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(The views expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
2 Chronicles 24:15–27, “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. 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. 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. 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. 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.”
Jehoiada, Joash’s mentor, eventually died. It seems as though Joash was easily led for, when the princes and aristocrats from Judah talked to him, he decided to forsake the Lord God and follow after the gods of the nations. The Lord was gracious and sent prophets to remind Joash that he had gone astray but Joash ignored them. Eventually Jehoiada’s son, Zechariah, told the king, in no uncertain terms, that he had forsaken the Lord and would suffer the consequences of his sin. Joash had Zechariah assassinated and didn’t take the time to remember all the good things that Jehoiada had done for him. After that the Lord brought in the penalty clauses of the contract and Joash was attacked by the Syrians and suffered a horrendous defeat. Joash was left in poor health after the Syrians defeated him and his own servants decided to kill him for his sin. However, Joash would be remembered as the king who had restored the Temple.
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