And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
Joash's story in Kings ends by pointing the reader to another book for the rest of his acts. Two questions follow: what was that record, and why does Scripture tell us so little about a king who began so well?
Kings points again and again to other records of the kings. One writer explains what those records were, and why their loss costs the believer nothing:
Men drew up these chronicles during the reign of every ruler of those times, Jewish or Gentile. They have nothing to do with the Word of God. They record what the Lord was not pleased to record or explain. These chronicles have been lost; perhaps someone will one day find some fragments of them. The believer has no need for any of them; he has God's Word. There, in God's account, he finds all that is necessary for him, as well as the divine evaluation of people, events, and things. Writings that are not inspired may record certain deeds, even with great exactness. But nothing more than human evaluation ever comes with them. Men of God, prophets and seers could be used to draw up these chronicles, yet these writings are still not the inspired Word of God. And so they have disappeared, while the Word of God remains.
Kings ends Joash's story here and leaves out a large, painful part of his life. Another writer shows where the gap falls:
Kings says no more about the further failure of Jehoash. But 2 Chronicles 24:15-22 shows us how far astray he went in disobedience to God after the death of Jehoiada. He even put to death Zechariah the prophet, who reproved his transgression.
Joash did right for as long as Jehoiada the priest lived. One writer explains why outside pressure has such limits, and applies it to families:
All the days of Jehoiada the priest, Joash did right in the sight of the Lord. He even seems to take the lead, giving orders to repair the damage Athaliah had done (2 Chron. 24:6-11). But outside influence, however holy, can never change the heart. The heart is like a bow held bent: it springs back to its natural shape the moment the pressure stops. How often this solemn fact is seen in Christian families! How often a son leaving the godly restraints of his father's house plunges with greater eagerness into the sinful pleasures of the world!
The same closing words appear for king after king. Writing on Ahaziah, one commentator looks past the earthly record:
"Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?" Yes — and the wicked acts recorded here as well. All of them are written in God's books above. Those books are not merely the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. They hold the deeds and doings of every man's life, whether good or evil. Solemn facts for us all!
One writer reads Joash's reign as a picture of a greater kingdom. The brightness lasted while priest and king stood together:
But as with Solomon, so with Joash, this is only for a season… And Joash now, as soon as Jehoiada is gone, tarnishes all this brightness. But we see this: as long as Jehoiada the priest lived, king Joash kept the kingdom in its holiness and beauty. And this shows us again, in a picture, that in the coming kingdom, when we shall see the King and the Priest together, all shall be well… The Priest of that kingdom cannot die, for He is made "by the power of an indestructible life." The King of that kingdom cannot fail or do wrong, for His sceptre is one of righteousness. So this peace and honour will last through His times.
- Record one. The "Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah" was a human record, now lost. It carried only human evaluation, and it is not the inspired books of Chronicles.
- Record two. Kings closes Joash's account here. 2 Chronicles 24 tells of the collapse that followed Jehoiada's death.
- Record three. Every deed, good or evil, stands written in God's books above — the archive no king's summary can shorten.
- The cause. Outward restraint never changed Joash's heart; pressure removed, the bent bow sprang back.
- The contrast. Joash's kingdom shone only while his priest lived. The coming King is Himself a Priest who cannot die, so His peace and honour last.
And his servants rose up and made a conspiracy, and smote Joash in the house of Millo, at the descent of Silla.
Joash became king as a child, and his early years went well — this chapter has him repairing the house of the Lord. Here his own servants kill him, and the question is why a reign that started so well ended like this.
The manner of a man's death can close his story with terrible fitness. One writer reads the conspiracy as the mirror image of the king's own rebellion.
It is little wonder that the death of Jehoash was so tragic. When he rebelled against serving the Lord, his own servants rebelled against him, and as a result of a conspiracy, two of them killed Jehoash. So a reign that began well ended in disgrace and shame.
Joash had put to death Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest. As he died, Zechariah asked God to see it and repay it. Commentators tie that prayer to the killers in this verse, and even say who they were.
Joash himself was left seriously diseased by the enemy. Then his own servants killed him, an Ammonite and a Moabite. Without knowing it, they were instruments of divine justice, avenging on the king the blood of the son of Jehoiada, according to the word of the prophet.
The timing matters as much as the fact. Zechariah's last words were not lost in the air.
"The Lord require it." And He did, and that quickly — for He does not disregard the dying prayers of men like Zechariah.
Why did such a promising king collapse? One answer: he leaned on someone else's faith instead of his own.
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 serves idols. He even puts to death the son of Jehoiada, through whom the Holy Spirit had testified against him. Joash, forsaken by God, is defeated by the Syrians. He falls into many diseases, and at last his own servants kill him.
The test of what is real, one writer argues, is not how hot it burns but how long.
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.
The warning is for every reader, not only for kings.
Human influence is a poor prop, a feeble barrier. We must be sustained by the power of God, or we shall sooner or later give way. Faith that rests merely in the wisdom of men, and not in the power of God, must prove a poor, flimsy, worthless faith.
The verse names the house of Millo and the way down to Silla. Both are hard to place on a map.
Millo was a part of ancient Jerusalem, though later said to be "built" by Solomon; Hezekiah repaired it. People have suggested various sites for it, but its location and its shape are unknown. In 2 Kings 12:20 Joash was killed in "the house of Millo, on the way that goes down to Silla." This may be another place, though it seems to have been in Jerusalem.
His burial carried its own verdict.
Like his grandfather Jehoram, Joash was not buried in the tombs of the kings of Judah.
The good years of this reign rested on one man's life, and that man died. One writer sees in them a picture of a kingdom where that cannot happen.
As long as Jehoiada the priest lived, king Joash kept the kingdom in its holiness and beauty. This shows us again, in a picture, that in the coming kingdom all shall be well. Then we shall see the King and the Priest together... The Priest of that kingdom cannot die, being made "by the power of an indestructible life." The King of that kingdom cannot fail or do wrong, for His sceptre is one of righteousness. So that peace and honour will last through His days.
- Mirrored. Joash rebelled against serving the Lord, and his own servants rebelled against him.
- Borrowed. He walked by Jehoiada's faith, not his own. Once that support was gone, he gave way — human influence is a poor prop.
- Tested. Zeal from the flesh can burn hotter than faith for a while. Only faith keeps going, and continuance is the proof of what is divine.
- Requited. God heard Zechariah's dying appeal. The servants who struck the king served, without knowing it, as instruments of God's justice.
- Fulfilled. The reign stayed beautiful only while the priest lived. It points to the King and Priest whose life cannot end and whose rule cannot fail.
And Jozachar the son of Shimeath and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, smote him and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David. And Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.