship at the Tabernacle proved to be an impossibility for many. They were therefore allowed to build altars at several strategic sites that could temporarily be used by priests that lived locally.
Several generations later of course, the practice had been so well established it was very hard to get people to make the journey to the new Temple in Jerusalem.
Besides which, the Temple itself was now in a sorry state. During the reigns of Jehoram, Ahaziah and Athalia the Temple had been neglected and even broken into.
Look at the parallel passage in 2 Chronicles 24:7 Now the sons of that wicked woman Athaliah had broken into the temple of God and had used even its sacred objects for the Baals.
Looking ahead to 2 Kings 12:11-12 it suggests that there was major building work to be done.
It was not surprising then that those people who wished to worship the one true God should keep well away.
Read 2 Kings 12:4-6
4 Joash said to the priests, ‘Collect all the money that is brought as sacred offerings to the temple of the Lord – the money collected in the census, the money received from personal vows and the money brought voluntarily to the temple. 5 Let every priest receive the money from one of the treasurers, then use it to repair whatever damage is found in the temple.’
6 But by the twenty-third year of King Joash the priests still had not repaired the temple.
(Generally assumed to be when he had reigned for 23 years but could be read ‘when he was 23’.)
It seems that the priests were happy to take the money (perhaps they had not been paid for several years) but they were not so good at making repairs.
Read 2 Kings 12:7-8
7 Therefore King Joash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and asked them, ‘Why aren’t you repairing the damage done to the temple? Take no more money from your treasurers, but hand it over for repairing the temple.’ 8 The priests agreed that they would not collect any more money from the people and that they would not repair the temple themselves.
Just like the Apostles in Acts 6:2-4, the priests accepted that they were not very practical people and others were better suited to the task.
Read 2 Kings 12:9-16
9 Jehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in its lid. He placed it beside the altar, on the right side as one enters the temple of the Lord. The priests who guarded the entrance put into the chest all the money that was brought to the temple of the Lord. 10 Whenever they saw that there was a large amount of money in the chest, the royal secretary and the high priest came, counted the money that had been brought into the temple of the Lord and put it into bags. 11 When the amount had been determined, they gave the money to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. With it they paid those who worked on the temple of the Lord – the carpenters and builders, 12 the masons and stonecutters. They purchased timber and blocks of dressed stone for the repair of the temple of the Lord, and met all the other expenses of restoring the temple.
13 The money brought into the temple was not spent for making silver basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets or any other articles of gold or silver for the temple of the Lord; 14 it was paid to the workers, who used it to repair the temple. 15 They did not require an accounting from those to whom they gave the money to pay the workers, because they acted with complete honesty. 16 The money from the guilt offerings and sin offerings was not brought into the temple of the Lord; it belonged to the priests.
It would seem that as Joash settled into his reign, Temple worship resumed and people again came with their offerings. The law established by Moses (in Leviticus 6 & 7) stated that certain sacrifices were to become the property of the priests. Initially this was in the form of animals, but by now that had often been replaced with money. Besides this, the ‘Census’ (v4), or ‘Temple Tax’ established in Exodus 30:11-16 was specifically to be used for the ongoing repairs to the Temple; and what a pleasure it is to read verse 15!.
In the same way that historians can be selective in what they record, so it is with the writers of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles (Perhaps that is why we have both parallel accounts in the Bible!).
Here 2 Kings leaves us with a King of Judah that has successfully turned the nation back to God. So perhaps we should now look at 2 Chronicles.
Read 2 Chronicles 24:13-16
13 The men in charge of the work were diligent, and the repairs progressed under them. They rebuilt the temple of God according to its original design and reinforced it. 14 When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada, and with it were made articles for the Lord’s temple: articles for the service and for the burnt offerings, and also dishes and other objects of gold and silver. As long as Jehoiada lived, burnt offerings were presented continually in the temple of the Lord.
15 Now Jehoiada was old and full of years, and he died at the age of a hundred and thirty. 16 He was buried with the kings in the City of David, because of the good he had done in Israel for God and his temple.
It is very significant that Jehoiada the priest had been a guiding light throughout the entire life of Joash. But all this was about to change.
Read 2 Chronicles 24:17-19
17 After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them. 18 They abandoned the temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and worshipped Asherah poles and idols. Because of their guilt, God’s anger came on Judah and Jerusalem. 19 Although the Lord sent prophets to the people to bring them back to him, and though they testified against them, they would not listen.
What is the problem with these people? I think the answer is always that ‘Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour’ (1 Peter 5:8) and so often he succeeds. But God doesn’t just stand by and watch (v19) – he gives every opportunity to repent.
Read 2 Chronicles 24:20-22
20 Then the Spirit of God came on Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, ‘This is what God says: “Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands? You will not prosper. Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.”’
21 But they plotted against him, and by order of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. 22 King Joash did not remember the kindness Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him but killed his son, who said as he lay dying, ‘May the Lord see this and call you to account.’
Killing God’s messenger is never a good idea, and will certainly not stop the punishment pronounced by God. And this wasn’t the first warning he had had, verses 19 and 27 mention ‘many prophecies about him’.
Read 2 Chronicles 24:23-27
23 At the turn of the year, the army of Aram marched against Joash; it invaded Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the leaders of the people. They sent all the plunder to their king in Damascus. 24 Although the Aramean army had come with only a few men, the Lord delivered into their hands a much larger army. Because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, judgment was executed on Joash. 25 When the Arameans withdrew, they left Joash severely wounded. His officials conspired against him for murdering the son of Jehoiada the priest, and they killed him in his bed. So he died and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
26 Those who conspired against him were Zabad, son of Shimeath an Ammonite woman, and Jehozabad, son of Shimrith a Moabite woman. 27 The account of his sons, the many prophecies about him, and the record of the restoration of the temple of God are written in the annotations on the book of the kings. And Amaziah his son succeeded him as king.
How sad. Yet another king had started out well, but again is seems that it is possible to ‘go through the motions’ – even for many years, appearing to be quite ‘religious’ but without a personal faith in the Lord that would have been truly life-changing.
