2 Chronicles 23-24

What’s Happening?

The illegitimate queen Athaliah has usurped Judah’s throne and murdered anyone in her family who might threaten her power. But her grandson and the rightful heir to Judah’s throne, Joash, escaped. For the last six years he’s been raised in secret by the priest Jehoiada, who uses that time to plot Athaliah’s downfall (2 Chronicles 22:10-12). When Joash is seven years old, Jehoiada gathers several priests, leaders, and generals still loyal to David’s lineage and makes a play for the throne (2 Chronicles 23:1-10). He storms Jerusalem’s temple with hundreds of armed priests and crowns Joash as king. As the cheers of the crowd reach Athaliah’s ears she rushes to the temple to stop the coronation, but it's too late. Judah’s rightful king has been crowned, and Jehoiada sends his men to kill the treasonous queen (2 Chronicles 23:11-15). 

Acting as Judah’s regent, Jehoiada publicly recommits himself, Joash, and Judah to God. In response, those gathered purge the land of Athaliah’s priests and idols (2 Chronicles 23:16-17). Jehoiada reinstates God’s chosen priests as overseers in the temple. He commands regular sacrifices to continue and reposts the temple guards who ensured the temple’s ritual purity (2 Chronicles 23:18-19). Jehoiada then brings the seven-year-old king into his palace and Jerusalem celebrates that a son of David is ruling once again (2 Chronicles 23:20-21). 

Joash ruled Judah for forty years, and as long as Jehoiada was with him, he followed God’s commands (2 Chronicles 24:1-3). During his reign, Jehoiada reinstituted the temple-tax system and made needed repairs to Jerusalem’s neglected and ransacked temple (2 Chronicles 24:4-7). And until the day Jehoiada died, the temple and Judah ran the way it should have (2 Chronicles 24:8-14). Jehoiada is so beloved by Judah, Joash buries him in the royal cemetery, an honor not given to the last four occupants of Judah's throne (2 Chronicles 24:15).

But sadly, the king’s faithfulness to God dies with his priest. The king quickly abandons worshiping God to worship the goddess Asherah instead (2 Chronicles 24:17-18). God sends prophet after prophet to critique and call Joash back to the faithfulness that marked his earlier years. He ignores them until Jehoiada’s son tells him that because Joash has abandoned God, God has abandoned him. Enraged, the king murders him (2 Chronicles 24:19-22). Immediately, God empowers a tiny army to overwhelm Jerusalem’s defenses, kill its leadership, and severely wound the king, who is quickly assassinated by the surviving members of his cabinet (2 Chronicles 24:23-25). Because of his faithlessness to God, the king is not buried in the royal cemetery. Like his father and grandmother, he was no true monarch of Israel.

Where is the Gospel?

Chronicles is written to a group of Jewish leaders who rebuild Israel after their exile. And the Chronicler wants his readers to understand that a king is nothing without his priest. More important than statecraft, politics, or military prowess is a right relationship with God, mediated by God’s chosen priests. If they want their nation to succeed, they must appoint priests to offer sacrifices, administer God’s laws, and guide their decisions. This is a lesson we still need today. We need to place at the center of our personal “kingdoms” a priest who can make sacrifices on our behalf, call us to obey God’s commands, and guide our decisions. That priest is Jesus. 

Without a Jehoiada we will all become Joash. Without a good priest we will all govern our lives in ways contrary to God’s design. But Jesus is our priest always. He is faithful when we are not. Like the priest Jehoiada, he is our true King. Unlike Jehoiada whose death ended any good in his king’s reign, Jesus rose from the dead so that he could guide and guard his Kingdom into eternal goodness and life. Right now, Jesus sits in heaven as our King, and continuously prays for us as our Priest (Romans 8:34). Like Jehoiada taught Joash, Jesus through his Spirit teaches us everything we need to follow him faithfully (John 14:26). And as we follow our Priest and King, he will transform us to become people who will reign with him in his eternal Kingdom forever (Revelation 22:5).

See for Yourself

I pray that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes to see the God who has given us a priest who never leaves our side. And may you see Jesus as both your King and priest who has died and risen so you can rule with him forever.