The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 151, Joash King Of Judah, Part Seven

King Joash has begun listening to wicked advisors now that his uncle and mentor, the high priest Jehoiada, is dead. We were told in yesterday's text that these advisors had abandoned worshiping God at the temple and were dabbling in idolatry instead. They influenced the king and a number of the people into performing pagan religious rites. The author of 2 Chronicles said that the Lord sent prophets to testify against the people's sin and to encourage them to repent, but they would not. Perhaps they would have repented if their king had, but he didn't. 

One of the men who speaks out against the sin of idolatry is a priest, not a prophet, but under the authority of the Holy Spirit he warns the people that they cannot continue living this way and expect the Lord to bless them. "Then the Spirit of God came on Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, 'This is what God says: 'Why do you disobey the Lord's commands? You will not prosper. Because you have forsaken the Lord, He has forsaken you.'" (2 Chronicles 24:20) 

You may be familiar with the expression, "If you feel far away from God, who moved?" Many of the people have moved away from God. He is not the one who moved but at the same time He won't reward wickedness. Before He ever brought the people into the promised land He presented them with a list of blessings for obedience and a list of curses for disobedience. (You can read this portion of Scripture in Deuteronomy 28.) The people are living in sin and they cannot expect the Lord's divine protection over their nation if they are shutting Him out. This doesn't mean He doesn't love them. This doesn't mean He won't forgive them if they pray prayers of repentance and turn away from idolatry. But He warned them long ago that if they turned to other gods they would reap the curses of Deuteronomy 28. 

Zechariah is presumably high priest now that his father is dead. This means he is the top religious authority in the land, yet the king will not listen to him. The king doesn't listen to him even though he should respect him as a religious leader. The king won't listen to him out of respect for Jehoiada either, although Jehoiada protected Joash for six years and then staged a coup that placed Joash on the throne of Judah. Jehoiada had been like a father to the fatherless young boy along with being his protector, his teacher, his religious advisor, and his most loyal supporter. But the king won't be kind to Zechariah for Jehoiada's sake. He won't be kind to Zechariah for the sake of their family connection either. Unless Jehoiada had more than one wife then Joash's aunt Jehosheba was the mother of Zechariah, which makes Joash and Zechariah first cousins to each other. 

Not only will Joash refuse to take to heart the words of Zechariah and repent of his sins, but he will order the priest's execution! "But they plotted against him, and by order of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord's temple. King Joash did not remember the kindness Zechariah's father Jehoiada had shown him but killed his son, who said as he lay dying, 'May the Lord see this and call you to account.'" (2 Chronicles 24:21-22)

To whom is the author referring when he says "they" plotted against Zechariah? Does he mean the wicked officials who have been advising the king? That is my theory about what's happening here. I think these men conspire together to have the priest put to death. They don't want Zechariah's words influencing the king to repent. They want to be able to keep telling the king what to do. I think these men take Zechariah out of the way by having him falsely accused of something that is a capital offense. The wording indicates that "they" plotted against the priest in a manner that causes the king to issue orders for Zechariah's death and then "they"---not the king---stone him to death. They have so little regard for the Lord that they desecrate the temple courtyard with Zechariah's blood. 

You'll recall that a similar plot against an innocent man took place in the northern kingdom of Israel when the evil Queen Jezebel arranged to have some men testify that Naboth cursed God and the king. We know, of course, that Jezebel couldn't have cared less if someone cursed the Lord but according to the law of Moses it was a capital offense. (Leviticus 24:10-16) Cursing the king (which probably meant making a threat against his life) was also a capital offense according to the legal system of ancient kingdoms. So Jezebel was able to have Naboth and his sons (who must have also been accused of capital crimes) put to death, leaving her husband King Ahab as the closest surviving male relative of Naboth so Ahab could take Naboth's vineyard. I believe the wicked officials who are advisors to the king may have arranged to have Zechariah brought up on some type of capital charges in a trial where false witnesses testified that they heard him make threats against the king. The king finds him guilty based on those testimonies and orders him to be executed.

With his dying breath Zechariah calls upon the Lord to judge Joash. I think he's asking the Lord to judge Joash both for taking his life and for falling away from the precepts taught to him by the priest Jehoiada. Until Jehoiada's death Joash lived by his example. Whether or not Joash was completely sincere in his obedience to the Lord's laws during the lifetime of Jehoiada, I cannot say, but at least he didn't engage in any outward rebellion against the Lord. At least he didn't promote idolatry in the land or put innocent men to death.

Joash's judgment is soon coming. Join us tomorrow as Joash himself falls victim to a conspiracy against his life.