Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
2 Chronicles 24:13

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Joash and Jehoiada (24:1-27)

The reign of the new king Joash showed how a strong and godly priesthood was necessary for the proper functioning of the Davidic kings. As long as he was under the influence of the high priest Jehoiada, Joash encouraged true worship among his people. After Jehoiada died, Joash turned away from God and encouraged Canaanite worship. For this he came under God’s judgment. Even his death was a punishment, notes the Chronicler, because he had murdered the priest who rebuked him (24:1-27; see notes on 2 Kings 12:1-21).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

A COLLECTION BOX INSTALLED AT THE TEMPLE GATE

"So the king commanded, and they made a chest, and set it without at the gate of Jehovah. And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in for Jehovah the tax that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness. And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into the chest, until they had made an end. And it was so, that at what time the chest was brought unto the king's officers by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, the king's scribe and the chief priest's officer came and emptied the chest, and took it, and carried it to its place again. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance. And the king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of the service of the house of Jehovah; and they hired masons and carpenters to restore the house of Jehovah, and also such as wrought iron and brass to repair the house of Jehovah. So the workmen wrought, and the work of repairing went forward in their hands, and they set up the house of God in its state, and strengthened it. And when they had made an end, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, whereof were made vessels for the house of Jehovah, even vessels wherewith to minister and to offer, and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt-offerings in the house of Jehovah continually all the days of Jehoiada."

2 Chronicles 24:5-14 is parallel with 2 Kings 12:5-16; and most of our comments on these paragraphs will be found in our Commentary on Second Kings.

We wish to stress, however, the repeated references to the teachings of Moses, thus sustaining the unimpeachable witness of Chronicles to the continual existence of the Pentateuch from the days of Moses throughout the history of Israel.

2 Chronicles 24:15-22 appear only here and are not in Kings.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

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

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 24

In verse 2 Chronicles 24:15 of chapter 24, find Jehoiada, the priest that exercised such a good influence, died in a ripe old age of a hundred and thirty years.

And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done so much good in Israel. But at his death the princes of Judah made obeisance to the king. And the king began to hearken unto them. And they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and they began to worship the pagan gods in the groves and the idols: and the wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this trespass. And yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the LORD; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear ( 2 Chronicles 24:16-19 ).

So God was angry. He sent His prophets, but they wouldn't listen to the prophets.

And so the Spirit of God came upon [this prophet, his name was] Zechariah and he stood above people, and he said unto them, Thus saith God, Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD, that you cannot prosper? because you have forsaken the LORD, he also has 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. And thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but he slew his son ( 2 Chronicles 24:20-22 ).

Now this Zechariah was the son of the priest. Actually, he probably grew up with Joash. But Joash is turning against God, against the early roots.

And when he died, he said, The LORD look upon it, and require it ( 2 Chronicles 24:22 ).

Now it is interesting that the Jews later on began to always almost worship their fathers. "Our fathers. Our fathers." I mean, that was always their cry, "Our fathers," in almost an ancestral worship that developed by the Jews in later years. And it was a thing that when Jesus was talking with them, it was a thing of debate almost as they would say, "But our fathers," you know, as though their fathers were so righteous and so holy. And Jesus one day got after them and said, "Which of the prophets did your fathers not kill?" Their fathers that they always revered in such righteousness and all killed the prophets that God sent to them.

Of course, Stephen points out the same thing in when he stood before the Sanhedrin. He tore down this concept of, "Our fathers were so righteous." And he tore down that concept, and he really laid it out on them. And they got so angry they began to gnash their teeth and they dragged him out and stoned him.

So Jesus gave the parable of how that this lord had gone away and he left his goods, the vineyard and all in the hands of his servants. And so the time came for harvest and he sent a servant to them that he might gather the fruit or the money from the sale of the fruit and all and bring it to him. But they mistreated and killed the servants. And finally he said, "I will send my own son. Surely they will respect him." But when the son came, they said, "Hey, this is the heir. Let's destroy him and then it will be ours." And Jesus actually was speaking a parable concerning Himself and how the Father had sent the prophets and how they had actually killed the prophets. But then when He sent His own Son, they even sought to kill Him. And He said, "What will the father do? He will take the vineyard from those or the goods from those evil servants and he will give it unto others," as Jesus was then prophesying the gospel, God's grace coming to the Gentiles and God's Spirit being poured out upon us.

So here is another account, the prophet of God, Zechariah, son of Jehoiada the priest, the faithful priest who was put to death by Joash in the later years as he turned, really. And so as the result of this, God allowed the Syrians to come to pass at the end of the year and He delivered Judah and Jerusalem to the hands of the Syrians. Now the Syrians didn't have a big army at all when they came down in this invasion. There were just a few of them. But God delivered a whole host of Judah into the hands of just a few Syrians because of their sin against the Lord.

The death of Joash is then recorded beginning with verse 2 Chronicles 24:25 .

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Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

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." [Note: Payne, p. 513.]

The use of boxes or baskets to receive the gifts of the people was common in the ancient Near East. [Note: Dillard, 2 Chronicles, p. 191.] Coined money did not exist before the sixth 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 (cf. 2 Chronicles 26:16-18). 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 (2 Chronicles 24:20). The Hebrew text says literally, "The Spirit clothed Himself with Zechariah" (2 Chronicles 24:20; cf. 1 Chronicles 12:18). When the people refused to respond properly, judgment followed (2 Chronicles 24:21-27). The way of repentance was still open to the people (cf. 2 Chronicles 6:24-25; Jeremiah 18:7-10).

"This prayer of imprecation, rather than of forgiveness [by Zechariah] (cf. Luke 23:34; Acts 7:60), was justified by the official positions of both the killer and the killed. God’s name was at stake, and vengeance did follow (2 Chronicles 24:24-25)." [Note: J. Barton Payne, "Second Chronicles," in The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 409.]

The murder of Zechariah was especially heinous. He died in the very courtyard where "Jehoiada and his sons" (2 Chronicles 23:11) had anointed his executioner, Joash, as king. An earlier instance of conspiracy followed by stoning involved Naboth in the days of Ahab (1 Kings 21:8-14). Thus Joash suffers by comparison with Ahab. Ironically, Jehoiada sought to protect the sanctity of the temple from murder (2 Chronicles 23:14-15), but his own son was murdered there. Many students of Scripture believe that the Zechariah to whom Jesus referred in Matthew 23:35 was this man. [Note: E.g., Leon J. Wood, The Prophets of Israel, p. 237, n. 8).] However, Jesus referred to Zechariah the son of Berechiah (cf. Zechariah 1:1). Furthermore, Zechariah the son of Berechiah (the prophet) died hundreds of years later than Zechariah the son of Jehoiada (the priest).

In this chapter in particular, the people’s response to the temple clearly reflects their response to God (2 Chronicles 24:4-5; 2 Chronicles 24:13; 2 Chronicles 24:18; 2 Chronicles 24:20; 2 Chronicles 24:24). This is always the case in Chronicles.

The writer of Kings presented four kings of Judah as reformers: Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah. The writer of Chronicles recorded an additional revival that took place in Judah under Joash.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

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.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Zibiah of Beer-sheba.   2 And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.   3 And Jehoiada took for him two wives; and he begat sons and daughters.   4 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 of 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 servant 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 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.   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.

      This account of Joash's good beginnings we had as it stands here 2 Kings 12:1-21, c., 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, 2 Chronicles 24:3; 2 Chronicles 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, 2 Chronicles 24:6; 2 Chronicles 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, 2 Chronicles 24:10; 2 Chronicles 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, 2 Chronicles 24:12; 2 Chronicles 24:13.