24:1 Joash was seven years old when he became king, because of his extreme youth, he leaned heavily on the guardianship of Jehoiada the priest.
It is mentioned that Joash's mother's name was Zibiah. Joash reigned for forty years in Jerusalem.
24:2 Jehoiada dedicated his life to God; Joash was essentially adopted by the priest and became the purpose of his life. He restored the kingship, reestablished it and then counseled its king all of the days of his life. As soon as Jehoiada died, it became clear that he kept Joash adhered to God.
24:3 Jehoiada ensured that the Joash would have descendants; almost all of his family had been killed and Jehoiada did not want to leave the kingdom open to another corrupt leader without connection to God. Moreover, the messiah would come through the line of David's descendants and therefore God ensured that it continued. Jehoiada was a strong influence in Joash's life. Joash was an impressionable child and adult. He was easily influenced by the people around him. Jehoiada's influence kept Joash righteously motivated.
David's love for God was groundbreaking. It broke the ground, the old system of rigid obedience to God and laid down the foundation for a new kind of relationship. A relationship based in love and trust. For that reason, Jesus came to earth as a descendant of David.
24:4-7 The house of God had been severely damaged during Athaliah's reign; symbolically, her corruption caused the disintegration of Judah's faith. Joash ordered the temple to be restored but the Levites were not initially eager to follow the order. Perhaps they were weary; the kingdoms constant ebb and flow, to and from God might have been discouraging.
God needs us to be passionate for justice and the restoration of peace. It is not always easy to remain hopeful, passionate and determined but our faith in God should reignite our spark whenever the plight of the world blows it out. Because of Him, we know that our efforts are not unseen or irrelevant.
24:8-11 At the king's command, Judah was invited to participate in the restoration of the temple. It would be through the entire kingdom's contributions that the house of God, the faith, would be restored in Judah. They were able to gather an abundance; when we commit ourselves to a righteous cause, God provides abundant tool and material for us to be successful. This chapter is similar to Exodus 35 in which Moses conducted the same nature of collection for God.
This chapter represents personal dedication to God. The people of Judah gave what they had to rebuilt the faith. Much the same is required from us in the New Testament and now. God has given us gifts with which we are called to rebuilt everything our God stands for: justice, compassion, and truth, love, joy and rest.
24:12-14 Joash and Jehoiada gave all of the dedicated material to the house of the Lord for reparations and labor. The house of the Lord was returned to its original condition and was reinforced. The house of the Lord was reinforced symbolically because after a season of corruption, what it stood for meant much more to the people who had (if only in part) taken it for granted.
If we are willing to grow in character through faith and obedience to God, we constantly reinforce our relationship with Him.
24:15-16 Jehoiada lived an exceptionally long life, the reason why becomes apparent in the next few versus. Jehoiada was buried among kings because he had served God as one. He had lived his life in service to God and to God's children. Those who live as servants are regarded as kings by God.
24:17-18 Unfortunately, after Jehoiada's death, Joash took counsel from the wrong people. The people around Joash flattered him and tempted him away from his godly lifestyle and into idol worship. It might be frustrating to read about how so many kings and people turned their hearts to carved images but we have idol worship in our own time. Instead of carved images, we look up to celebrities and the gains of wealth and power. So many often put our faith in almost everything except for God.
The Old Testament was written for us to learn from as an example, 1 Corinthians 10:11. Idol worship applies to us; the trials and tribulations of the Old Testament peoples can help us navigate our world that seems very different from this ancient civilization but is almost entirely the same.
24:19 God sent prophets in an emphatic effort to rescue Joash and the kingdom from corruption but they refused to listen to the prophets.
24:20 The Spirit of God appointed Zechariah, son of Jehoiada, to deliver His message to the people:
“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.’”God asks us this same question when we are away from Him: why do you inhibit yourself by disregarding Me? Our rejection or neglect of God serves only our detriment. When we forsake God, we are essentially forsaking ourselves.
24:21 In obstinate, selfish cruelty, the people kill Zechariah. Rather than hear or accept the constructive criticism, they eliminate the one who delivered it. It is so important for us to take courage from prophets of God who were not well-received. Often we deliver messages that seem not to matter to the people who would benefit from hearing them. At worse, they enrage the target audience.
But Zechariah (and so many other prophets) were not discouraged by society's disregard or even hatred of them. They bravely and proudly followed the command of God. One thing to keep in mind: God gave the prophets their orders and their message. God directed them to their audience and at specific time. We should be careful to follow God's command rather than starting than spewing self-righteous judgement.
If God wants us to say something, His Spirit will come upon us with the message and direction to the audience, Luke 12:12. As we grow in faith, we become more able to discern the moments when God wants us to act. Remember that Jesus cautioned even the disciples that it is not an easy job, Matthew 20:22. In fact it is difficult, arduous and without reward or regard from the world around us. The prophets who did take up the cross, the cause of God, cared only about regard from God.
From the world's perspective, Zechariah died because of his words. From God's perspective, Zechariah lives eternally because of his words.
24:22 Joash killed Jehoiada's son. He killed the son of the people who saved his life. This verse is a reminder that we must adhere to our faith on a moment-by-moment basis otherwise we stray so far away that we might not even recognize ourselves.
24:23-27 In an attack allowed by God, a small Syrian army overcame Judah. But it was Joash's own people who delivered the killing blow to the king. He had killed an innocent and they were outraged. The kingdom crumbled beneath Joash more and more every moment in which he walked away from God.
