2 Chronicles 24: Joash: Temple Repair and Tragic Fall

Short answer: Second Chronicles 24 recounts King Joash's forty-year reign, beginning with his repair of Yahweh's house under Jehoiada the priest and ending with apostasy, the murder of Zechariah, and his own violent death. The chapter contrasts faithful leadership that strengthens the temple with a king who abandons God once his mentor is gone.

What 2 Chronicles 24 says

The chapter opens with Joash at seven years old, reigning forty years in Jerusalem. His mother is Zibiah of Beersheba. While Jehoiada the priest lives, Joash does what is right in Yahweh's eyes. Jehoiada arranges two wives for him, and he fathers sons and daughters. Then Joash sets his heart on restoring Yahweh's house. He commands the priests and Levites to go through Judah's cities and gather money yearly for repairs, but the Levites delay. So the king summons Jehoiada and asks why the tax of Moses has not been collected for the Tent of the Testimony. The narrator notes that Athaliah's sons had broken into God's house and given its dedicated things to the Baals. A chest is made and placed outside the gate, and a proclamation goes through Judah and Jerusalem.

All the princes and people rejoice and bring their contributions until the chest is full. Day by day the king's scribe and the chief priest's officer empty it and return it to its place, gathering money in abundance. The king and Jehoiada give the funds to those doing the work on Yahweh's house. They hire masons, carpenters, and workers in iron and bronze to repair the house. The workmen labor, and the work advances. They set up God's house as designed and strengthen it. When finished, the rest of the money is brought before the king and Jehoiada, and from it they make vessels for Yahweh's house, including vessels for ministry, offering, spoons, and vessels of gold and silver. Burnt offerings are offered continually all the days of Jehoiada.

Jehoiada grows old and full of days, dying at one hundred thirty years old. He is buried in David's city among the kings because he did good in Israel and toward God and his house. After Jehoiada's death, the princes of Judah come and bow down to the king, and Joash listens to them. They abandon the house of Yahweh, the God of their fathers, and serve Asherah poles and idols. Wrath comes on Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt. Yahweh sends prophets to bring them back, and they testify against them, but the people will not listen. The Spirit of God comes on Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stands above the people and declares that because they have forsaken Yahweh, he has also forsaken them. They conspire against him and stone him in the court of Yahweh's house at the king's command. Joash forgets the kindness Jehoiada had shown him and kills his son. Zechariah dies saying, May Yahweh look at it and repay it.

At the end of the year, the Syrian army comes against Joash. They come to Judah and Jerusalem, destroy all the princes of the people, and send plunder to the king of Damascus. Though the Syrian army is small, Yahweh delivers a very great army into their hand because they had forsaken Yahweh, the God of their fathers. So they execute judgment on Joash. When the Syrians depart, leaving him very sick, his own servants conspire against him because of the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest. They kill him on his bed, and he dies. He is buried in David's city, but not in the tombs of the kings. The conspirators are Zabad son of Shimeath the Ammonitess and Jehozabad son of Shimrith the Moabitess. The record of his sons, the burdens laid on him, and the rebuilding of God's house are written in the commentary of the book of the kings. Amaziah his son reigns in his place.

Verses that carry the chapter

• “Joash did that which was right in Yahweh’s eyes all the days of Jehoiada the priest.” (2 Chronicles 24:2) — This verse sets the condition for Joash's right doing: it lasts only as long as Jehoiada the priest lives. It introduces the chapter's central tension between a borrowed faith and a personal one.
• “For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up God’s house; and they also gave all the dedicated things of Yahweh’s house to the Baals.” (2 Chronicles 24:7) — The narrator explains why the temple needed repair: Athaliah's sons had broken into God's house and given its dedicated things to the Baals. This shows the depth of damage and the spiritual conflict behind the building project.
• “The Spirit of God came on Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people, and said to them, “God says, ‘Why do you disobey Yahweh’s commandments, so that you can’t prosper? Because you have forsaken Yahweh, he has also forsaken you.’ ” (2 Chronicles 24:20)” (2 Chronicles 24:20) — The Spirit of God comes on Zechariah, who confronts the people with their disobedience and announces that because they forsook Yahweh, he has forsaken them. It is the chapter's clearest prophetic indictment.
• “Thus Joash the king didn’t remember the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but killed his son. When he died, he said, “May Yahweh look at it, and repay it.” (2 Chronicles 24:22)” (2 Chronicles 24:22) — Joash forgets the kindness Jehoiada had shown him and kills his son. Zechariah's dying words ask Yahweh to look and repay, and the following verses show that repayment comes.

Gospel connection

This chapter shows the pattern of a leader who begins well but ends in apostasy and murder. Joash repairs the temple, yet after his mentor dies he abandons Yahweh, kills the prophet's son, and dies under judgment. The wider biblical story repeatedly warns that outward reform without a renewed heart cannot last. Zechariah's cry for Yahweh to look and repay points to the justice of God, which ultimately falls on Jesus Christ at the cross for all who trust him. There, the blood of the prophets and the guilt of forsaking God meet the mercy of God, and the risen Christ sends his Spirit to create the enduring faith that Joash lacked.

Application

Readers are asked to examine whether their obedience depends on another person's presence. Joash did right while Jehoiada lived, but when that influence was removed, his heart was exposed. The chapter invites us to cultivate a faith that is not borrowed, to listen to God's word even when it confronts us, and to guard against forgetting kindness shown to us. It also warns that forsaking God has consequences, sometimes delayed but real. Concrete steps include thanking God for faithful mentors while asking him to root our own trust in him, and refusing to join the crowd when it turns from truth.

Biblical fidelity check

The chapter does not tell us Joash's inner motives after Jehoiada's death, nor does it explain why the Levites delayed collecting the tax. It does not name the specific idols beyond Asherah poles and Baals, nor does it describe the manner of the Syrian attacks beyond the outcome. It does not say whether Joash repented before his death, and it does not record the content of the prophets' earlier testimonies. The text is silent on the later lives of Joash's sons and on the details of the book of the kings. It also does not claim that the temple repair itself earned Joash lasting favor, since his later actions brought judgment.

Questions for study

1. What does the chapter say about the difference between Joash's conduct while Jehoiada lived and after Jehoiada died?
2. Why do you think the people and princes rejoiced when the chest was set up, and what does that show about their willingness at that moment?
3. How does Zechariah's message in verse 20 explain the connection between forsaking Yahweh and not prospering?
4. What does Joash's treatment of Zechariah reveal about how he had changed since the days of temple repair?
5. How does the chapter's account of Joash's death and burial match the warning given earlier in the chapter?

Keep reading

Related studies: 2 Chronicles 1 Bible Study, 2 Chronicles 10 Bible Study, 2 Chronicles 11 Bible Study, 2 Chronicles 12 Bible Study.

Subscribe for new Bible studies or support this work.

FAQ

Why did Joash repair the temple?

The chapter says Joash intended to restore Yahweh's house because Athaliah's sons had broken into it and given its dedicated things to the Baals. He gathered money through a chest and paid workers to repair the structure.

What happened after Jehoiada the priest died?

The princes of Judah bowed to the king, and Joash listened to them. They abandoned Yahweh's house, served Asherah poles and idols, and would not listen to the prophets God sent. Joash also had Zechariah, Jehoiada's son, stoned in the temple court.

How did Joash die?

A small Syrian army defeated Judah because they had forsaken Yahweh, and Joash was left very sick. His own servants conspired against him for the blood of Jehoiada's son and killed him on his bed. He was buried in David's city but not in the tombs of the kings.