- 21-
We mark that the twenty-third year of Joash, when the king took in hand the hitherto
neglected restoration of the Temple, was that in which, after Jehu's death, such great
calamities befell the kingdom of Israel (see the next Chapter). In general, the accession of
Jehu's son, his partial return to the service of the LORD), and afterwards the advance of
Hazael into Israelitish territory, must all have had their influence on the state of matters in
Judah. Shortly after the restoration of the Temple, Jehoiada died. The opportunity was
seized by "the princes" to bring about a partial counter-reformation. It is only natural that
the corruption of the last reigns should have had a demoralizing influence upon them.
The moral rigor of the service of Jehovah would stand in marked contrast with the
lascivious services of Asherah (Astarte - "groves" in the A.V.) and of idols, probably the
sacred trees of Astarte, and the service of Baal connected therewith.*
- See especially the articles,, "Astarte" and "Baal," in Riehm,. HandWorterb. d. Bibl.
Altert. vol. I.
For the restoration of the latter, the "princes" humbly and earnestly petitioned the king.
Joash yielded; and, although he is not charged in Holy Scripture with any act of personal
idolatry, the sin which this involved brought its speedy judgment, and reacted on the
whole later bearing of Joash.
It has sometimes been objected that so vital a change as this near the close of his reign
seems difficult to understand. But the character of Joash, the removal of the paramount
influence of Jehoiada, the growing power of the "princes" in the threatening hostilities
from the north, and the circumstance that the king in the first place only permitted the
proceedings of the corrupt aristocracy, sufficiently account for all that is recorded in the
sacred narrative. On the other hand, there cannot be more instructive reading than to
compare this later part of the history of Joash with that of Asa (1 Kings 15:9-24, and
especially 2 Chronicles 14), which, although by way of contrast, seems almost a parallel
to it.
The sanction given by the king to the introduction of idolatry in Judah soon brought, in
the Divine order of things, its national punishment. But here also Divine mercy first
interposed by admonitions and warnings sent through His prophets (2 Chronicles 24:19).
Among these we have probably to include Joel, whose prophecies were probably uttered
in the period of hopeful revival which characterized the first part of the reign of Joash.
But now the warnings of the prophets were not only left unheeded: they called forth
violent opposition. Still, prophets might be borne with because of their extraordinary
mission and message. It was otherwise when the high-priest Zechariah, the son - or,
rather, grandson* - of Jehoiada, standing in his official capacity in the court of the priests,
addressed the people gathered beneath in the lower court speaking in similar language,
under the overpowering influence of the Spirit of God.
(^)