A throne, and its ache for the true King
Joash
Joash was the child king of Judah, rescued from a royal massacre and hidden in the temple. He did right as long as his protector the priest Jehoiada lived, then turned away and even murdered the priest's son.
“And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him.”2 Kings 12:2
His reign
His reign. When Athaliah saw her son the king was dead, she destroyed all the royal seed, but the infant Joash was stolen away by his aunt and hidden in the house of God six years while Athaliah reigned (2 Kings 11). In the seventh year the priest Jehoiada revealed him, crowned him, and the people cried, God save the king, while Athaliah was put to death. Joash was seven years old when he began to reign. He did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada. He set his heart to repair the temple, and money was gathered in a chest so the workmen restored the house of the LORD (2 Kings 12, 2 Chronicles 24). But after Jehoiada died, the princes of Judah came and flattered the king, and he listened. They left the house of God and served idols. When the Spirit came upon Zechariah, Jehoiada's own son, to rebuke them, Joash commanded him stoned in the court of the temple, forgetting the kindness of his father. Zechariah died saying, The LORD look upon it, and require it (2 Chronicles 24:22). Within a year the Syrians came, and Joash was wounded and slain by his own servants in his bed.
What it revealed
What it revealed. Joash reveals a faith that was borrowed rather than owned. As long as Jehoiada, the godly priest who had saved and mentored him, was near, Joash did right and even repaired God's house. But his goodness leaned on another man's convictions, not on a heart rooted in God. When his mentor died, Joash bent to whoever spoke last, and the flattering princes turned him to idols. His reign reveals the danger of a religion propped up by human influence, godly while the influence lasts, hollow when it is gone. Most terrible is his ingratitude: he murdered Zechariah, the son of the very man who had preserved his life, in the temple courts. His reign reveals that inherited or supervised piety, however impressive, must become personal or it will collapse under pressure. It also reveals God's justice, for the murdered prophet's dying cry was answered when Joash's own servants struck him down.
How it points to Christ
How it points to Christ. Joash's story is haunted by a murdered priest's son, Zechariah, slain between the temple and the altar, whose blood cried for justice. Jesus Himself pointed back to this very death (Matthew 23:35), and He is the greater Priest's Son, indeed the Son of God, killed by the people He came to save. Yet where Zechariah's blood cried, require it, the blood of Christ pleads forgiveness, Father, forgive them (Luke 23:34). Joash was saved as an infant and hidden from a murderous queen, faintly echoing the child Jesus, saved from Herod and hidden in Egypt. But the deepest contrast is this: Joash's goodness depended on another man's presence, while Christ's righteousness is His own, unwavering, needing no prop, for He always did those things that please the Father (John 8:29). The King who cannot be turned by flattery or fear is the one Joash could never be.
Questions people ask
How was Joash saved as a baby?
When Athaliah killed the royal family to seize the throne, Joash was rescued by his aunt and hidden in the temple for six years, until the priest Jehoiada revealed and crowned him at age seven (2 Kings 11).
Why did Joash turn away from God?
His faith rested on the influence of the priest Jehoiada. After Jehoiada died, flattering princes led him into idolatry, and Joash even had Jehoiada's son Zechariah killed for rebuking the nation (2 Chronicles 24).
What is the main lesson of Joash's reign?
That borrowed faith is not enough. Goodness sustained by another's presence must become personal conviction, or it collapses when that support is removed. Faith must be rooted in God Himself.