2 Chronicles 24:24 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

For, or rather, although, the army of the Syrians came with a small company Or was a small company of men. This more manifestly showed that the punishment proceeded from the hand of God, who took away their courage, so that, even with a great host, they could not withstand a mere handful of their enemies. This, as all the circumstances of it make manifest, was a distinct war from that mentioned 2 Kings 12:17; as the reader will easily see if he compare that passage with this. The case seems to have been as follows: When the Jews began to apostatize, Hazael was sent to chastise them, as is recorded 2 Kings 12:17; but God, in his great long-suffering, either that he might give them further space for repentance, or because he saw some partial repentance had already taken place among them, permitted Hazael to be diverted, by Joash's presents, from his purpose of leading his army against Jerusalem. But in the end of the year, the king and people being still more sunk in idolatry, and this horrid wickedness of murdering his prophet being committed, he sent a party of these same Syrians to execute this awful judgment against Joash, who had commanded it to be committed; against the princes, who had been the instigators of it; and against the people, who had so readily obeyed such an unrighteous mandate of their apostate king and princes.