Title: Joash/2 Chronicles 24:1-27
Joash / 2 Chronicles 24:1-27
The woes left by Jehoshaphat
Jehoshaphat ruled the country well. However, when his wealth and glory reached the extreme, he had an in-law relationship with King Ahab of Israel in the northern kingdom (2 Chronicles 18:1). Ahab's daughter Athaliah was taken as the prince's concubine. This was the fault of Jehoshaphat's life. Athaliah was the daughter of Jezebel, who actively planted Baal religion in Israel. When Athaliah married the royal family of Judah, she did the same thing that her mother Jezebel had done to Ahab. Jehoram, who married Athaliah, killed all his brothers when he ascended to the throne (2 Chronicles 21:4). Jehoram did not walk in the ways of the kings of Judah, but in the ways of the kings of Israel, causing the inhabitants of Jerusalem to worship idols as if they were immoral (2 Chron. "For" Ahab's daughter became his wife (2 Chronicles 21:6).
God stirred the hearts of the Philistines and Arabs to attack Jehoram. All but the youngest Ahaziah were killed in that war (2 Chronicles 21:17). And at the age of 40, eight years after he became king, he contracted a disease in which the intestines came out and suffered for two years before dying. The people did not allow him to enter the king's tomb (2 Chronicles 21:18-20). The same was true of Ahaziah, who succeeded him as king. 'Ahaziah also walked in the way of the house of Ahab, because his mother had persuaded him to do evil. After his father died, he followed the members of the house of Ahab, whom he was destroying, and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as in the house of Ahab.” He was killed by Jehu, who killed Jehoram and became king of Israel.
Joash's Rebellion
When she heard that her only son had died, Athaliah destroyed the king's seed. Then Jehoram's daughter Jehoshabeat, the sister of Ahaziah, hid Joash from among the princes. Jehoshabeath was the wife of Jehoiada the priest. He hid and raised him in the temple for six years, and when he was seven years old, he rose up against the priest Jehoiada and became king. When Joash became king, he reigned for 40 years. He seemed to be serving God better than anyone else. He was more active in repairing the temple than all the priests and even Jehoiada (2 Kings 12:4-15). However, he lived right in the sight of God only while Jehoiada was alive (2 Kings 12:2, 2 Chronicles 24:2).
Joash's role
The priest Jehoiada died. The people buried him in the tombs of the kings. 'Because he did good to Israel and to God and to its house' (2 Chronicles 24:16). But when Jehoiada died, evil servants approached Joash (2 Chronicles 24:17). They must have been people who opposed Jehoiada's policy, but were pressed for time. But when Jehoiada died, they seduced Joash. Joash succumbed to their temptations too easily. Joash seemed to be serving God zealously, but he did not do it out of conviction of faith, but was zealous according to the times. This is a very important issue. We are the same. A person who seems to be zealous, but lives a life of faith based on superficial things such as formalities and circumstances without encountering and experiencing God, becomes like Joash if the circumstances change.
'Taste and know that the LORD is good' (Psalm 34:8).
“If ye have tasted the mercy of the Lord, so be it” (1 Peter 2:3).
'He must have the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience' (1 Timothy 3:9)
Even if you attend church and participate in service, that is not the essence of your faith. The first thing you must have is a personal encounter with God. Faith must be rooted here (Psalm 1:3). What really matters is not following the market price, but whether you follow the faith. No matter what kind of service we give our bodies to burn, if God is not at the center, we are 'hand circumcision' (those who value only conscious actions without God's grace) (Philippians 3:2). These people are deceived by themselves. Are you happy in your life of faith? If you only know the joy of faith in theory and do not feel it in practice, you are in a grave crisis of faith. You are in a very dangerous state where you can leave the Lord at any time.
Joash's End
God sent prophets to warn them, but they did not listen. When Jehoiada's son Zechariah was moved by the Holy Spirit to warn him, he stoned him to death (2 Chronicles 24:21). A year later, the Syrians invaded Judah. They brought all the treasures of the royal palace and even those in the temple (2 Kings 12:18). But after a while, the king of Aram, who had retreated, invaded again. Joash was badly wounded in that war. Their servants killed Joash and made his son Amaziah king. They were not allowed to enter the tombs of the kings (2 Chronicles 24:25).