June 11 – Kindness Forgotten – II Chronicles 22-24
Joash became king when he was only 7 years old. Jehoiada, the priest, went out of his way to take care of Joash. In 24:2 the Bible tells us that Joash pleased God while Jehoiada was his mentor. Jehoiada kept Joash pointed in the right direction and even helped Joash in the repairing of the House of the Lord. Jehoiada dies at 130 years old.
In verse 17 we see a tragic shift as King Joash chose to follow princes of Judah instead of how he was raised. Joash made the same mistake that we see many Christians make today. A young Christian is raised in church, but when he hits adulthood (17 to 24 years of age), he shifts his life away from church and how he was raised. What can we learn from this tragedy? It seems that Jehoiada placed a foundation of Joash acting right and doing right to please Jehoiada instead of having a personal relationship with God and focusing on pleasing God.
In verse 22 Joash goes even further than just ignoring everything that Jehoiada had taught him. When Zechariah, Jehoiada’s son, explains to the people the sin in their idol worship; Joash commands the people to stone him. It is always sad to see a young person make choices against God with their choice of friends, how they talk, their appearance, and lack of church attendance; but it is even more heart breaking when they lash out against the church and folks that have loved and invested in them. Joash forgot the kindness of Jehoiada.
