Joash was seven years old when he became king of Judah. His story starts out well enough: “Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of the priest Jehoiada” (II Chronicles 24:2). Jehoiada had been instrumental in keeping Joash alive and in teaching him to follow the Lord in faithfulness; but in the end Jehoiada “Jehoiada grew old and full of days, and died; he was one hundred thirty years old at his death” (24:15).

As soon as Jehoiada was dead, “the officials of Judah came and did obeisance to the king; then the king listened to them.

They abandoned the house of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and served the sacred poles and the idols” (24:17-18). God sent prophets to call them back, but they refused to listen; and then the Spirit of God moved Jehoiada’s son, Zechariah, who cried out in the public square, “Thus says God: Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has also forsaken you” (24:20).

King Joash issued the order for Zechariah to be stoned to death in the temple court (24:21-22). Zechariah’s dying words – “May the Lord see and avenge” – quickly came true: a small band of Aramean raiders came through, defeating the army of Judah, massacring many government officials, taking great plunder, and severely wounding the king. His own retainers then murdered him in his bed, in retribution for the death of Zechariah (24:23-25).

The narrative points up the lesson quite clearly, but just in case we missed it, the Chronicler specified that God was using the Arameans as the means to punish Joash and the people of Judah for their idolatry: “Although the army of Aram had come with few men, the Lord delivered into their hand [Judah’s] very great army, because they had abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors” (24:24).

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Help us, Lord, for we are no better than our ancestors. Like Joash we are sometimes faithful, and sometimes full of compromise with the desires of the world around us. How will we learn to be fully devoted to you? Teach us day by day to live in steadfast faithfulness to you.

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