Second Chronicles 23:1

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 23:1-7, “And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took the captains of hundreds, Azariah the son of Jeroham, and Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, and Azariah the son of Obed, and Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri, into covenant with him.[2] And they went about in Judah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the chief of the fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.[3] And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said unto them, Behold, the king's son shall reign, as the LORD hath said of the sons of David.[4] This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you entering on the sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be porters of the doors;[5] And a third part shall be at the king's house; and a third part at the gate of the foundation: and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the LORD.[6] But let none come into the house of the LORD, save the priests, and they that minister of the Levites; they shall go in, for they are holy: but all the people shall keep the watch of the LORD.[7] And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever else cometh into the house, he shall be put to death: but be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.” Evidently, God gave Jehoiada wisdom on how to protect Joash to be the next king in Judah. He knew that he had enemies, and he would need help. He enlisted other men of power to enter into a “covenant” with him. This means that he made agreements with them. And they kept their word. One reason that Jesus established the assembly of believers is so that believers would work together for the glory of God. We can accomplish more united than we can separated. Jesus said that we are one, and so we are supposed to live like it. It says in Hebrews 10:25, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, so much the more as we see the day approaching.”

Basically, Jehoiada had established a very large bodyguard group that would always protect Joash. Evidently, he was in a life and death situation because he told them to kill anyone who came near except for the priests and Levites.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 23:8-15, “So the Levites and all Judah did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest had commanded, and took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that were to go out on the sabbath: for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses.[9] Moreover Jehoiada the priest delivered to the captains of hundreds spears, and bucklers, and shields, that had been king David's, which were in the house of God.[10] And he set all the people, every man having his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and the temple, by the king round about.[11] Then they brought out the king's son, and put upon him the crown, and gave him the testimony, and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, God save the king.[12] Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people into the house of the LORD:[13] And she looked, and, behold, the king stood at his pillar at the entering in, and the princes and the trumpets by the king: and all the people of the land rejoiced, and sounded with trumpets, also the singers with instruments of musick, and such as taught to sing praise. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and said, Treason, Treason.[14] Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds that were set over the host, and said unto them, Have her forth of the ranges: and whoso followeth her, let him be slain with the sword. For the priest said, Slay her not in the house of the LORD.[15] So they laid hands on her; and when she was come to the entering of the horse gate by the king's house, they slew her there.” This is a very dramatic scene with the child Joash, the last surviving heir of king David, being crowned king; and the wicked Athaliah being put to death. It happened because it was God’s will, and it happened because Jehoiada had wisdom and zeal from God to do the truth.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 23:16-21, “And Jehoiada made a covenant between him, and between all the people, and between the king, that they should be the LORD's people.[17] Then all the people went to the house of Baal, and brake it down, and brake his altars and his images in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.[18] Also Jehoiada appointed the offices of the house of the LORD by the hand of the priests the Levites, whom David had distributed in the house of the LORD, to offer the burnt offerings of the LORD, as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was ordained by David.[19] And he set the porters at the gates of the house of the LORD, that none which was unclean in any thing should enter in.[20] And he took the captains of hundreds, and the nobles, and the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought down the king from the house of the LORD: and they came through the high gate into the king's house, and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom.[21] And all the people of the land rejoiced: and the city was quiet, after that they had slain Athaliah with the sword.” Of course, Jehoiada the priest would get rid of false religion as much as he could. Anyone who serves the Lord will turn away from that which is false, and will turn towards that which is true. What a difference the right leader can make. Getting rid of the wicked leader, the woman Athaliah, and replacing her with the rightful leader had one primary result: people were happy and there was peace. As it says in verse twenty-one, “And all the people of the land rejoiced: and the city was quiet.”

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 24:1-3, “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] And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.[3] And Jehoiada took for him two wives; and he begat sons and daughters.” A child was king, but it seems clear that Jehoiada was telling Joash what to do. Someone had to, and Israel can be glad that it was Jehoiada. Interesting that it says that Joash “did right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada.” We will see later how bad Joash became. Many children from Christian homes are like that. They do fine as long as the parents are guiding their lives, but as soon as they are on their own, they go astray.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 24:4-10, “And it came to pass after this, that Joash was minded to repair the house of the LORD.[5] 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] 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] 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] And at the king's commandment they made a chest, and set it without at the gate of the house of the LORD.[9] 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] And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into the chest, until they had made an end.” They needed money to fix the temple because as it says in verse seven, “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.” People who are not right with God do not care about the things of God. Notice how they collected the money. They simply put out a box for people to drop their offerings into if they had an offering to give. People knew about the box, and they came by and put money in it if they wanted to be a part of that work. It says in verse ten, “And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into the chest, until they had made an end.” The idea of passing an offering plate is not found in the Bible. It is not wrong because we have a lot of freedom as Christians. People can pass a plate if they want to. What would happen if there was only a box that people dropped their offerings into if and when they wanted to give? In these last days, would they give and give until all needs of the work were met? Not in these last days.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 24:11-14, “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] 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] 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] 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.” These verses offer a very good example of how to take care of God’s work from a practical and financial standpoint. God’s people financed God’s work. Once they had enough money to do the work, then they started the work. That is a very important point. They did not go into debt. God owns everything in this world, including all the money. If God wants me to do something that requires money to do it, God is quite able to get me the money before I start doing it. That is exactly what God did for Jehoiada and those that followed his leadership.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 24:15-19, “But Jehoiada waxed old, and was full of days when he died; an hundred and thirty years old was he when he died.[16] 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] Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them.[18] 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] Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the LORD; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear.” Jehoiada was obviously one of the greatest believers of the Old Testament. He lived to be 130 years old at a time when people might live to 70 or 80 only. Perhaps God kept him around for the benefit of Israel. As long as the Lord has use for you, you will continue to live. It appears that Jehoiada’s greatest work was done in his later years. It is fitting that they buried him with the kings because Joash was so young that Jehoiada was basically ruling Judah anyway. As soon as Jehoiada died, other people showed up to influence Joash, and it says in verse seventeen that “the king hearkened unto them.” That was a big mistake, because these were people who did not want to serve the Lord. Be very careful who and what you listen to. They went the wrong way and made the wrong decisions from a spiritual standpoint. Verse nineteen is what the Lord has always done and still does because God loves everyone: “Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the LORD; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear.” Find someone to whom God has given the message of the Gospel and the gift to teach the Word and listen to them. That is God’s will, and it is one of the important reasons to go to church.

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