CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
2 Chronicles 24
Chapter 24 of 36
Chapter Overview
What happens in 2 Chronicles 24
Young King Joash does well as long as Jehoiada the priest is alive. He repairs the temple by setting up a collection chest. But after Jehoiada dies, Joash turns to idols and even murders Jehoiada's own son Zechariah. God sends Syria to punish Judah, and Joash is assassinated by his own officials.
Scripture
2 Chronicles 24
Joash Repairs the Temple
Study note
Joash was only seven years old when he became king, and he did what was right as long as Jehoiada lived. When he decided to repair the temple, the Levites were slow to collect the money. So Joash had a chest placed at the gate of the temple. A proclamation was made throughout Judah for people to bring the tax that Moses had required. The people gave generously, and the chest was filled daily. The money was used to hire workers who restored the temple to its original condition. After the repairs, the leftover money was used to make gold and silver vessels for the temple.
1 Joash was only seven years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for forty years. His mother was Zibiah from the town of Beersheba. 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 Joash did what the Lord considered right for as long as Jehoiada the priest was alive. And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.
3 Jehoiada picked two wives for Joash, and he had sons and daughters. And Jehoiada took for him two wives; and he begat sons and daughters.
4 Later, Joash decided it was time to fix up the Lord's temple. And it came to pass after this, that Joash was minded to repair the house of the LORD.
5 He called the priests and Levites together and said, "Go out to the cities of Judah and collect money from the people of Israel to repair your God's temple. Do it right away." But the Levites were slow to get started. 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 So the king called Jehoiada the chief priest and asked him, "Why have you not made the Levites collect the tax from Judah and Jerusalem? Moses, the Lord's servant, required this tax from the people of Israel for the tent of meeting." 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 The sons of that evil woman Athaliah had broken into God's temple. They had used the holy items from the Lord's temple to worship the Baals. 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 The king ordered a collection box to be made and placed outside the gate of the Lord's temple. And at the king's commandment they made a chest, and set it without at the gate of the house of the LORD.
9 They sent word through Judah and Jerusalem. They told the people to bring the tax. Moses, God's servant, had required it in the desert. 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 All the officials and all the people gladly brought their money and dropped it into the box until it was full. And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into the chest, until they had made an end.
11 Whenever the Levites brought the box to the king's officials and they saw it was full of money, the royal secretary and an officer of the chief priest would come empty it. Then they would put it back in its place. They did this every day and collected a large amount of money. 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 The king and Jehoiada gave the money to the people in charge of the temple repairs. These workers hired stonecutters and carpenters to fix up the Lord's temple. They also hired metalworkers who were skilled in iron and bronze. 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 The workers did an excellent job, and the repairs went well. They restored God's temple to its original design and made it solid again. 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 When they finished, they brought the leftover money to the king and Jehoiada. It was used to make items for the Lord's temple, including articles for worship and offerings, and bowls and other objects made of gold and silver. Burnt offerings were presented in the Lord's temple as long as Jehoiada was alive. 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.
Joash Turns Away After Jehoiada's Death
Study note
Jehoiada died at the remarkable age of 130 and was honored with burial among the kings because of his great service. After his death, the leaders of Judah came to Joash and persuaded him to abandon God's temple and worship idols. God sent prophets to warn them, but they refused to listen. When the Spirit of God came on Zechariah, Jehoiada's son, and he rebuked the people, King Joash ordered him stoned to death in the temple courtyard. As Zechariah died, he cried out, 'May the Lord see this and call you to account.'
15 Jehoiada grew old and was full of years. He died at the age of 130. But Jehoiada waxed old, and was full of days when he died; an hundred and thirty years old was he when he died.
16 He was buried with the kings in the City of David. This was because of all the good he had done in Israel for God and his temple. 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.
17 After Jehoiada died, the leaders of Judah came and bowed before King Joash. He started listening to their advice. Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them.
18 They stopped going to the temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and began worshipping Asherah poles and idols instead. Because of their sin, God became angry with Judah and Jerusalem. 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.
19 God sent prophets to bring them back to the Lord. The prophets gave them warnings, but the people would not listen. Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the LORD; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear.
20 Then the Spirit of God came on Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, "God says: 'Why are you disobeying the Lord's commands? You will not prosper. Because you have abandoned the Lord, he has abandoned you.'" 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.
21 But the leaders plotted against Zechariah. On the king's orders, they stoned him to death right in the courtyard of the Lord's temple. 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.
22 King Joash forgot how kind Zechariah's father Jehoiada had been to him. Instead, he killed Jehoiada's son. As Zechariah lay dying, he said, "May the Lord see what you have done and hold you accountable." 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.
God's Judgment on Joash
Study note
At the end of the year, the Syrian army attacked Judah. Though Syria came with only a small force, God handed over Judah's much larger army to them because they had abandoned the Lord. Joash was left severely wounded. His own officials conspired against him to avenge the murder of Jehoiada's sons, and they killed him in his bed. He was buried in the City of David but not in the royal tombs. His son Amaziah became king after him.
23 At the end of the year, the Syrian army attacked Joash. They invaded Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the leaders. They sent all the valuables they took to the king of Damascus. 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.
24 Even though the Syrian army had only a small number of soldiers, the Lord let them defeat Judah's much larger army. This happened because Judah had walked away from the Lord, the God of their ancestors. In this way, the Syrians carried out God's judgment on Joash. 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.
25 When the Syrians left, Joash was badly injured. His own officials plotted against him to get justice for the murder of Jehoiada the priest's sons. They killed Joash while he lay in his bed. He was buried in the City of David but not in the royal tombs. 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.
26 Two men plotted against him. One was Zabad. His mother was Shimeath from Ammon. The other was Jehozabad. His mother was Shimrith from Moab. And these are they that conspired against him; Zabad the son of Shimeath an Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith a Moabitess.
27 The stories about his sons, the many prophecies spoken about him, and the record of the temple repairs are all written in the commentary on the book of the kings. His son Amaziah became the next king. Now concerning his sons, and the greatness of the burdens laid upon him, and the repairing of the house of God, behold, they are written in the story of the book of the kings. And Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.
Key Themes
Themes in 2 Chronicles 24
The importance of godly mentorsDependence on human mentors has limitsIngratitude toward those who served you faithfullyAbandoning God after losing a spiritual guide
Prophetic Connections
How this chapter points to Christ
2 Chronicles 24:20-21 Matthew 23:35
Jesus referenced the murder of Zechariah son of Jehoiada in the temple courts as an example of how Israel persecuted God's prophets — a pattern that would culminate in the rejection of Christ Himself.
Apply This Today
Living 2 Chronicles 24
Joash served God faithfully while Jehoiada lived, but fell away after His mentor died. Your faith must be rooted in God Himself, not only in the people who helped you find Him. Mentors are gifts, but your relationship with God must be personally owned and sustained.
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