“And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and slew Joash in the house of Millo , which goeth down to Silla.”
My Notes
What Does 2 Kings 12:20 Mean?
"His servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and slew Joash in the house of Millo." King Joash of Judah — who began as the hidden child saved from Athaliah's massacre (chapter 11) and was crowned as a boy with great hope — is assassinated by his own servants. The king who was saved as a child is killed as a man. The beginning that was miraculous produces an ending that is violent.
The "house of Millo" is a fortified structure in Jerusalem — possibly a fill-terrace or a defensive building. The assassination happens in a location associated with the city's defenses. The king who should be protected by the fortification is killed inside it. The defense becomes the murder scene.
The conspiracy by servants — not foreign enemies or rival claimants but household staff — means the betrayal comes from inside. The people closest to the king, with the most access, are the ones who kill him. The danger wasn't at the border. It was in the bedroom.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What miraculous beginning in your life are you at risk of ending poorly?
- 2.What threat in your life comes from inside your household rather than outside?
- 3.What 'Jehoiada' — spiritual guide — did you lose that changed your trajectory?
- 4.What defense have you built that might actually be your point of greatest vulnerability?
Devotional
His own servants killed him. The king who was miraculously saved as an infant — hidden in the Temple for six years, crowned amid celebration — is murdered by his household staff in a fortified building. The miraculous beginning doesn't guarantee a peaceful ending.
Joash's story arc is one of the most tragic in Kings: saved as a baby (chapter 11), crowned as a child, repaired the Temple as a young king (chapter 12), abandoned God after Jehoiada the priest died (2 Chronicles 24:17-22), and was assassinated by his own servants. The trajectory moves from miraculous salvation to violent death, with the turning point being the loss of his spiritual guide.
The inside-the-house assassination means the threat was domestic: not a foreign army or a political rival but the people who served Joash daily. The servants who knew his schedule, his vulnerabilities, his unguarded moments. The betrayal comes from proximity, not distance. The danger that kills you often sleeps under your roof.
The Millo — a defensive structure — becoming the murder scene is the final irony: the building designed to protect the king from external threats becomes the location of the internal one. The fortification that should have been the safest place in Jerusalem is where the assassination happens.
What defense have you built that might become the location of your most dangerous vulnerability?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
A conspiracy - Compare the marginal reference Joash, either from a suspicion of intended treason, or from some other…
The house of Millo - Was a royal palace, built by David; (see Sa2 5:9); and Silla is supposed to be the name of the road…
When Joash had revolted from God and become both an idolater and a persecutor the hand of the Lord went out against him,…
And his servants arose The Chronicler tells us that the Syrians left the king suffering from -great diseases", perhaps…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture