The Temple Gets a Renovation
Do you remember the warrior Jehu who drove his chariot like a madman? The one who drove like someone you know? He was ordered to kill the entire house of Ahab, including Israel’s current King Joram and Ahab’s widow, Jezebel. Well, the killing got a bit out of control and ultimately the victims included the Ahaziah, king of Judah, along with a lot of government officials, and the priests of Baal, and probably anyone he disliked, like a bully from grammar school or the barber who gave him a bad haircut the month before.
Well, Athaliah, the mother of one of his victims, Ahaziah, the king of Judah, grieved in a peculiar way. She didn’t seclude herself in the palace for years nor did she wear black clothing until the day she died or refuse to eat or play bridge with her lady friends. Instead, she went on a killing spree, killed her own children and made herself Queen of Judah. She was worse than Magda Goebbels, the wife of Nazi Germany's Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. Who, as WW 2 was coming to an end in Europe, murdered her six children before committing suicide with her husband. Neither Athaliah nor Magda would ever receive the MOTHER OF THE YEAR Award.
Chapter 11:1, “When Athaliah (sometimes spelt Athalya) the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family.” Now if you are going to kill the entire family (no, I am not recommending that you do) be sure to take a head count so you don’t miss someone, like Athaliah did.
Jehosheba, the sister of the late king of Judah, Ahaziah, was also the wife of the high priest Jehoiada. She took the sole surviving grandchild of Athaliah, Prince Joash, and hid him in the temple for six years
(verse 3). He survived the massacre, and his absence wasn’t even noticed. Perhaps Jehoiada reported to her that the mission was completed and all the descendants of Amaziah who could make a claim for the throne of Judah have been eliminated.
With her position as queen secure, she surrounded herself with friends from Phoenicia and ruled with an iron hand, spreading a reign of terror in the land.
During all this time, Jehoiada, the wise and pious High Priest, made many friends and followers, who, like himself, had remained faithful to God and hoped for the day when the House of David reinstated on the throne of Judah.
When little Joash was seven years old, Jehoida decided that the time had come to liberate Judea from the foreign woman who had desecrated the throne of David.
The next big news story is a coup to eliminate Athaliah and to put the young prince Joash onto the throne of Judah.
2 Kings 11:4, In the seventh year Jehoiada sent for the commanders of units of a hundred. . . and brought them to the temple, made a covenant with them, then showed them the king’s son, Joash.
Having secured the allegiance of the military and religious leaders, he had the temple personnel seal off the temple area
(verse 11). Security was very tight.
Verse 12, “Jehoiada brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him; he presented him with a copy of the covenant and proclaimed him king. They anointed him, and the people clapped their hands and shouted, ‘Long live the king.’”
When Athaliah heard all the shouting of “Long live the king” she was at first puzzled, then she went next door to the temple to see what was going on. Puzzlement turned to shock, which turned to anger as she saw that child standing by the pillar and everyone shouting their approval and blowing trumpets. She “tore her robes and called out,
(verse 14), ‘Treason! Treason!’”
Treason was the least of her worries. She wasn’t given the option of moving to the country for a quiet retirement with a pension and paid staff to care for her. Nor could she go into exile, perhaps back to her family’s homeland.
Jehoiada commanded the captains of the guard to take Queen Athaliah out of the temple and put her to death, along with anyone who followed her
(verse 15). The guards obeyed, and Athaliah was executed by the Horse Gate on the palace grounds
(2 Chron. 23:15). The most infamous queen of Judah died much as did her mother, Jezebel, the infamous queen of Israel.
Serving now as the king’s proxy, Jehoiada made a covenant between the king and the people
(2 Chron. 23:16) that they would be the Lord’s people and no longer worship Baal as the queen mother had encouraged
(verse 17). The people stormed the temple of Baal and killed the idolatrous chief priest
(verse 18). The Baal priest Mattan was killed in the temple and the altar was pulverized
(2 Chron. 23:17).
Then they marched over to the palace, placed King Joash on the throne (with a booster chair I imagine) and all the people of the land rejoiced
(verses 19-20). Then it was probably time for the little guy to take a nap with his favorite stuffed animal as the adults found other ways to celebrate.
Chapter 12
King Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord “all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him.” Oh, oh. Is this a hint of bad things to come once Joash was on his own? I’m afraid so, but for now, after a good night’s sleep, the next chore was to repair the temple.
A fund-raising campaign was conducted to pay for the costs of repairing the long-neglected temple.
Verses 4-5, “Collect all the money that is brought as sacred offerings to the temple of the Lord. . . .and let it be used to repair whatever damage is found in the temple.”
With the money collected,
(verse 12), “they purchased timber and dressed stone for the repair of the temple. . . and met all the other expenses of restoring the temple.”
The purchased timber and dressed the stone? How badly damaged was the temple? It apparently needed more than a good scrubbing and a coat of paint. I would like to be able to see before and after pictures of the temple. Maybe it looked as bad as this church.
Verse 15, “They did not require an accounting from those to whom they gave the money to pay the workers, because they acted with complete honesty.” How would they know that they were honest unless they did forensic accounting?
There seems to be a time gap between the restoration of the temple and the next passage which describes an attack from Hazael, the King of Aram.
Hazael attacked Gath (hometown of the giant Goliath) located west of Judah and was heading towards Jerusalem
(verse 17). Joash took all the treasures of the temple and palace and gave them to King Hazael
(verse 18). I guess that Hazael wasn’t motivated by hate as much as by greed. Once the bribe was paid, he returned home, with a big grin on his face.
After the high priest Jehoiada died, King Joash began listening to wicked advisers, and Baal and Asherah worship revived in Judah
(2 Chron. 24:17–19). And when God’s patience ran out, he allowed the king of Aram to attack, looting the nation.
The people of Israel turned against him and when he fell ill his servants assassinated him. He was succeeded by his son Amaziah. Though he was interred in Jerusalem, he was excluded from burial in the royal sepulcher
(2 Chron. 24:25).
Why was he excluded from the royal sepulcher? The U.S. has military cemeteries in several European countries where our fallen are buried. But if a soldier was executed for rape or murder, they would still be buried at the military cemetery, but not with the other soldiers. There is a section hidden from view by shrubbery where criminals in the military are buried. Their graves are identified by numbers, not their names. Perhaps not being buried in the sepulcher was a way of diminishing the degree of honor he was to have received. I wonder where other kings were buried.
Of course, if you want to learn more about his reign, you know where to go. Find a copy of the annals of the kings of Judah. Good luck with that.
What can we say about Joash?
2 Kings 12:1–3, says that Joash “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him.” As long as he surrounded himself with wise, good people, he was more likely to do what was right in the eyes of the Lord.
Joash did make religious reforms, but they were mostly superficial. Under the influence of evil advisors Joash revived the Canaanite religion that they had earlier suppressed. Apostasy is like cancer; you have to get it all out or it will come back. As one writer wrote, the fire of a spiritual reform can burn brightly, for a time, but the winds of apostasy can snuff out the flame.
Be careful who you listen to and be open to wise counsel, even if it isn’t always what you want to hear.