The Scaffolding of Righteousness Text: 2 Chronicles 24:1-3
Introduction: The Devil's Weed Whacker
The history of redemption is a history of God's promise being hunted. From the moment God promised that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent's head, the serpent has been trying to stomp on that seed. The story of Scripture is one long, bloody war against the promised line. The devil tried to wipe it out with a flood. He tried to corrupt it in Egypt. He tried to swallow it with the Philistine armies. And in the generation just before our text, he unleashed one of his most ferocious and subtle attacks, not from an external enemy, but from within the royal house itself.
The wicked queen Athaliah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, a viper from a viper's nest, had seized the throne of Judah. And to secure her illegitimate rule, she set out to do what no foreign army had ever accomplished: the complete extermination of the house of David. She took up the devil's own weed whacker and went after the royal seed (2 Chron. 22:10). From a human perspective, she almost succeeded. The line of promise, the line that would one day produce the Messiah, was cut down to one single, solitary infant named Joash. The hope of the world was a baby, hidden away by a faithful aunt and a courageous priest, tucked away in a bedroom in the house of God for six years while a murderous tyrant reigned.
This is the context for our passage. This is not a quiet, peacetime story. This is a story of covenantal warfare, of God's miraculous preservation of His Christ against all odds. The very existence of a king named Joash is a testimony to God's faithfulness. The serpent can hiss and strike, but God's promise is indestructible. He will always preserve a remnant. He will always protect His anointed. And so, after six years of darkness, the priest Jehoiada stages a coup, brings the seven-year-old king out of hiding, places the crown on his head, and restores the line of David. Our text this morning picks up right at that moment of restoration, and it sets before us a profound lesson on the nature of righteousness, the necessity of godly counsel, and the tragic difference between external conformity and genuine, heartfelt faith.
The Text
Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zibiah from Beersheba. And Joash did what was right in the sight of Yahweh all the days of Jehoiada the priest. And Jehoiada took up two wives for him, and he became the father of sons and daughters.
(2 Chronicles 24:1-3 LSB)
A Kingdom by Grace (v. 1)
We begin with the simple historical facts laid out in verse 1.
"Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zibiah from Beersheba." (2 Chronicles 24:1)
First, notice the age. Joash was seven. A seven-year-old king is a walking, talking object lesson in the doctrine of grace. He did not ascend the throne because of his political savvy, his military might, or his commanding presence. He was a first-grader. He was king for one reason and one reason only: he was the son of the king. He was king by right of covenant succession. His entire claim to the throne was based on who his father was. This is a beautiful picture of our own standing before God. We do not enter the kingdom because we are wise or strong or impressive. We enter because we are united by faith to the true King, Jesus Christ. We are sons of the King, and our standing is based entirely on His righteousness, not our own performance.
He reigned for forty years, a good long reign, which in the Old Testament is generally a sign of divine blessing. God honored the restoration of the rightful king. But the text also includes this seemingly incidental detail: "and his mother's name was Zibiah from Beersheba." The Holy Spirit does not waste ink. Why is this mentioned? For one, it grounds the story in concrete history. This is not a fairy tale about a generic boy-king. This is a real person with a real mother from a real town. But more than that, Beersheba is a place soaked in covenantal history. It was at Beersheba that Abraham called on the name of the Lord and planted a tamarisk tree (Gen. 21:33). It was at Beersheba that God appeared to Isaac and reaffirmed the covenant promise (Gen. 26:23-24). In the midst of the Baal-worshipping apostasy that Athaliah had imported from the north, this little detail is a quiet reminder of Judah's true roots. There was still a remnant, a Zibiah from Beersheba, who could raise up a son for the throne.
Borrowed Righteousness (v. 2)
Verse 2 is the theological center of gravity for this entire story. It is the hinge upon which Joash's life, and his legacy, turns.
"And Joash did what was right in the sight of Yahweh all the days of Jehoiada the priest." (2 Chronicles 24:2 LSB)
At first glance, this sounds like a wonderful commendation. "He did what was right in the sight of Yahweh." This is the goal, is it not? This is what we want said of us. But the Bible is a book of glorious and terrible precision. And the precision here is found in the qualifying clause: "all the days of Jehoiada the priest."
This was not Joash's righteousness. It was Jehoiada's. Joash's obedience was a borrowed obedience. His faithfulness was a dependent faithfulness. Jehoiada, the godly priest who had saved him, raised him, and crowned him, now served as his mentor, his guide, and, in effect, his conscience. As long as the spiritual scaffolding of Jehoiada was around him, Joash walked the straight path. He was propped up by a godlier, stronger man. This is what we might call a "scaffolding faith."
Now, we must not despise this. Scaffolding is necessary to erect a building. This kind of external guidance, mentorship, and discipline is absolutely essential, particularly for the young. This is what Christian parenting is. This is what discipleship is. This is what the church does. We provide external structure, teaching, and accountability to help shape character and restrain sin. Proverbs tells us to train up a child in the way he should go. Paul tells fathers to bring their children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. A young man who submits to his elders, a new Christian who listens to his pastor, a child who obeys his parents, all of them are doing what is right in the sight of the Lord because of the influence of another. And this is a good thing. It is a gracious provision from God.
But the story of Joash is a solemn warning. The scaffolding is meant to help erect a building that can one day stand on its own. The external training is meant to cultivate an internal, personal conviction. The borrowed righteousness must become an owned righteousness. For Joash, it never did. As we read later in this chapter, after Jehoiada dies, the scaffolding comes down. And when the princes of Judah come to Joash with their flattering proposals to return to idolatry, the king, who has no internal spiritual backbone of his own, collapses instantly. He abandons the house of God, embraces idolatry, and even murders Zechariah, the son of the very man who had saved his life. His righteousness was entirely secondhand, and when the source was removed, the supply ran out.
Covenantal Caretaking (v. 3)
Verse 3 gives us another glimpse into the faithful ministry of Jehoiada, acting as a true regent and father to the young king.
"And Jehoiada took up two wives for him, and he became the father of sons and daughters." (2 Chronicles 24:3 LSB)
This might seem like a strange detail to our modern ears, but in the context of the covenant, it is profoundly significant. What was Athaliah's great satanic ambition? To wipe out the royal seed. Therefore, what was Jehoiada's first and most pressing covenantal duty after securing the throne? To ensure the continuation of that royal seed. This was not just political strategy; it was an act of faith. It was a declaration that God's promise would not be thwarted. The line of David, the line of the Messiah, would continue.
Jehoiada is acting here as a true federal head. He is not just giving Joash good advice; he is taking responsibility for the future of the kingdom and the covenant. He understands that the king's family is not a private affair. The stability of the nation and the future of redemption history depended on securing the succession. By arranging these marriages, Jehoiada was faithfully tending to the vine that God had miraculously preserved. He was ensuring that there would be more sons of David, pushing back against the recent memory of near-extinction, and trusting God to carry His promise forward through these ordinary means of marriage and family.
Conclusion: From Scaffolding to Foundation
The story of Joash is a tragedy in two acts. The first act, which we see in our text, is a hopeful story of borrowed righteousness. The second act is a heartbreaking story of personal apostasy. And the lesson for us is stark. It is a good and necessary thing to be raised in a Christian home, to sit under faithful preaching, to be surrounded by a godly community. We should thank God for every bit of spiritual scaffolding in our lives.
But the scaffolding is not the building. The external pressures must, by the grace of God, become internal principles. The instruction of a father or a pastor must become the conviction of your own heart. At some point, you must stop living off Jehoiada's faith and start living by your own. You must personally bend the knee to King Jesus. You must personally repent of your sins. You must personally trust in His finished work on the cross.
The good news of the gospel is that God has not left us with a righteousness that is as fragile as Joash's. In the new covenant, God does something far more radical than providing us with an external mentor. He says, "I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts" (Heb. 8:10). The Holy Spirit, our true Jehoiada, does not merely stand beside us; He takes up residence within us. He gives us a new heart and a new spirit.
And He unites us to the true King, the Lord Jesus, who did not do what was right for only a portion of His life, but who was perfectly righteous from beginning to end. His righteousness was not borrowed; it was His own. And it is this perfect, unshakeable righteousness that is imputed to us by faith. We are not just propped up by an external example; we are clothed in the very righteousness of Christ Himself. The story of Joash warns us of the danger of a faith that is only skin deep. Let it drive you to the Savior, whose grace goes all the way down, who not only builds the scaffolding but who makes you into a living stone, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone.