“And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.”
My Notes
What Does 2 Chronicles 24:2 Mean?
"And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest." The most CONDITIONAL righteousness in the Bible: Joash is faithful ONLY during Jehoiada's lifetime. The qualifier 'all the days of Jehoiada the priest' is a TIME LIMIT on the king's goodness. The faithfulness lasts exactly as long as the mentor lives. When the priest dies, the king's righteousness dies with him. The goodness is BORROWED, not owned.
The phrase "all the days of Jehoiada the priest" (kol yemei Yehoiyada hakkohen — all the days of Jehoiada the priest) is the EXPIRATION DATE: the righteousness has a shelf life. It's measured not by Joash's own commitment but by Jehoiada's LIFESPAN. The priest is the clock. When the clock stops, the righteousness stops. The connection between the mentor's presence and the king's faithfulness is absolute.
What follows Jehoiada's death confirms the qualification: 2 Chronicles 24:17-18 records that after Jehoiada dies, 'the princes of Judah came and made obeisance to the king' — and Joash listens to them, abandons the temple, and turns to idolatry. The king who was raised in the temple BY Jehoiada forsakes the temple AFTER Jehoiada. The faithfulness evaporated with the influence. The behavior was externally maintained, not internally generated.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Whose presence is keeping your faithfulness alive — and what would happen if they were gone?
- 2.What does righteousness contingent on a MENTOR teach about borrowed vs. owned character?
- 3.How does Joash killing Jehoiada's SON describe the ultimate betrayal of a mentor's investment?
- 4.What internal structure do you need to build so your faithfulness survives the removal of external influence?
Devotional
Joash was faithful 'all the days of JEHOIADA.' Not all the days of his life. All the days of his PRIEST. The righteousness has an expiration date — and the date is the death of the mentor. The faithfulness lasts exactly as long as the one who teaches faithfulness is alive. The goodness is DEPENDENT, not independent.
This is the most sobering evaluation in Chronicles: a king's righteousness that is entirely CONTINGENT on another person's presence. Remove the priest, and the king collapses. Take away the mentor, and the mentored abandons everything. The faithfulness was real — but it was BORROWED. It lived in the relationship, not in the character.
Jehoiada's death (verse 15-16 — he lived 130 years and was buried among the kings) removes the GUARDRAIL. Without Jehoiada, Joash has no internal structure to maintain what the external influence built. The princes of Judah immediately fill the vacuum (verse 17), and Joash follows THEM instead. The king who was shaped by a priest is now shaped by politicians. The influence-source changes. The character follows.
The TRAGEDY reaches its climax in verse 21-22: Joash orders the murder of Zechariah — Jehoiada's own SON — who prophesies against the apostasy. The king kills the son of the man who SAVED him. The debt of gratitude is not just forgotten. It's VIOLATED. The mentor's son is murdered by the mentor's project.
Whose presence is keeping your righteousness alive — and what would happen to your faithfulness if they were gone?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Jehoiada lived after the accession of Joash at least 23 years 2Ki 12:6. Thus the idolatries of Joash 2Ch 24:18 were…
This account of Joash's good beginnings we had as it stands here Kg2 12:1, etc., though the latter part of this chapter,…
2Ch 24:1-3 (2Ki 11:21 to 2Ki 12:3). Joash begins to Reign
3. And Jehoiada, etc.] This ver. is not in Kings. It was the…
Cross References
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