KING JOASH Larry W Peebles April 16, 2021 21.15
My wife and I have been to Alaska twice. On our last trip, we had the opportunity to tour a sled dog training facility. I learned a valuable lesson there. The Alaskan sled dog is very different from the Siberian sled dog. The Siberian breed is a larger, stronger, all white dog. It is the classic picture of a sled dog. The Alaskan dog is smaller and its fur is a patchwork of color. Even the color of the eyes can vary. In fact it is not unusual to see different colored eyes on the same dog. Some dogs have straight ears, some are bent, and the same dog can have one of each. But the Alaskan dog is bred to run. It wants to run. When it was time to give the demonstration at the training facility, the trainer only had to bring out the harness. The dogs went absolutely wild, as if to say “Choose me”. The trainer spoke of the dogs as having “heart”, the absolute desire to run and to please the owner or trainer. The physical attributes did not matter.
I find the story of Joash one of the more interesting stories of the kings of Judah for the same reasons. God saw something in the heart of Joash at a very critical time in Judah’s history. There are some lessons to learn from his story, but first we must understand the background.
His name in Hebrew is Jehoash, which means Jehovah-given, or God-given. His name appeared in the King James Version of the Bible as Joash. He was the eighth king of Judah after the nation split into Israel (10 tribes) and Judah (2 tribes- Benjamin and Judah), which occurred after the reign of David’s son Solomon. He should not be confused with Israel’s king Jehoash, who came into power shortly after Joash of Judah died.
Joash’s grandfather was king Jehoram. After he was crowned, he killed all his brothers in order to strengthen his hold on the throne. 2 Chronicles 21: 6 says- “And he [Jehoram] walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for he had the daughter of Ahab [and Jezebel] as a wife; and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.” Elijah the prophet said he would die from a very painful intestinal disease, which he did. All of his sons were killed by Arabian raiders, except Ahaziah, his youngest son.
Joash’s father was king Ahaziah, who reigned only one year. According to 2 Chronicles 22: 3- “He [Ahaziah] also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother [Athaliah-Joash’s grandmother] advised him to do wickedly.” Ahaziah was killed by Jehu, who also killed the entire house of Ahab, including 70 sons, 42 relatives, Ahab’s wife Jezebel, and all the priests of Baal. (2 Kings 9, 10) Jehu was on assignment from God to purge Baal worship from the land.
This is where the background gets interesting. When king Ahaziah was killed, his mother Athaliah came to the throne as queen after killing all the remaining royal heirs and sons. But there was one son she missed. One year old Joash was hidden in the house of God by his aunt Jehosheba, who was married to the priest Jehoiada. Joash may not have looked much like a king at the time, but neither did David when he faced the giant Goliath. Like the infant Moses found floating in a basket in the river by Pharaoh’s daughter, God had a purpose for this one-year old boy. It was time for royal murders, atrocities and the shame of Judah to end. The worship of Baal and the effects of Ahab, Jezebel, and Jehoram were over. Judah would turn back to God during his reign, as in the days of his great-grandfather, King Jehoshaphat.
Jewish tradition says that Joash was hidden in the Holy of Holies in the temple. No one except the high priest entered there, and then only once a year to atone for the sins of the people. If Joash was hidden there, this means he spent six years growing up in the presence of God. The people knew he was chosen because he came out of the Holy of Holies alive.
When Joash was seven years old, the priest Jehoiada knew it was time to reveal the rightful king. The Lord’s purpose was always for the church to impact and influence the government. Six years of Queen Athaliah was enough. He formed an alliance with five “captains of hundreds” from the army (2 Chronicles 23:1). “They went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the chief fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.” (2 Chronicles 23:2) They assembled in the house of God, and devised a plan to reveal and protect the rightful king, a true descendant of David, which God had promised to keep on the throne of Judah. With sword and shields in hand, one-third of the men were to keep watch over the doors to the temple, one-third to keep watch at the king’s house, and one-third at the Fountain Gate to the City of Jerusalem. The Levites, also carrying weapons, were to surround the king at all times.
On the following Sabbath, with all of the men in place and armed, Jehoiada brought out seven year old Joash. “They put the crown on him, gave him the Testimony, and made him king. Then Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and said, “Long live the king!” (2 Chronicles 23:11)
Queen Athaliah heard the noise of the people praising the king, came to the temple, and saw the king standing by his pillar at the entrance. All the people were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, singing, praising, and playing musical instruments. In an instant, her reign was over. Jehoiada had the captains take her out of the temple and into the king’s house, where she was killed. “All the people went to the temple of Baal, and tore it down. They broke in pieces its altars and images, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.” (2 Chronicles 23:17)
Joash reigned forty years in Jerusalem. He “did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest.” (2 Chronicles 24:2) He collected contributions for the repair of the temple. He hired masons and carpenters, and “they restored the house of God to its original condition and reinforced it.” (2 Chronicles 24:13) With the money left over, they made articles for serving and offering, spoons and vessels of gold and silver for the house of the Lord. (These articles had been stolen and sold by the sons of Athaliah.)
Eventually Jehoiada the priest grew old and died. Without the wisdom of the man of God, Joash began to listen to the princes of Judah. The advice of men led to his downfall. As the worship of wooden images and idols returned, the wrath of God came upon Judah. Jehoiada’s son Zechariah warned Joash that if he forsook God, God would forsake him. The king commanded that Zechariah be stoned to death in the court of the house of the Lord, completely forgetting what Jehoiada had done for him. That very year, a smaller Syrian army came against Judah and Jerusalem, destroying the larger army of Judah and taking the spoils. They left the king severely wounded. His own servants conspired against him because of what had happened, and killed him in his bed.
The story of Joash moves from an intriguing start, to a peak relationship with God, and ends tragically with a wounded man in bed who had transgressed the laws of God. Here are the main lessons to take away from this story:
>God can use anyone to accomplish his purposes. He can even start with a one-year old.
>God sets kings in place.
> Appearance, size and intelligence do not matter–God looks at the heart.
>God will cover and protect His children.
>God will redeem his chosen people and the land back to Himself. Evil will not reign forever.
>Among His people, God will not tolerate the worship of any other God. He is a jealous God.
>The church plays an important role in the governmental rule of the people and the land.
>It is possible for the church to come together to identify the rightful ruler, and cause the ruler to be crowned.
>A seven year old can be a successful leader when he listens to the wisdom from God.
>A ruler is headed for trouble when he quits listening to the wisdom from God and begins to listen to the advice of man.
>A leader that kills the prophet sent to help him is doomed to a bad ending. He has rejected God.
Going back to King Saul, the first king, God intended that the king and the priest (Nathan) would work together to rule His people. God’s plan was He would give wisdom from heaven to the priest, the priest would consult with the king, and the king would administer the plan in the earth. All three functions are essential, and that principal has not changed to this day. The governing of God’s children would come from heaven, but be executed in the earth. Melchizedek was the first priest and king (Genesis 14, Psalm 110, and Hebrews 5), and Jesus is the High Priest and King forever (Hebrews 5:6-10). The roles can be combined in one person, but it is more usual that the roles are separated so that the priest and king must work together.
In these days of turmoil and corruption in government, we would do well to remember Joash. The church must come together, pray and elect righteous leaders. From a biblical perspective, there is no separation of church and state. Joash serves as the example that this is God’s will, and He will help us.
