But Jehoiada waxed old, and was full of days when he died ,.... A very old man; few at this time arrived to such an age; he was a rare instance: One hundred and thirty years old was he when he died ; the oldest man we read of from the times of Moses, and older than he by ten years. read more
And they buried him in the city of David among the kings ,.... In honour to him, he having been the preserver of the king, and of the kingdom, and being by marriage a relation of the present king, uncle to him: because he had done good in Israel ; in that part of it which belonged to the kingdom of the house of David: both towards God, and towards his house ; both for the restoring the pure worship of God, and the repairs of the temple. read more
Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah ,.... Who had been secretly inclined to idolatry, but durst not discover it during the life of Jehoiada; whose influence at court was too great for them to counterwork, but when dead they came to court: and made obeisance to the king ; bowed in a very lowly manner, fawned upon him, and flattered him. Some Jewish writers, as Kimchi observes, understand this of religious adoration, that they made a god of him, and worshipped him,... read more
And they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers ,.... Came no more to the temple at Jerusalem, forsook the worship and service of it: and served groves and idols ; worshipped idols in groves, which were upon high places: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass : their idolatry, and particularly on these princes, the Syrian army coming against them, and destroying them, 2 Chronicles 24:23 . read more
Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the Lord ,.... To reprove them for their sin, to warn them of their danger, to exhort them to their duty, and endeavour to restore them, and reduce them to the obedience and worship, of God; such was his clemency, goodness, and condescension to them, before he executed his wrath upon them: and they testified against them ; against their sins, and declared what would befall them, and called heaven and earth to witness for God and... read more
And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest ,.... The spirit of prophecy, as the Targum; he was moved and influenced by it to speak what is after related: which stood above the people ; in a desk, or sort of pulpit, in which the priests stood when they taught the people, that they might be the better heard, like that which Ezra used, Nehemiah 8:4 . and said unto them, thus saith God ; being moved and directed by his Spirit, he spake in his name: ... read more
And they conspired against him ,.... Consulted together to take away his life, and got the order of the king to do it: and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the Lord ; where he had stood and reproved them; this they did before he went out, while in the temple; and if he is the same Zechariah, as some think, our Lord speaks of, he was slain between the temple porch and the altar, Matthew 23:35 ; see Gill on Matthew 23:35 . read more
Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him ,.... In preserving him in his infancy, and nourishing him; in settling him on the throne, and assisting him with his advice and counsel: but slew his son ; who also assisted at his coronation, and with his father and brethren anointed him king, as is probable, 2 Chronicles 23:11 , and when he died, he said, the Lord look upon it, and requite it ; meaning his blood; this he said, not from a... read more
And it came to pass at the end of the year ,.... After the death of Zechariah; so soon had his prophecy its accomplishment: that the host of Syria came up against him ; against Joash, king of Judah, under Hazael king of Syria, or however sent by him; for some think this is a different expedition from that in 2 Kings 12:17 though others take it to be the same: and they came to Judah and Jerusalem ; not only came into the land of Judah, but as far as Jerusalem, the forces of Joash... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Chronicles 24:15-26
We have here a sad account of the degeneracy and apostasy of Joash. God had done great things for him; he had done something for God; but now he proved ungrateful to his God and false to the engagements he had laid himself under to him. How has the gold become dim, and the most fine gold changed! Here we find, I. The occasions of his apostasy. When he did that which was right it was not with a perfect heart. He never was sincere, never acted from principle, but in compliance to Jehoiada, who... read more