The second half of the life of King Joash of Judah raises
difficult to answer questions. In the
first half of chapter 24 of 2 Chronicles, Joash was the driving force behind
the restoration of the temple of the LORD, but after the death of his mentor
and father-figure, the priest Jehoida, everything begins to fall apart. After listening to bad advice from
flatterers, Joash abandons the temple of the LORD that he had so recently been
dedicated to and instead embraces idol worship.
For Joash, and the people of Judah, this isn’t simply a choice they’re
making to worship as they see fit, it is a betrayal of the covenantal promises
made by God and Abraham, expanded upon by God and Moses, and recommitted to
under Jehoida’s leadership only a few years previously. That covenant is very specific in its
requirements for complete fidelity on the part of the people of God, any
flirtation with other gods is considered to be a form of adultery, the false
god being akin to a harlot. \
God doesn’t take such betrayal
lightly, and in this case he responds by sending prophets, who are ignored, and
then ups the ante by calling upon Zechariah, the grandson of Jehoida, to
deliver a message of judgment against Joash and the people. Instead of repenting following Zechariah’s
words, the people conspire, with the consent of the king, to murder Zechariah
by stoning him to death within the courtyard of the temple. This monumental act of ingratitude by Joash
toward the kin of Jehoida who had risked his life to protect Joash as a child
and restore him to the throne of David, is hard to fathom. What could have gone so wrong in Joash’s mind
that he fell so far from grace?
In the end, Joash dies at the hands
of his own household officials and is refused burial in the tombs of the kings
of Judah alongside David, even though Jehoida had been given that honor. The choices of Joash to worship false gods
had consequences, his refusal to repent compounded by his murder of God’s
messenger, brought disaster on himself and his people. He could have followed David’s example of
repentance, even after Zechariah’s words, but he chose to follow the path of
destruction to the bitter end. Don’t let
the same pattern of sin and judgment continue in your life, or the life of
those you love, sin will always have consequences, it is inevitable, but while
life lasts, falling upon our knees in repentance before the mercy of God is
always an option.
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