Bird's-eye view
What we have in this brief passage is a textbook case of spiritual rot setting in after a time of reformation. It is a cautionary tale about the difference between a revival that depends on the charisma and backbone of one godly man, and a true reformation that sinks its roots deep into the heart of a people. King Joash had been steered right by the priest Jehoiada, but the moment that godly influence was in the grave, the king's true character, or lack thereof, came to the surface. This is a story about the seductive power of flattery, the swiftness of apostasy, and the remarkable patience of a covenant-keeping God who, even in the face of rank idolatry, sends prophets before He sends judgment. It demonstrates that forsaking true worship is the first step toward every other form of rebellion, and that a refusal to listen to God's Word is the final step before disaster.
Outline
- 1. The Collapse of Reformation (2 Chron 24:17-19)
- a. The Seduction of a King (v. 17)
- b. The Apostasy of a Nation (v. 18)
- c. The Grace of a Prophet (v. 19)
The Anatomy of Apostasy
The story of Joash is a tragedy in two acts. The first act is a glorious reformation, guided by the steady hand of Jehoiada the priest. The temple is repaired, true worship is restored, and the covenant is renewed. But the second act, which begins here, is a swift and pathetic collapse into idolatry. This teaches us that reformation is not a one-time event, but a constant state of vigilance and faithfulness. The moment the watchman is gone, the wolves begin to circle, and if the shepherd is a hireling at heart, the sheep will be scattered.
Commentary
Verse 17: The Poison of Flattery
But after the death of Jehoiada the officials of Judah came and bowed down to the king, and the king listened to them.
The first word, "But," is the hinge on which this whole chapter turns. Everything that was good and right in the kingdom was bound up with the life of one man, Jehoiada. His death was not just the end of a man, but the end of an era of faithfulness. It reveals that the reformation under Joash was wide, but not deep. It was a reformation of compliance, not of conviction.
Notice the first thing that happens. The "officials of Judah" come. These are the courtiers, the political insiders, the men who likely chafed under the moral strictures of Jehoiada's leadership. They had been biding their time. Now, with the old priest gone, they see their opportunity. And what do they do? They "bowed down to the king." This is not the ordinary respect due to a monarch. This is the oily business of flattery. They are stroking his ego, making him feel like the true authority now that his mentor is out of the picture. They are whispering in his ear that he can finally be his own man. Flattery is the devil's lubricant for sliding a man into sin.
And the tragic conclusion is simple: "the king listened to them." Joash's fatal flaw was in his ears. When Jehoiada was alive, he listened to the counsel of God. Now that Jehoiada is dead, he listens to the counsel of ungodly men. A man's character can be measured by the voices he chooses to amplify. Joash chose the sycophants over the memory of the saint, and in so doing, he sealed his own doom and the doom of his nation.
Verse 18: The Logic of Idolatry
And they forsook the house of Yahweh, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols; so wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their guilt.
The fruit of bad counsel is bad worship. The first and immediate result of listening to the flatterers is that "they forsook the house of Yahweh." Apostasy always begins with the neglect of corporate worship. Before you are bowing to an idol, you are first failing to bow to the living God in the assembly of the saints. The doors of the church are closed before the doors of the pagan temple are opened. They are rejecting not just any god, but "the God of their fathers," the God of the covenant, the God who had redeemed them and set them apart.
And because worship abhors a vacuum, they did not become nothing; they became idolaters. They "served the Asherim and the idols." The Asherim were associated with fertility cults, which means this was not just a theological deviation but a moral one. Idolatry and sexual immorality are always bedfellows. When you abandon the worship of the transcendent God, you will inevitably begin to worship immanent things, created things, which almost always includes the worship of sex, power, and self.
The consequence is as predictable as the sunrise. "So wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their guilt." God's wrath is not a celestial temper tantrum. It is the just and holy response of a covenant Lord to covenant treason. The word "guilt" here is a legal term. They were not victims of circumstance; they were criminals who had broken the law of their King. God's covenant has blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. Judah, led by its compromised king, had chosen the curse.
Verse 19: The Mercy of the Prophet
Yet He sent prophets to them to bring them back to Yahweh; though they testified against them, they did not give ear.
Just when we think judgment is the only thing left, we see this glorious word: "Yet." In the face of their brazen rebellion, God's immediate response is not fire from heaven, but a word of grace. "He sent prophets to them." This is the longsuffering of God on full display. He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, and so He sends messengers to plead with them. The purpose of this prophetic mission was restorative: "to bring them back to Yahweh." The prophetic call is always, at its heart, a call to return. It is the gospel.
But this call was also a confrontation. The prophets "testified against them." They were God's prosecuting attorneys, laying out the covenant lawsuit. They presented the evidence of sin and warned of the coming judgment. They were not there to affirm the people in their choices, but to call their choices what they were: treason.
The final, heartbreaking phrase shows the depth of their hardness. "They did not give ear." The same ears that were open to the flatterers were now sealed shut to the prophets of God. This is the point of no return. When a people refuses to hear the word of God, they have declared their spiritual independence, and judgment is the only recourse left for a holy God. Their deafness was their damnation.
Application
The story of Joash is a perennial warning for the Church. First, it warns us against building any work of God on the foundation of a single personality. Movements that are dependent on one man, no matter how godly, are fragile. When that man is gone, the movement will collapse unless it has been thoroughly grounded in the Word of God and the fear of God Himself.
Second, it teaches us to be wary of flattery. The leader who loves the praise of men more than the approval of God is a disaster waiting to happen. The church must be a place where hard truths are spoken in love, not a place where egos are stroked and sin is ignored. We must have ears for rebuke, not just for applause.
Finally, this passage reminds us that God's primary instrument for calling His people back from sin is the preached Word. He sends us prophets, men who will testify against our sins and plead with us to return to Him. The greatest mercy God can show a wayward church is a faithful pulpit. And the greatest sign of judgment is when the people in the pews stop listening.