2 Chronicles 24

24:1 Joash reigned from 835 to 796 BC.

24:3 Jehoiada chose two wives for Joash, probably to ensure that David’s royal line would be replenished with plenty of descendants.

24:4-8 There is no indication regarding when Joash first attempted to refurbish the Temple. However, after the first failure to raise funds, Joash summoned Jehoiada a second time, in the twenty-third year of his reign (2 Kgs 12:6). The inaction of the priests might have resulted from a disagreement over who should fund the restoration work and who should oversee it. The king censured Jehoiada for his failure to act and then proposed a plan that put the offering on a more voluntary basis.

24:12-14 The book of Kings indicates that the funds collected for repairing the Temple were used only for wages (2 Kgs 12:13-14); Chronicles further explains that the funds were used for Temple artifacts only after the repairs were completed.

24:15-16 A lifespan of 130 years indicates that Jehoiada received great blessing by the Lord. Further, his royal burial as a priest-king shows great honor from the people.

24:20-22 Jehoiada had scrupulously preserved the courtyard of the Lord’s Temple from bloodshed and the dynasty of David from extinction. Yet ironically, Zechariah his son was murdered in the very place and by the very king, Joash, who was protected during the coup. Jesus made reference to this murder when he was criticizing the religious leaders (Matt 23:35; Luke 11:51). • “May the Lord . . . avenge my death!” This prayer for vengeance was similar to those that King David himself had prayed against the injustices done to him by Saul (cp. Pss 5:10; 7:9; 9:19-20; 28:4; 56:7; 139:19; see also “Prayers for Vengeance” Theme Note).

24:23-26 God could use war to render judgment on Israel just as surely as on any other nation; one of the characteristics of a “holy war” was a small force’s defeat of a much larger army.

24:25-26 Jehoiada had received a royal burial (24:15-16), but Joash was buried in disgrace.

24:27 The Commentary on the Book of the Kings that the Chronicler used as a source is no longer available to us (see also 9:29).