Journal Through the Bible: Week 96 Tuesday

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II Chronicles chapter 24

Many of the Temple items that were worth anything had been taken by Pharaoh Shishak during the reign of Rehoboam so once the Temple complex itself had been repaired the rest of the offerings that the people gave during Joash's reign were used to replace gold and silver vessels for ceremonial use.

Note that when Jehoiada the priest died he was buried in the city of David among the kings but Joash was not. What a fitting honor for the foster father, guardian, and protector of the rightful ruler! And what a rebuke to the way Joash's rule ended!

Does God issue any commands?

• Joash referenced the commandment of Moses to collect money for the care of the Lord's House when he told the Levites to collect money from the people for this cause.
• God sent prophets to Joash and the princes of Judah warning them of the consequences of their idolatry but they would not listen. Even Zechariah the priest, the son of Jehoiada (and Joash's own cousin) was put to death in the court of the Temple by the king's command.

Does God make any promises?

• God promised that He would forsake Judah because they had forsaken Him. He said this through the prophet and priest, Zechariah. This was accomplished when God allowed a small band of the Syrian army to destroy a large amount of people in Judah and Jerusalem. They even wounded the king himself. Joash was then killed by his own servants who conspired against him. (Joash was buried in the City of David but not among the kings. What irony that the king was not buried among his kingly ancestors but his foster father was!)

Does this chapter teach anything about Jesus?

• Jehoiada was such a wonderful foster father to Joash that he was greatly honored at the time of his death. Jesus also had a wonderful foster father in Joseph. Although the Bible does not tell us anything about Joseph's death we know that he was specifically chosen by God to be Jesus' earthly guardian and that he did his job well. One does not need to be a biological father to be used of God to guide a young man.
• Joash only lived a Godly life as long as his foster father, Jehoiada, was alive. After that he turned to idolatry. Conversely, Jesus lived a Godly life every day including after the death of His foster father. Evidently Joash was not much of a leader and ruler. He ruled righteously only when personally influenced by Jehoiada. On the other hand, Jesus lived a life of submission to Joseph as long as His foster father lived, but following Joseph's death Jesus' public ministry was based upon service to God. If Joseph was saved, and there is every reason to believe he was, his righteousness was through his foster son, Jesus Christ.
• Jesus taught that God was no respecter of persons. His half-brother, James, picked up that theme and wrote about it in the book that bears his name. The burials of Jehoiada and Joash respectively show this principle. Jehoiada, the priest from the tribe of Levi was buried among the kings while Joash, the king was not. Jehoiada was considered worthy but Joash was not.

Does this chapter teach anything about yet-future events?

• In God's sight a man's station in this life is not what is important. The lives and deaths of Jehoiada and Joash illustrate this. God cares about the contents of our hearts and not about how important we are in this world. We will be rewarded in His Kingdom accordingly.