THE RESTORATION OF THE TEMPLE BY JOASH
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.—
2 Kings 12:2. Jehoash did right all his days wherein Jehoiada, &c.—The word “wherein” may be rendered because, and that alters the meaning from during the period in which Jehoiada instructed him, into “all his days,” i.e., during the king’s entire life, because Jehoiada instructed him. This difference of meaning depends on the preservation or rejection of the suffix ו in the word יָמָיו. The account, however, in the Chronicles is, that Jehoash acted rightly “all the days of Jehoiada the priest.” But the grammatical construction of the sentence in Kings requires אֶשֶר because, rather than “wherein.”
2 Kings 12:3. But the high places were not taken away—See Notes on 1 Kings 3:2. Consider the popular fondness for the evil practices, the youthfulness of the king, and the sanction given to all such idolatrous iniquities during the evil sway of Athaliah, and this inability to suppress so gross an impiety is not unaccountable.
HOMILETICS OF 2 Kings 12:1-3
THE WORTH OF GODLY COUNSEL
I. That godly counsel is a powerful help to a consistent and upright life. “And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord.” There is nothing in the history to lead us to suspect the sincerity of Jehoash’s religious devotion in the earlier years of his reign. He was carefully instructed in his infancy, and grew up in the midst of godly influences. His religious character was moulded under the wise and capable counsel of good Jehoiada. It is an unspeakable advantage to grow up under the fostering shelter of a good and holy life. A few words of warning or encouragement at the right moment have often saved a soul from ruin. “Good counsels observed are chains to grace which, neglected, prove halters to strange undutiful children.” Sometimes bad men will give good advice, and the man who can take it and act upon it shows his good sense and superiority. He who is wise enough in youth to take the advice of his seniors, unites the vivacity and enterprise of early, with the wisdom and gravity of later, life.
II. That godly counsel is potent with some only when under the direct influence of a living personal example. “All his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him.” While Jehoiada lived, Joash faithfully observed the covenant he had made with Jehovah, and, though the fact is not stated, it is implied that he afterwards departed from the counsels of his benefactor. This defection is related in the Chronicles. It is difficult to do wrong in the presence of the good; their holy and upright example is a rebuke and a deterrent to every evil tendency. The influence of Samuel was a powerful check upon the impulsive rashness and violence of Saul; and when that influence was withdrawn, it is not difficult to trace the degeneracy of the unhappy monarch, and how speedily he came to his doom. We shall never know how much we owe to the holy and consistent lives of those with whom we come in frequent contact. “A virtuous man,” says Felltham, “shining in the purity of a righteous life, is a light-house set by the seaside, whereby the mariners both sail aright and avoid danger; but he that lives in noted sins is a false lantern which ship-wrecks those that trust him. Nothing awakens our sleeping virtues like the noble acts of our predecessors. They are flaming beacons that fame and time have set on hills to call us to a defence of virtue whensoever vice invades the commonwealth of man.” We all need the encouraging influence of example; but there are some natures so feeble in moral stamina that they cannot stand alone. They have been so accustomed to depend upon others, that when their adviser fails them, they succumb. It would seem Joash’s was such a nature.
III. That godly counsel does not always avail to bring about the thorough reform of long standing abuses. “But the high places were not taken away” (2 Kings 12:3). The popular fondness for the private and disorderly rites performed in the groves and recesses of hills was so inveterate that even the most powerful monarchs had been unable to accomplish their suppression; no wonder that in the early reign of a young king, and after the gross irregularities that had been allowed during the mal-administration of Athaliah, the difficulty of putting an end to the superstitions associated with the high places was greatly increased (Jamieson). Besides, Jehoiada, while acting with surprising energy in the restoration of the dynasty, was an old man—a hundred years old when Joash was crowned, and he lived thirty years after. He might therefore feel himself unable to cope with the demolition of long-established customs that had baffled and defied younger and stronger men. If his counsel halted at this point, it was so far defective. He knew the danger to Judah of these idolatrous practices, and should not only have counselled their extinction, but have had the courage of carrying out what he counselled. The unreformed abuses were a snare to the people in after years, and, as the sequel showed, led to the ruin of the king whose career begun so auspiciously.
LESSONS:—
1. They who give counsel to others should be exemplary themselves.
2. It is the mark of a noble nature to receive counsel and profit by it without taking offence.
3. We should be prepared to carry out to its consequences the counsel we give to others.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
2 Kings 12:1-3. That which appears to be the greatest misfortune for a child, to be left fatherless and motherless at an early age, often becomes a great blessing in the gracious providence of God. What would have become of Jehoash if he had been brought up at the court of his idolatrous father and his depraved mother? God gave him in Jehoiada far more than he had lost in his father and his mother. None need instruction more than those who are called to govern; there is no more responsible calling than that of instructing those who will have to rule. Unfortunately, this task is rarely intrusted to those who, like Jehoiada, are fitted for it by age, learning, experience, and piety.
2 Kings 12:2. A faithful teacher. I. A great boon to a young and inexperienced king. II. Has the opportunity of exerting a potent and widespread influence for good. III. Is all the more powerful when associated with a consistent religious character.
—The part played by Jehoiada raised the priesthood to an importance which, with the single exception of Eli, it had never before attained in the history of the Jewish nation, and which it never afterwards altogether lost. Through the priesthood the lineage of David had been saved, and the worship of Jehovah restored in Judah even more successfully than it had been in Samaria through the prophets. During the minority of Joash, Jehoiada virtually reigned. The very office was in some sense created by himself. He was regarded as a second founder of the Order, so that in after days he, rather than Aaron, is described as the chief (Jeremiah 29:26).—Stanley.
—A statesman, we are told, should follow public opinion. Doubtless as a coachman follows his horses, having firm hold on the reins, and guiding them.—Hare.
2 Kings 12:3. The inveterate evils of idolatry. I. Have a powerful ally in the corruptions of human nature. II. Are the occasion of worse evils in the future. III. Survive the most violent efforts of reform. IV. Can be cured only by thorough eradication.
—Even these holy and just hands came short of what they might have done. The high places remained still: those altars were erected to the true God, but in a wrong place. It is a marvel if there be not some blemishes found in the best government. I doubt Jehoiada shall once buy it dear that he did not his utmost.—Bp. Hall.
—Custom had so prevailed that Jehoiada durst not advise the king to cross the people in this superstition, lest it should cause a tumult; lest they should more regard commotioners than commissioners, and be more guided by rage than by right—violence and obstinacy, like two untamed horses, drawing their desires in a blind-fold career, as it fell out in England when King Edward VI. began to reform. Trapp.
—Rulers ought not to allow themselves to be restrained from carrying out what is good and right from any fear of persons, lest they may possibly incur the disfavour of the people. There never was a prince who was not himself guilty of faults and errors, as we see here from the example of Jehoash, who did not abolish the sacrifices on the high places.—Lange.