Text -- 2 Chronicles 24:1-17 (NET)

Joash’s Reign

24:1 Joash was seven years old when he began to reign. He reigned for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother was Zibiah, who was from Beer Sheba. 24:2 Joash did what the Lord approved throughout the lifetime of Jehoiada the priest. 24:3 Jehoiada chose two wives for him who gave him sons and daughters. 24:4 Joash was determined to repair the Lord’s temple. 24:5 He assembled the priests and Levites and ordered them, “Go out to the cities of Judah and collect the annual quota of silver from all Israel for repairs on the temple of your God. Be quick about it!” But the Levites delayed. 24:6 So the king summoned Jehoiada the chief priest, and said to him, “Why have you not made the Levites collect from Judah and Jerusalem the tax authorized by Moses the Lord’s servant and by the assembly of Israel at the tent containing the tablets of the law?” 24:7 (Wicked Athaliah and her sons had broken into God’s temple and used all the holy items of the Lord’s temple in their worship of the Baals.) 24:8 The king ordered a chest to be made and placed outside the gate of the Lord’s temple. 24:9 An edict was sent throughout Judah and Jerusalem requiring the people to bring to the Lord the tax that Moses, God’s servant, imposed on Israel in the wilderness. 24:10 All the officials and all the people gladly brought their silver and threw it into the chest until it was full. 24:11 Whenever the Levites brought the chest to the royal accountant and they saw there was a lot of silver, the royal scribe and the accountant of the high priest emptied the chest and then took it back to its place. They went through this routine every day and collected a large amount of silver. 24:12 The king and Jehoiada gave it to the construction foremen assigned to the Lord’s temple. They hired carpenters and craftsmen to repair the Lord’s temple, as well as those skilled in working with iron and bronze to restore the Lord’s temple. 24:13 They worked hard and made the repairs. They followed the measurements specified for God’s temple and restored it. 24:14 When they were finished, they brought the rest of the silver to the king and Jehoiada. They used it to make items for the Lord’s temple, including items used in the temple service and for burnt sacrifices, pans, and various other gold and silver items. Throughout Jehoiada’s lifetime, burnt sacrifices were offered regularly in the Lord’s temple. 24:15 Jehoiada grew old and died at the age of 130. 24:16 He was buried in the City of David with the kings, because he had accomplished good in Israel and for God and his temple. 24:17 After Jehoiada died, the officials of Judah visited the king and declared their loyalty to him. The king listened to their advice.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: 2Ch 24:6

It is observable, that he is not called the chief priest, or high-priest, but only the chief, or the head, which he might be in many other respects, either by reason of his near relation to the royal family: or because he was the chief of one of the twenty - four families.

Wesley: 2Ch 24:7

Ahaziah, and his brethren before they were carried away captive, 2Ch 21:17, who did this by her instigation, as this phrase implies.

Wesley: 2Ch 24:7

Both broke up the treasuries, and defaced the house itself.

Wesley: 2Ch 24:14

Because Athaliah and her sons had taken the old ones away, 2Ch 24:7.

Wesley: 2Ch 24:15

By which it appears, that he was born in Solomon's time, and had lived six entire reigns before this. They buried him among the kings, with this honourable encomium, (perhaps inscribed upon his grave - stone) that he had done good in Israel. But the little religion that Joash had, was all buried in his grave. See how great a judgment to any prince or people, the death of holy, useful men is!

Wesley: 2Ch 24:16

In Judah, which was an eminent part of Israel, and the only part of it which owned God, or was owned by God as his Israel, to whom therefore he often appropriates this name.

Wesley: 2Ch 24:17

In that posture presenting their requests to him, that they might not be confined to troublesome journeys to Jerusalem, but might have the liberty, which their fore - fathers enjoyed, os worshipping God in the high - places. This liberty once obtained, they knew they could worship idols without disturbance: which was the thing at which they aimed. And for the prevention of such abuses, God obliged all to worship him in one place.

JFB: 2Ch 24:1-3

(See on 2Ki 12:1-3).

JFB: 2Ch 24:3

As Jehoiada was now too old to contract such new alliances, the generality of interpreters apply this statement to the young king.|| 11682||1||11||0||@Joash was minded to repair the house of the Lord==--(See on 2Ki 12:4-16).

JFB: 2Ch 24:15-16

His life, protracted to unusual longevity and spent in the service of his country, deserved some tribute of public gratitude, and this was rendered in the posthumous honors that were bestowed on him. Among the Hebrews, intramural interment was prohibited in every city but Jerusalem, and there the exception was made only to the royal family and persons of eminent merit, on whom the distinction was conferred of being buried in the city of David, among the kings, as in the case of Jehoiada.

JFB: 2Ch 24:17-22

Hitherto, while Joash occupied the throne, his uncle had held the reins of sovereign power, and by his excellent counsels had directed the young king to such measures as were calculated to promote both the civil and religious interests of the country. The fervent piety, practical wisdom, and inflexible firmness of that sage counsellor exerted immense influence over all classes. But now that the helm of the state-ship was no longer steered by the sound head and firm hand of the venerable high priest, the real merits of Joash's administration appear; and for want of good and enlightened principle, as well as, perhaps, of natural energy of character, he allowed himself to be borne onward in a course which soon wrecked the vessel upon hidden rocks.

JFB: 2Ch 24:17-22

They were secretly attached to idolatry, and their elevated rank affords sad proof how extensively and deeply the nation had become corrupted during the reigns of Jehoram, Ahaziah, and Athaliah. With strong professions of allegiance they humbly requested that they might not be subjected to the continued necessity of frequent and expensive journeys to Jerusalem, but allowed the privilege their fathers had enjoyed of worshipping God in high places at home. They framed their petition in this plausible and least offensive manner, well knowing that, if excused attendance at the temple, they might--without risk of discovery or disturbance--indulge their tastes in the observance of any private rites they pleased. The weak-minded king granted their petition; and the consequence was, that when they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers, they soon "served groves and idols."

Clarke: 2Ch 24:1

Joash was seven years old - As he was hidden six years in the temple, and was but seven when he came to the throne, he could have been but one year old when he was secreted by his aunt; see on 2Ch 22:10 (note).

Clarke: 2Ch 24:4

To repair the house of the Lord - During the reigns of Joram and Athaliah, the temple of God had been pillaged to enrich that of Baal, and the whole structure permitted to fall into decay; see 2Ch 24:7.

Clarke: 2Ch 24:5

Gather of all Israel money - As the temple was the property of the whole nation, and the services performed in it were for the salvation of the people at large, it was right that each should come forward on an occasion of this kind, and lend a helping hand. This is the first instance of such a general collection for building or repairing a house of God

Clarke: 2Ch 24:5

From year to year - It must have been in a state of great dilapidation, when it required such annual exertions to bring it into a thorough state of repair.

Clarke: 2Ch 24:6

The collection - of Moses - This was the poll-tax, fixed by Moses, of half a shekel, which was levied on every man from twenty years old and upward; and which was considered as a ransom for their souls, that there might be no plague among them. See Exo 30:12-14.

Clarke: 2Ch 24:8

They made a chest - See the notes on the parallel places, 2Ki 12:4 (note), etc.

Clarke: 2Ch 24:16

They buried him - among the kings - He had, in fact, been king in Judah; for Joash, who appears to have been a weak man, was always under his tutelage. Jehoiada governed the state in the name of the king; and his being buried among the kings is a proof of the high estimation in which he was held among the people.

Clarke: 2Ch 24:17

The princes of Judah - made obeisance to the king - I believe the Targum has given the true sense of this verse: "After the death of Jehoiada, the great men of Judah came and adored King Joash, and seduced him; and then the king received from them their idols."

Defender: 2Ch 24:15

Jehoiada lived far longer than any others of his generation. He was the uncle of King Joash, as well as high priest, and was almost solely responsible for preserving the Davidic line and the true faith of Jehovah during the critical reign of the pagan queen Athaliah. In fact, he was largely responsible for leading the country in its great reforms under the long reign of Joash, who became an apostate after Jehoiada died. When Jehoiada's son, Zechariah, rebuked him for this Joash slew him."

TSK: 2Ch 24:1

am 3126-3165, bc 878-839

Joash : Joash , יואשׁ [Strong’ s H3101], or יאשׁ [Strong’ s H3101], is merely an abbreviation of Jehoash , יהואשׁ [Strong’ s H3060], by the elision of ה , hay , and here also of ו , wav . 2Ki 11:21, 2Ki 12:1, Jehoash, 1Ch 3:11

seven years old : As Joash was hidden six years in the temple, and was but seven when he came to the throne, he could have been but one year old when secreted by his aunt.

TSK: 2Ch 24:2

am 3126-3162, bc 878-842

Joash : 2Ch 25:2, 2Ch 26:4, 2Ch 26:5; 2Ki 12:2; Psa 78:36, Psa 78:37, Psa 106:12, Psa 106:13; Mar 4:16, Mar 4:17

all the days of Jehoiada : 2Ch 24:17-22; Isa 29:13

TSK: 2Ch 24:3

took for him : Not for himself, as the Jewish expositors suppose, but for Joash; for Jehoiada’ s advanced age renders it highly improbable that he should take them for himself. He was born in the reign of Solomon, and lived through six successive reigns; and must, on any computation, have been upwards of 100 years old when Joash began to reign. 2Ch 24:15; Gen 21:21, Gen 24:4

two wives : Gen 4:19; Mat 19:4-8

TSK: 2Ch 24:4

am 3148, bc 856

repair : Heb. renew, 2Ch 24:5-7

TSK: 2Ch 24:5

gather of all Israel : 2Ch 29:3, 2Ch 34:8, 2Ch 34:9; 2Ki 12:4, 2Ki 12:5

Howbeit : 2Ki 12:6, 2Ki 12:7

TSK: 2Ch 24:6

Why hast thou : 2Sa 24:3

the collection : This was the poll-tax fixed by Moses, of half a shekel, which was levied on every man of twenty years old and upwards, as ""a ransom for their souls, that there might be no plague among them.""Exo 30:12-16

tabernacle : Num 1:50, Num 17:7, Num 17:8, Num 18:2; Act 7:44

TSK: 2Ch 24:7

the sons of Athaliah : As Jehoram’ s sons, Ahaziah excepted, whether by Athaliah or any other, were all slain before his death (2Ch 22:1), this spoilation of the temple must have taken place in his life-time. 2Ch 21:17

that wicked : 2Ch 28:22-24; Est 7:6; Pro 10:7; 2Th 2:8; Rev 2:20

the dedicated : 2Ki 12:4

did they bestow : Deu 32:15-17; Eze 16:17-21; Dan 5:2-4, Dan 5:23; Hos 2:8, Hos 2:9, Hos 2:13

TSK: 2Ch 24:8

at the king’ s : 2Ki 12:8, 2Ki 12:9; Mar 12:41

TSK: 2Ch 24:9

proclamation : Heb. voice

collection : 2Ch 24:6; Mat 17:24-27

TSK: 2Ch 24:10

rejoiced : 1Ch 29:9; Isa 64:5; Act 2:45-47; 2Co 8:2, 2Co 9:7

TSK: 2Ch 24:11

at what time : 2Ki 12:10-12

the king’ s scribe : It was necessary to associate with the high priest some civil authority and activity, in order to get the neglected work performed.

Thus they did : 1Co 16:2

TSK: 2Ch 24:12

gave it to such : 2Ch 34:9-11

masons : 1Ki 5:15

TSK: 2Ch 24:13

the work was perfected by them : Heb. the healing went up upon the work by their hand, Neh 4:7

they set : etc. That is, ""they restored it to its former proper state."

in his state : 1Ch 22:5; Hag 2:3; Mar 13:1, Mar 13:2

TSK: 2Ch 24:14

vessels of the house, 2Ki 12:13, 2Ki 12:14

vessels to minister : 1Ki 7:50

to offer withal : or, pestils, Pro 27:22

And they offered : It appears from this, that the daily morning and evening sacrifices had been previously intermitted; and that they were again neglected after the death of Jehoiada. Exo 29:38-42; Num. 28:2-29:40

all the days : 2Ch 24:2

TSK: 2Ch 24:15

am 3162, bc 842

and was full of days : Wyyisba yammim , ""satiated with days;""which seems to be a metaphor taken from a guest regaled by a plentiful banquet, used to express the termination of life without reluctance. Gen 15:15, Gen 25:8; 1Ch 23:1; Job 5:26; Psa 91:16

an hundred : Gen 47:9; Psa 90:10

TSK: 2Ch 24:16

in the city : 1Sa 2:30; 1Ki 2:10; Act 2:29

because : 2Chr. 23:1-21, 2Ch 31:20; Neh 13:14; Heb 6:10

TSK: 2Ch 24:17

am 3162-3165, bc 842-839

Now after : Deu 31:27; Act 20:29, Act 20:30; 2Pe 1:15

the princes of Judah : 2Ch 10:8-10, 2Ch 22:3, 2Ch 22:4; Pro 7:21-23, Pro 20:19, Pro 26:8, Pro 26:28, Pro 29:5; Dan 11:32

Then the king : Pro 29:12

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 2Ch 24:1

This chapter is parallel with 2 Kings 12, but treats the matters common to both narratives in a different and, apparently, supplemental way.

Barnes: 2Ch 24:2

Jehoiada lived after the accession of Joash at least 23 years 2Ki 12:6. Thus the idolatries of Joash 2Ch 24:18 were confined to his last 10 or 15 years.

Barnes: 2Ch 24:3

Athaliah’ s destruction of the seed royal had left Joash without a natural successor, and his marriage at the earliest suitable age, was, therefore, a matter of state policy. One of his wives in question was probably "Jehoaddan of Jerusalem,"the mother of Amaziah 2Ch 25:1, who must have been taken to wife by Joash as early as his 21st year.

Barnes: 2Ch 24:6

It appears from 2Ki 12:4 that Joash had assigned to the restoration-fund two other payments also.

Barnes: 2Ch 24:11

The king’ s scribe ... came and emptied ... - Rather, "the king’ s scribe came ... and they emptied"etc. i. e. the Levites who brought the chest from the temple emptied it in the presence of the scribe.

Barnes: 2Ch 24:13

They set the house of God in his state - Some prefer, "they set up the house of God in its (old) measure"or "proportions."

Barnes: 2Ch 24:15

An hundred and thirty years old - Most critics suppose the number in the text to be corrupt, and suggest 103 or 83 in its stead.

Barnes: 2Ch 24:16

They buried him in the city of David among the kings - This unparalleled honor, due in part to the respect felt for Jehoiada’ s religious character, was probably, also, in part attributable to his connection with the royal family through his wife 2Ch 22:11, and to the fact that, for 10 or 12 years, he had practically held the kingly office.

Toward his house - " i. e. toward God’ s house,"the temple.

Barnes: 2Ch 24:17

The nobles had taken part in the revolution which placed Joash on the throne 2Ch 23:2, 2Ch 23:13, 2Ch 23:20, but probably on political rather than on religious grounds. They might dislike the rule of a woman and a foreigner without participating in the zeal of Jehoiada for purity of religion. They now petitioned for a toleration of idolatry, not for a return to the condition of things which prevailed under Athaliah. No doubt they carried a considerable party with them; but the temple-worship continued, as appears from the history of Zechariah 2Ch 24:20. Nor is the king taxed personally with idolatry.

Poole: 2Ch 24:5

Gather of all Israel i.e. of all the Israelites that were in the kingdom of Judah. See 2Ch 15:17 21:2 . To repair the house of your God from year to year; either,

1. Repair part of it every year till the reparations be perfected; or,

2. Gather it from year to year, till you get such a sum as may suffice for the work; for he supposed one or two years’ collection would not suffice for the work, whether it were that collection of half a shekel for every man, of which see Exo 30:12,13 2Ki 12:14 ; or a voluntary contribution required for the present exigence of the temple by virtue of the command and example of Moses, who made such a collection for the building of the tabernacle, Exo 35:5 ; see also Neh 10:32 ; which he thought would not be any great sum, because of the great iniquity and impiety which yet had reigned for many years, and yet continued in the generality of the people of the land, the Levites not excepted, as the last clause of this verse shows.

Poole: 2Ch 24:6

Jehoiada the chief: it is observable, that he is not called the chief priest, or high priest, but only

the chief or &c the head , which he might be in many other respects, either by reason of his near relation to the royal family; or because he was the chief of one of the twenty-four families; or because he had been the chief man in the contriving and bringing about of this great change, and the general of the forces employed about it. And the high priest seems to be mentioned as a distinct person from Jehoiada here, 2Ki 12:9,10 ; all which make it questionable whether Jehoiada was the high priest or no.

The collection, according to the commandment of Moses Heb. the collection of Moses , i.e. such a one as he commanded or made in the like case; of which See Poole "2Ch 24:5" . In like manner we read of the sins of Manasseh , 2Ki 24:3 , and of the sin of Jeroboam frequently.

Poole: 2Ch 24:7

The sons of Athaliah to wit, Ahaziah and his brethren, before they were carried away captive, 2Ch 21:17 , who did this by her instigation, as this phrase implies.

Had broken up the house of God both broken up the treasuries, and defaced the house itself.

Poole: 2Ch 24:8

i.e. Of the court of the people, whither all manner of persons might come to offer.

Poole: 2Ch 24:9

i.e. A collection answerable to it; as they are said to be guilty of the error of Balaam and gainsaying of Core , Jud 1:11 , who fell into sins of the same kind.

Poole: 2Ch 24:11

The chest was brought unto the king’ s office , from the gate of the court into one of the chambers belonging to the temple, which was appointed by the king for this office.

Poole: 2Ch 24:14

Whereof were made vessels for the house of the Lord because Athaliah and her sons had taken the old ones away, 2Ch 24:7 .

Poole: 2Ch 24:16

He had done good in Israel i.e. in Judah, which was an eminent part of Israel, and the only part of it which owned God, or was owned by God as his Israel, to whom therefore he oft appropriates this name, thereby signifying that the other tribes were unworthy of that honourable title, and had forfeited all their right in it to Judah. See Poole "2Ch 21:2" .

Poole: 2Ch 24:17

Made obeisance to the king in that posture presenting their requests to him, that they might not be confined to unnecessary and troublesome journeys in coming to Jerusalem to worship, but might have the liberty which their forefathers enjoyed of worshipping God in the high places; which liberty, when once they had obtained, they knew they could then worship idols without observation or disturbance, which was the thing at which they aimed. And for the prevention of such abuses, God obliged all to worship him in one place.

Haydock: 2Ch 24:1

Priest, refers to Zacharias. Sept. "Azarias." H. ---

It is not certain whether this was the person whom Jesus Christ speaks, (Matthew xxiii. 35.; C.) as S. Jerom believes; (Matthew xxiii. 35.) or our Saviour alludes to one of the minor prophets, (T.) or to the father of John the Baptist. Baronius) H. ---

Sight. Heb. "above," perhaps on the steps between the two courts. C. ---

To make. Heb. "therefore hath he forsaken you."

Haydock: 2Ch 24:3

Him. Joas, as Protestants (H.) and most interpreters understand it, with the Syriac, &c. Joiada was too old to think of marrying again, as the Rabbins would explain the Hebrew, conformably to the Sept. and Arabic, "himself." C. ---

Joas did not probably marry two at once. Salien, the year of the world 3766. ---

Amasias was born of Joadan, chap, xxv. 1. M. ---

The high priest considered Joas as his son, being married to his aunt. H.

Haydock: 2Ch 24:5

Money. The half sicle, (Ex. xxx. 13., and 4 K. xii. 4.; C.) which at first was required for the tabernacle, and afterwards for the repairs of the temple. W.

Haydock: 2Ch 24:6

Chief "priest," (v. 11,) where he is called the first. Heb. "the head priest."

Haydock: 2Ch 24:7

Children. All but Ochozias had been slain by the Arabs. The plural is often put for the singular. S. Jerom (Trad.) explains it of the priests of the idols, whom Athalia cherished as her own offspring.

Haydock: 2Ch 24:10

That, &c. Heb. "till it was done," according to the law. Pagnin)

Haydock: 2Ch 24:11

From day. Literally, "every day," (H.) when the chest was replenished. M.

Haydock: 2Ch 24:14

And for. Heb. "and to offer," such as (H.) "mortars," Proverbs xxvii. 22. Eali is thus translated. C. ---

Prot. "and spoons and vessels."

Haydock: 2Ch 24:16

Israel, particularly to those of the kingdom of Juda. H. ---

His, David's, house, (M.) as he had restored the crown to his offspring.

Haydock: 2Ch 24:17

Worshipped. Heb. "bowed down to the king, and he hearkened to them." H. ---

The Jews say that the princes flattered him with the title of god, as he had been educated in the temple. Estius ---

But this is improbable. C. ---

They petitioned for leave to re-establish the worship of Baal, (M.) and paid greater honours to the king than were becoming. D.

Gill: 2Ch 24:1-2

Joash was seven years old when he began to reign,.... This, and the following verse, are the same with 2Ki 11:21. See Gill on 2Ki 12:1. See Gill on 2Ki 12:2.

Gill: 2Ch 24:3

And Jehoiada took for him two wives,.... Not for himself; he had a wife who was aunt to King Joash, and he had sons who were concerned with him in anointing him, 2Ch 22:11 and was now upwards of one hundred years of age; but for the king, when he was at an age fit for marriage, he advised him to marry, and proposed wives to him, whom he thought would be agreeable; for, observing what mischief was done both in church and state through Jehoram's marrying Athaliah, he was desirous of preventing any such disagreeable marriage; and as the young king was in all things guided and directed by him, so he was in this; and no doubt they were good women he pitched upon, and proposed to the king; one of them was Jehoadan, 2Ch 25:1, but the name of the other we know not:

and he begat sons and daughters; how many is not said, nor do we read of the names of any of them, but of Amaziah who succeeded him.

Gill: 2Ch 24:4

And it came to pass after this,.... After his marriage, when he was about twenty or twenty one years of age, perhaps:

that Joash was minded to repair the house of the Lord; which in some places might be fallen to decay, having been built one hundred and fifty years or more, and in others defaced by Athaliah, and needed ornamenting, see 2Ki 12:4.

Gill: 2Ch 24:5

And he gathered together the priests and Levites,.... To communicate his mind unto, and give them a charge and instructions:

and said unto them, go out unto the cities of Judah, and gather of all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year; what money he means is more fully explained in 2Ki 12:4,

and see that ye haste the matter; for he was very desirous of having this work accomplished, it being the place of the worship of God, and where he had been preserved in his infancy:

howbeit, the Levites hastened it not; either through negligence in them to collect the money, or backwardness in the people to give, or through an avaricious disposition to keep it, and use it for themselves; so that it was delayed unto the twenty third year of his reign 2Ki 12:6.

Gill: 2Ch 24:6

And the king called for Jehoiada the chief,.... Who was either the high priest, or the head of his course, or, however, the chief of the priests and Levites concerned in this affair, and, indeed, was the chief or prime minister of state:

and said unto him, why hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah, and out of Jerusalem, the collection; the money to repair the house they were ordered to collect, 2Ch 25:6 according to the commandment

of Moses the servant of the Lord and of the congregation of Israel, for the tabernacle of witness? for the repair of it, such as Moses required, and the people used to pay, referring to the half shekel; or to a freewill offering of the people, Moses enjoined or directed to.

Gill: 2Ch 24:7

For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman,.... Not Ahaziah and his brethren, in the lifetime of Jehoram, but sons of Athaliah by another man, as Kimchi suggests:

had broken up the house of God; not that they had made ruptures in it, or broke down the walls of it, but had defaced it by taking off the gold and silver upon it:

and also all the dedicated things of the house of the Lord did they bestow upon Baalim; not strictly all, but a great many of them, as this word in many instances is used, as Kimchi observes, and with them furnished, beautified, and adorned the temple of Baal.

Gill: 2Ch 24:8

And at the king's commandment they made a chest,.... See Gill on 2Ki 12:9.

Gill: 2Ch 24:9

And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem,.... By heralds appointed for the purpose:

to bring in to the Lord; into the house of the Lord, and for the reparation of it; and so for his service, honour, and glory:

the collection that Moses the servant of the Lord laid upon Israel in the wilderness; not to bring in the tabernacle of Moses, as the Targum here and in 2Ch 24:6, but such a voluntary gift as Moses moved the children of Israel to bring, when in the wilderness, for the service of the tabernacle.

Gill: 2Ch 24:10

And all the princes and all the people rejoiced,.... When they heard the proclamation, and understood for what use the money was to be given, and in what manner; all was agreeable and pleasing to them:

and brought in, and cast into the chest; through the hole that was in the lid of it, 2Ki 12:9,

until they had made an end: everyone had given as much as he could, or thought fit to give.

Gill: 2Ch 24:11

Now it came to pass, that at what time the chest was brought unto the king's office by the hand of the Levites,.... The place where his officer or officers met, appointed for this service; very probably in one of the chambers of the temple,

and when they saw that there was much money: see 2Ki 12:10,

the king's scribe; or secretary:

and the high priest's officer; his "sagan", or deputy priest:

came and emptied the chest; poured out the money, and told it, and put it up in bags, 2Ki 12:10 and took it, and carried it to its place again, 2Ch 24:8, by the hands of the Levites that brought it:

and thus they did day by day; as often as the chest was full, or they perceived there was much in it:

and gathered money in abundance; enough to repair the house, ornament it, and furnish it with vessels that were wanting.

Gill: 2Ch 24:12

And the king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of the service of the house of the Lord,.... That is, they gave it to those who were overseers of them, to pay them with it, 2Ki 12:11.

and hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the Lord see 2Ki 12:12.

and also such as wrought iron and brass to mend the house of the Lord; where it required any work of that kind.

Gill: 2Ch 24:13

So the workmen wrought,.... The masons, carpenters, blacksmiths, and brasiers:

and the work was perfected by them; the business of repairs was completely finished:

and they set the house of God in his state; as it was at first:

and strengthened it; so that it seemed as firm and stable as when first built.

Gill: 2Ch 24:14

And when they had finished it,.... The repairs of the house, all that were necessary:

they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada: that is, the overseers, when they had paid the workmen, brought what was left of the money collected to the king and the priest, to dispose of as they should think fit:

whereof were made vessels for the house of the Lord; in the room of such that Athaliah and her sons had taken away, and converted to the use of Baal; for though it is said, 2Ki 12:13, that none were made of this money, the meaning is, that none were made of it until the work was finished, and the workmen paid:

even vessels to minister and offer withal; which, according to Jarchi, were pestles and mortars to beat spices with; but Kimchi thinks they were small vessels with which they drew wine out of the bin for drink offerings: and spoons and vessels of gold and silver: see 2Ki 12:13,

and they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Jehoiada; the daily sacrifice, morning and evening.

Gill: 2Ch 24:15

But Jehoiada waxed old, and was full of days when he died,.... A very old man; few at this time arrived to such an age; he was a rare instance:

One hundred and thirty years old was he when he died; the oldest man we read of from the times of Moses, and older than he by ten years.

Gill: 2Ch 24:16

And they buried him in the city of David among the kings,.... In honour to him, he having been the preserver of the king, and of the kingdom, and being by marriage a relation of the present king, uncle to him:

because he had done good in Israel; in that part of it which belonged to the kingdom of the house of David:

both towards God, and towards his house; both for the restoring the pure worship of God, and the repairs of the temple.

Gill: 2Ch 24:17

Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah,.... Who had been secretly inclined to idolatry, but durst not discover it during the life of Jehoiada; whose influence at court was too great for them to counterwork, but when dead they came to court:

and made obeisance to the king; bowed in a very lowly manner, fawned upon him, and flattered him. Some Jewish writers, as Kimchi observes, understand this of religious adoration, that they made a god of him, and worshipped him, pretending, as a foundation for it, his being hid six months in the temple, and preserved; but it designs no more than civil worship and homage:

then the king hearkened unto them; coursing with him about divine worship, which the business they came about; desiring that they might, not be obliged to come to Jerusalem to worship, but might make use of the high places, and by that means worship what idol they pleased, which he granted to them; the Targum is,"he received their idols from them.''

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 2Ch 24:1

¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

NET Notes: 2Ch 24:2

¹ tn Heb “and Joash did what was proper in the eyes of the Lord.”

² tn Heb “all the days of.”

NET Notes: 2Ch 24:4

¹ tn Heb “and it was, later, there was with the heart of Joash to repair the house of the Lord.”

NET Notes: 2Ch 24:6

¹ tn Heb “Jehoiada the head”; the word “priest” not in the Hebrew text but is implied.

² tn Heb “sought.”

³ tn Heb “bring.”

⁴ tn Heb “the tent of testimony.”

NET Notes: 2Ch 24:8

¹ tn Heb “and the king said [it] and they made a chest and placed it in the gate of the house of the Lord outside.”

NET Notes: 2Ch 24:9

¹ tn Heb “and they gave voice in Judah and Jerusalem to bring to the Lord the tax of Moses the servant of God upon Israel in the wilderness.”

NET Notes: 2Ch 24:12

¹ tn Heb “doers of the work.”

NET Notes: 2Ch 24:13

¹ tn Heb “and the doers of the work worked, and the repairs went up for the work by their hand.”

² tn Heb “and they caused the house of God to stand according to its measurements and they strengthened it.”

NET Notes: 2Ch 24:15

¹ tn Heb “and Jehoiada grew old and was full of days and died; [he was] one hundred thirty years old when he died.”

NET Notes: 2Ch 24:16

¹ sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.

NET Notes: 2Ch 24:17

¹ tn Heb “came and bowed down to the king.”

² tn Heb “to them.”

Geneva Bible: 2Ch 24:2

And Joash did [that which was] right in the sight of the LORD all the days of ^{( a )} Jehoiada the priest.

^{( a )} Who was a faithful counsellor and governed him by the word of God.

Geneva Bible: 2Ch 24:5

And he gathered together the priests and the Levites, and said to them, Go out unto the cities of Judah, and gather of all ^{( b )} Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that ye hasten the matter. Howbeit the Levites hastened [it] not.

^{( b )} He does not mean the ten tribes but only the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin.

Geneva Bible: 2Ch 24:6

And the king called for Jehoiada the ^{( c )} chief, and said unto him, Why hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the collection, [according to the commandment] of Moses the servant of the LORD, and of the congregation of Israel, for the tabernacle of witness?

^{( c )} For he was the high priest.

Geneva Bible: 2Ch 24:7

For the sons of Athaliah, that ^{( d )} wicked woman, had broken up the house of God; and also all the dedicated things of the house of the LORD did they bestow upon Baalim.

^{( d )} The scriptures call her wicked because she was a cruel murderer and a blasphemous idolater.

Geneva Bible: 2Ch 24:11

Now it came to pass, that at what time ^{( e )} the chest was brought unto the king's office by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that [there was] much money, the king's scribe and the high priest's officer came and emptied the chest, and took it, and carried it to his place again. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance.

^{( e )} Such as were faithful men whom the king had appointed for that matter.

Geneva Bible: 2Ch 24:12

And the king and ^{( f )} Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the LORD, and also such as wrought iron and brass to mend the house of the LORD.

^{( f )} Signifying that this was done by advise and counsel and not by any one man's desire.

Geneva Bible: 2Ch 24:14

And when they had finished [it], they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, whereof were made ^{( g )} vessels for the house of the LORD, [even] vessels to minister, and to offer [withal], and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the LORD continually all the days of Jehoiada.

^{( g )} For the wicked kings, his predecessors and Athaliah had destroyed the vessels of the temple, or turned them to the use of their idols.

Geneva Bible: 2Ch 24:16

And they buried him in the city of David among the ^{( h )} kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God, and toward his house.

^{( h )} Signifying that they could not honour him too much, who had so excellently served in the work of the Lord, and in the affairs of the commonwealth.

Geneva Bible: 2Ch 24:17

Now after the death of Jehoiada came the ^{( i )} princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them.

^{( i )} Who were liars and knew now that the king was destitute of him who watched over him as a father, and therefore brought him to most vile idolatry.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 2Ch 24:1-27

1 Joash reigns well all the days of Jehoiada.

4 He gives order for the repair of the temple.

15 Jehoiada's death and honourable burial.

17 Joash, falling into idolatry, slays Zechariah the son of Jehoiada.

23 Joash is spoiled by the Syrians, and slain by Zabad and Jehozabad.

27 Amaziah succeeds him.

Maclaren: 2Ch 24:2

Joash

And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest 17. Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them. --2 Chron. 24:2, 17.

HERE we have the tragedy of a soul. Joash begins life well and for the greater part of it remains faithful to his conscience and to his duty, and then, when outward circumstances change, he casts all behind him, forgets the past and commits moral suicide. It is the sad old story, a bright commencement, an early promise all scattered to the winds. It is a strange story, too. This seven-year-old king had been saved when his father had been killed, and that true daughter of Jezebel, as well by nature as by blood, Athaliah, had murdered all his brothers and sisters, and made herself queen. He had been saved by the courage of a woman who might worthily stand by the side of Deborah and other Jewish heroines. By this woman, who was his aunt, he was hidden and brought up in the Temple until, whilst yet a mere boy, he came to the throne, the High Priest Jehoiada, the husband of his aunt, being his guardian during his nonage. He reigns well till the lad of seven becomes a mature man of thirty or thereabouts, and then Jehoiada dies, full of years and honours, and they fitly lay him among the kings of Judah, a worthy resting-place for one who had done good in Israel.' And now the weakling on the throne is left alone without the strong arm to guide him and keep him right, and we read that the princes of Judah came and made obeisance to him. They take him on his weak side, and I dare say Jehoiada had been too true and too noble to do that, and though we are not told what means they took to flatter and coax him, we see very plainly what they were conspiring to do, for we read that they left the house of the Lord their God, the God of their fathers, and served groves and idols,' the groves here mentioned being symbols of Ashtaroth the goddess of the Sidonians. And so all the past is wiped out and Joash takes his place amongst the apostates. The story has solemn lessons.

I. Note The Change From Loyal Adhesion To Apostasy.

The strong man on whom Joash used to lean was away, and the poor, weak king went just where the wicked princes led him. It was probably out of sheer imbecility that he passed from the worship of God to the acknowledgment and service of idols.

The first point that I would insist upon is a. well-worn and familiar one, as I am well aware, but I urge it upon you, and especially upon the younger portion of my audience. It is this, that there is no telling the amount of mischief that pure weakness of character may lead into. The worst men we come across in the Bible are not those who begin with a deliberate intention of doing evil. They are weak creatures, reeds shaken by the wind,' who have no power of resisting the force of circumstances. It is a truth which every one's experience confirms, that the mother of all possible badness is weakness, and that, not only as Milton's Satan puts it, To be weak is to be miserable,' but that weakness is wickedness sooner or later. The man who does not bar the doors and windows of his senses and his soul against temptation, is sure to make shipwreck of his life and in the end to become a fool.' There is so much wickedness lying round us in this world that any man who lets himself be shaped and coloured by that with which he comes in contact, is sure to go to the bad in the long run. Where a man lays himself open to the accidents of time and circumstances, the majority of these influences will be contrary to what is right and good. Therefore, he must gather himself together and learn to say No!' There is no foretelling the profound abysses into which a good, easy' nature, with plenty of high and pure impulses, perhaps, but which are written in water, may fall. Thou, therefore, young man! be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.' Learn to say No! or else you will be sure to say Yes! in the wrong place, and then down you will go, like this Joash whose goodness depended on Jehoiada, and when he died, all the virtue that had characterised this life hitherto was laid with him in the dust.

Let us learn from this story in the next place, how little power of continuance there is in a merely traditional religion. Many of you call yourselves Christian people mainly because other people do the same. It is customary to respect and regard Christianity. You have been brought up in the midst of it. Our country is always considered a Christian land, and so, naturally, you tacitly accept the truth of a religion which is so influential. The lowest phase of this attitude is that which seeks some advantage from a church connection, like the foolish man in the Old Testament who thought he would do well because he had a Levite for his priest. Religion is the most personal thing about a man. To become a Christian is the most personal act one can perform. It is a thing that a man has to do for himself, and however friends and guides may help us in other matters, in trials and perplexities and difficulties, by their sympathy and experience, they are useless here. A man has here to act as if there were no other beings in the universe but a solitary God and himself, and unless we have ourselves done that act in the depths of our own personality, we have not done it at all. If you young people are good, just because you have pious parents who make you go to church or chapel on a Sunday, and keep you out of mischief during the week, your goodness is a sham. One great result of personal Christianity is to make a minister, a teacher, a guide, superfluous, and when such an one becomes so, his work has been successful and not till then. Unless you put forth for yourself the hand of faith and for yourself yield up the devotion and love of your own heart, your religion is nought.

However much active effort about the outside of religion there may be, it is of itself useless. It is without bottom and without reality. Here we have Joash busy with the externals of worship and actually deceiving himself thereby. It was a great deal easier to make that chest for contributions to a Temple Repairing Fund, and to get it well filled, and to patch up the house of the Lord, than for him to get down on his knees and pray, and he may have thought that to be busy about the house of God was to be devout. So it may be with many Sunday-school teachers and Church workers. Their religion may be as merely superficial and as little personal as this man's was. It is not for me to say so about A, B, or C. It is for you to ask of yourselves if it is so as to you. But I do say that there is nothing that masks his own soul from a man more than setting him to do something for Christianity and God's Church, while in his inmost self he has not yet yielded himself to God.

I look around and I see the devil slaying his thousands by setting them to work in Christian associations and leaving them no time to think about their own Christianity. My brother! if the cap fits, go home and put it on.

We see in Joash's life for how long a time a man may go on in this self-delusion of external and barren service anti never know it. Joash came to the throne at the age of seven. Up till that age he had lived in the Temple in concealment. Until he was one and thirty he went on in a steady, upright course, never knowing that there was anything hollow in his life. Apparently, Jehoiada's long life of one hundred and thirty years extended over the greater part of Joash's reign, during most of which he had Jehoiada to direct him and keep him right, and all this tragedy comes at the fag end of it.

So he went on apparently all right, like a tree that has become quite hollow, till during some storm it is blown down and falls with a crash, and it is seen that for years it has been only the skin of a tree, bark outside, and inside, emptiness.

II. We Come Now To The Second Stage In The Later Life Of Joash:

His resistance to the divine pleading.

And they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers, and served groves and idols, and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for their trespass, yet He sent prophets to them to bring them again unto the Lord.' He sent with endless pity, with long-suffering patience. He would not be put away, and as they increased the distance between Him and them, He increased His energies to bring them back. But they lifted themselves up, Joash and his princes, and with that strange, awful power of resisting the attraction of the divine pleading, and hardening their hearts against the divine patience, they would not.' And then comes the affecting episode of the death of the high priest Zechariah, who had succeeded to his father's place and likewise to his heroism, and who, with the Spirit of God upon him, stands up and pointing out his wickedness, rebukes the fallen monarch for his apostasy. Joash, doubtless stung to the quick by Zechariah's just reproaches, allowed the truculent princes to slay him in the court of the Temple, even between the very shrine and the altar.

What a picture we have here of the divine love which follows every wanderer with its pleadings and beseechings! It came to this man through the lips of a prophet. It comes to us all in daily blessings, sometimes in messages, like these poor words of mine. God will not let us ruin ourselves without pleading with us and wooing us to love Him and cling to Him. He rises up early' and daily sends us His messages, sometimes rebukes and voices in our conscience, sometimes sunset glows and starry heavens lifting our thoughts above this low earth, sometimes sorrows that are meant to' drive us to His breast,' and above all, the Gospel of our salvation' in Christ, ever, in such a land as ours, sounding in our ears.

Still further, we see in Joash what a strange, awful strength of obstinate resistance, a character weak as regards its resistance to man, can put forth against God. He never attempted to say No!' to the princes of Judah, but he could say it again and again to his Father in heaven. He could not but yield to the temptations which were level with his eyes, and this poor creature, easily swayed by human allurements and influences, could gather himself together, standing, as it were, on his little pin point, and say to God, Thou dost call and I refuse.' What a paradox, and yet repetitions of it are sitting in these pews, only half aware that it is about them that I am speaking!

The ever-deepening evil which began with forsaking the house of the Lord and serving Ashtaroth, ends with Joash steeping his hands in blood. The murder of Zechariah was beyond the common count' of crimes, for it was a foul desecration of the Temple, an act of the blackest ingratitude to the man who had saved his infant life, and put him on the throne, an outrage on the claims of family connections, for Joash and Zechariah were probably blood relations. My brother! once get your foot upon that steep incline of evil, once forsake the path of what is good and right and true, and you are very much like a climber who misses his footing up among the mountain peaks, and down he slides till he reaches the edge of the precipice and then in an instant is dashed to pieces at the bottom. Once put your foot on that slippery slope and you know not where you may fall to.

III. Last Comes The Final Scene: The Retribution.

We have that picture of Zechariah, solemnly lifting up his eyes to heaven and committing his cause to God. The Lord look upon it and require it,' says the martyr priest in the spirit of the old Law. The dying appeal was soon answered in the invasion of the Syrian army, a comparatively small company, into whose hands the Lord delivered a very great host of the Israelites. The defeat was complete, and possibly Joash's great diseases,' of which the narrative speaks, refer to wounds received in the fight. The end soon comes, for two of his servants, neither of them Hebrews, one being the son of an Ammonitess and the other the son of a Moabitess, who were truer to his religion than he had been, and resolved to revenge Zechariah's death, entered the room of the wounded king in the fortress whither he had retired to hide himself after the fight, and slew him on his bed.' Imagine the grim scene, the two men stealing in, the sick man there on the bed helpless, the short ghastly struggle and the swift end. What an end for a life with such a beginning!

Now I am not going to dwell on this retribution, inflicted on Joash, or on that which comes to us if we are like him, through a loud-voiced conscience, and a memory which, though it may be dulled and hushed to sleep at present, is sure to wake some day here or yonder. But I beseech you to ask yourselves what your outlook is. Be not deceived, God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.' Is that all? Zechariah said, The Lord look upon it and require it.' The great doctrine of retribution is true for ever. Yes; but our Zechariah lifts up his eyes to heaven and he says, Father! forgive them, for they know not what they do.' And so, dear brother! you and I, trusting to that dear Lord, may have all our apostasy forgiven, and be brought near by the blood of Christ. Let us say with the Apostle Peter, Lord, to whom shall we go but to Thee? Thou hast the words of eternal life.'

Maclaren: 2Ch 24:4-14

Glad Givers And Faithful Workers

And it came to pass after this, that Joash was minded to repair the house of the Lord. 5. And he gathered together the priests and the Levites, and said to them, go out unto the cities of Judah, and gather of all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that ye hasten the matter. Howbeit the Levites hastened it not. 6. And the king called for Jehoiada the chief, and said unto him, Why hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the collection, according to the commandment of Moses the servant of the Lord, and of the congregation o! Israel, for the tabernacle of witness! 7. For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up the house of God; and also all the dedicated things of the house of the Lord did they bestow upon Baalim. 8. And at the king's commandment they made a chest, and set it without at the gate of the house of the Lord. 9. And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in to the Lord the collection that Moses the see-rant of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness. 10. And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into the chest, until they had made an end. 11. Now it came to pass, that at what time the chest was brought unto the king's office by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, the king's scribe and the high priest's officer came and emptied the chest, and took it, and carried it to his place again, Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance. 12. And the king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work o! the service of the house of the Lord, and hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the Lord, and also such as wrought iron and brass to mend the house of the Lord. 13. So the workmen wrought, and the work was perfected by them, and they set the house of God in his state, and strengthened it. 14. And when they had finished it, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, whereof were made vessels for the house of the Lord, even vessels to minister, and to offer withal. and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver, And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Jehoiada.'--2 Chron. 24:4-14.

Joash owed his life and his throne to the high-priest Jehoiada, who was his uncle by marriage with the sister of Ahaziah, his father. Rescued by his aunt when an infant, he was with them, hid in the house of God six years,' and, when seven years old, was made king by Jehoiada's daring revolt against that wicked woman, Athaliah. Jehoiada's influence was naturally paramount, and was as wholesome as strong. It is remarkable, however, that this impulse to repair the Temple seems to have originated with the king, not with the high-priest, though no doubt the spirit which conceived the impulse was largely moulded by the latter. The king, whose childhood had found a safe asylum in the Temple, might well desire its restoration, even apart from considerations of religion.

I. The Story First Brings Into Strong Contrast The Eager King, Full Of His Purpose, And The Sluggards To Whom He Had To Entrust Its Execution.

We can only guess the point in his reign at which Joash summoned the priests to his help. It was after his marriage (2 Chron. 24:3), and considerably before the twenty-third year of his reign, at which time his patience was exhausted (2 Kings 12:6). Some years were apparently wasted by the dawdling sluggishness of the priests, who, for some reason or other, did not go into the proposed restoration heartily. Joash seems to have suspected that they would push the work languidly; for there is a distinct tinge of suspicion and whipping up' in his injunction to hasten the matter.'

The first intention was to raise the funds by sending out the priests and Levites to collect locally the statutory half-shekel, as well as other contributions mentioned in 2 Kings 12. There we learn that each collector was to go to his acquaintance.' The subscription was to be spread over some years, and for a while Joash waited quietly; but in the twenty-third year of his reign (see 2 Kings), he could stand delay no longer. Whether the priests had been diligent in collecting or not, they had done nothing towards repairing. Perhaps they found it difficult to determine the proportion of the money which was needed for the ordinary expenses of worship, and for the restoration fund; and, as the former included their own dues and support, they would not be likely to set it down too low. Perhaps they did not much care to carry out a scheme which had not begun with themselves; for priests are not usually eager to promote ecclesiastical renovations suggested by laymen. Perhaps they did not care as much about the renovation as the king did, and smiled at his earnestness as a pious imagining. Possibly there was even deliberate embezzlement. But, at any rate, there was half-heartedness, and that always means languid work, and that always means failure. The earnest people are fretted continually by the indifferent. Every good scheme is held back, like a ship with a foul bottom, by the barnacles that stick to its keel and bring down its speed. Professional ecclesiastics in all ages have succumbed to the temptation of thinking that church property' was first of all to be used for their advantage, and, secondarily, for behoof of God's house. Eager zeal has in all ages to be yoked to torpid indifference, and to drag its unwilling companion along, like two dogs in a leash. Direct opposition is easier to bear than apparent assistance which tries to slow down to half speed.

Joash's command is imperative on all workers for God. See that ye hasten the matter,' for time is short, the fruit great, the evening shadows lengthening, the interests at stake all-important, and the Lord of the harvest will soon come to count our sheaves. Whatever work may be done without haste, God's cannot be, and a heavy curse falls on him who does the work of the Lord negligently.' The runner who keeps well on this side of fatigue, panting, and sweat, has little chance of the crown.

II. The Next Step Is The Withdrawal Of The Work From The Sluggards.

They are relieved both of the collection and expenditure of the money. Apparently (2 Kings 12:9) the contributors handed their donations to the doorkeepers, who put them into the chest with a hole in the lid of it,' in the sight of the donors. The arrangement was not flattering to the hierarchy, but as appearances were saved by Jehoiada's making the chest (see 2 Kings) they had to submit with the best grace they could. In our own times, we have seen the same thing often enough. When clergy have maladministered church property, Parliament has appointed ecclesiastical commissioners. Common sense prescribes taking slovenly work out of lazy hands. The more rigidly that principle is carried out in the church and the nation, at whatever cost of individual humiliation, the better for both. The tools to the hands that can use them' is the ideal for both. God's dealings follow the same law, both in withdrawing opportunities of service and in giving more of such. The reward for work is more work, and the punishment for sloth is compulsory idleness.

III. We Are Next Shown The Glad Givers.

Probably suspicion had been excited in others than the king, and had cheeked liberality. People will not give freely if the expenses of the collectors' support swallow up the funds. It is hard to get help for a vague scheme, which unites two objects, and only gives the balance, after the first is provided for, to the second and more important. So the whole nation, both high and low, was glad when the new arrangement brought a clear issue, and secured the right appropriation of the money.

No doubt, too, Joash's earnestness kindled others. Chronicles speaks only of the tax, that is, the half-shekel, but Kings mentions two other sources, one of which is purely spontaneous gifts, and these are implied by the tone of 2 Chron. 24:10, which lays stress on the gladness of the offerers. That is the incense which adds fragrance to our gifts. Grudging service is no service, and money given for ever so religious a purpose, without gladness because of the opportunity of giving, is not, in the deepest sense, given at all. Love is a longing to give to the beloved, and whoever truly loves God will know no keener delight than surrender for His dear sake. Pecuniary contributions for religious purposes afford a rough but real test of the depth of a man's religion; but it is one available only for himself, since the motive, and not the amount, is the determining element. We all need to bring our hearts more under the influence of God's love to us, that our love to Him may be increased, and then to administer possessions, under the impulse to glad giving which enkindled love will always excite. Super-heated steam has most expansive power and driving' force. These glad givers may remind us not only of the one condition of acceptable giving, but also of the need for clear and worthy objects, and of obvious disinterestedness in those who seek for money to help good causes. The smallest opening for suspicion that some of it sticks to the collector's fingers is fatal, as it should be.

IV. Joash Was Evidently A Business-Like King.

We next hear of the precautions he took to secure the public confidence. There was a rough but sufficient audit. When the chest grew heavy, and sounded full, two officials received it at the king's office.' The Levites carried it there, but were not allowed to handle the contents. The two tellers represented the king and the chief priest, and thus both the civil and religious authorities were satisfied, and each officer was a check on the other. Public money should never be handled by a man alone; and an honest one will always wish, like Paul, to have a brother associated with him, that no man may blame him in his administration of it. If we take day by day' literally, we have a measure of the liberality which filled the chest daily; but, more probably, the expression simply means from time to time,' when occasion required.

V. The Application Of The Money Is Next Narrated.

In this Jehoiada is associated with Joash, the king probably desiring to smooth over any slight that might seem to have been put on the priests, as well as being still under the influence of the high-priest's strong character and early kindness. Together they passed over the results of the contribution to the contractors, who in turn paid it in wages to the workmen who repaired the fabric, such as masons and carpenters, and to other artisans who restored other details, such as brass and iron work. The Second Book of Kings tells us that Joash's cautious provision against misappropriation seems to have deserted him at this stage; for no account was required of the workmen, for they dealt faithfully.' That is an indication of their goodwill. The humble craftsmen were more reliable than the priests. They had, no doubt, given their half-shekel like others, and now they gladly gave their work, and were not hirelings, though they were hired. We, too, have to give our money and our labour; and if our hearts are right, we shall give both with the same conscientious cheerfulness, and, if we are paid in coin for our work, will still do it for higher reasons and looking for other wages. These Temple workmen may stand as patterns of what religion should do for those of us whose lot is to work with our hands, and not less for others who have to toil with their brains, and the sweat of whose brow is inside their heads. A Christian workman should be a faithful' workman, and will be so if he is full of faith.

Joash knew when to trust and when to keep a sharp eye on men. His experience with the priests had not soured him into suspecting everybody. Cynical disbelief in honesty is more foolish and hurtful to ourselves than even excessive trust. These workmen wrought all the more faithfully because they knew that they were trusted, and in nine cases out of ten men will try to live up to our valuation of them. The Rugby boys used to say, It's a shame to tell Arnold a lie, he always believes us.' Better to be cheated once than to treat the nine as rogues, better for them and better for ourselves.

Faithful' work is prosperous work. As 2 Chron. 24:13 picturesquely says, Healing went up upon the work'; and the Temple was restored to its old fair proportions, and stood strong as before. Where there is conscientious effort, God's blessing is not withheld. Labour in the Lord' can never be empty labour, though even a prophet may often be tempted, in a moment of weary despondency, to complain, I have laboured in vain.' We may not see the results, nor have the workmen's joy of beholding the building rise, course by course, under our hands, but we shall see it one day, though now we have to work in the dark.

There seems a discrepancy between the statements in Chronicles and Kings as to the source from which the cost of the sacrificial vessels was defrayed, since, according to the former, it was from the restoration fund, which is expressly denied by the latter. The explanation seems reasonable, that, as Chronicles says, it was from the balance remaining after all restoration charges were liquidated, that this other expenditure was met. First, the whole amount was sacredly devoted to the purpose for which it had been asked, and then, when the honest overseers repaid the uncounted surplus, which they might have kept, it was found sufficient to meet the extra cost of furnishing. God blesses the faithful steward of his gifts with more than enough for the immediate service, and the best use of the surplus is to do more with it for Him. God is able to make all grace abound unto you; that ye, having always all sufficiency in every thing, may abound unto every good work, being enriched in every thing unto all liberality.'

MHCC: 2Ch 24:1-14

Joash is more zealous about the repair of the temple than Jehoiada himself. It is easier to build temples, than to be temples to God. But the repairing of places for public worship is a good work, which all should promote. And many a good work would be done that now lies undone, if active men would put it forward.

MHCC: 2Ch 24:15-27

See what a great judgment on any prince or people, the death of godly, zealous, useful men is. See how necessary it is that we act in religion from inward principle. Then the loss of a parent, a minister, or a friend, will not be losing our religion. Often both princes and inferior people have been flattered to their ruin. True grace alone will enable a man to bring forth fruit unto the end. Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, being filled with the Spirit of prophecy, stood up, and told the people of their sin. This is the work of ministers, by the word of God, as a lamp and a light, to discover the sin of men, and expound the providences of God. They stoned Zechariah to death in the court of the house of the Lord. Observe the dying martyr's words: The Lord look upon it, and require it! This came not from a spirit of revenge, but a spirit of prophecy. God smote Joash with great diseases, of body, or mind, or both, before the Syrians departed from him. If vengeance pursue men, the end of one trouble will be but the beginning of another. His own servants slew him. These judgments are called the burdens laid upon him, for the wrath of God is a heavy burden, too heavy for any man to bear. May God help us to take warning, to be upright in heart, and to persevere in his ways to the end.

Matthew Henry: 2Ch 24:1-14

This account of Joash's good beginnings we had as it stands here 2Ki 12:1, etc., though the latter part of this chapter, concerning his apostasy, we had little of there. What is good in men we should take all occasions to speak of and often repeat it; what is evil we should make mention of but sparingly, and no more than is needful. We shall here only observe, 1. That it is a happy thing for young people, when they are setting out in the world, to be under the direction of those that are wise and good and faithful to them, as Joash was under the influence of Jehoiada, during whose time he did that which was right. Let those that are young reckon it a blessing to them, and not a burden and check upon them, to have those with them that will caution them against that which is evil and advise and quicken them to that which is good; and let them reckon it not a mark of weakness and subjection, but of wisdom and discretion, to hearken to such. He that will not be counselled cannot be helped. It is especially prudent for young people to take advice in their marriages, as Joash did, who left it to his guardian to choose him his wives, because Jezebel and Athaliah had been such plagues, 2Ch 24:3. This is a turn of life which often proves either the making or marring of young people, and therefore should be attended to with great care. 2. Men may go far in the external performances of religion, and keep long to them, merely by the power of their education and the influence of their friends, who yet have no hearty affection for divine things nor any inward relish of them. Foreign inducements may push men on to that which is good who are not actuated by a living principle of grace in their hearts. 3. In the outward expressions of devotion it is possible that those who have only the form of godliness may out-strip those who have the power of it. Joash is more solicitous and more zealous about the repair of the temple than Jehoiada himself, whom he reproves for his remissness in that matter, 2Ch 24:6. It is easier to build temples than to be temples to God. 4. The repairing of churches is a good work, which all in their places should promote, for the decency and conveniency of religious assemblies. The learned tell us that in the Christian church, anciently, part of the tithes were applied that way. 5. Many a good work would be done that now lies undone if there were but a few active men to stir in it and to put it forward. When Joash found the money did not come in as he expected in one way he tried another way, and that answered the intention. Many have honesty enough to follow that have not zeal enough to lead in that which is good. The throwing of money into a chest, through a hole in the lid of it, was a way that had not been used before, and perhaps the very novelty of the thing made it a successful expedient for the raising of money; a great deal was thrown in and with a great deal of cheerfulness: they all rejoiced, 2Ch 24:10. An invention to please people's humour may sometimes bring them to their duty. Wisdom herein is profitable to direct. 6. Faithfulness is the greatest praise and will be the greatest comfort of those that are entrusted with public treasure or employed in public business. The king and Jehoiada faithfully paid the money to the workmen, who faithfully did the work, 2Ch 24:12, 2Ch 24:13.

Matthew Henry: 2Ch 24:15-27

We have here a sad account of the degeneracy and apostasy of Joash. God had done great things for him; he had done something for God; but now he proved ungrateful to his God and false to the engagements he had laid himself under to him. How has the gold become dim, and the most fine gold changed! Here we find,

I. The occasions of his apostasy. When he did that which was right it was not with a perfect heart. He never was sincere, never acted from principle, but in compliance to Jehoiada, who had helped him to the crown, and because he had been protected in the temple and rose upon the ruins of idolatry; and therefore, when the wind turned, he turned with it. 1. His good counsellor left him, and was by death removed from him. It was a mercy to him and his kingdom that Jehoiada lived so long-130 years (2Ch 24:15), by which it appears that he was born in Solomon's time, and had lived six entire reigns before this. It was an encouragement to him to go on in that good way which Jehoiada had trained him up in to see what honour was done to Jehoiada at his death: They buried him among the kings, with this honourable encomium (perhaps it was part of the inscription on his grave-stone), that he had done good in Israel. Judah is called Israel, because, the other tribes having revolted from God, they only were Israelites indeed. Note, It is the greatest honour to do good in our generations, and those who do that which is good shall have praise of the same. He had done good towards God; not that any man's goodness can extend unto him, but he had done good towards his house, in reviving the temple service, 2Ch 23:8. Note, Those do the greatest good to their country that lay out themselves in their places to promote religion. Well, Jehoiada finished his course with honour; but the little religion that Joash had was all buried in his grave, and, after his death, both king and kingdom miserably degenerated. See how much one head may sustain, and what a great judgment to any prince or people the death of godly, zealous, useful men is. See how necessary it is that, as our Saviour speaks, we have salt in ourselves, that we act in religion from an inward principle, which will carry us on through all changes. Then the loss of a parent, a minister, a friend, will not involve the loss of our religion. 2. Bad counsellors got about him, insinuated themselves into his affections, wheedled him, flattered him, made obeisance to him, and, instead of condoling, congratulated him upon the death of his old tutor, as his release from the discipline he had been so long under, unworthy a man, a king. They tell him he must be priest-ridden no longer, he is now discharged from grave lessons and restraints, he may do as he pleases: and (would you think it?) the princes of Judah were the men that were so industrious to debauch him, 2Ch 24:17. His father and grandfather were corrupted by the house of Ahab, from whom no better could be expected. But that the princes of Judah should be seducers to their king was very sad. But those that incline to the counsels of the ungodly will never want ungodly counsellors. They made obeisance to the king, flattered him into an opinion of his absolute power, promised to stand by him in making his royal will and pleasure pass for a law, any divine precept or institution to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding. And he hearkened to them: their discourse pleased him, and was more agreeable than Jehoiada's dictates used to be. Princes and inferior people have been many a time thus flattered into their ruin by those who have promised them liberty and dignity, but who have really brought them into the greatest servitude and disgrace.

II. The apostasy itself: They left the house of God, and served groves and idols, 2Ch 24:18. The princes, it is likely, had a request to the king, which they tell him they durst not offer while Jehoiada lived; but now they hope it will give no offence: it is that they may set up the groves and idols again which were thrown down in the beginning of his reign, for they hate to be always confined to the dull old-fashioned service of the temple. And he not only gave them leave to do it themselves, but he joined with them. The king and princes, who, a little while ago, were repairing the temple, now forsook the temple; those who had pulled down groves and idols now themselves served them. So inconstant a thing is man and so little confidence is to be put in him!

III. The aggravations of this apostasy and the additions of guilt to it. God sent prophets to them (2Ch 24:19) to reprove them for their wickedness, and to tell them what would be in the end thereof, and so to bring them again unto the Lord. It is the work of ministers to bring people, not to themselves, but to God - to bring those again to him who have gone a whoring from him. In the most degenerate times God left not himself without witness; though they had dealt very disingenuously with God, yet he sent prophets to them to convince and instruct them, and to assure them that they should find favour with him if yet they would return; for he would rather sinners should turn and live than go on and die, and those that perish shall be left inexcusable. The prophets did their part: they testified against them; but, few or none received their testimony.

1. They slighted all the prophets; they would not give ear, were so strangely wedded to their idols that no reproofs, warnings, threatenings, nor any of the various methods which the prophets took to convince them would reclaim them. Few would hear them, fewer would heed them, but fewest of all would believe them or be governed by them.

2. They slew one of the most eminent, Zechariah the son of Jehoiada, and perhaps others. Concerning him observe,

(1.) The message which he delivered to them in the name of God, 2Ch 24:20. The people were assembled in the court of the temple (for they had not quite left it), probably on occasion of some solemn feast, when this Zechariah, being filled with the spirit of prophecy, and known (it is likely) to be a prophet, stood up in some of the desks that were in the court of the priests, and very plainly, but without any provoking language, told the people of their sin and what would be the consequences of it. He did not impeach any particular persons, nor predict any particular judgments, as sometimes the prophets did, but as inoffensively as possible reminded them of what was written in the law. Let them but look into their Bibles, and there they would find, [1.] The precept they broke: " You transgress the commandments of the Lord, you know you do so, in serving groves and idols: and why will you so offend God and wrong yourselves?"[2.] The penalty they incurred: "You know, if the word of God be true, you cannot prosper in this evil way; never expect to do ill and fare well. Nay, you find already that because you have forsaken the Lord he hath forsaken you, as he told you he would,"Deu 29:25; Deu 31:16, Deu 31:17. This is the work of ministers, by the word of God, as a lamp and a light, to expose the sin of men and expound the providences of God.

(2.) The barbarous treatment they gave him for his kindness and faithfulness in delivering this message to them, 2Ch 24:21. By the conspiracy of the princes, or some of their party, and by the commandment of the king, who thought himself affronted by this fair warning, they stoned him to death immediately, not under colour of law, accusing him as a blasphemer, a traitor, or a false prophet, but in a popular tumult, in the court of the house of the Lord - as horrid a piece of wickedness as perhaps any we read of in all the history of the kings. The person was sacred - a priest, the place sacred - the court of the temple (the inner court, between the porch and the altar ), the message yet more sacred, and we have reason to think that they knew it came from the spirit of prophecy. The reproof was just, the warning fair, both backed with scripture, and the delivery very gentle and tender; and yet so impudently and daringly do they defy God himself that nothing less than the blood of the prophet can satisfy their indignation at the prophecy. Be astonished, O heavens! at this, and tremble, O earth! that ever such villany should be committed by men, by Israelites, in contempt and violation of every thing that is just, honourable, and sacred - that a king, a king in covenant with God, should command the murder of one whom it was his office to protect and countenance! The Jews say there were seven transgressions in this; for they killed a priest, a prophet, a judge, they shed innocent blood, and polluted the court of the temple, the sabbath, and the day of expiation: for on that day, their tradition says, this happened.

(3.) The aggravation of this sin, that this Zechariah, who suffered martyrdom for his faithfulness to God and his country, was the son of Jehoiada, who had done so much good in Israel, and particularly had been as a father to Joash, 2Ch 24:22. The affront done by it to God, and the contempt put on religion, are not so particularly taken notice of as the ingratitude there was in it to the memory of Jehoiada. He remembered not the kindness of the father, but slew the son for doing his duty, and what the father would have done if he had been there. Call a man ungrateful, and you can call him no worse.

(4.) The dying martyr's prophetic imprecation of vengeance upon his murderers: The Lord look upon it, and require it! This came not from a spirit of revenge, but a spirit of prophecy: He will require it. This would be the continual cry of the blood they shed, as Abel's blood cried against Cain: "Let the God to whom vengeance belongs demand blood for blood. He will do it, for he is righteous."This precious blood was quickly reckoned for in the judgments that came upon this apostate prince; it came into the account afterwards in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans - their misusing the prophets was that which brought upon them ruin without remedy (2Ch 36:16); nay, our Saviour makes the persecutors of him and his gospel answerable for the blood of this Zechariah; so loud, so long, does the blood of the martyrs cry. See Mat 23:35. Such as this is the cry of the souls under the altar (Rev 6:10), How long ere thou avenge our blood? For it shall not always go unrevenged.

IV. The judgments of God which came upon Joash for this aggravated wickedness of his. 1. A small army of Syrians made themselves masters of Jerusalem, destroyed the princes, plundered the city, and sent the spoil of it to Damascus, 2Ch 24:23, 2Ch 24:24. God's people, while they kept in with God, had often been conquerors when the enemy had the advantage of the greater number; but now, on the contrary, an inconsiderable handful of Syrians routed a very great host of Israelites, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers, and then they were not only put upon the level with their enemies, but opposed them with the utmost disadvantage; for their God not only departed from them, but turned to be their enemy and fought against them. The Syrians were employed as instruments in God's hand to execute judgments against Joash, though they little thought so, Isa 10:6, Isa 10:7, and see Deu 32:30. 2. God smote him with great diseases, of body, or mind, or both, either like his grandfather (2Ch 21:18), or, like Saul, an evil spirit from God troubling him. While he was plagued with the Syrians he thought that, if he could but get clear of them, he should do well enough. But, before they departed from him, God smote him with diseases. If vengeance pursue men, the end of one trouble will but be the beginning of another. 3. His own servants conspired against him. Perhaps he began to hope his disease would be cured - he was but a middle-aged man and might recover it; but he that cometh up out of the pit shall fall into the snare. When he thought he should escape death by sickness he met it by the sword. They slew him in his bed for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada, by which it should seem that he did not only slay Zechariah, but others of the sons of Jehoiada for his sake. Perhaps those that slew him intended to take vengeance for that blood; but, whether they did or not, this was what God intended in permitting them to slay him. Those that drink the blood of the saints shall have their own blood given them to drink, for they are worthy. The regicides are here named (2Ch 24:26), and it is observable that the mothers of them both were foreigners, one an Ammonitess and the other a Moabitess. The idolatrous kings, it is likely, countenanced those marriages which the law prohibited for the prevention of idolatry; and see how they resulted in their own destruction. 4. His people would not bury him in the sepulchres of the kings because he had stained his honour by his mal-administration. Let him not be written with the righteous, Psa 69:28. These judgments are called the burdens laid upon him (2Ch 24:27), for the wrath of God is a heavy burden, too heavy for any man to bear. Or it may be meant of the threatenings denounced against him by the prophets, for those are called burdens. Usually God sets some special marks of his displeasure upon apostates in this life, for warning to all to remember Lot's wife.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ch 24:1-3

The reign of Joash; cf. 2 Kings 12. - In both accounts only two main events in Joash's reign of forty years are narrated at any length, - the repair of the temple, and the campaign of the Syrian king Hazael against Jerusalem. Besides this, at the beginning, we have a statement as to the duration and spirit of his reign; and in conclusion, the murder of Joash in consequence of a conspiracy is mentioned. Both accounts agree in all essential points, but are shown to be extracts containing the most important part of a more complete history of Joash, by the fact that, on the one hand, in 2 Kings 12 single circumstances are communicated in a more detailed and more exact form than that in which the Chronicle states them; while, on the other hand, the account of the Chronicle supplements the account in 2 Kings 12 in many respects. To these latter belong the account of the marriage of Joash, and his many children, the account of the death of Jehoiada at the age of 130 years, and his honourable burial with the kings, etc.; see on 2Ch 24:15.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ch 24:4-10

As to the repair of the temple , see the commentary on 2Ki 12:5-17, where both the formal divergences and the essential agreement of the two narratives are pointed out.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ch 24:11-12

וגו יביא בּעת ויהי , translate: It came to pass at the time when they brought the chest to the guard of the king by the Levites, i.e., to the board of oversight appointed by the king from among the Levites. עת stat. constr. before a sentence following. בּכום ליום does not denote every day, but every time when there was much money in the chest.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ch 24:13

ארוּכה ותּעל , and there was a band laid upon the work, i.e., the restoration of the house of God was furthered; cf. for this symbolical expression, Neh 4:1; Jer 8:7.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ch 24:14

כּלים ויּעשׂהוּ , therefrom (the king) caused to be made (prepared) vessels for the house of Jahve, (namely) vessels of the service, i.e., according to Num 4:12, in the holy place, and for the offering of burnt-offering, i.e., altar vessels, and (besides) bowls, and (other) vessels of gold and silver. The last clause of 2Ch 24:14 leads on to the following: "They (king and people) offered burnt-offering continually so long as Jehoiada lived."

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ch 24:15-16

Jehoiada's death: the fall of the people into idolatry: the protest of the prophet Zechariah against it, and the stoning of him . - This section is not found in 2 Kings 12, but is important for the understanding of the later history of Joash (2Ch 24:23.). With the death of the grey-haired high priest came a turning-point in the reign of Joash. Jehoiada had saved the life and throne of Joash, preserved to the kingdom the royal house of David, to which the promises belonged, and had put an end to the idolatry which had been transplanted into Judah by Joram's marriage into the royal house of Ahab, restoring the Jahve-worship. For this he was honoured at his death, his body being laid in the city of David among the kings: "For he had done good in Israel, and towards God and His house"(the temple). According to 2Ki 12:7, he still took an active part in the repair of the temple in the twenty-third year of Joash, and according to 2Ch 24:14 he lived for some time after the completion of that work. But after his death the people soon forgot the benefits they owed him.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ch 24:17-20

The princes of Judah besought the king to allow them to worship the Astartes and idols, and the king hearkened to them, did not venture to deny their request. למּלך ישׁתּחווּ , they bowed themselves before the king, i.e., they besought him. What they thus beseechingly requested is not stated, but may be gathered from what they did, according to 2Ch 24:18. They forsook Jahve the God of their fathers, etc. There came wrath upon Judah because of this their trespass. קצף , a wrathful judgment of the Lord, cf. 2Ch 29:8, viz., the invasion of the land by Hazael, 2Ch 24:23. On the construction זאת אשׁמתם , cf. Ew. §293, c , S. 740. Against this defection prophets whom the Lord sent did indeed lift up their testimony, but they would not hearken to them. Of these prophets, one, Zechariah the son of the high priest Jehoiada, is mentioned by name in 2Ch 24:20., who, seized by the Spirit of the Lord, announced to the people divine punishment for their defection, and was thereupon, at the king's command, stoned in the court of the temple. With לבשׁה רוּח cf. 1Ch 12:18, and the commentary on Jdg 6:34. לעם מעל , above the people, viz., as we learn from 2Ch 24:21, in the inner, higher-lying court, so that he was above the people who were in the outer court. "Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, and (why) will ye not prosper?"Fidelity to the Lord is the condition of prosperity. If Israel forsake the Lord, the Lord will also forsake it; cf. 2Ch 12:5; 2Ch 15:2.

Constable: 2Ch 10:1--36:23

IV. THE REIGNS OF SOLOMON'S SUCCESSORS chs. 10--36

"With the close of Solomon's reign we embark upon a new phase in Chr.'s account of Israel's history. That account can be broadly divided . . . into the pre-Davidic era, the time of David and Solomon, and the period of the divided monarchy up until the Babylonian exile."²⁴

". . . the Chronicler never regarded the northern monarchy as anything but illegitimate and a rebellion against God's chosen dynasty. As far as he was concerned, all Israel had one and only one ruling family."²⁵

The writer continued his sermon by evaluating each of Solomon's successors with the same yardstick he had used on Solomon, namely, the example of David. His intent appears to have been to show that none of David's descendants measured up to him much less surpassed him. Consequently the promised Son of David was yet to appear. The relationship of each king to temple worship showed his heart commitment to God. Consequently there is much in what follows that deals with the kings' relationship to the temple and temple worship.

Constable: 2Ch 24:1-27

H. Joash ch. 24

Joash's life, as the writer narrated it, proves again the principles that Chronicles stresses. God was faithful to His promise to provide rulers over His people from David's descendants. Each king's success depended on his submission to God's authority as expressed in the Law of Moses and the announcements of the prophets. The writer evaluated each king's success and measured it by his attitude toward prescribed worship that centered at the temple.

"His rule . . . serves as a characterization in miniature for the historical course of his entire nation."⁶⁴

The use of boxes or baskets to receive the gifts of the people was common in the ancient Near East.⁶⁵ Coined money did not exist before the seventh century B.C., so the people evidently brought their contributions in the form of refined or unrefined metals.

The priests were to instruct the kings in God's Law. As long as Joash listened to this instruction, he succeeded. When he stopped listening, he began to fail. He began to lead the people away from God.

Nevertheless God did not abandon His people because they had abandoned Him. He sent at least one prophet to warn them to return to Him or experience discipline (v. 20). When the people refused to respond properly, judgment followed (vv. 21-27). The way of repentance was still open to the people (cf. 6:24-25; Jer. 18:7-10).

The murder of Zechariah was especially heinous. He died in the very courtyard where "Jehoiada and his sons" (23:11) had anointed his executioner, Joash, as king.⁶⁶ Ironically Jehoiada sought to protect the sanctity of the temple from murder (23:14-15), but his own son was murdered there.⁶⁷

In this chapter in particular the people's response to the temple clearly reflects their response to God (vv. 4, 5, 13, 18, 20, 24). This is always the case in Chronicles.

Guzik: 2Ch 24:1-27

2 Chronicles 24 - The Rise and Fall of Joash

A. Joash repairs the temple.

1. (1-3) Joash's forty year reign.

Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba. Joash did what was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest. And Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he had sons and daughters.

a. He reigned forty years in Jerusalem: This was a long and mostly blessed reign. Joash (also called Jehoash in 2 Kings 12, simply a variant spelling) fell short of full commitment and complete godliness, but he did advance the cause of God in the kingdom of Judah.

i. "The number of wives and children shows God restoring the years the locusts had eaten." (Selman)

b. Joash did what was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest: This implies that when Jehoiada died, Jehoash no longer did what was right in the sight of the LORD. This chapter will document that Joash turned to idolatry when Jehoiada died, and judgment followed.

2. (4-7) The need and the heart to repair the temple.

Now it happened after this that Joash set his heart on repairing the house of the LORD. Then he gathered the priests and the Levites, and said to them, "Go out to the cities of Judah, and gather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that you do it quickly." However the Levites did not do it quickly. So the king called Jehoiada the chief priest, and said to him, "Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and from Jerusalem the collection, according to the commandment of Moses the servant of the LORD and of the assembly of Israel, for the tabernacle of witness?" For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken into the house of God, and had also presented all the dedicated things of the house of the LORD to the Baals.

a. Joash set his heart on repairing the house of the LORD: This indicated the godly concern that Joash had regarding the condition of the temple. He knew that a prosperous and secure kingdom mattered little if the things of God were neglected or despised.

i. He also knew that the condition of the temple was a valid measurement of the heart and passion of the people of God for the things of God. The temple was not God; but neglect and despising of the temple reflected neglect and despising of God.

b. Go out to the cities of Judah, and gather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God: There was not enough money in the royal treasury to underwrite this project. Therefore the king commanded the Levites in Judah's outer cities to collect money and bring it back for the project in Jerusalem.

c. However the Levites did not do it quickly: For some reason the Levites did not share the same passion as King Joash did for the condition of the temple. Perhaps they felt that the townspeople of the outer towns would not embrace and support this work. Nevertheless, Joash held them to account and got the work moving.

i. " 'But the Levites did not act at once,' both because of natural inertia (still true even of Christian workers), and because of the priestly demands that seem to have exhausted the normal revenues on current operations and their own support." (Payne)

d. For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken into the house of God: This explains why the temples was in such disrepair. It wasn't just normal wear and tear usage; it was a deliberate campaign against the temple and the worship of the true God prompted by Athaliah and her sons.

3. (8-14) The temple is repaired and worship is resumed.

Then at the king's command they made a chest, and set it outside at the gate of the house of the LORD. And they made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to bring to the LORD the collection that Moses the servant of God had imposed on Israel in the wilderness. Then all the leaders and all the people rejoiced, brought their contributions, and put them into the chest until all had given. So it was, at that time, when the chest was brought to the king's official by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, that the king's scribe and the high priest's officer came and emptied the chest, and took it and returned it to its place. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance. The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of the LORD; and they hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the LORD, and also those who worked in iron and bronze to restore the house of the LORD. So the workmen labored, and the work was completed by them; they restored the house of God to its original condition and reinforced it. When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada; they made from it articles for the house of the LORD, articles for serving and offering, spoons and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the LORD continually all the days of Jehoiada.

a. The priest took a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and set it outside at the gate of the house of the LORD: Under the direction of King Joash, the priests gave the people the opportunity to give. Even willing givers should be given an opportunity.

i. "Then he placed a collection chest in a strategic location on the right side of the altar, giving the repair project a high priority and a corresponding high visibility." (Dilday)

ii. 2 Kings 12:6-13 indicates that part of the problem was poor and wasteful administration. Therefore King Joash got to the heart of the problem and through Jehoiada the priest, he implemented a system where the money would be set aside, saved, and then wisely spent for the repair and refurbishing of the temple

b. To bring to the LORD the collection that Moses the servant of God had imposed on Israel in the wilderness: This recalls the offering that Moses received to build the tabernacle in Exodus 35. That was a divinely inspired plan to receive freely made offerings from the people of Israel.

i. "The tax itself was based on the half-shekel tax for the Tent, though it was also renewed by Nehemiah (Nehemiah 10:32)." (Selman)

ii. It is possible for God to cause the money and materials to just appear by a miracle. Yet He chooses to almost always fund His work through the willing gifts of His people. He works this way because we need to be a giving people.

iii. This idea is echoed in 2 Corinthians 9:7: So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

c. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance: Through the careful and diligent administration of these freely given gifts, an abundance of money was gathered for the work. God cares not only that His people give generously, but also that their gifts be diligently and carefully administered.

d. So the workmen labored, and the work was completed by them: God's blessing was clearly on the work, but He would not do the work for them. So the king and the priest wisely hired the right kind of workers and paid them directly, so that money would not be lost or wasted in administration.

i. "When the people were assured that the money would really be used for the purpose for which it was given, they responded generously and so similar arrangements were continued by Josiah (2 Kings 22:3-7)." (Wiseman)

e. They brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada: The people were so generous, and the administration was so wise and honest, that there was an excess of money for the restoration project, money which was given to supply new articles for the house of the LORD. This was wonderful evidence of both God's blessing and man's generosity and wise stewardship.

i. These replaced "what had been taken away, partly by the Arabian plunderers, and partly by Athaliah's sacrilegious sons." (Trapp)

ii. In all likelihood, this generous giving was somewhat of a surprise. "Which he thought would not be any great sum, because of the great iniquity and impiety which yet had reigned for many years, and yet continued in the generality of the people of the land, the Levites not excepted, as the last clause of this verse shows." (Poole)

4. (15-16) The death of Jehoiada.

But Jehoiada grew old and was full of days, and he died; he was one hundred and thirty years old when he died. And they buried him in the City of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God and His house.

a. He was one hundred and thirty years old when he died: This unusually long life for this influential priest was evidence of both God's blessing upon his godly life, and God's mercy towards King Joash and Judah. When Joash was no longer under the influence of Jehoiada, he took a definite turn for the worse, and in His mercy God delayed this as along as possible.

b. They buried him in the City of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel: The measure of his influence is indicated by the honored burial place they gave Jehoiada. The good he did in Israel was especially toward God and His house.

i. "See the influence of one man. One man can sway a state. One man can check sin. One man can be the head of a host who shall serve God, and honor his name." (Spurgeon)

B. The apostasy of Joash.

1. (17-19) Joash is influenced to do evil.

Now after the death of Jehoiada the leaders of Judah came and bowed down to the king. And the king listened to them. Therefore they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served wooden images and idols; and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass. Yet He sent prophets to them, to bring them back to the LORD; and they testified against them, but they would not listen.

a. The leaders of Judah came and bowed down to the king. And the king listened to them: Joash seems to have been a fundamentally weak man; he did good when he was under the influence of the godly Jehoiada, but he did bad when he was under the influence of these leaders of Judah, who led them into idolatry.

i. "In most fawning and flattering manner did these court parasites present themselves before him . . . persuading him that during the days of Jehoiada he had been a king without a kingdom, a lord without a dominion, a subject to his subjects." (Trapp)

ii. "Do you not see those gentlemen coming, bowing and scraping a hundred times before they get up to him? They 'made obeisance to the king.' Jehoiada had not often made much obeisance to him; he had beated him with due respect as his king, but he had also spoken to him honestly and faithfully." (Spurgeon)

iii. "That they might not be confined to unnecessary and troublesome journeys in coming to Jerusalem to worship, but might have the liberty which their forefathers enjoyed of worshipping God in the high places; which liberty, when once they had obtained, they knew they could then worship idols without observation or disturbance, which was the think at which they aimed." (Poole)

iv. "All that Joash had done was to give his heart to Jehoiada, not to Jehovah. It is very easy to be outwardly religious by giving your heart to your mother, or your father, or your aunt, or your uncle, or some good person who helps you to do what is right. You are doing all this out of love to them, which is at best but a very secondary motive. God says, 'My son, give me thine heart.'" (Spurgeon)

b. Therefore they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers: They only felt free to worship idols after they had forsaken the house of God. It showed both the shallowness of their commitment to God, and the preservative effect of their prior attendance.

i. "Let our church-forsakers chew on this: let them see what good patriots they are." (Trapp)

c. Yet He sent prophets to them, to bring them back to the LORD; and they testified against them, but they would not listen: This second sin was greater than the initial sins of weakness and idolatry. Joash would not listen to God's prophets or the correction they brought to him.

2. (20-22) Zechariah's message to Joash and his death.

Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, "Thus says God: 'Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, He also has forsaken you.'" So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the LORD. Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but killed his son; and as he died, he said, "The LORD look on it, and repay!"

a. The Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood above the people: This prophet, the son of the influential priest, had a position of leadership as a priest. The phrase stood above the people probably indicates that he was a leading priest, one who pronounced the priestly benediction over the assembly of Israel.

i. The description of the Spirit of God coming upon Zechariah is significant. "Therefore God pronounced judgment through a prophesying priest, Jehoiada's son Zechariah, whom the Spirit of God 'clothed'. Two of the three Old Testament examples of this distinctive expression occur in Chronicles (cf. Judges 6:34; 1 Chronicles 12:18)."

ii. "As we put on a cloak or dress, so does the Spirit of God, as it were, hide Himself in those who surrender themselves to Him, so that it is not they who speak and act, but He within them. . . . Remember the cloth or leather must yield itself easily to the movements of its wearer, and not less pliable and supple must we be to the Spirit of God." (Meyer)

b. Because you have forsaken the LORD, He also has forsaken you: The Chronicler includes this aspect of the account - not included in 2 Kings record - especially because this principle was relevant to the returned exiles in the day Chronicles was written. They needed to remember the principle draw near to God and He will draw near to you (James 4:8), and the inverse of that principle.

c. So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they stoned him: Both the leaders and the common people conspired to murder Zechariah. They not only rejected his message, they also silenced the prophet with the words of conviction.

i. "What a most wretched and contemptible man was this, who could imbrue his hands in the blood of a prophet of God, and the son of the man who had saved him from being murdered, and raised him to the throne! Alas, alas!" (Clarke)

d. The LORD look on it, and repay! Zechariah's dying words were a plea to God, asking Him to repay according to His justice. It is the perfect prayer of the persecuted, leaving all vengeance in the hand and wisdom of God.

i. "Zechariah is not looking for personal revenge but asking God to act in keeping with his declared principles of justice." (Selman)

ii. "And so he did; for, at the end of that year, the Syrians came against Judah, destroyed all the princes of the people, sent their spoils to Damascus; and Joash, the murderer of the prophet, the son of his benefactor, was himself murdered by his own servants. Here was a most signal display of the divine retribution." (Clarke)

iii. This whole evil tragedy is filled with ironies.

· The people did not listen to the command of the LORD, but they did listen to the evil command of King Joash.

· Joash answered the kindness of Jehoiada to him with cruelty to the son of Jehoiada.

· Zechariah was murdered in the same place where his father Jehoiada had anointed Joash king (2 Chronicles 23:10-11).

3. (23-24) God brings judgment on Judah and Joash through the Syrians

So it happened in the spring of the year that the army of Syria came up against him; and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the leaders of the people from among the people, and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus. For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men; but the LORD delivered a very great army into their hand, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash.

a. The army of Syria came up . . . and destroyed all the leaders of the people: The leaders who were an unwise and ungodly influence upon Joash were the same leaders who were destroyed and had their spoil plundered.

b. The army of the Syrians came with a small company of men; but the LORD delivered a very great army into their hand: Under the judgment of God, the small army of the Syrians overcame the very great army of Judah.

i. God promised that His obedient people would be blessed with success far beyond their numbers (Leviticus 26:8), and that when disobedient, they would suffer disproportionate defeat (Leviticus 26:17, 26:37).

4. (25-27) A wounded Joash is assassinated by his servants.

And when they had withdrawn from him (for they left him severely wounded), his own servants conspired against him because of the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed. So he died. And they buried him in the City of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings. These are the ones who conspired against him: Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess. Now concerning his sons, and the many oracles about him, and the repairing of the house of God, indeed they are written in the annals of the book of the kings. Then Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

a. His own servants conspired against him: This is startling, and shows that the blessing of God long before vanished from the compromised king who began so well, but failed to finish well.

i. They were prompted to assassinate Joash because of the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest. Yet there may also have been the fact of the recent defeat by Syria. "The murder of Joash by his officials or servants implies that it may have been the result of disaffection following the defeat by Hazael." (Wiseman)

ii. "So disobedience brings its own bitter reward, and what God's people sow they always, in some way or another, reap. Joash abundantly deserved his inglorious and terrible end." (Knapp)

iii. "Thus ended a reign full of promise and hope in the beginning, but profligate, cruel, and ruinous in the end. Never was the hand of God's justice more signally stretched out against an apostate king and faithless people, than at this time." (Clarke)

iv. "The 'many prophecies' about Joash probably refer to such prophetic threatenings as are noted in 2 Chronicles 24:19-20." (Payne)

b. They are written in the annals of the book of the kings: There is no record of repentance on Joash's part. He never came back to or fulfilled his bright early promise.

i. "The fact that he was not honoured by a place in the royal cemetery (in contrast to Jehoiada) is important in Chronicles." (Selman)

ii. "Yes, and there are some whose hearts are not right towards God, who nevertheless are very zealous about the externals of divine worship. It is a much easier thing to build a temple for God than it is to be a temple for God; and it is a much more common thing for persons to show zeal in repairing temples than in reforming their own manners." (Spurgeon)

iii. "There was a want of principle in Joash, and it is of that I want to warn all our friends. Do not, I pray you, be satisfied with the practice of piety without the principles of piety. It is not enough to have a correct creed; you must have a renewed heart. It is not sufficient to have an ornate ritual; you must have a holy life, and to be holy you must be renewed by the Holy Spirit. If this change is not wrought in you by the Holy Ghost, you who yield so readily to good will yield just as quickly to evil." (Spurgeon)

iv. "The study of the story of Joash offers a striking illustration of how a weak man is easily influenced. It emphasizes the need of strong individual character, which can only be created by direct dealing with God." (Morgan)

v. "However valuable the influence of a good man may be, it remains true that if a man have nothing more to lean on than that, if it should fail, collapse is almost inevitable. All foundations fail, save one." (Morgan)

© 2006 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Introduction / Outline

JFB: 2 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

THE FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF CHRONICLES were also considered as one by the ancient Jews, who called them "words of days," that is, diaries or journals, being probably compiled from those registers that were kept by the king's historiographers of passing occurrences. In the Septuagint the title given them is Paraleipomenon, "of things omitted," that is, the books are supplementary because many things unnoticed in the former books are here recorded; and not only the omissions are supplied, but some narratives extended while others are added. The authorship is commonly ascribed to Ezra, whose leading object seems to have been to show the division of families, possessions, &c., before the captivity, with a view to the exact restoration of the same order after the return from Babylon. Although many things are restated and others are exact repetitions of what is contained in Kings, there is so much new and important information that, as JEROME has well said, the Chronicles furnish the means of comprehending parts of the New Testament, which must have been unintelligible without them. They are frequently referred to by Christ and the Apostles as forming part of "the Word of God" (see the genealogies in Mat. 1:1-16; Luk. 3:23-38; compare 2Ch 19:7 with 1Pe 1:17; 2Ch 24:19-21 with Mat 23:32-35).

JFB: 2 Chronicles (Outline)

• SOLEMN OFFERING OF SOLOMON AT GIBEON. (2Ch 1:1-6)
• HIS CHOICE OF WISDOM IS BLESSED BY GOD. (2Ch 1:7-13)
• HIS STRENGTH AND WEALTH. (2Ch 1:14-17)
• SOLOMON'S LABORERS FOR BUILDING THE TEMPLE. (2Ch 2:1-2)
• HIS MESSAGE TO HURAM FOR SKILFUL ARTIFICERS. (2Ch 2:3-10)
• HURAM'S KIND ANSWER. (2Ch 2:11-18)
• PLACE AND TIME OF BUILDING THE TEMPLE. (2Ch 3:1-2)
• MEASURES AND ORNAMENTS OF THE HOUSE. (2Ch 3:3-7)
• DIMENSIONS, &C., OF THE MOST HOLY HOUSE. (2Ch 3:8-13)
• ALTAR OF BRASS. (2Ch 4:1)
• MOLTEN SEA. (2Ch 4:2-5)
• THE TEN LAVERS, CANDLESTICKS, AND TABLES. (2Ch 4:6-18)
• THE DEDICATED TREASURES. (2Ch 5:1)
• BRINGING UP OF THE ARK OF THE COVENANT. (2Ch 5:2-13)
• SOLOMON BLESSES THE PEOPLE AND PRAISES GOD. (2Ch. 6:1-41)
• GOD GIVES TESTIMONY TO SOLOMON'S PRAYER; THE PEOPLE WORSHIP. (2Ch 7:1-3)
• SOLOMON'S SACRIFICES. (2Ch 7:4-11)
• GOD APPEARS TO HIM. (2Ch 7:12-22)
• SOLOMON'S BUILDINGS. (2Ch 8:1-6)
• THE CANAANITES MADE TRIBUTARIES. (2Ch 8:7-11)
• SOLOMON'S FESTIVAL SACRIFICES. (2Ch 8:15-18)
• THE QUEEN OF SHEBA VISITS SOLOMON; SHE ADMIRES HIS WISDOM AND MAGNIFICENCE. (2Ch 9:1-12)
• HIS RICHES. (2Ch. 9:13-28)
• REHOBOAM REFUSING THE OLD MEN'S GOOD COUNSEL. (2Ch 10:1-15)
• REHOBOAM, RAISING AN ARMY TO SUBDUE ISRAEL, IS FORBIDDEN BY SHEMAIAH. (2Ch. 11:1-17)
• HIS WIVES AND CHILDREN. (2Ch 11:18-23)
• REHOBOAM, FORSAKING GOD, IS PUNISHED BY SHISHAK. (2Ch 12:1-12)
• HIS REIGN AND DEATH. (2Ch 12:13-16)
• ABIJAH, SUCCEEDING, MAKES WAR AGAINST JEROBOAM, AND OVERCOMES HIM. (2Ch. 13:1-20)
• ASA DESTROYS IDOLATRY. (2Ch 14:1-5)
• HAVING PEACE, HE STRENGTHENS HIS KINGDOM WITH FORTS AND ARMIES. (2Ch 14:6-8)
• HE OVERCOMES ZERAH, AND SPOILS THE ETHIOPIANS. (2Ch 14:9-15)
• JUDAH MAKES A SOLEMN COVENANT WITH GOD. (2Ch 15:1-15)
• ASA, BY A LEAGUE WITH THE SYRIANS, DIVERTS BAASHA FROM BUILDING RAMAH. (2Ch 16:1-14)
• JEHOSHAPHAT REIGNS WELL AND PROSPERS. (2Ch 17:1-6)
• HE SENDS LEVITES TO TEACH IN JUDAH. (2Ch 17:7-11)
• HIS GREATNESS, CAPTAINS, AND ARMIES. (2Ch 17:12-19)
• JEHOSHAPHAT AND AHAB GO AGAINST RAMOTH-GILEAD. (2Ch. 18:1-34)
• JEHOSHAPHAT VISITS HIS KINGDOM. (2Ch 19:1-4)
• HIS INSTRUCTIONS TO THE JUDGES. (2Ch 19:5-7)
• TO THE PRIESTS AND LEVITES. (2Ch 19:8-11)
• JEHOSHAPHAT, INVADED BY THE MOABITES, PROCLAIMS A FAST. (2Ch. 20:1-21)
• THE OVERTHROW OF HIS ENEMIES. (2Ch 20:22-30)
• HIS REIGN. (2Ch 20:31-37)
• JEHORAM SUCCEEDS JEHOSHAPHAT. (2Ch 21:1-4)
• HIS WICKED REIGN. (2Ch 21:5-7)
• EDOM AND LIBNAH REVOLT. (2Ch 21:8-17)
• AHAZIAH SUCCEEDING JEHORAM, REIGNS WICKEDLY. (2Ch 22:1-9)
• ATHALIAH, DESTROYING THE SEED ROYAL SAVE JOASH, USURPS THE KINGDOM. (2Ch 22:10-12)
• JEHOIADA MAKES JOASH KING. (2Ch 23:1-11)
• ATHALIAH SLAIN. (2Ch 23:12-15)
• JEHOIADA RESTORES THE WORSHIP OF GOD, AND SETTLES THE KING. (2Ch 23:16)
• JOASH REIGNS WELL ALL THE DAYS OF JEHOIADA. (2Ch 24:1-14)
• JEHOIADA BEING DEAD. (2Ch 24:15-16)
• JOASH FALLS INTO IDOLATRY. (2Ch 24:17-22)
• HE IS SLAIN BY HIS SERVANTS. (2Ch 24:23-27)
• AMAZIAH BEGINS TO REIGN WELL. (2Ch 25:1-4)
• HAVING HIRED AN ARMY OF ISRAELITES AGAINST THE EDOMITES, AT THE WORD OF A PROPHET HE LOSES A HUNDRED TALENTS AND DISMISSES THEM. (2Ch 25:5-10)
• HE PROVOKES JOASH TO HIS OVERTHROW. (2Ch 25:17)
• UZZIAH SUCCEEDS AMAZIAH AND REIGNS WELL IN THE DAYS OF ZECHARIAH. (2Ch 26:1-8)
• HIS BUILDINGS. (2Ch 26:9-10)
• HIS HOST, AND ENGINES OF WAR. (2Ch 26:11-15)
• HE INVADES THE PRIEST'S OFFICE, AND IS SMITTEN WITH LEPROSY. (2Ch 26:16-21)
• JOTHAM, REIGNING WELL, PROSPERS. (2Ch 27:1-4)
• HE SUBDUES THE AMMONITES. (2Ch 27:5-9)
• AHAZ, REIGNING WICKEDLY, IS AFFLICTED BY THE SYRIANS. (2Ch. 28:1-21)
• HIS IDOLATRY IN HIS DISTRESS. (2Ch 28:22-27)
• HEZEKIAH'S GOOD REIGN. (2Ch 29:1-2)
• HE RESTORES RELIGION. (2Ch 29:3-11)
• THE HOUSE OF GOD CLEANSED. (2Ch. 29:12-36)
• HEZEKIAH PROCLAIMS A PASSOVER. (2Ch 30:1-12)
• THE ASSEMBLY DESTROYS THE ALTARS OF IDOLATRY. (2Ch 30:13-27)
• THE PEOPLE FORWARD IN DESTROYING IDOLATRY. (2Ch 31:1-10)
• HEZEKIAH APPOINTS OFFICERS TO DISPOSE OF THE TITHES. (2Ch 31:11-19)
• HIS SINCERITY OF HEART. (2Ch 31:20-21)
• SENNACHERIB INVADES JUDAH. (2Ch. 32:1-20)
• AN ANGEL DESTROYS THE ASSYRIANS. (2Ch 32:21-23)
• HEZEKIAH'S SICKNESS AND RECOVERY. (2Ch 32:24-26)
• HIS RICHES AND WORKS. (2Ch 32:27-33)
• MANASSEH'S WICKED REIGN. (2Ch 33:1-10)
• HE IS CARRIED UNTO BABYLON, WHERE HE HUMBLES HIMSELF BEFORE GOD, AND IS RESTORED TO HIS KINGDOM. (2Ch 33:11-19)
• HE DIES AND AMON SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ch 33:20-25)
• JOSIAH'S GOOD REIGN. (2Ch 34:1-2)
• HE DESTROYS IDOLATRY. (2Ch 34:3-7)
• HE REPAIRS THE TEMPLE. (2Ch 34:8-18)
• AND, CAUSING THE LAW TO BE READ, RENEWS THE COVENANT BETWEEN GOD AND THE PEOPLE. (2Ch 34:19-33)
• JOSIAH KEEPS A SOLEMN PASSOVER. (2Ch. 35:1-19)
• HIS DEATH. (2Ch 35:20-27)
• JEHOAHAZ, SUCCEEDING, IS DEPOSED BY PHARAOH. (2Ch 36:1-4)
• JEHOIAKIM, REIGNING ILL, IS CARRIED INTO BABYLON. (2Ch 36:5-8)
• ZEDEKIAH'S REIGN. (2Ch 36:11-21)
• CYRUS' PROCLAMATION. (2Ch 36:22-23)

TSK: 2 Chronicles 24 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

2Ch 24:1, Joash reigns well all the days of Jehoiada; 2Ch 24:4, He gives order for the repair of the temple; 2Ch 24:15, Jehoiada’s death and honourable burial; 2Ch 24:17, Joash, falling into idolatry, slays Zechariah the son of Jehoiada; v.23, Joash is spoiled by the Syrians, and slain by Zabad and Jehozabad; v.27, Amaziah succeeds him.

Poole: 2 Chronicles 24 (Chapter Introduction)

CHRONICLES CHAPTER 24

Joash reigneth well all the days of Jehoiada, 2Ch 24:1-14 . He dieth; is buried honourably; and Joash falleth to idolatry; slayeth Zechariah the son of Jehoiada, 2Ch 24:15-22 . He is spoiled by the Syrians; slain by Zabad and Jehozabad: Amaziah succeedeth him, 2Ch 24:23-27 .

A great part of this chapter is explained on 2Ki 12 .

MHCC: 2 Chronicles 24 (Chapter Introduction)

(2Ch 24:1-14) Joash, of Judah, The temple repaired.

(2Ch 24:15-27) Joash falls into idolatry, He is slain by his servants.

Matthew Henry: 2 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Second Book of Chronicles

This book begins with the reign of Solomon and the building of the temple, and continues the history of the kings of Judah thenceforward to the captivity and so concludes with the fall of that illustrious monarchy and the destruction of the temple. That monarchy of the house of David, as it was prior in time, so it was superior in worth and dignity to all those four celebrated ones of which Nebuchadnezzar dreamed. The Babylonian monarchy I reckon to begin in Nebuchadnezzar himself - Thou art that head of gold, and that lasted but about seventy years; The Persian monarchy, in several families, about 130; the Grecian, in their several branches, about 300; and 300 more went far with the Roman. But as I reckon David a greater hero than any of the founders of those monarchies, and Solomon a more magnificent prince than any of those that were the glories of them, so the succession was kept up in a lineal descent throughout the whole monarchy, which continued considerable between 400 and 500 years, and, after a long eclipse, shone forth again in the kingdom of the Messiah, of the increase of whose government and peace there shall be no end. This history of the Jewish monarchy, as it is more authentic, so it is more entertaining and more instructive, than the histories of any of those monarchies. We had the story of the house of David before, in the first and second books of Kings, intermixed with that of the kings of Israel, which there took more room than that of Judah; but here we have it entire. Much is repeated here which we had before, yet many of the passages of the story are enlarged upon, and divers added, which we had not before, especially relating to the affairs of religion; for it is a church-history, and it is written for our learning, to let nations and families know that then, and then only, they can expect to prosper, when they keep in the way of their duty to God: for all along the good kings prospered and the wicked kings suffered. The peaceable reign of Solomon we have (ch. 1-9), the blemished reign of Rehoboam (ch. 10-12), the short but busy reign of Abijah (ch. 13), the long and happy reign of Asa (ch. 14-16), the pious and prosperous reign of Jehoshaphat (ch. 17-20), the impious and infamous reigns of Jehoram and Ahaziah (ch. 21-22), the unsteady reigns of Joash and Amaziah (ch. 24, 25), the long and prosperous reign of Uzziah (ch. 26), the regular reign of Jotham (2Ch 27:1-9), the profane and wicked reign of Ahaz (ch. 28), the gracious glorious reign of Hezekiah (ch. 29-32), the wicked reigns of Manasseh and Amon (ch. 33), the reforming reign of Josiah (ch. 34, 35), the ruining reigns of his sons (ch. 36). Put all these together, and the truth of that word of God will appear, Those that honour me I will honour, but those that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. The learned Mr. Whiston, in his chronology, suggests that the historical books which were written after the captivity (namely, the two books of Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah) have more mistakes in names and numbers than all the books of the Old Testament besides, through the carelessness of transcribers: but, though that should be allowed, the things are so very minute that we may be confident the foundation of God stands sure notwithstanding.

Matthew Henry: 2 Chronicles 24 (Chapter Introduction)

We have here the history of the reign of Joash, the progress of which, and especially its termination, were not of a piece with its beginning, nor shone with so much lustre. How wonderfully he was preserved for the throne, and placed in it, we read before; now here we are told how he began in the spirit, but ended in the flesh. I. In the beginning of his time, while Jehoiada lived, he did well; particularly, he took care to put the temple in good repair (2Ch 24:1-14). II. In the latter end of his time, after Jehoiada's death, he apostatized from God, and his apostasy was his ruin. 1. He set up the worship of Baal again (2Ch 24:15-18), though warned to the contrary (2Ch 24:19). 2. He put Zechariah the prophet to death because he reproved him for what he had done (2Ch 24:20-22). 3. The judgments of God came upon him for it. The Syrians invaded him (2Ch 24:23, 2Ch 24:24). He was struck with sore diseases; his own servants conspired against him and slew him; and, as a mark of infamy upon him, he was not buried in the burying-place of the kings (2Ch 24:25-27).

Constable: 2 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

Introduction

For an explanation of the title, writer, date, scope, and purpose of this book, see my comments in my notes on 1 Chronicles. Second Chronicles continues the historical narrative begun in 1 Chronicles.

Message¹

Even though 1 and 2 Chronicles give one continuous story the emphasis in 2 Chronicles is different from that in 1 Chronicles. In 1 Chronicles the emphasis is the importance of the temple in national life. However in 2 Chronicles the emphasis is the impotence of the temple in national life. First Chronicles condemns rationalism in national life, the idea that we can get along without God. Second Chronicles condemns ritualism in national life, the idea that what satisfies God is external conformity rather than internal reality. First Chronicles emphasizes the importance of recognizing God in national life. Second Chronicles emphasizes the importance of following up that formal recognition with actual recognition in attitudes and actions. Second Chronicles is a negative lesson because in it we see that the Israelites' recognition of God was only formal, not actual.

In the first part of the book (chs. 1-9) we have the story of Solomon. It is a demonstration of the impotence and uselessness of merely formal religion. This comes through in four respects.

First, Solomon's inheritance was more than the throne of Israel. His throne only gave him the opportunity to fulfill God's purpose for his life. That purpose was to enable the people to acknowledge Yahweh's rule over them that the temple symbolized. This had been David's great passion in life. He wanted the people to realize that national strength came from submission to God's heavenly throne. Solomon appreciated that fact. When he offered his first sacrifice as king to God he did so at the old tabernacle, not at the temporary tent where the ark resided. He realized that Israel's strength lay in her relationship to God that the tabernacle symbolized. His temple was to become the tabernacle's successor. Solomon's real inheritance then was his opportunity to build the temple as a reminder to the people of how important it was for them to recognize Yahweh as their real Ruler.

Second, Solomon's greatness was not really his wealth and political influence. These were the results of his greatness. His real greatness lay in his humility before God and in his intercession for the people with God. He got away from these things, but when he began to reign he had the essentials of greatness.

Third, Solomon's service was not most importantly the administration of Israel, though he did that well. His primary service to the nation was the erection of the temple, which the writer emphasized.

Fourth, Solomon's failure was more significant than that he oppressed the people and that he set the stage for the division of the kingdom. It was essentially the fact that he ceased to recognize God's rule over him and his kingdom, the very thing the temple he had built promoted. His life became self-centered rather than God-centered. He stopped submitting to the Word of God. For Solomon the temple became only an outward form, not the expression of his inward life. It became an object of ritual rather than the expression of reality. In the years that followed, what had become true of Solomon became true of the whole nation.

In the second part of the book (chs. 10-36) we have the history of the nation Solomon ruled. It is an illustration of the impotence and uselessness of merely formal religion. Let me point this out in four respects.

First, the division of the kingdom resulted because Rehoboam did not acknowledge God's sovereignty over the nation in reality even though he did so formally. Rehoboam continued the true form of worship in Judah, but Jeroboam substituted a new form of worship in Israel. In both cases the worship was only a matter of formal observance, not a matter of reality. That is why both nations failed.

Second, the degeneracy of the kingdom of Judah, as well as Israel, continued because most of the kings and people that followed continued worship only as a matter of formal observance. This resulted too in increasing neglect of even the form. People do not continue to observe a form of worship that is devoid of power very long. Mere formalism dies eventually, as it should. The real issue in Judah was apostasy, infidelity.

Third, the reformations in the kingdom began at the temple. Asa restored the altar. Jehoshaphat sent messengers throughout the land to read the Word of God to the people. Joash renovated the temple. Hezekiah reopened it and revitalized worship in it. Josiah repaired it. In each case, conditions were appalling when these reformations began. In Asa's day the altar was in disrepair. In Jehoshaphat's day the people were ignorant of God's Word. In Joash's day Athaliah had damaged the temple. In Hezekiah's day no one came to the temple. Its doors were shut and its worship abandoned. In Josiah's day not one copy of the Law was available. When the king heard the copy that someone had found in the rubble of the temple read, he was completely unfamiliar with it. Throughout this period of history, about 350 years in chapters 10-36, the nation moved farther and farther from God.

Fourth, the ultimate disaster in the kingdom was the burning of the temple and the captivity of the people. All through the years Solomon's temple had stood as a reminder to the people to recognize God's rule over them as a nation. It had become a hollow symbol, the symbol of a formal ritualism rather than the symbol of a vital relationship. It was only fitting that when the nation ceased to exist and the people left their land the Babylonians destroyed the temple.

If 1 Chronicles teaches that it was necessary that the people recognize God, 2 Chronicles teaches that if that recognition is only formal and ceremonial it is not only useless but impotent.

That is the message of this book. If our recognition of God is only formal and not real, that recognition will be useless for us and impotent in us.

I would like to apply this lesson to us.

First, let me remind you of the similarity that exists between ourselves and the Israelites. They had a physical, material temple. We are a spiritual temple (1 Cor. 3:16; cf. 1 Pet. 2:4-10, esp. vv. 5, 9-10). As the presence of God filled Solomon's temple at its beginning, God's presence filled the church at its beginning (2 Chron. 5:13-14; Acts 2:1-4). As Solomon's temple was the center of national life in Israel, so the church is to be the center of international life in the world. As God intended Solomon's temple to remind His people of His heavenly rule over them, so God intended the church to remind all people of God's rule over them. As Solomon's temple became simply a symbol of a form of worship, so can the church. We must remember what we are here to do, namely to call people to recognize God's gracious and beneficent rule over them that can result in their blessing.

Second, let me point out some manifestations of formalism in the church today. One of these is insistence on doctrinal orthodoxy without a corresponding vital spiritual life. This is what James called dead faith (James 2:20). This can be the possession of both individual Christians and local churches. I do not mean to suggest that doctrinal orthodoxy is unimportant. I am not suggesting that we tear down the temple. But let us make sure that our theological edifice is having its full effect and not merely giving us a false sense of God's approval. It is possible to argue for the correctness of our views and to curse the person who does not share them. That is an evidence of formalism. It is possible to go to church faithfully and yet to live out of church as though there were no God. That is ritualism. It is possible to worship God earnestly and then to goof off at work. That is formalism, ritualism, empty hypocrisy.

Third, let me point out the consequences of formalism. The most serious consequence is not only that a church will fail to be what God wants it to be. It is also that it will fail to do what God has placed it on the earth to do. As Israel failed to bring the light of God's revelation to the world, the church can fail to do so too. Our nation and our world can rush headlong toward godlessness if we are content merely with playing church. We Christians can bear the marks of unworthy conduct, cowardice in the face of wrong, and carelessness about what is right. If we do, we will be useless and impotent. Why is the modern church unlike the Jerusalem church in Acts 2? It is different because of formalism, ritualism, lack of reality. The world has no time or patience with formalism. Why are so many local churches not growing? They are stagnant because the Christians in them are just going through motions. There is no evidence to others that they are anything but useless and impotent. Is your Christian life vital, or are you just going through motions?

Constable: 2 Chronicles (Outline)

Outline

(Continued from notes on 1 Chronicles)

III. The reign of Solomon chs. 1-9

A. Solomon's wisdom and prosperity ch. 1

B. The building of the temple 2:1-5:1

1. Preparations for building the temple ch. 2

2. The temple proper 3:1-9

3. The temple furnishings 3:10-5:1

C. The dedication of the temple 5:2-7:10

1. The installation of the ark 5:2-14

2. Solomon's address 6:1-11

3. Solomon's prayer 6:12-42

4. The celebration of the people 7:1-10

D. God's blessings and curses 7:11-22

E. Solomon's successes chs. 8-9

1. Solomon's political success 8:1-11

2. Solomon's religious success 8:12-16

3. Solomon's economic success 8:17-9:28

4. Solomon's death 9:29-31

IV. The reigns of Solomon's successors chs. 10-36

A. Rehoboam chs. 10-12

1. The division of the nation ch. 10

2. Rehoboam's kingdom ch. 11

3. The invasion by Egypt ch. 12

B. Abijah 13:1-14:1

C. Asa 14:2-16:14

1. Asa's wisdom 14:2-15

2. Asa's reform ch. 15

3. Asa's failure ch. 16

D. Jehoshaphat chs. 17-20

1. Summary of Jehoshaphat's reign 17:1-6

2. The strength of Jehoshaphat's kingdom 17:7-19

3. Jehoshaphat and Ahab ch. 18

4. Jehoshaphat's appointment of judges ch. 19

5. Victory over the Moabite-Ammonite alliance 20:1-30

6. Jehoshaphat's failures 20:31-37

E. Jehoram ch. 21

F. Ahaziah ch. 22

G. Athaliah ch. 23

H. Joash ch. 24

I. Amaziah ch. 25

J. Uzziah ch. 26

K. Jotham ch. 27

L. Ahaz ch. 28

M. Hezekiah chs. 29-32

1. The cleansing and rededication of the temple ch. 29

2. Hezekiah's Passover 30:1-31:1

3. Re-establishment of proper worship 31:2-21

4. The invasion by Sennacherib 32:1-23

5. Hezekiah's humility and greatness 32:24-33

N. Manasseh 33:1-20

O. Amon 33:21-25

P. Josiah chs. 34-35

1. Josiah's reforms ch. 34

2. Josiah's Passover 35:1-19

3. Josiah's death 35:20-27

Q. The last four kings 36:1-21

1. Jehoahaz 36:1-4

2. Jehoiakim 36:5-8

3. Jehoiachin 36:9-10

4. Zedekiah 36:11-21

R. The edict of Cyrus 36:22-23

Constable: 2 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 2 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

THE SECOND BOOK OF PARALIPOMENON.

INTRODUCTION.

As the former Book shews how David was chosen to rule over God's peculiar people, so this [Book] explains briefly the reign of Solomon, in the nine first chapters; and in the rest, that of nineteen of his successors, who governed two tribes till the captivity, while Israel was divided. (Worthington)

Gill: 2 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES

This, and the preceding, were but one book originally, but divided into two because of the size of it, so that this is only a continuation of the former history; that ends at the death of David; this begins with the reign of Solomon, goes through that, and the reigns of all the kings of the house of David; of the kings of Judah only, after the separation of the ten tribes, quite down to the captivity of Judah in Babylon, and reaches to the deliverance of the Jews from thence by Cyrus, and contains an history of four hundred and seventy nine years. It treats not at all of the kings of Israel, after the separation, only of the kings of Judah, through whom the line of the Messiah was drawn; and though it omits several things recorded of them in the book of Kings, yet it gives abundance of anecdotes not to be met with there, which are of great use and advantage in history to know.

Gill: 2 Chronicles 24 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 24

This chapter begins with the reign of Joash king of Judah, son of Ahaziah, 2Ch 24:1, relates his concern and care to repair the temple, 2Ch 24:4, the death of Jehoiada the priest, during whose life he reigned well, but after his death sadly apostatized, 2Ch 24:15, for which, being reproved by Zechariah, he was so wroth with him as to order him to be stoned, 2Ch 24:20, wherefore for these evils enemies were raised up against him; he was smitten with diseases, and his servants conspired against him and slew him, and would not bury him among the kings, 2Ch 24:23.