A Good Man's Grave: The Weight of a Godly Legacy Text: 2 Chronicles 24:15-16
Introduction: The Measure of a Man
We live in an age that has no idea how to measure a man. Our culture bestows its highest honors on the flimsy, the fleeting, and the foolish. Fame is measured in clicks, wealth is measured in digital zeros that can vanish overnight, and influence is measured by the number of sycophants one can gather on social media. We celebrate rebels without a cause, revolutionaries who burn down their own houses, and celebrities whose only accomplishment is being well-known. And when these people die, we write glowing obituaries that are as hollow as the lives they describe.
The Scriptures, as always, provide the necessary corrective. The Word of God cuts through the fog of our sentimentality and gives us a true and lasting standard for what constitutes a life well-lived. It is a standard that has nothing to do with popular acclaim and everything to do with covenant faithfulness. Our text today is a brief obituary, a two-verse eulogy for a man named Jehoiada. It is a short epitaph, but it is weightier than all the marble monuments in Washington D.C. combined. It is the kind of summary that every Christian man should want written on his tombstone, not by men, but by God Himself.
The story of Jehoiada the priest is the story of a man who stood as a bulwark against national apostasy. When the royal line of David was all but extinguished by the murderous Queen Athaliah, it was Jehoiada and his wife who hid the infant heir, Joash, in the house of God for six years. It was Jehoiada who, when the time was right, orchestrated the coup that deposed the wicked queen and placed the rightful king on the throne. It was Jehoiada who guided the young king, restored the temple, and re-established the covenant with the people. For decades, he was the stable pillar of righteousness in Judah. And our text describes the end of that life. In these two verses, we see God's evaluation of a faithful life, and it provides us with a pattern for our own.
The Text
Then Jehoiada became old and full of days, and he died; he was 130 years old at his death. They buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done what is good in Israel and to God and His house.
(2 Chronicles 24:15-16 LSB)
Full of Days (v. 15)
We begin with the simple, yet profound, statement about his life and death.
"Then Jehoiada became old and full of days, and he died; he was 130 years old at his death." (2 Chronicles 24:15)
The first thing to notice is the phrase "full of days." This is Old Testament language for a life that has reached its proper and God-ordained conclusion. It is not the same as simply being old. One can be old and bitter, old and empty, old and full of regrets. But to be "full of days" is to be satisfied, to have completed the course. It is the same language used to describe Abraham (Gen. 25:8), Isaac (Gen. 35:29), and David (1 Chron. 29:28). It is the blessing of the covenant. A long life, in the Old Testament economy, was a tangible sign of God's favor, a reward for covenant faithfulness (Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16). Jehoiada lived to be 130, an age that echoes the era of the patriarchs. This remarkable lifespan was a visible testimony to the nation of God's pleasure with this man's life.
This is not to say that every godly person lives to a great age, or that every untimely death is a sign of God's displeasure. We know that the Lord takes His saints home according to His own perfect wisdom. But we must not spiritualize away the plain teaching of Scripture that obedience generally brings the blessing of life, and disobedience brings the curse of death. Godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come (1 Tim. 4:8). Jehoiada's long life was a sermon to Judah. It was a living parable that said, "This is what faithfulness looks like. This is the fruit of walking in the ways of the Lord."
His death was not a tragedy; it was a graduation. He had run the race, he had finished his course, he had kept the faith. His days were full because he had filled them with the work God had given him to do. He did not waste his time on trivialities. He invested his life in the most important things: the worship of God, the preservation of the covenant, and the stability of the kingdom. And so, when his time came, he died not as a man whose life was cut short, but as a shock of grain comes in its season (Job 5:26).
Buried with Kings (v. 16a)
The second part of this obituary records the honor bestowed upon him after his death.
"They buried him in the city of David among the kings..." (2 Chronicles 24:16a LSB)
This is a staggering statement. Jehoiada was a priest, not a king. He was from the tribe of Levi, not Judah. By birth, he had no claim to a royal burial. The tombs of the kings were reserved for the sons of David. Yet, the nation, under the leadership of the king he had mentored, gave him an honor that transcended his station. They recognized that this priest had a kingly heart and had performed a kingly service to the nation. Without him, there would have been no king to bury.
This act teaches us a fundamental principle of God's kingdom: true honor is based on faithful service, not on bloodline or title. The world is obsessed with status, with who your father was, with what school you went to. The kingdom of God operates on a different economy. In God's economy, the greatest are those who serve (Mark 10:43-44). Jehoiada, through his humble and courageous service, was granted an honor that many of the actual kings of Judah did not receive. Many of the wicked kings were not buried in the royal tombs. But this priest was.
This burial is a picture of the gospel. We who are not of the royal line, we who are by nature outsiders and strangers to the covenant, are, through faith in Christ, brought into the royal family. We are made kings and priests unto God (Rev. 1:6). And when we die in the Lord, we are given an honor that far surpasses a tomb in Jerusalem. We are brought into the presence of the King of Kings, to reign with Him forever. Jehoiada's burial was a foreshadowing of the honor that God bestows on all His faithful servants. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of His people (Psalm 113:7-8).
The Reason for the Honor (v. 16b)
The verse concludes by giving the explicit reason for this extraordinary honor. It is the divine commentary on his life's work.
"...because he had done what is good in Israel and to God and His house." (2 Chronicles 24:16b LSB)
This is the bottom line. This is the final evaluation. Notice the comprehensive nature of his goodness. It was not a private, pietistic goodness. It was a public, robust, and thoroughgoing goodness that affected every sphere of life. His work was good in three directions: in Israel, to God, and to His house.
First, he had done good "in Israel." This refers to his civic faithfulness. He was a good citizen. He understood that his faith was not to be locked away in the temple precincts. He brought the law of God to bear on the political life of the nation. He rescued the monarchy, established justice, and promoted national righteousness. He was a statesman-priest. This rebukes the false dichotomy that many Christians have embraced, the idea that faith is a private matter that has nothing to say to the public square. Jehoiada knew that God is Lord of all, and so his service to God included service to the nation.
Second, he had done good "to God." This is the vertical dimension. All his actions were ultimately oriented toward God's glory. He did not restore the kingdom for his own power or prestige. He did it because he feared God and loved His law. His ultimate allegiance was not to the king or to the nation, but to Yahweh. This is the root of all true goodness. Good works are not simply acts of philanthropy or civic duty. Good works are acts of faith, done in obedience to God's commands, for the sake of God's glory. Without this Godward orientation, our best works are nothing more than filthy rags.
Third, he had done good "to His house." This refers to his ecclesiastical faithfulness. He restored the temple, reorganized the priesthood, and reinstituted proper worship. He knew that the health of the nation was directly tied to the health of the church. A corrupt temple will always produce a corrupt culture. A faithful church is the central engine of a healthy society. Jehoiada did not choose between social action and liturgical renewal. He understood that they were two sides of the same coin. By restoring the worship of God, he was doing the most practical and lasting good for the nation of Israel.
Conclusion: The Lingering Shadow
The story of Jehoiada is a glorious one, but it does not end here. The tragedy that unfolds immediately after his death is just as instructive as the triumph of his life. As soon as Jehoiada is in his kingly tomb, King Joash, the man he saved and mentored, turns away from the Lord. He listens to wicked counselors, abandons the house of God, and plunges the nation back into idolatry. When Jehoiada's own son, Zechariah, confronts the king, Joash has him stoned to death in the very court of the temple his father had restored (2 Chron. 24:20-22).
This tells us something crucial. Jehoiada was a great and godly man, but he was not the Messiah. His goodness, while commendable, could not ultimately change the heart of the king or the people. His influence was a restraining grace, but once that restraint was removed, the sin that was latent in the heart of Joash burst forth. This points us to our need for a better priest and a better king. It points us to the one whose goodness is not merely influential, but regenerative.
Jehoiada was a type, a shadow, of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the great High Priest who, through His own death and resurrection, truly does what is good for His people, for God, and for the house of God. Like Jehoiada, He rescued the true royal line. He is the royal line. He defeated the usurper, Satan, and established His rightful throne. He is cleansing His temple, the church. And unlike Jehoiada, His work is permanent. His righteousness is imputed to us. When He dies, we do not fall away. Rather, His death is the very source of our life and perseverance.
And so, we honor Jehoiada by imitating his robust, public, covenantal faithfulness. We do good in our nation, we do good toward our God, and we do good in His house. But we do it all in the name of and by the power of the one who is a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek. Jehoiada was buried with kings because he acted like one. We, through faith in the true King, are seated with Him in the heavenly places, an honor that will never fade away.