2 Kings 12:17

JOASH WAS COMPELLED TO BUY OFF A THREATENED SIEGE BY HAZAEL; KING OF SYRIA

"Then Hazael king of Syria went up and fought against Gath and took it; and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and of the king's house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem."

It is surprising that an idolater like Ahaziah the son of Athaliah had placed dedicated things in the house of Jehovah, but again we have evidence that the idolatry of those days was not monotheistic in any manner. Practically all of the peoples of that era accepted the conception that there were many gods, each one limited to the land where he was worshipped. That entire error, however, was vigorously opposed by believers in the one true and Almighty God, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, called Jehovah in our version.

Speaking of the name Jehovah, our long studies in the Holy Bible have convinced us that this is a corrupt name for God, having no validity whatever, and that the common name Lord, or God is far preferable. It is one of the glories of the Revised Standard Version that the word "Jehovah" does not appear anywhere in it. The use of it in our version (ASV) is just one of the serious mistakes in this version.

David Francis Roberts writing in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia speaks knowingly of "Contradictions in 2Chronicles (24) of the account in 2Kings,"[7] but he cited nothing of any importance. The variations are merely those that should be expected from different reports of the same events. As we have stressed frequently, if we knew all of the facts, most of the alleged contradictions would disappear.

The penetration of Hazael as far as Gath showed that neither Israel nor Judah was able to stand against the inroads of the king of Syria. It is likely that God would have spared Judah this humiliation had it not been for the sins of Jehoash. After the death of Jehoiada, he turned to paganism and even ordered the execution of Jehoiada's son, the prophet Zechariah. 2 Chronicles 24:24 makes it perfectly clear that God sent this disaster upon Joash and his kingdom in answer to the dying prayer of Zechariah. Furthermore, the subsequent assassination of Joash was said to have been done, "for the blood of the son of Jehoiada" (2 Chronicles 24:25, margin).