And the king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of the service of the house of Jehovah, and they hired masons and carpenters to renew the house of Jehovah, and also such as wrought in iron and bronze, to repair the house of Jehovah.
Joash had ordered the temple repaired, and here the money turns into work. The verse raises the questions every repair raises: who holds the money, who does the work, and how far each side can trust the other.
These were not routine repairs. The rulers before Joash had stripped the temple, so the bill was large.
Joash told Jehoiada plainly that the priests and Levites had not done what they were told, for the need was obvious. Athaliah and her sons had stolen the dedicated things of the temple to use in the worship of Baal (v. 7). So repairing the temple was bound to be expensive.
Each day's check of the chest turned up plenty, and the repairs did not drag on.
Checking the chest each day, the king's officers found plenty of money. Where there was a mind to do the work, the restoration of the temple was soon finished (v. 13).
The masons hired here were skilled tradesmen. One reference work points to the evidence still standing in Jerusalem:
Some of these stones are still in place. They are finely shaped and squared, and they fit so closely that you cannot slide a pen-knife between them, though there is no mortar. This is the work of the "stone-squarers," and in stones so large it shows great skill in the masons.
The men holding the tools come out better here than the religious leaders do. Money had been reaching the priests while the building stayed broken.
The priests were using for themselves the gifts they received from their acquaintances (vv. 7-8). They did have the right to live from the things offered at the altar. But in their hearts their own interests came before those of the Lord and of His house, and their conduct showed it. They lived on their gifts, and the house of God kept its breaches. Jehoiada himself let them do so without protesting. Further on (v. 15) we see people with no official position — from those set over the work down to the carpenters and masons — who "dealt faithfully," much more so than the priests themselves.
The result reached further than clean accounts.
On the other hand, those who had the money in hand to distribute to the workers did not distrust them, for they recognised the unselfishness brought to light by their whole conduct. So a happy fellowship reigned among all, and nothing came in to hinder the orderly progress of the work. This is always the result when the interests of the house of God come first instead of being pushed into the background.
One writer warns against making that trust a rule for handling money today:
The question will arise: "Should the example of these people of long ago be the pattern for us to follow today?" The answer is "No." The times of Joash and of Josiah were exceptional. In each reign a great spiritual revival was going on. The people — or at least a remnant of them — were turning back to their God after many years of grave wrongdoing. Hearts and consciences were awake to His holy will. Since this was so, precautions against fraud were hardly needed.
The verse names the king and the priest together. The drive behind the work may have come from Jehoiada.
In this project it must have been Jehoiada's influence that moved Joash, since Jehoiada was in charge of the service of the temple.
That is why the good start did not last. A borrowed faith collapses when the person it leans on dies.
Joash was faithful at the beginning of his reign. Still, he walks more by Jehoiada's faith than by his own. After the high priest's death he leans on the princes of Judah, serves idols, and even puts to death the son of Jehoiada, through whom the Holy Spirit had testified against him.
Joash was not founding something new. One writer draws the line straight to God's people now:
For us, just as for Joash, it is not a question of beginning to build the house, of setting up a new Church. It is only a matter of repairing the breaches. And for that God does not abandon us to our own initiative, which would only add new breaches to the old evils.
- Ruin — the temple's dedicated things had been stolen for idol worship, so the repairs cost a great deal.
- Repair — the task was never to build something new, only to mend the breaches. God does not abandon us to our own initiative there.
- Hands — the money hired masons, carpenters and metalworkers. Where there was a mind to do the work, it was soon finished.
- Trust — workmen with no official standing proved more faithful than the priests, and the men handing out the funds had no cause to suspect them. One writer adds that such freedom from precautions suited a time of revival, not every time.
- Warning — Joash leaned on Jehoiada's faith. When the priest died, the king turned to idols and killed Jehoiada's son. Repairing God's house is no substitute for faith of your own.
So the workmen wrought, and the work was perfected by them, and they set the house of God in its state, and strengthened it.
Here the money in the chest turns into work. Masons, carpenters and metalworkers are paid, and the long-neglected house of God is made sound again. Two questions follow. Why did a work delayed so long suddenly move? And why did the king who started it not finish well?
The method of collecting mattered. One writer explains why the money came in:
This method proved effective. People came and gave willingly, and no one pressured them. This is the principle of grace shown us in the New Testament. There believers are not required to give. They are told of definite needs, and the word to them is, "Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Cor. 9:7). That is not a demand but an encouragement. The leaders rejoiced in this, and so did all the people. They gladly brought their gifts and put them into the chest.
The delay had a cause. One writer contrasts the priests, who had a lawful income but the wrong priorities, with the men who did the work:
The priests were using for themselves the gifts they received from their acquaintances. They did have the right to live from the things offered at the altar. But in their hearts their own interests came before those of the Lord and of His house, and their conduct showed it. They lived from their gifts, and the house of God kept its breaches. Jehoiada himself let them do so without protesting. Later we see that people with no official position, from those set over the work down to the carpenters and masons, "dealt faithfully," much more so than the priests themselves.
The record says nothing about checking the men who handled the money. One writer reads that silence as evidence:
They kept no strict accounts. No one suspected dishonesty, or money going astray. The most beautiful confidence prevailed, and that showed the work of God. When it is the work of God, the heart is engaged. Selfish ends are absent. There is one common object, and all this produces confidence.
The workmen restored the existing house and strengthened it. They did not start a new one. One writer carries that distinction into the present:
It is the same in our day. Our task, like Joash's, is not to begin building the house or to put up a new Church. It is only a matter of repairing the breaches. For that God does not leave us to our own ideas, which would only add new breaches to the old evils.
The work went quickly once it began. One writer gives the reason:
The king and Jehoiada gave the money to those in charge of the service of the house of the Lord, and they hired masons, carpenters and iron and brass workers. When there was a mind to do the work, the restoration of the temple was soon accomplished.
The house was repaired, but the king who repaired it did not hold his course. One writer names the test of a work that is truly of God:
Flesh may be even more zealous than faith. But there is this difference: faith continues, while the effort of flesh is short-lived. It may begin well, but the question is whether it continues. Its continuance is always the great proof of what is divine. Joash did not continue as he began. We are told that after his good effort on the neglected repairs of the house of Jehovah, he relaxed.
- Willing gives. The repairs moved when giving became a free offering instead of a demand. That is the pattern of grace: each gives as he has decided in his heart.
- Self-interest stalls. The priests lived off the gifts while the house kept its breaches, and even Jehoiada let it pass. Wrong priorities, not empty pockets, caused the delay.
- Trust builds. They kept no strict accounts, and no one suspected theft. In God's work the heart is engaged and there is one common object, and that produces confidence.
- Repair, don't replace. The task is not to start a new house but to mend the breaches of the old one. And God does not leave us to our own ideas.
- Finish inwardly. Zeal in the flesh can begin well and still collapse. Continuing is the proof that a work is divine, and Joash did not continue.
And when they had finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada; and they made of it vessels for the house of Jehovah, utensils to minister, and with which to offer up, and cups, and utensils of gold and silver. And they offered up burnt-offerings in the house of Jehovah continually all the days of Jehoiada.
A whole chapter of collecting, hiring and building ends here with money left over, a set of new vessels, and an altar back in use. Then comes a quiet clause that ties the whole revival to one man's lifetime.
The verse opens with money left over. One writer credits the givers, and adds that the priests had their own portion.
The willing-hearted people gave more than enough. And the priests were not left without provision: "The money from the guilt offerings and the money from the sin offerings was not brought into the house of the LORD; it belonged to the priests" (2 Kings 12:16).
The same writer looks at how they handled the money once it came in.
They kept no exacting accounts. No one suspected dishonesty or misuse of money. The most beautiful confidence prevailed, and that showed the work of God. When it is the work of God, the heart is engaged; selfish ends are absent.
The new vessels were made of gold and silver. One writer explains what each metal stands for in worship.
Articles of gold speak of that which is strictly for God's glory, and articles of silver speak of the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. These ought to be most prominent in worship.
The verse ends not with a finished building but with a restarted service. The repairs were the means; the burnt offerings were the point.
When the repair work was done, money still remained. With it they added articles of gold and silver for serving in the temple. The temple now had its true place, and so burnt offerings went up there continually all the days of Jehoiada.
King Joash did not invent his plan. He went back to what Moses had laid down, and one writer applies that pattern to Christians today.
For Joash the important thing was to go back to "the tax that Moses the servant of God laid on Israel in the wilderness." He would not turn aside from the word of the law when it came to honouring the house of God and everything connected with it. It is the same in our day. Like Joash, we are not asked to start building the house, or to set up a new Church. It is only a matter of repairing the breaches. For that God does not leave us to our own ideas, which would only add new breaches to the old evils.
The offerings lasted as long as Jehoiada lived. One writer reads that limit as a warning about zeal that starts well.
Flesh may be even more zealous than faith, but then there is this difference: faith continues; the effort of flesh is short-lived. It may begin well, but the question is whether it continues. Its continuance is always the great proof of what is divine.
Knowledge and godly habits are not the whole story. One writer names what can still be missing.
Knowledge and real piety do not make up for the lack of a direct relationship of the soul with the Lord. The Christian must seek this before all else. Thousands of godly souls stay in a childlike state. They lean first on their parents, and later on their spiritual leaders, instead of leaning on God and the Word. If the leader disappears, their godliness disappears with him. If he turns aside, their soul turns aside after him.
- Heart first. Willing hearts gave more than enough. Where the heart is engaged in God's work, selfish ends drop away and trust replaces suspicion.
- Surplus turned to service. The money left over became vessels of gold and silver. Gold speaks of what is strictly for God's glory; silver speaks of redemption in Christ.
- The altar was the goal. Repairing the house was never the finish line. Once the house had its true place, burnt offerings went up continually.
- Repair, don't reinvent. Joash went back to what Moses laid down. The pattern for God's people is never to build something new but to mend the breaches by the Word.
- Borrowed faith has an expiry date. Everything here lasted "all the days of Jehoiada." Flesh can be more zealous than faith, yet only faith continues. So lean on God Himself, not on the godly person beside you.
And Jehoiada grew old and was full of days, and he died; he was a hundred and thirty years old when he died.
Jehoiada the priest put the rightful heir on Judah's throne and protected him for a lifetime. Here he dies at 130, and the rest of the chapter asks what becomes of a king once his guide is gone.
The verse measures Jehoiada twice — by age, and by what filled those years. One commentator links the honour of his burial to the record of his service. Only faith, he adds, could move a man of that age to act.
"And they buried him in the city of David among the kings (as well they might), because he had done good in Israel, both toward God, and toward His house" — He had remembered the claims of the Holy One of Israel, and he attended to them with energy and faithfulness. Only the energy of faith could explain a man nearly a hundred years old setting himself to overthrow such an enemy of God as Athaliah.
Athaliah was the ruler Jehoiada removed so that the rightful heir could reign. Taking her on was not the work of a man winding down.
Jehoiada was a priest, not a king. Yet they buried him among the kings, and one writer finds the reason in the way he used his power.
At his death he was buried among the kings, because he had truly acted as a good king (v. 16). He never took the place of king himself. He gave that place to the rightful heir to the throne, while guiding him well all the days of his life.
The same writer sets Jehoiada beside two high priests we meet much later, in the New Testament:
What a contrast between him and those other two high priests, Annas and Caiaphas! He worked to keep the royal line alive; they worked to destroy the final Heir — "great David's greater Son." And when the time of rewards comes, what will be the unspeakable differences!
You would expect such a loss to make Joash more loyal, not less. One writer says as much:
We should expect that Joash would keenly feel the loss of the man through whom he had been so greatly blessed. In mourning his death, he would surely mean to go on following his example.
The opposite happened. The good in the young king's reign had been resting on another man's faith.
Joash was faithful at the start of his reign. Still, he walks more by Jehoiada's faith than by his own. After the death of the high priest, he leans on the princes of Judah, and he serves idols. He even puts to death the son of Jehoiada, through whom the Holy Spirit had testified against him.
Jehoiada's oversight had shaped Joash's public conduct without reaching his heart. One writer explains why with a picture, then brings it home to families today.
But outside influence, however holy, can never change the heart. The heart is like a bent bow: it springs back to its normal shape the moment the pressure stops. How often we see this solemn fact in Christian families! How often a son leaves the godly restraints of his father's house! He then plunges into the sinful pleasures of the world with all the more enthusiasm!
Jehoiada's death raised one question: whose faith had been holding Joash up? One writer states the principle plainly — good examples help, but they cannot carry you.
Second-hand faith will never do. There must be a living link connecting the soul with God. Each of us must deal with God for ourselves, or we shall give way when the testing time comes. Human example and human influence may be all very good in their place… But suppose that is all. Suppose there is no deep spring of personal faith and personal knowledge. Suppose there is no link of personal relationship and communion, formed and sustained by God. Then, when the human props go, when the tide of human influence ebbs, when general decline sets in, we shall give up the confession of His name.
The story ends by setting Jehoiada's burial beside that of the king he saved.
Jehoiada, the protector of Joash, had been buried with the kings (v. 16). Joash was king, yet he was not buried with the kings. The people saw that he did not deserve the burial Jehoiada had — even though they themselves had followed Joash into idolatry. How sad was the end of the man who wanted to please the people rather than to please God!
- Propped — Joash did right, but he leaned on Jehoiada's faith instead of his own.
- Removed — Once the prop was gone, the king leaned on the princes of Judah, then served idols, then killed Jehoiada's son.
- Unchanged — Outside influence never changes a heart. Like a bent bow, the heart springs back the moment the pressure stops.
- Personal — Second-hand faith gives way when testing comes. The remedy is a living link with God of your own.
- Weighed — Jehoiada never claimed a crown, yet he lies among the kings for the good he did toward God and His house. Joash wore the crown, and the people judged him unworthy of that grave.
And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God and toward his house.
Jehoiada the priest hid the baby Joash from Athaliah, crowned him, and guided his early reign. He died at a hundred and thirty, and the nation buried a priest among its kings — so why this honour for a man who never wore a crown?
One writer looks back over Jehoiada's long life and finds both faithfulness and courage in it.
He had remembered the claims of the Holy One of Israel, and attended to them with vigour and faithfulness. It could be nothing other than the energy of faith for a man nearly a hundred years old to set himself to overthrow such an enemy of God as Athaliah.
Jehoiada held real power for years while the king was a child. What he did with that power explains his grave.
At his death they buried him among the kings, because he had really acted as a good king (v. 16). He did not take the place of king himself. He gave that place to the rightful heir to the throne, yet he influenced him for good all the days of his life.
The same writer weighs what Jehoiada had restored before he died.
He re-established the kingdom, and the cause of the Lord revived during his last days on earth. He was a true king in heart and mind. It was fitting that the old priest's head, with its priestly turban, should rest among those who had worn the crown.
The verse names two directions for his good: toward God, and toward His house. One writer gives two grounds for the burial — family ties and the work itself — and notes what surfaced once Jehoiada was gone.
He was connected by marriage with the royal house. They also valued the great work he had done, "because he had done good in Israel, and toward God and His house." So they buried him among the kings. After his death it became clear that the revival had rested on the good priest. Joash's convictions and faithfulness to the Lord were only skin-deep.
Joash did right "all the days of Jehoiada" — and that time limit is the whole story. One writer names what was really holding the king up.
Yes, but it was more the influence of Jehoiada than faith in the living God. An influence, sooner or later, must fail. The influence of man is not the faith of God's elect.
Another writer gives the reason influence cannot hold, and turns it on the home.
But outside influence, however holy, can never change the heart. The heart is like a bent bow. It springs back to its normal shape the moment the pressure stops. How often we see this solemn fact in Christian families! How often a son leaves the godly restraints of his father's house and plunges with greater eagerness into the sinful pleasures of the world!
Jehoiada's death exposed Joash. The same warning reaches anyone who leans on a person to keep their spiritual life standing.
Thousands of godly souls stay in a state of childhood. They depend first on their parents, and later on their spiritual leaders, instead of depending on God and the Word. If the leader disappears, their godliness disappears with him. If he turns aside, their soul turns aside after him.
The remedy is not a better leader, but a person who never changes.
Leaders may change or fail; Christ alone does not change: He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is "the great shepherd of the sheep." He is the one we must hold on to.
The chapter ends with a second burial, and with the king shut out of the royal graves.
The people had buried Jehoiada, the protector of Joash, with the kings (v. 16). But Joash was king, and they did not bury him with the kings. They saw that he did not deserve the burial Jehoiada had, even though they had followed Joash in his idolatry.
- Good — The verse gives one reason for the honour: he had done good in Israel, toward God and toward His house. He kept God's claims in view and met them with vigour.
- Grave — They laid a priest among kings because he had acted as a good king. He held the power and handed it to the rightful heir.
- Gone — The revival had rested on him. Once he died, Joash's faithfulness proved only skin-deep.
- Grip — Outside influence never changes the heart. A bent bow springs back the moment the pressure stops.
- Guide — Leaders change or fail; Christ does not. Hold on to Him, not to the person who first taught you about Him.
And after the death of Jehoiada the princes of Judah came and made obeisance to the king; then the king hearkened to them.
For as long as Jehoiada the priest lived, Joash did what was right. Now Jehoiada is dead, and the princes of Judah are at the king's side, bowing low. The rest of the chapter answers one question: whose faith had Joash been living on?
Joash's good years rested on one man. When that man was gone, his life changed direction. One writer traces the collapse to the person the king had been leaning on.
Joash was faithful at the start of his reign. Even so, he walks more by Jehoiada's faith than by his own. After the death of the high priest, he leans on the princes of Judah, and serves idols. He even puts to death the son of Jehoiada, through whom the Holy Spirit had testified against him.
The princes did not argue with the king or threaten him. They bowed. One writer reads that bow as flattery, and shows where listening to it led.
While Jehoiada, his uncle, lived, Joash did what was right. But Jehoiada dies. After that, "the princes of Judah came and paid homage to the king" — that is, they flattered him — "then the king listened to them." Their evil influence led Joash to his ruin, as princes had before led Rehoboam. Joash gave in to their flattery, and no doubt to their requests as well. So "they abandoned the house of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols." How short the step from what looks like outward godliness to open evil!
Joash's earlier obedience was real. But pressure from outside held it in place, and the same writer says why that could not last.
But external influence, however holy, can never change the heart. The heart is like a bent bow: it springs back to its normal shape the moment the pressure stops. How often we see this solemn fact in Christian families! How often a son leaves the godly restraints of his father's house, and plunges with greater eagerness into the sinful pleasures of the world!
Joash began well, and for a while he was zealous. One commentator names the test that shows whether such zeal comes from God.
The flesh may be even more zealous than faith, but there is this difference: faith continues; the effort of the flesh is short-lived. It may begin well, but the question is whether it continues. Its continuance is always the great proof of what is divine. Joash did not continue as he began… But here, even, we find the influences, the destructive influences, of the princes of Judah. "The king listened to them," it says, after the death of Jehoiada. They turned from the house of the LORD to idols, and "wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs."
One writer names the habit behind the king's fall, and then turns to families today.
From childhood on, Joash was used to a relationship with God through someone in between. He never felt the need for direct communion with the Lord… Children of Christians often show this same picture. Their parents' faith guides their first steps, which is right and approved by God. Later they show a genuine faith, but it still carries its early habits. They look to people rather than to God Himself… Knowledge and real godliness are no substitute for a direct relationship between the soul and the Lord. The Christian must seek this above everything else. Thousands of godly souls stay in a condition of childhood. They depend first on their parents and later on their spiritual leaders, instead of depending on God and the Word. Let the leader disappear, and their godliness disappears with him; let him turn aside, and their soul turns aside after him… Joash obeyed leaders without discernment, whether Jehoiada or the princes — and that was his ruin.
The same writer points to the alternative that does not fail.
Leaders may change or fail; Christ alone does not change: He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is "the great shepherd of the sheep." It is to Him that we must cling.
- Leaning wrongly. Joash leaned on Jehoiada's faith, not his own. When the priest died, he shifted his weight to the princes of Judah.
- Leaning on flattery. Their bow before the throne was flattery. The king listened, and it led him to ruin, as princes had earlier led Rehoboam.
- Leaning exposed. Outside influence, however holy, never changes a heart. Remove the pressure and the bent bow springs back.
- Leaning proved. The flesh can out-zeal faith for a while, but only faith continues — and continuing is the proof that a work is from God.
- Leaning rightly. Leaders change or fail. Christ does not, and clinging to Him is what no funeral can take away.
And they forsook the house of Jehovah the God of their fathers, and served the Asherahs and idols; and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And he sent prophets among them to bring them again to Jehovah, and they testified against them; but they would not give ear.
Judah had abandoned the temple they had only just repaired, and God's wrath came on them for it. Then He sent prophets — so what does God do with people He has already sentenced, and why would they not listen?
The order matters. Wrath comes first, and the messengers come after.
This is what man is like in his corrupt nature! But the gracious Lord did not give them up. His righteousness demanded judgment, yet in infinite mercy He sent prophets to bring them back. These unnamed prophets testified against them, but they would not pay attention. They hardened their hearts against the Lord and His prophets.
There is a reason He keeps sending, and it is not that the judgment has been called off.
The nation follows the king. But God is still patient with Joash and with his people. He sends prophets to them. The judgment is very near, and as certain as their sin, yet He remembers His covenant with them.
Joash was faithful while Jehoiada the priest was alive. So what was that faithfulness resting on?
As long as Jehoiada the priest lived, Joash did what was right in the Lord's sight. But outside influence, however holy, can never change the heart. The heart is like a bow held bent: it springs back to its own shape the moment the pressure stops. How often we see this solemn fact in Christian families! How often a son leaves the godly restraints of his father's house and plunges into the sinful pleasures of the world with even greater eagerness!
They would not hear the prophets. But the king had already been listening to someone else.
Sadly, Joash had only formally accepted Jehoiada's leadership. He did not follow the faith and example of Jehoiada. Instead of standing firm for God, he listened to the leaders of Judah. They came and bowed down to him, meaning to draw him back into the worship of idols. How many since him have been more swayed by a desire to please men and therefore forget to please God!
The unnamed prophets of this verse were not God's last word to Joash. He also sent a messenger the king had every natural reason to hear.
His mercy and patience are clearest toward Joash. God sends him a special messenger. This man has a strong natural claim on him, and Joash would listen to him more closely than to anyone else. The All-wise God knows how to use natural feelings for His purposes of mercy. When those feelings are trampled on, it shows all the more how much power Satan has over man. Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada and a cousin of the king, carries God's message and rebuke.
Judah's refusal did not begin with these prophets.
We must catch the least warning. We must listen to the smallest whisper of God's voice and obey it quickly. There are always warnings that we have neglected before chastisement comes.
Judah's refusal ended with Zechariah murdered in the temple. Centuries later, Jesus laid that blood at the feet of men who were not yet born.
The Lord Jesus spoke of this solemn event to the scribes and Pharisees. He spoke of "the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar" (Matt. 23:35). Barachiah may have been Zechariah's grandfather, but we have no record of Jehoiada's father. Why did the Lord Jesus accuse the scribes and Pharisees of murdering Zechariah, when this had happened years before? Because they were showing the same cruel, unbelieving attitude toward God. They opposed Christ, an infinitely greater Messenger than Zechariah was. By their attitude they were identifying themselves with those who hated God.
- Wrath. Judah had earned judgment, and God had already announced it. The verse begins after the sentence, not before.
- Yet. His righteousness demanded judgment. In mercy He still sent prophets to bring them back, because He remembered His covenant.
- Reach. When Judah ignored the unnamed prophets, God sent the king's own cousin, Zechariah. He uses natural ties for His purposes of mercy.
- Refusal. A heart held straight only by someone else's influence springs back when the pressure lifts. Joash chose to please men, and would not pay attention to God.
- Result. The same refusal turned up in the men who opposed Christ. Rejecting the messenger put them among those who hated God.
And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood up above the people and said unto them, Thus saith God Wherefore do ye transgress the commandments of Jehovah? And ye cannot prosper; for ye have forsaken Jehovah, and he hath forsaken you.
After Jehoiada the priest died, the king he had raised turned away, and Judah went back to idols. Here God makes His last appeal before judgment: the Spirit takes hold of a priest's son, who stands above the crowd and asks why.
The verse does not say Zechariah decided to speak. It says the Spirit of God clothed him. Other men were lifted out of ordinary life the same way, for one moment of testimony.
There were others like Gideon, Amasai, and Zechariah. The Spirit clothed Himself with them for the time being, so that He might witness through them… But in all these cases the Spirit acted on men from the outside. He used them for His purpose without regard to their inner moral character.
The words are not a fresh sentence God invented for Joash. They repeat terms Judah already knew. The covenant had two sides. God's part never fails, and Israel's does.
Both sides had to keep this covenant. The LORD always keeps His side, for He is faithful. But if Israel were unfaithful, they would certainly fall under the judgment of God, who must forsake them.
That is why the warning is framed as a cause, not a mood: they cannot prosper because they have left Him.
Since this was spoken by a priest of God who was Jehoiada's son, we should expect Joash at least to pay serious attention, but instead Joash issued the command to stone Zechariah to death in the court of the house of the LORD!
God did not pick a stranger to carry this warning.
God is still patient with Joash and with his people. He sends prophets to them, for though the judgment is so near, and as certain as their sin, He remembers His covenant with them. He sends a special messenger to Joash — one who has a strong natural claim on him, and who would be listened to more closely than anyone else. The All-wise God knows how to use natural feelings for His purposes of mercy. When those feelings are trampled, that is even greater evidence of Satan's power over man. Zechariah, son of Jehoiada and a cousin of the king, carries God's message and rebuke. Humanly speaking, the king owes his life to Jehoshabeath, and he will listen to her son, if only out of gratitude, even though he pays no attention to the One who sent the words.
The messenger's standing should have guaranteed a hearing.
A priest of God, Jehoiada's own son, spoke these words. We should expect Joash at least to pay serious attention. Instead he gave the command to stone Zechariah to death in the court of the house of the LORD! So Joash was guilty of despising the blessing he had received through Jehoiada, and of coldly rejecting the God of Israel.
Joash had done right for years. But what held him up was not his own trust in God. It was a good man standing beside him.
Yes, but it was more the influence of Jehoiada than faith in the living God. An influence, sooner or later, must fail. The influence of man is not the faith of God's elect.
The pattern did not end with Joash.
The case of King Joash shows this. A faith based only on training vanishes once the influences holding it up are gone.
Jesus spoke of "the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar." Did He mean this Zechariah, or a later prophet with the same name? Commentators differ. One line of reading points to the place of Chronicles in the Hebrew Bible:
This probably refers to Zechariah the son of Jehoiada, whom the king ordered killed. In one of the places "son" may mean "grandson." Chronicles closes the Hebrew Bible, so this murder of a righteous man may well count as the last, just as Abel's was the first.
Others hold that the father's name points elsewhere:
It seems clear that this refers to Zechariah the prophet, son of Berechiah. Another Zechariah, son of Jehoiada, died as a martyr in the court of the temple. But the son of Berechiah prophesied much later, to the remnant that had returned.
- Sent — Judah ran after idols. God sent prophets before He sent judgment, and this man came last.
- Spirit — Zechariah did not volunteer. The Spirit clothed Himself with him for that moment and bore witness through him.
- Cause — the warning names a reason, not a fate. They could not prosper because they had left the LORD. The covenant had two sides to keep.
- Mercy — God picked the speaker with the strongest claim on the king's heart. Trampling that tie showed how far Joash had fallen.
- Collapse — Joash ran on Jehoiada's faith, not his own. Borrowed faith fails when the person holding it up is gone.
And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the command of the king in the court of the house of Jehovah.
Joash owed his throne and his life to Jehoiada the priest, who guarded him as a child and made him king. Now that same king orders the stoning of Jehoiada's son in the temple courtyard. Two questions follow. How did a reign that began so well end in murder? And why did the Lord Jesus later lay this death at the feet of people born centuries afterwards?
Joash began well. One writer contrasts faith with mere human energy, which he calls the flesh:
Flesh may be even more zealous than faith. But there is this difference: faith continues, while the effort of flesh is short-lived. It may begin well, but the question is whether it continues. Its continuance is always the great proof of what is divine. Joash did not continue as he had begun.
Before judgment fell, God sent prophets. The last one had a claim on the king that no other messenger had. Zechariah was the king's cousin, and the son of the man who saved his life.
His mercy and patience are clearest toward Joash, for He sends him a special messenger. This man has a strong natural claim on the king, who would hear him and listen to him closely beyond all others. The all-wise God knows how to use natural feelings for His purposes of mercy. When those feelings are trampled on, that is so much greater evidence of Satan's power over man.
The warning came through a man the king had every reason to hear. His answer shows how far he had already gone.
A priest of God spoke this, and he was Jehoiada's son. So we would expect Joash at least to pay serious attention. Instead Joash issued the command to stone Zechariah to death in the court of the house of the Lord! So Joash was guilty of despising the blessing he had received through Jehoiada and coldly rejecting the God of Israel.
The verse fixes the blame exactly: the crowd threw the stones, but the order came from the king.
What ingratitude! What treachery toward the son of his own close relative, the man who had guarded his life! The Spirit of God records it in words that touch the heart: "Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah's father, had shown him, but killed his son."
Zechariah died asking God to see and repay. Within a year a small Syrian force destroyed the princes who had led the king astray. Joash's own servants then killed him in his bed.
And He did, and quickly too — for He does not ignore the dying prayers of men like Zechariah.
Zechariah's last words are often set beside Stephen's.
There is a difference between the last words of this martyr-prophet and the last words of the first martyr of the church. Stephen prayed, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." Zechariah said, "May the Lord see and avenge!"
Why the difference? One writer points to what had changed between the two deaths:
Zechariah died in a time ruled by law, where "every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution." Grace reigned in Stephen's day, as it still does in ours. That is why the two dying prayers differ. Both prayers, unlike as they are, exactly fitted the time in which each man bore witness.
Jesus charged the scribes and Pharisees with the blood of "Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar." He was reaching back to a killing long past. Matthew names the father as Barachiah, while Chronicles calls Zechariah the son of Jehoiada. One writer sets that puzzle beside the far weightier charge:
It may be that Barachiah was the grandfather of Zechariah, but we have no record of Jehoiada's father. Why did the Lord Jesus accuse the scribes and Pharisees of murdering Zechariah? It had happened years before. Because in opposing Christ they showed the same cruel, unbelieving attitude toward God. And Christ is an infinitely greater Messenger than Zechariah was. By their attitude they were identifying themselves with those who hated God.
- Zeal fades. Joash began well but did not continue. Human zeal can burn hotter than faith for a while. Only what lasts proves to be from God.
- Mercy sent. God chose the one messenger the king could least ignore. He used family ties to call Joash back before judgment fell.
- Mercy refused. The king answered the warning with stones, in the temple court, by his own command. He despised the blessing he had received and rejected the God of Israel.
- Mercy repaid. Zechariah asked God to see and repay. The answer came fast: a small Syrian force, a wasting disease, and murder by his own servants.
- Mercy refused again. Centuries later, men who opposed a far greater Messenger took the guilt of that old blood as their own.
And king Joash remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, Jehovah see and require [it]!
Joash owed his life and his crown to Jehoiada the priest. This verse records how he paid that debt — with the blood of Jehoiada's own son, killed in the temple court. Two hard questions follow: how did a reign that began well end in murder, and what do we make of a dying man's cry for God to avenge him?
The order came from the throne, and it fell on a man tied to Joash by blood and upbringing.
"At the commandment of the king"! How sad — Joash was unfaithful to God, and shamefully ungrateful to the man who had done so much for him! Zechariah was his cousin, and his foster-brother too!
God chose the one messenger the king had every human reason to hear.
God is still patient with Joash and with his people. He sends prophets to them, for He remembers His covenant with them — even though the judgment is so near, and as certain as their wickedness. His mercy and patience show most clearly toward Joash. He sends him a special messenger: a man with a strong natural claim on him, a man Joash would hear and take seriously beyond all others… The all-wise God knows how to use natural feelings for His purposes of mercy. To trample on those feelings is so much greater evidence of Satan's power over man.
Joash did right while Jehoiada lived. One writer explains why that kind of goodness never holds.
But outside influence, however holy, can never change the heart. Like a bow held under strain, the heart springs back to its normal bent the moment the pressure stops. How often we see this solemn fact in Christian families! How often a son leaves the godly restraints of his father's house! He then dives all the harder into the sinful pleasures of the world.
Zechariah dies asking God to see and avenge. One writer sets that prayer beside two later deaths.
As Zechariah died, he said, "May the LORD see and avenge!" (v. 22). This was consistent with his being under law. How different were the words of the Lord Jesus at His death: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). How different, too, were the words of Stephen as they stoned him: "Lord, do not hold this sin against them" (Acts 7:60). But God answered Zechariah's prayer, and serious consequences fell on Joash and his kingdom.
Another writer reads the same cry forward rather than backward, as the voice of a coming generation of martyrs.
Zechariah said, "May the LORD see and avenge!" In type he stands for the tribulation martyrs of the Jewish remnant. They will bear the testimony about righteousness and the coming King at the end of the present age, and their blood will cry to heaven for vengeance (Rev. 6:9-11).
The prayer was not left hanging. The answer came fast, and from more than one direction.
"May the LORD see and avenge!" And He did, and very quickly too. He does not ignore the dying prayers of men like Zechariah. "… For the army of the Syrians came with few men, and the LORD delivered a very great army into their hand, because they had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash… his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest."
Jesus brought this murder up again centuries later.
The Lord Jesus referred to this when He spoke to the scribes and Pharisees: "the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar" (Matthew 23:35). Barachiah may have been Zechariah's grandfather, but we have no record of Jehoiada's father. Why did the Lord Jesus accuse the scribes and Pharisees of murdering Zechariah, when this had happened years before? They were showing the same cruel, unbelieving attitude toward God. They opposed Christ, a messenger infinitely greater than Zechariah. By their attitude they were identifying themselves with those who hated God.
Judgment fell. But this chapter is about more than a score settled.
Retribution is an essential part of God's government, and we can see it in 2 Chronicles 24:25. But something matters even more than repayment. The line of kings, the sons of David, was wicked at the time, and their position only increased their guilt. Yet that line had to be kept until He comes — the great Son who will reign in righteousness.
- Owed — Joash owed his life and crown to Jehoiada. That is the kindness the verse says he did not remember.
- Forgotten — outside influence never changes a heart. With Jehoiada gone, Joash sprang back to his real bent.
- Rejected — in mercy God sent the messenger with the strongest natural claim on the king. Joash killed him anyway.
- Avenged — God answered the dying prayer fast: a small Syrian force, then murder by his own servants.
- Preserved — repayment is real. The bigger story is the royal line God kept until the Son who will reign in righteousness.