Two kings go by the name Jehoash in the Bible, but the one from the kingdom of Judah gained more notoriety than the one from Israel. We know Jehoash (sometimes known as Joash) most by what happened to the ruler before him.
Only one queen (and an illegitimate one at that) sat on Israel’s throne. Queen Athaliah ordered the execution of anyone who could potentially swipe away the throne from her. Thankfully, a certain family member ensured Jehoash didn’t make the cut.
Today’s article will uncover what happened in the life of the more well-known Jehoash—although we will lightly touch on the other king who went by the same name—and what we can learn from his story.
Jehoash’s story starts when a former king (Ahaziah) dies, and his mother, Athaliah decides not only to take charge…but to kill all the heirs of Ahaziah.
Thus, she can secure her forever spot on the throne of Judah.
Jehosheba, Ahaziah’s sister, saw this plan and stole away Jehoash. His aunt makes sure he stays safe for six years with his nurse in the temple—hidden away from the Queen. He probably had no recollection of the event because he was just a baby. He steps onto the throne later at the age of seven.
Athaliah continues her reign of terror for six years.
During the seventh year of her reign, God instructs the priest Jehoida to anoint Jehoash as king. When Athaliah gets wind of this, she declares, “Treason!”
Guards seize her out of the temple and put her to death outside of it.
Thus began the reign of the seven-year-old Jehoash.
Of course, Jehoash couldn’t make any major decisions at that age, but as he grew, he made important decisions that showed whether he followed in the footsteps of evil kings who came before him.
Or if he’d make the very small margin of good kings who reigned in Judah.
For those who don’t know the history of Judah—after the reign of King Solomon, the kingdom of Israel split into two factions: Judah and Israel (or Samaria). Samaria had no good kings. Judah had a few good kings.
When we think of good kings, we may think of men such as Hezekiah, Josiah, and Jehoshaphat. Every time one of these kings stepped onto the throne, they eliminated altars to foreign gods and often restored the Temple or the ways God instituted in the Old Testament.
So where did Jehoash, king of Judah, fall?
He turned out to be a good king—for the most part.
In 2 Kings 12, the narrative tells us he had one fault. He didn’t take down the “high places” to foreign gods. Sometimes, to consent to the people, they would leave those alone. Unfortunately, he allowed those to stay in place, which paved the way for future evil kings to use them.
However, we learn many of the good things Joash does during his reign.
The biggest credit he receives is that he repairs the temple. The temple, built as a place of worship by King Solomon, had fallen into disrepair.
Jehoash commands the priests to take a portion of offerings and tithes to repair the temple. The priests seem to stall on the task—probably because they wanted to keep the money for themselves.
They regroup and form a plan to ensure that the temple workers are paid for their hard work but that a good deal of the money being given also goes to temple repairs.
Unfortunately, Joash’s story does end in tragedy. As with the case of so many rulers in the ancient world, many of those closest to them conspired and assassinated their kings. His officials—who go by the names Jozabad, son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad, son of Shomer—kill him.
Because of this, his son Amaziah takes the throne.
Thankfully, Amaziah turns out to be one of the good kings. Unfortunately, he did not tear down the high places like his father. So, the people of Judah continued to worship foreign gods.
As mentioned at the start of this article, another king was named Jehoash. Unlike the counterpart in Judah, this Jehoash—king of Israel—did evil. He followed up the reign of another evil king who went by the name of Jehoahaz.
He follows in the footsteps of the first king of Israel. Whenever a passage tells us this, we know that he and all of Israel worshipped foreign gods and sacrificed to them.
The prophet Elisha had been around during the start of Jehoash’s reign, but he died partway through.
As Elisha lies dying, Jehoash starts to weep, and Elisha tells him to shoot an arrow out the window. He does so, and Elisha predicts the victory of Israel over their enemy at the time—Aram. King Hazael had oppressed Israel during Jehoash’s father’s reign.
Elisha tells him, then, to strike the ground with the arrows. Jehoash only strikes the ground three times, so Elisha says Israel will only win in three battles against Aram—when they could’ve won more.
After Elisha dies, Israel manages to recover the land stolen from them by Aram.
We don’t hear anything else of this Jehoash’s reign. We can assume that although God granted him victory because the Bible called him evil, he never truly repented and turned back to God.
Unfortunately, he also paves the way for future evil kings to come after him.
Two men go by Jehoash, and we can learn much from them. One chose to follow God, and another chose to follow in the footsteps of those who came before him.
Let’s unpack three takeaways from the men who were named Jehoash.
First, God wants idols eliminated—or it’ll bite us later.
Jehoash, king of Judah, did many great things in his reign but succumbed to peer pressure and didn’t destroy all the high places. Because of this, future generations continued to worship foreign gods and sacrifice to them.
In the same way, as we go down the path of sanctification, God calls for us to limit our idols in their entirety. They will wreak havoc later if we hold on to any part of them.
Second, people will hesitate to give up money (even when God commands it).
We see that Jehoash almost has to pull teeth to get people to start on those temple repairs during his reign. People dragged their feet because they wanted the money for themselves.
Unfortunately, we see similar things happening with believers today. We should place our trust in God to provide for us when he asks us to give our financial resources to the ministry or those in need.
Finally, success does not always mean someone has a good heart.
Unfortunately, many people in church circles still believe that if people go through hard times, it means that they haven’t trusted God enough. And that those who experience blessings must walk right with the Lord. Although Job (quite literally the oldest book in the Bible) dispels this myth, it has lasted the test of time.
Jehoash, king of Israel, experienced a lot of victory and conquest in his reign. He recovered territories formerly stolen by an enemy nation.
Nevertheless, he never turns back to God.
Let’s withhold judgment from those who experience good and bad times, for God alone can know people’s hearts and intentions.
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/L-house
Hope Bolinger is an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, book editor for hire, and the author of almost 30 books. More than 1500 of her works have been featured in various publications. Check out her books at hopebolinger.com for clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids. Check out her editing profile at Reedsy.com to find out about hiring her for your next book project.
This article is part of our People of Christianity catalog that features the stories, meaning, and significance of well-known people from the Bible and history. Here are some of the most popular articles for knowing important figures in Christianity:
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