Jehoiada and Joash, 2 Chronicles 23

Theme

Jehoiada’s faithfulness to God’s Word and Joash’s unbelief in spite of God’s Word

Time: About 841 BC to 796 BC, or Joash’s 47 year life time
 

Overview

This study brings the examination of Jehoshaphat’s life and times to a close. Jehoshaphat’s heart for the LORD, his good government, and his miraculous deliverances by the LORD have been discussed. The lives of Ahab, Jezebel, and their sons have been considered, as well as how godly Jehoshaphat could join himself, his house, and his nation with Baal worshiping Ahab and Israel. Finally, God’s judgements on Ahab’s House and God’s judgements on Jehoshaphat’s alliance and intermarriage with that house have observed.

The royal history of Israel can be divided into four sections:

Personalities

Athaliah: The daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. Her marriage to Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram sealed a political arrangement between Israel and Judah. Athaliah introduced Jezebel’s Baal cult into Judah.

Jehoiada: High Priest of God who served in the Jerusalem Temple. He was married to Jehosabeath.

Jehoshabeath (or Jehosheba): Daughter of Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram and half sister to Ahaziah; her mother was probably a secondary wife or concubine of Jehoram (whose primary wife was Athaliah). She may have been 25 years old at the time of these passages.

Joash (or Jehoash): Only remaining male descendant of David’s kingly line after Athaliah’s murder of the royal children.

Zechariah: Son of Jehoiada the High Priest.

Background

Jehu completed God’s mission of judgement, which included the destruction of Jehoshaphat’s foolish alliance with the House of Ahab. Jehu destroyed Baal worship from Israel, but he did not return that nation to the worship of God. He sought to break the influence of the House of David and the Temple on his people by returning to calf worship that was set up when the kingdoms divided. God had ordained these things to sever the northern Kingdom from that of Judah, for which He had a separate judgement and purpose. The examples of Jehoshaphat and Jehu teach us that the expedience of sacrificing principle and doctrine for the sake of human policy is always false, and always judged as false by God.

Athaliah imposed direct personal rule over the kingdom of Judah, a scheme for which no Divine mandate existed. Athaliah’s rule was marked by the deadly scheming of Jezebel, but without Jezebel’s queenly bearing, and by Ahab’s attempts to frustrate God’s purposes, but without Ahab’s occasional attempts to do good. She is presented as thoroughly devoid of good qualities in Scripture. God charged Athaliah with influencing her husband, Jehoram and her son, Ahaziah to emulate Ahab and Jezebel (2 Kings 8:18, 27; 2 Chronicles 22:3,4) and profaning true worship of God (2 Chronicles 24:7). Ensuring personal power by killing potential rivals was a well known oriental custom, but by slaughtering her own grandchildren, Athaliah demonstrated a special sort of wickedness that is more evil than the starving mother who boiled her son to eat during the seige of Samaria.

God’s plan for His people up to this time

This Scripture passage denotes the beginning of a new period in the history of God’s dealings with His people for both the nations of Israel and Judah. Although events in Judah are this study's subject, The beginning of this new period is marked in both kingdoms by the anointings of Jehu in Israel and Joash in Judah. Scripture only records God-sanctioned anointing of certain kings: Saul (by Samuel, 1 Samuel 10:1), David (by Samuel, 1 Samuel 16:13), Solomon (1 Kings 1:39), Jehu (by an unnamed prophet, 2 Kings 9:6), and Joash (by Jehoiada in these passages). (Men are recorded as having annointed kings, but without reference to God. e.g., 2 Kings 23:20.)

Special note about Jehoiada and Jehoshabeath

Jehoiada was at least 100 years old at the beginning of this narrative, having been born during the time of Solomon. One might wonder what sort of spiritual attitudes were prevalent when a foreign queen could usurp power and destroy all but one infant of the ruling house. Jehoram’s and Ahaziah’s evil reigns, though short, contributed to a casual attitude towards sin, perhaps similar to those of today.

The actions of Jehoiada and his young wife Jehoshabeath, however, indicate attitudes that are in keeping with a deep reverence for God and His Word. This is especially evident in their attempt to preserve David’s kingly line. The overriding concept that can be discerned in Jehoiada’s risking his life to preserve David’s throne is his reverence for God’s Will expressed in Scripture. What did Old Testament saints like Jehoiada understand about salvation and redemption that would motivate them to be so fearless?

Old Testament saints were aware that God had made His own provision for the sins of the elect and that what could be known of this providence was contained in Scriptural revelation (1 Peter 1:10). The salvation of Old Testament saints was based on Christ’s atoning work, just salvation in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 10:4). In one of the oldest books of the Bible, Job understood that a special God - Man, or “daysman” was needed to make peace between God Most Holy and sinful man (Job 9:33). Jehoiada’s actions reflect his deep trust in this grace of God, even to the point of risking his own and his family’s lives.

The Scriptural record of salvation in Jehoiada’s day began with God’s promise to Adam and Eve in Eden (Genesis 3:15) and continued through the covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12:3, et al), and the nation of Israel (Genesis 28:14). Deuteronomy 18:15-18 is another example of Messianic prophecy known by saints of Jehoiada’s time. That God would work a special providential provision through the House of David was clear from 2 Samuel 7:12-16: "And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever."

This passage’s promises had some fulfillment in Solomon, David’s son, but the threefold use of the term “for ever” could not apply to Solomon. Since no earthly kingdom has an eternal duration, it was clear to men like Jehoiada that this passage in 2 Samuel indicated that God had a much greater work in view than Solomon. Similarly, since these promises were eternal in nature, it was also clear that God was ultimately referring to a King who would live and rule forever. The person and kingdom, therefore, that God promised to David in this passage could only have been applied by God’s elect to the coming Messiah. The promise in Samuel was taken by believers like Jehoiada to include both God’s provision for David’s earthly descendents and David’s Divine descendent. Jehoiada applied these promises to Joash and to the Messiah, the future hope of his salvation.

The passage in 2 Samuel 7 is not the only one in which Jehoiada placed his trust. Other examples of the Messianic nature of David’s line were to be found in 1 Kings 2:33 and 2:45. It is an interesting digression that Solomon applied non-messianic parts of the promise to himself in 1 Kings 3:6, but 1 Kings 8:25-26 indicates that Solomon understood the Messianic implications of God’s promise to David.

Another passage applicable to the Messianic nature of David’s line is Psalm 89, which in verses 35 through 37 parallel the promise given by God to David in 2 Samuel. The Psalm was written by Ethan the Ezrahite, who is referred to in 1 Kings 4:31 as a wise man living in the days of Solomon. Calvin considers this Psalm to have been written upon the occasion of Israel’s revolt from Rehoboam and the division of the kingdom and Delitzsch sees the Psalm as a response to Rehoboam’s humbling by Pharaoh Shishak. Spurgeon simply places the Psalm during the troubles of Rehoboam’s reign.

Calvin, in his preface to the Psalm, asks:

“The people, it is true, after being divided into two kingdoms, continued still to exist safe as before; but as that rupture dissolved the unity established by God, what ground of hope could any longer remain?” He further asks: “What a horrible spectacle was it to behold that kingdom, which might have flourished in unimpaired vigor, even to the end of the world, disfigured and miserably rent asunder, at the close of the life of one man! Who would not have thought that the holy oracle was deceptive and vain, the truth of which seemed to be overthrown in so short a time?”
The very same sort of questioning of God’s promises must have occurred to God’s faithful in Jehoiada’s day after news of Athaliah’s royal murders was known. It is very important to note that Jehoiada based his response to his situation upon his hope that God would fulfill the promise of a continuing line of Davidic kings and especially his hope for a redeeming Messiah. For Jehoiada and for ourselves, we can understand that when our Messiah comes, (or, as we now understand, comes again for a second time), He will set up a Temple that is eternal and occupy an eternal throne, ruling forever. Like Jehoiada, it is desirable that we, as God’s elect, hold to this hope and show the fruits of holding this hope in our lives. The fruits Jehoiada’s life were a part of God’s sovereign plan for Jehoiada’s salvation and ours.

Jehoiada placed his and his family’s life in jeopardy when he defied Athaliah and preserved Joash’s life for six years. This act involved great personal sacrifice and risk, especially from a man of Jehoiada’s advanced age. The idea of mounting a coup to place Joash on David’s throne in the face of ruthless Athaliah called for true, working trust in God’s sovereign grace. 2 Chronicles 23:1 says that Jehoiada “strengthened himself”, or “took courage”. This action is similar to David when he “encouraged himself in the LORD” in 1 Samuel 30:6 after the Amalekites destroyed Ziklag, since the same Hebrew word is used. These passages and Jehoiada’s example teach that the believer may trust in God’s character to fulfill the “sure mercies of David” (Isaiah 55:3) even and especially in times of greatest trial.

The success of Jehoiada’s coup was, of course, attributable to God and His sovereign grace, but note Jehoiada’s care for God’s Word in 2 Chronicles 23:6. Jehoiada would allow no one into the Temple other than those who were permitted to do so by God’s Law. Even where the line of David, life of the king, and the good government of the nation was concerned, Jehoiada stressed the need to act even in the most critical situations in strict accordance with Scripture. He did not compromise doctrine for expediency.

A key lesson of these passages, then, is that Jehoiada knew, understood, and applied the principles of Scripture to his decisions and actions.

Jehoiada was buried among the kings, so great was his effect upon God’s people. He was the means that God used to ensure the great promise given to David years before, and also the means by which the nation was freed from the illegitimate tyranny of Athaliah. As is so often the case, the people soon forgot the godly influence of Jehoiada, and his example of trusting in and acting upon God’s Word to the end of life. The comfort of believers is that the position as kings and priests (Revelation 1:6) rests not upon the approval and memory of man, but upon the sure promises of God and the infinite work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Joash the King

Science states that one of the distinguishing characteristics of man is his ability to pass learning and experience down to successive generations. This ability potentially frees man relearning the experience of others. Study of Scripture shows, however, that saving faith in God is not negotiable. It cannot be bought or sold, nor passed down from father to son. Saving faith is only imparted by an act of Divine grace in the hearts of those elected by God to receive it.

The inability of one man to impart saving faith to another is proved by the example of King Joash. He was raised in the Temple by godly Jehoiada and Jehoshabeath, and carefully instructed in the Law. Living in the Temple, Joash heard only the praises of God until he was seven, and was as sheltered and protected as any young person can be.

Joash had a fresh start, being the first anointed King on David’s throne since Solomon. Athough he was only seven years old when crowned, he was able to enter into a covenant with his people, promising to serve God as king over the people of God, protecting both their temporal and spiritual welfare. During his youth and young adulthood, Jehoiada was careful to direct Joash’s paths away from the errors of previous kings. The line of David at that time consisted solely of Joash. Jehoiada remembered the Scriptural injunction against gathering many wives (Deuteronomy 17:17), a sin that had turned away Solomon’s heart, and only took two wives for Joash (in great contrast to the practice of the times - note that Jehoiada also avoided the expedient of Abraham and Sarah in this matter). One can hardly think of a teen and a young man who would have had so perfect an upbringing.

Joash not only did what was right in the sight of people, but what was right in the sight of the LORD (2 Chronicles 24:2). 2 Kings 12:6 indicates that Joash’s walk appeared to be true past the age of 30. As long as Jehoiada was alive, Joash exhibited all of the outward traits of a believer. He was, if anything, even more zealous for the things of God than his uncle Jehoiada. 2 Chronicles 24:4 records Joash’s intention to repair the Temple after its desecration by Athaliah’s sons. When the funds for these repairs were not forthcoming, Joash in verse 6 questioned Jehoiada about the project’s stagnation. The king then implemented an offering that God had commanded Moses to collect when the Tabernacle was built (Exodus 35:5): a freewill offering. The people joyfully responded to the privilege of giving to the LORD as in Moses’ day (Exodus 35:21-29) by bringing offerings in abundance.

Joash appeared to be more concerned about the things of God than his old mentor, but as Spurgeon points out, “It is a much easier thing to build a temple for God than it is to be a temple for God.” Joash would have been a tremendous blessing to Judah if he had truly been the sort of man he appeared to be. The apostle John writes in 1 John 2:19: "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us."

This Scriptural analysis of the behavior of men provides the reason why Joash, after all of the great spiritual blessings and advantages he enjoyed and after all of the great things he had done, turned away from God and suffered a humiliating end: his heart had never truly been converted. Scripture even states in 1 Chronicles 24:2 that what Joash did while Jehoiada lived was “right in the sight of the LORD”, but the Scriptural account of Joash after Jehoiada died in 2 Chronicles 24:18-25 agrees completely with the principle that John laid down in his epistle: to be saved, one must persevere to the end (Matthew 10:22, 24:13; Mark 13:13).

Jehoiada kept a faithful testimony for 130 years, but Joash was unable to do so for 47 years, despite the fact that Jehoiada faced the oppression of wicked Athaliah and Joash was, as king, free to do as he wished without oppression. Jehoiada yielded his heart to the God of Scripture, but Joash was only yielded to obeying Jehoiada. People like Joash are perhaps in the most perilous spiritual condition: the know the things of God, they act like the people of God, but they are only more and more hardened to yielding their heart to God. Recall Paul’s exhortation and the doctrine upon which it is based from Philippians 2:12-13: "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."

Both the inclination and the power to do what pleases God comes only from God Himself, so it is clear that salvation can only be obtained and retained through God's work within. Although Joash did right things, the basis of his works was not faith in God. His confidence was in himself, so he was not on guard for God’s truth when the princes attempted to reinstitute Baal worship. To appropriate the lesson Joash’s life teaches, consider part of John Calvin’s commentary on this passage in Philippians:

“There are two kinds of fear; the one produces anxiety along with humility; the other hesitation. The former is opposed to fleshly confidence and carelessness, equally as to arrogance; the latter, to assurance of faith. Farther, we must take notice, that, as believers repose with assurance upon the grace of God, so, when they direct their views to their own frailty, they do not by any means resign themselves carelessly to sleep, but are by fear of dangers stirred up to prayer. Yet, so far is this fear from disturbing tranquillity of conscience, and shaking confidence, that it rather confirms it. For distrust of ourselves leads us to lean more confidently upon the mercy of God. And this is what Paul’s words import, for he requires nothing from the Philippians, but that they submit themselves to God with true self-renunciation.”

Zechariah

The mind recoils at Joash’s display of ingratitude toward his old mentor Jehoiada when reading of Zechariah’s end. Our Lord Jesus Christ also attached great importance to this event, referred to in Matthew 23:35, where the Savior gives a terrible prophecy upon the Jewish nation. Zechariah was a common Jewish name held by 30 men in the Old Testament. Was this Zechariah truly the person referred to by the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 23:35?

Calvin, among others, thinks so. Even though Zechariah the author is identified as the “son of Berechiah” in Zechariah 1:1, that author of the Biblical book is not recorded as being slain between the temple and the altar. Zerubabel had not yet rebuilt a temple in Zechariah the author’s time (Zechariah 4:9, 8:9). The event referred to by our Lord Jesus Christ fits both in theme and in detail with the events described in 2 Chronicles 24. Also, Calvin points out that Berechiah, meaning “blessed by God” may have been a surname of Jehoiada. Edersheim handles this  issue by suggesting that Zechariah was Jehoiada’s grandson, and that his father was a man named Berechiah.

There are many circumstances pertaining to Zechariah’s murder that are of interest, since there are many similarities between Zechariah’s murder and that of our Lord Jesus Christ’s. Stoning was the penalty that was prescribed for the worship of false gods (Deuteronomy 17:2-7). Zechariah was wrongly stoned by idolators, unjustly bearing the civil penalty rightly due to his executioners. Our Lord Jesus Christ bore the punishment rightly due to his executioners and to us as sinners.

Both Zechariah’s and Christ’s murderers were provoked by God’s prophecy against them and moved to violence against the prophet who bore that message.

The crime in the case of Zechariah and in the case of our Lord was national apostasy from God. The leaders and the people were guilty in each case, and the leaders and the people suffered the national calamity foretold by God in consequence.

These are interesting facts and similarities of Biblical history, but they have a very real application in the lives of believers. Our Lord Jesus Christ cited the example of Zechariah to highlight the people’s continual hardness of heart, identifying the leaders who rejected him as being of the same ilk as their ancestors who slew the prophets including Zechariah.

When we share the Gospel message, we are often confronted not with joyful acceptance, but with apathy and scorn. Our Lord Jesus Christ mentions the case of Zechariah, knowing that His hearers were plotting a violent end for Him. Scripture is filled with the accounts of prophets bringing messages of correction to God’s people and their rejection of the message, the messenger, and ultimately God Himself.

Those who trust in Scripture as God’s Word are familiar with this passage:
Isaiah 55:11: "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." God told Isaiah that his ministry of the Word would be rejected by the Jews in Isaiah 6:9-10: "And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed."

Our Lord Jesus Christ sovereignly knew that God’s Word would not only have the effect of salvation, but also that of hardening: He quoted these verses in that sense in Matthew 13:14,15, Mark 4:11,12, and Luke 8:10. The Apostle Paul also quoted this passage from Isaiah in Acts 28:25-28 and Romans 11:7,8. These New Testament quotations show that God has elected some to salvation and passed over others to their destruction. God’s plan is fixed, having been formed by His wisdom before the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34, Revelation 17:8), but we cannot understand it. As Paul says concerning God’s plan in Romans 11:33-36 "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen."

Our Lord Jesus Christ understood these things, and His references to the murder of Zechariah help us to understand that it is given to us to speak the Gospel, but the power to open the hearts of the hearers to understand and believe is reserved to God alone . Whether we are moved to speak boldly as our Lord Jesus Christ did, or entreatingly and reasonably as Zechariah did, unbelievers will not respond unless their hearts are opened by God.

Not only does this passage about Zechariah teach that God is sovereign in applying His Word to the hearts of hearers, but we are also instructed to consider how blessed we as believers are to receive God’s grace:  First, as Gentiles outside of the original commonwealth of Israel now grafted in, but also as individual sinners who depend only upon our Lord Jesus Christ’s condescension to suffer in our place and God’s graciousness to apply the ability to believe to our hearts.

Resources

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, 2 Kings 11 - 12, 2 Chronicles 22:10 - 24:27, Matthew Henry

Commentary on the Old Testament, Keil and Delitzsch, 2 Kings 11 - 12, 2 Chronicles 22:10 - 24:27; 2 Samuel 7:12-16, C. F. Keil

Bible History, Old Testament, Book 7, chapters 1 & 2, Alfred Edersheim

Antiquities of the Jews, Book 9, chapters 7 & 8, Josephus

Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 2, chapter 9, para. 1, “The advantage of the community of the New Covenant”, John Calvin

Harmony of the Evangelists, Matthew 23:35, John Calvin

Commentary upon the Book of Psalms, Psalm 89, John Calvin

Commentary on the Epistle to the Philippians, ch. 2:12-13, John Calvin

The Treasury of David, Psalm 89, Charles H. Spurgeon

“Goodness, as a Morning Cloud” Charles H. Spurgeon sermon #2365

Spurgeon’s Devotional Bible, 2 Kings 11:1-4, 10-18, 20; 2 Kings 12:1-15; 2 Chronicles 24:2, 15-15; Charles H. Spurgeon

Articles: “Athaliah”, “Berechiah”, “Crimes and Punishments”, “David”, “Joash”, “Jehoiada”, “Jehoshabeath”, “Zechariah”, The Zondervon Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, ed. by Merrill C. Tenney

Chronological Charts of the Old Testament, John H. Walton


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