Joash: The Boy King

Introduction.(II Samuel 7:8-13) This beautiful promise to David was fulfilled in two ways: 1.) Through the reign of David’s descendents through the Babylonian Captivity, 2.) Through the reign of Jesus Christ eternally. (Matthew 1:1). In the lineage of king David there was a king by the name of Joash. This was not the Joash who was...

     The Joash of the line of David was the son of Ahaziah, the king of Judah. He was born in approximately 843 BC. Had not the providence of God and the faithfulness of a few precious souls intervened, the dynasty of David might have come to an end!

I. The Rise of Athaliah. Some say “Ath...” I believe this should be “At...” Middle Eastern Hebrew TH is “T” with a rough breathing behind it. In Hebrew at-al-ya-hoo.

  1. She was the mother of Ahaziah (the king of Judah). II Chronicles 22:2 - Granddaughter of Omri. Omri was the father of Ahab. I Kings 16:25,25 - “Omri did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all who [were] before him. For he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin, provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their idols.” She was an idolatress.
  2. Ahaziah. Was killed by Jehu, a king of Israel (II Kings 11:1). Killed her own grandchildren! She set herself up to reign.
  3. Two People kept her from succeeding: Jehosheba - II Kings 11:2 (Jehoshebeath - II Chronicles 22:11) the daughter of king Jehoram - her dead husband & Jehoida the priest (II Chronicles 22:11,12).

II. Joash Takes the Throne.

  1. Childhood. (We know little). Two things important: 1.) He grew up in the temple, 2.) He was taught what was right (II Kings 12:2).
  2. The Plan to take the throne.
    1. The Oath (II Kings 11:4-6).
    2. The Coronation (II Chronicles 23:9-11).
    3. The Deposition of Athaliah (II Chronicles 23:12-15, 21).
    4. The Restoration of true worship (II Kings 11:17,18).

III. The Reign of Joash.

  1. Repair of the Temple (II Chronicles 24:1-10).
  2. Apostasy (II Chronicles 24:15-22).
  3. His death (II Chronicles 24:23-25).

IV. Lessons From Joash.

  1. The power of God to keep His word. Note: He did so through faithful people! (This doesn’t limit God - but exalt Him.)
    1. Matthew 6:31-33 How? It doesn’t matter - we must work our hardest and trust that He will fulfill His word.
    2. Ecclesiastes 11:4 Note: If we worry about the wind and the clouds we won’t sow as we should or reap as we could!
  2. The power of Childhood influence (Proverbs 22:6).
  3. One who sought to build (and rebuild) the Lord’s House (II Peter 2:4,5).
  4. Even the faithful can fall away (I Corinthians 10:12,13).

Conclusion. While we admire the early life of Joash we must reject the idolatry he turned to in latter years. May we learn from his life to trust that God will keep His word, believe in our ability to shape the values of the young, seek to build (and rebuild) God’s house and take heed that we do not fall ourselves.