2 Chronicles 24

Young King Joash repairs the temple under the guidance of the priest Jehoiada, and the people give gladly. After Jehoiada dies, Joash turns to idols, kills Jehoiada’s son Zechariah for rebuking him, and meets judgment through the Arameans and his own servants. The chapter shows how borrowed faith can fail when its support is gone.

2 Chronicles 24:1-2

Joash became king at seven and reigned forty years. His mother came from Beersheba. He did right in the LORD’s eyes, but the text adds a limit: only during the days of Jehoiada. His goodness depended on the man beside him.

BSA: right (“upright”): His conduct was straight and true, but this was only as long as Jehoiada guided him.

See also: 2 Kings 12:1-2.

2 Chronicles 24:3

Jehoiada took two wives and had children. This brief note shows that the priest’s household was growing and that he lived a full, settled life. It also sets up the later tragedy, since one of his sons, Zechariah, will be killed by the king Jehoiada had protected.

2 Chronicles 24:4-5

Joash set his heart on repairing the temple, which had fallen into ruin. He sent the Levites to collect the yearly money, but they were slow. Good plans need willing hands, and even religious workers can drag their feet.

BSA: set his heart (“feelings, will, and intellect”): The king’s desire was whole-hearted, involving his feelings, mind and will together.

2 Chronicles 24:6

The king asked Jehoiada why the Levites had not brought the tax Moses had set for the Tent of the Testimony. Joash gently held the spiritual leaders to account. The tax went back to the Law, so this was not a new burden but an old duty.

See also: Exodus 30:12-16.

2 Chronicles 24:7

The reason for the repairs is given. Athaliah’s sons had broken into God’s house and given its holy things to the Baals. The temple needed mending because it had been robbed and misused for idols.

BSA: sacred (“holy, set-apart”): These objects belonged to God alone, so using them for Baal was a serious desecration.

2 Chronicles 24:8-9

A chest was set at the temple gate, and a call went out across Judah and Jerusalem to bring the tax Moses had imposed. The plan was simple and open to all. It went back to the wilderness command, so the people’s giving was also a return to God’s word.

See also: 2 Kings 12:9.

2 Chronicles 24:10

The leaders and people rejoiced and gave until the chest was full. Giving for God’s house was a joy, not a grudge. When hearts are stirred and the need is clear, willing giving follows.

BSA: rejoiced (“were glad, celebrated”): Their giving was cheerful, not forced.

See also: 2 Corinthians 9:7.

2 Chronicles 24:11

Whenever the chest filled, the king’s scribe and the high priest’s officer emptied it and returned it. Both state and temple took part, so the money was counted openly. This shared care guarded the gifts, and the money gathered in abundance.

2 Chronicles 24:12-13

The money went to the supervisors, who hired stonecutters, carpenters and metalworkers. The work moved forward in their hands. The temple was restored to its proper design and made strong. Careful management let the gifts do their full work.

BSA: specifications (“original design, proper measure”): They did not invent a new temple but returned it to the pattern it was meant to have. reinforced (“strengthened, made firm”): The house was made sturdy, not just patched.

2 Chronicles 24:14

Money left over made new utensils of gold and silver for the services and burnt offerings. Worship resumed. Throughout Jehoiada’s days the burnt offerings were offered regularly. The temple was not only repaired but put back in use.

Hebrew: עֹלוֹת (ʿolot, H5930) — “burnt offerings, literally ones that go up.” The Hebrew word pictures the whole offering rising up to God in smoke, a sign of complete devotion.

2 Chronicles 24:15-16

Jehoiada died at 130, old and full of years. He was buried among the kings in the City of David, a rare honor for a priest. The reason given is that he did good in Israel for God and His temple.

BSA: buried (“with honors, in a place of respect”): His burial among kings marks how much the nation owed him.

2 Chronicles 24:17

After Jehoiada died, the officials of Judah came and bowed to the king, and he listened to them. Flattery came in as the old counselor left. Without a steady voice beside him, Joash gave way to those who wanted something else.

BSA: paid homage (“bowed down, showed respect”): Their show of respect was a way of winning his ear.

2 Chronicles 24:18

They abandoned God’s house and served Asherah poles and idols. The temple they had just restored was now left behind. Wrath came on Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt. Rebuilding a building had not rebuilt their hearts.

BSA: abandoned (“forsook, left behind”): They walked away from the God of their own fathers.

2 Chronicles 24:19

Even so, the LORD did not give up on them. He sent prophets to bring them back and to testify against them, but they would not listen. God warns before He judges, and His patience is itself a mercy.

BSA: bring the people back (“to return, turn back”): The prophets’ aim was repentance, to turn the people around toward God.

See also: Jeremiah 25:4-5.

2 Chronicles 24:20

The Spirit of God came upon Zechariah, Jehoiada’s son, and he stood before the people. He asked why they broke the LORD’s commands and could not prosper. His message was plain: forsake God and He forsakes you.

BSA: came upon (“breath of life, divine influence”): Zechariah spoke under God’s own power, not from his own opinion.

Hebrew: לָבְשָׁה (lavshah, H3847) — “clothed.” The Hebrew says the Spirit clothed Zechariah, as if God wrapped him like a garment and spoke through him.

See also: 2 Chronicles 15:2.

2 Chronicles 24:21

The leaders plotted against Zechariah, and by the king’s order they stoned him in the temple courtyard. A prophet was killed in the very house that had just been restored. The message was refused and the messenger destroyed.

See also: Matthew 23:35.

2 Chronicles 24:22

Joash forgot the kindness Jehoiada had shown him, who had saved and raised him. He killed the priest’s son. Zechariah’s dying words asked the LORD to see and call to account. Ingratitude here ends in bloodshed.

BSA: kindness (“loving actions, mercy”): Jehoiada’s care was real, faithful love, which makes Joash’s betrayal worse.

Hebrew: חֶסֶד (ḥesed, H2617) — “loyal love, steadfast kindness.” This word means faithful, committed love, so Joash repaid such love with murder.

2 Chronicles 24:23-24

In the spring a small Aramean army came and destroyed Judah’s leaders, sending plunder to Damascus. Though few, they overcame a very great army because the LORD gave them the victory. Judah’s defeat was God’s judgment for forsaking Him.

BSA: judgment (“a sentence, an act of judgment”): This was a formal verdict carried out on Joash, not mere bad luck.

See also: Leviticus 26:17.

2 Chronicles 24:25-26

The Arameans left Joash badly wounded, and his own servants killed him on his bed for shedding the blood of Jehoiada’s son. He was buried in the City of David but not among the kings. The two killers were sons of an Ammonite and a Moabite woman.

BSA: conspired (“plotted”): The same word describes the plot against Zechariah, so Joash met the kind of treatment he had given.

2 Chronicles 24:27

The chronicler closes by pointing to the royal records for Joash’s sons, the many messages against him, and the temple’s restoration. His son Amaziah took the throne. Joash’s good deed of the temple is remembered, but so is his fall.

BSA: restoration (“rebuilding, renovation”): Even in his shame, the temple repair remained part of his lasting record.