DAY 186: 2 Kings 12–13; 2 Chronicles 24

Preservation, Reform, and the Warning of Outward Faithfulness

Welcome to 5-Minute Bible, your daily guide for your daily reading. Today's July the 5th and we'll be looking at 2 Kings 12 -13 and 2 Chronicles 24. Now yesterday Ahab's house was extinguished beneath the fiery judgment of God, while David's house survived through a hidden child.

And today that preserved child becomes the king. Under the guidance of Jehoiada the priest, Joash the child repairs the temple and restores its worship. But after Jehoiada dies the king abandons the Lord and he strips the house that he once repaired and he murders the prophet who once called him back.

Meanwhile Israel continues beneath oppression and Elisha's ministry draws to a close. And yet even amid failing kings and from beyond the prophet's grave, God demonstrates that his covenant mercy and life-giving word never fails.

Joash becomes king of Judah at just 7 years old and does what is right throughout the years that Jehoiada is instructing him. He becomes especially concerned that the temple damaged during the years of Baal worship and royal apostasy should be repaired.

After early delays a chest is placed near the altar to receive the people's offering. Skilled workers restore the house of the Lord and strengthen its structure and return it to its proper use. But 2 Chronicles 24 reveals what happened after Jehoiada dies.

Judah's leaders flatter Joash and he listens to them. And the people abandon the temple and then they return back to their idolatry. God then sends prophets to warn them including Zechariah the son of Jehoiada standing in the temple court.

And Zechariah declares that because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the Lord had forsaken them. And yet Joash orders him to be stoned. The king who was hidden, protected, instructed and crowned through Jehoiada now murders his own son in the very house where his own life had been preserved.

Under Syrian pressure the treasures of the temple are surrendered. A small invading force humiliates Judah and Joash is left wounded. His own servants eventually assassinate him. This is how his life ends.

Covenant Mercy in Israel and the Death of Elisha

2 Kings 13 then turns us northward. Jehoiahaz of Israel suffers beneath Syrian oppression. But he seeks the Lord and God mercifully provides relief because he remembers his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

And yet Israel does not abandon the sins of Jeroboam which is the repeated theme. Later King Jehoash of Israel visits the dying Elisha. And the prophet promises victory over Syria but the king strikes the ground only three times revealing weak and limited expectation.

Elisha then dies and is buried and later when a dead man touches the prophets bones he revives and stands upon his feet. So as you read today I want you to ask the following question. Can outward reform or borrowed conviction sustain a person whose heart is not really established in the Lord?

The obvious answer is no. These chapters show that godly influence is a tremendous gift. But every person must personally seek trust and obey God. And the central tension in all of this is between the outward repair and the inward ruin.

The Danger of Borrowed Conviction and an Unreformed Heart

Jehoash repairs the temple. He organizes the giving and restores the building and renews the public worship. And these are all genuine and very important accomplishments. But a repaired building can't compensate for an unreformed heart.

As long as Jehoiada lives Jehoash appears faithful. And yet once that guiding influence is removed Jehoash begins listening to the flatterers. He begins embracing idolatry rejecting prophetic correction and even spills the blood of the innocent man.

The tragedy becomes even sharper because the temple traces the entire course of Jehoash's life. Jehoash is the one who is hidden in the temple. He's crowned beside the temple. He repairs the temple. And then he later permits idolatry and murders God's prophet in the temple court.

And surrenders its treasure to purchase temporary relief from an enemy. The man who restored the house never gave his whole heart to the God who inhabited it. And this gives this episode sharp personal application.

Because it's possible to live under another person's conviction for a season and even flourish there. A child may lean upon the faith of his parents. A church member may lean upon the zeal of a pastor.

A man may appear strong while surrounded by faithful friends. And yet borrowed conviction eventually reaches its terminus. The question is not merely whether godly people influence you. They do. The question is whether you fear the Lord.

Whether you can receive correction and remain faithful when that supporting influence is gone. 2 Kings 13, therefore, reveals the same weakness in Israel Jehoah has. Cries out under oppression and yet the nation retains its idols.

Jehoash receives a promise of victory and yet responds without wholehearted expectation. And nevertheless, God continues showing compassion because of his covenant faithfulness is far greater than the inconsistency of Israel's kings.

Christ, the Faithful Son of David, and Resurrection Life

And in that way, Jehoash reveals again why God's people need a better son of David. Jehoash is preserved as an infant, but he does not preserve as a king. He restores the temple, but he later profanes its courts with innocent blood.

He receives prophetic correction, but then he answers it with violence. He repairs God's house while neglecting his own heart. But yet Christ never does that. He's the faithful king that Jehoash could never be.

Like Jehoash, Christ is preserved from the murderous ruler during his childhood. But where Jehoash later abandons the Lord, Christ remains faithful throughout his life. He doesn't borrow another man's convictions.

He delights completely in his father's will and remains obedient through temptation, rejection, suffering, and death. Zechariah's murder belongs to the long history of righteous bloodshed that Christ would later condemn.

Zechariah dies within the temple court while calling upon God to see and avenge. Well, Christ is rejected by the leaders who were responsible for God's house. Yet he willingly sheds his own innocent blood to secure forgiveness and salvation for his people.

Elisha's grave even points forward to Christ as well because contact with the dead prophet's bones restores one single man to mortal life. But Christ doesn't give life while remaining in prison to death.

He empties his own grave. Elisha dies and another man rises. Well, Christ himself dies and rises himself and becomes the source of resurrection for all, not just one who believe in him. And these chapters repeatedly show us how human servants passing away and human kings proving inadequate do not thwart the plans of God.

Jehoiada dies, Elisha dies, Joash falls, Israel remains weak, and yet God remembers his covenant and his continuing work all throughout the generations. In Jesus Christ, the final prophet, faithful priest, and eternal king has come.

He lives forever, preserves his people completely, and possesses resurrection power that no grave can ever exhaust. So as you read these chapters, I want you to notice the tragic movement of Joash's life.

He's preserved in the temple, crowned in the temple, repairs the temple, strips the temple, and murders God's prophet in the temple. And yet, beside the story of spiritual death stands Elisha's final sign of resurrection life.

This week we began with Ahab discovering that judgment cannot be escaped, and it ends with a dead man discovering that death can never resist the power of God. So with that, as you read your Bible carefully, devotionally, and joyfully, may the Lord use his word to sanctify you completely, and we will continue our journey tomorrow.

God bless you.