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We have here the history of the reign of Joash, the progress of which, and especially its termination, were not of a piece with its beginning, nor shone with so much lustre. How wonderfully he was preserved for the throne, and placed in it, we read before; now here we are told how he began in the spirit, but ended in the flesh. I. In the beginning of his time, while Jehoiada lived, he did well; particularly, he took care to put the temple in good repair (Ch2 24:1-14). II. In the latter end of his time, after Jehoiada's death, he apostatized from God, and his apostasy was his ruin. 1. He set up the worship of Baal again (Ch2 24:15-18), though warned to the contrary (Ch2 24:19). 2. He put Zechariah the prophet to death because he reproved him for what he had done (Ch2 24:20-22). 3. The judgments of God came upon him for it. The Syrians invaded him (Ch2 24:23, Ch2 24:24). He was struck with sore diseases; his own servants conspired against him and slew him; and, as a mark of infamy upon him, he was not buried in the burying-place of the kings (Ch2 24:25-27).

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 24 This chapter begins with the reign of Joash king of Judah, son of Ahaziah, Ch2 24:1, relates his concern and care to repair the temple, Ch2 24:4, the death of Jehoiada the priest, during whose life he reigned well, but after his death sadly apostatized, Ch2 24:15, for which, being reproved by Zechariah, he was so wroth with him as to order him to be stoned, Ch2 24:20, wherefore for these evils enemies were raised up against him; he was smitten with diseases, and his servants conspired against him and slew him, and would not bury him among the kings, Ch2 24:23.

And when they were departed from him,.... Having got what wealth and spoil they could: for they left him in great diseases; through the wounds they gave him, and the distress they brought him into: his own servants conspired against him, for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest; for perhaps more than one was slain at the same time; the rest vindicating the cause of their brother, shared the same fate; or the plural is put for the singular: and slew him on his bed; in the house of Millo, where he lay ill of his wounds, and sick of his diseases, and could not defend himself: and he died: of the wounds his servants gave him: and they buried him in the city of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchres of the kings; see Kg2 12:21.

Some such thing we read of in the book of Chronicles. For Joash the king of Judah at the age of seven was summoned by Jehoiada the priest to the kingdom and by the witness of Scripture is commended for all his actions as long as the aforesaid priest lived. But hear what Scripture relates of him after Jehoiada’s death and how he was puffed up with pride and given over to a most disgraceful state. “But after the death of Jehoiada the princes went in and worshiped the king: and he was soothed by their services and hearkened to them. And they forsook the temple of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served groves and idols, and great wrath came on Judah and Jerusalem because of this sin.” And after a little: “When a year was come about, the army of Syria came up against him: and they came to Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the princes of the people, and they sent all the spoils to the king to Damascus. And whereas there came a very small number of the Syrians, the Lord delivered into their hands an infinite multitude, because they had forsaken the Lord the God of their fathers; and on Joash they executed shameful judgments. And departing they left him in great diseases.” You see how the consequence of pride was that he was given over to shocking and filthy passions. For he who is puffed up with pride and has permitted himself to be worshiped as God, is (as the apostle says) “given over to shameful passions and a reprobate mind to do those things that are not convenient.” And because, as Scripture says, “everyone who exalts his heart is unclean before God,” he who is puffed up with swelling pride of heart is given over to most shameful confusion to be deluded by it, that when thus humbled he may know that he is unclean through impurity of the flesh and knowledge of impure desires, a thing that he had refused to recognize in the pride of his heart; and also that the shameful infection of the flesh may disclose the hidden impurity of the heart, which he contracted through the sin of pride, and that through the patent pollution of his body he may be proved to be impure, who did not formerly see that he had become unclean through the pride of his spirit.

Joash begins to reign when seven years old, and reigns well all the days of Jehoiada the priest, Ch2 24:1-3. He purposes to repair the temple of God; and makes a proclamation that the people should bring in the money prescribed by Moses, Ch2 24:4-9. They all contribute liberally; and the different artificers soon perfect the work, Ch2 24:10-13. The rest of the money is employed to form utensils for the temple, Ch2 24:14. Jehoiada dies, Ch2 24:15, Ch2 24:16. And the people after his death become idolaters, Ch2 24:17, Ch2 24:18. Prophets are sent unto them, Ch2 24:19. And among the rest Zechariah the son of Jehoiada, who testifies against them; and they stone him to death, Ch2 24:20-22. The Syrians come against Jerusalem, and spoil it, Ch2 24:23, Ch2 24:24. Joash is murdered by his own servants, Ch2 24:25, Ch2 24:26. His acts, Ch2 24:27.

JOASH REIGNS WELL ALL THE DAYS OF JEHOIADA. (Ch2 24:1-14) Joash . . . began to reign--(See on Kg2 12:1-3).

HE IS SLAIN BY HIS SERVANTS. (Ch2 24:23-27) at the end of the year the host of Syria came up--This invasion took place under the personal conduct of Hazael, whom Joash, to save the miseries of a siege, prevailed on to withdraw his forces by a large present of gold (Kg2 12:18). Most probably, also, he promised the payment of an annual tribute, on the neglect or refusal of which the Syrians returned the following year, and with a mere handful of men inflicted a total and humiliating defeat on the collected force of the Hebrews.

The statement as to the duration and spirit of the reign agrees with Kg2 14:1-6, except that in Ch2 25:2 the estimation of the spirit of the reign according to the standard of David, "only not as his ancestor David, but altogether as his father Joash did," which we find in the book of Kings, is replaced by "only not with a perfect heart;" and the standing formula, "only the high places were not removed," etc., is omitted.

The punishment comes upon them. Joash afflicted by the invasion of Judah by Hazael the Syrian; and his death in consequence of a conspiracy against him. - These two events are narrated in Kg2 12:18-21 also, the progress of Hazael's invasion being more exactly traced; see the commentary on Kg2 12:18. The author of the Chronicle brings forward only those parts of it which show how God punished Joash for his defection from Him. "At the revolution of a year," i.e., scarcely a year after the murder of the prophet Zechariah, a Syrian army invaded Judah and advanced upon Jerusalem; "and they destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people," i.e., they smote the army of Joash in a battle, in which the princes (the chief and leaders) were destroyed, i.e., partly slain, partly wounded. This punishment came upon the princes as the originators of the defection from the Lord, Ch2 24:17. "And they sent all their booty to the king (Hazael) to Damascus." In this booty the treasures which Joash gave to the Syrians (Kg2 12:19) to buy their withdrawal are also included. In order to show that this invasion of the Syrians was a divine judgment, it is remarked in Ch2 24:24 that the Syrians, with a small army, gained a victory over the very large army of Judah, and executed judgment upon Joash. שׁפטים עשׂה, as in Exo 12:12; Num 33:4, frequently in Ezekiel, usually construed with בּ, here with את, analogous to the את טּוב עשׂה, e.g., Sa1 24:19. These words refer to the wounding of Joash, and its results, Ch2 24:25. In the war Joash was badly wounded; the Syrians on their withdrawal had left him behind in many wounds (מחליים only met with here, synonymous with תּחלאים, Ch2 21:19). Then his own servants, the court officials named in Ch2 24:26, conspired against him, and smote him upon his bed. In Kg2 12:21, the place where the king, lying sick upon his bed, was slain is stated. He met with his end thus, "because of the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest" which had been shed. The plural בּני is perhaps only an orthographical error for בּן, occasioned by the preceding דּמי (Berth.); but more probably it is, like בּנין, Ch2 28:3 and Ch2 33:6, a rhetorical plural, which says nothing as to the number, but only brings out that Joash had brought blood-guiltiness upon himself in respect of the children of his benefactor Jehoiada; see on Ch2 28:3. Upon the murdered king, moreover, the honour of being buried in the graves of the kings was not bestowed; cf. Ch2 21:20. On the names of the two conspirators, Ch2 24:26, see on Kg2 12:21. In Ch2 24:27 it is doubtful how ורב is to be read. The Keri demands ירב, which Berth. understands thus: And as regards his sons, may the utterance concerning him increase; which might signify, "May the wish of the dying Zechariah, Ch2 24:22, be fulfilled on them in a still greater degree than on their father." But that is hardly the meaning of the Keri. The older theologians took ירב relatively: et quam creverit s. multiplicatum fuerit. Without doubt, the Keth. ורב or ורב is the correct reading. המּשּׂא, too, is variously interpreted. Vulg., Luther, and others take it to be synonymous with משׂאת, Ch2 24:6, Ch2 24:9, and understand it of the money derived from Moses' tax; but to that עליו is by no means suitable. Others (as Then.) think of the tribute laid upon him, Kg2 12:19, but very arbitrarily. On the other hand, Clericus and others rightly understand it of prophetic threatenings against him, corresponding to the statement in Ch2 24:19, that God sent prophets against him. As to the Midrash of the book of Kings, see the Introduction.