FRAMEWORKS:
2 Chronicles 24: The years of the reign of Joash
[Introductory
Notes: This chapter is a sad account of how Judah remained
faithful while the godly Jehoiada still lived, but the people
and Joash turned away from the Lord as soon as Jehoiada died.
Although the Lord rebuked them they killed His prophet so the
Lord allowed the Arameans to discipline them and Joash dies.]
v.1-3
Joash as king
v.1
Joash
was
seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem
for forty years. His mother's name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba.
v.2
Joash
did what was right in the eyes of the Lord
all
the years of Jehoiada the priest.
v.3
Jehoiada
chose two wives for him, and he had sons and daughters.
v.4-8
Joash orders a collection for repair of the Temple
v.4
Some
time later Joash decided to restore the temple of the Lord.
v.5
He
called together the priests and Levites and said to them, ‘Go
to the towns of Judah and collect the money due annually from
all Israel, to repair the temple of your God. Do it now.' But
the Levites did not act at once.
v.6
Therefore
the king summoned Jehoiada the chief priest and said to him, ‘Why
haven't you required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem
the tax imposed by Moses the servant of the Lord
and by the
assembly of Israel for the tent of the covenant law?'
v.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.
v.8
At
the king's command, a chest was made and placed outside, at the
gate of the temple of the Lord.
v.9-11
The collection is made
v.9
A
proclamation was then issued in Judah and Jerusalem that they
should bring to the Lord
the tax that
Moses the servant of God had required of Israel in the wilderness.
v.10
All
the officials and all the people brought their contributions gladly,
dropping them into the chest until it was full.
v.11
Whenever
the chest was brought in by the Levites to the king's officials
and they saw that there was a large amount of money, the royal
secretary and the officer of the chief priest would come and empty
the chest and carry it back to its place. They did this regularly
and collected a great amount of money.
v.12-14
The repair work is carried out
v.12
The
king and Jehoiada gave it to those who carried out the work required
for the temple of the Lord.
They hired masons and carpenters to restore the Lord's
temple, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the temple.
v.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.
v.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.
v.15,16
Jehoiada eventaully dies of old age
v.15
Now
Jehoiada was old and full of years, and he died
at the age of a hundred and thirty.
v.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.
v.17,18
Joash fails to maintain faithfulness
v.17
After
the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came and paid homage
to the king, and he listened to them.
v.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.
v.19
The Lord sent prophets but the people ignored them
v.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.
v.20
Jehoiada's son prophesies and rebukes them
v.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.”'
v.21,22
With the king's collusion they kill him
v.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.
v.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.'
v.23,24
The Lord allows Aram to invade and pillage Judah
v.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.
v.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.
v.25-27
Joash is killed
v.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.
v.26
Those
who conspired against him were Zabad, son of Shimeath an Ammonite
woman, and Jehozabad, son of Shimrith a Moabite woman.
v.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.
Continue
to Ch.25