Jehoash Turns Away From God

Like many Christians today, Jehoash or Joash served the Lord devotedly as long as his pastor and spiritual advisor was there to guide him.   Unfortunately, like many today, he had not developed his own spiritual relationship with the Lord.  One day, that spiritual advisor will not be there to guide them, and Their lack of spiritual development becomes apparent.  II Chronicles 24:15-18 describes how Jehoash responded in this situation.  “But Jehoiada waxed old, and was full of days when he died; an hundred and thirty years old was he 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 toward his house.  Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them.  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 this their trespass.”

Without Jehoiada to guide him, Jehoash began to go along with what other people suggested, gradually turning his back on the Lord, and the rest of the people went along with him.  Instead of trying to develop strong leaders for the people to follow, we need to develop strong people who are focused on the Lord, asnd will not be lead away by strong leaders. 

When they turn away, many times they totally reject everything they have learned and those who have taught them, as II Chronicles 24:19-22 describes.  “Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the LORD; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear.  And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you.  And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD.  Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The LORD look upon it, and require it.”

They even murdered Zechariah for telling them they were wrong, and Jesus referred to hie death, in Luke 11:51.  When he was killed, Zechariah asked the Lord to make it right, and shortly, God brought Judgment on Jehoash and Judah, as II Kings 12:17-18 describes.  “ Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it: and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.  And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and in the king's house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem.” 

Initially the Syrians had only attacked the Philistines, but on their way home, the turned toward Jerusalem.  Jehoash sought to appease them by giving a large amount of wealth to them, even stripping the temple in the process.  As usually happens, the efforts to appease the Syrians convinced them Judah was afraid of them, and they returned in II Chronicles 24:23-24.  “And it came to pass at the end of the year, that the host of Syria came up against him: and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people, and sent all the spoil of them unto the king of Damascus.  For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men, and the LORD delivered a very great host into their hand, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash.”

Though the Syrian army was only a very small force, God enabled them to defeat Judahand seriously injure Jehoash.  The defeat led to a revolt by some of his own servants, who murdered him, as II Chronicles 24:25-26 describes.  “And when they were departed from him, (for they left him in great diseases,) his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and slew him on his bed, and he died: and they buried him in the city of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchres of the kings.  And these are they that conspired against him; Zabad the son of Shimeath an Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith a Moabitess.”

For the first twenty  three years of his administration, Jehoash had been a very popular king, but after he turned away from god his popularity waned, and by the time of his death he was os unpopular that they wouldn’t even allow him to be buried along side the other kings.  His som Amaziah became the next king.