My Thoughts on Joash as the King Who Never Grew Up Spiritually and Mentally

The story of Joash can be found in 2nd Kings 11-12 and 2nd Chronicles 23-24. We can read of the story of how Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, had lost her kin from the House of Ahab and her last surviving son Ahaziah. Remember when Jehoram's big mistake caused all his sons except Ahaziah? Well, Athaliah was really hungry for power. For the whole reign of Jehoram up to Ahaziah - Athaliah was the real power behind the throne. I dare believe Athaliah stirred Jehoram up to kill her siblings-in-law and eventually counseled Ahaziah to do wickedly. Later on, Ahaziah died and Athaliah did the unthinkable. To maintain her power - she decided to destroy all the royal seed. Fortunately, Joash the last son of Ahaziah escaped with his aunt Jehoiada (who some say is the daughter of Jehoram and another wife) and was hid in the desecrated temple. Eventually, the very old but still active high priest Jehoiada managed to come up with the plans that would overthrow Athaliah's illegitimate reign and put an end to that wicked woman. Joash was eventually made king at only seven years old. A similar pattern happened when Josiah was but eight years old.

How did Joash reign? 2nd Kings 12:2 and 2nd Chronicles 24:2 says that Joash did what was right in the days of Jehoiada the high priest. Reading that statement makes me think that Joash was that king who never grew up. He was too dependent on Jehoiada. One can honor Jehoiada for leading the coup that ended the wicked reign of Athaliah, he deserved to be buried in honor, then Joash was buried in dishonor for his misdeed when he gave in to peer pressure. In short, Joash was too dependent on the counsel of Jehoiada. What may have contributed to it was that Jehoiada soon forgot that he would be gone one day and that Joash needed good advisers. Instead, it seemed Jehoiada got overprotective and failed to tutor Joash to be independent and become a good king even when the former is gone. Jehoiada failed to plan long term and finally died at 130 years old. Joash was already a man in his 40s and had married two wives set by Jehoiada. Apparently, Jehoiada also forgot that kings weren't to multiply wives either (Deuteronomy 17:17).

What can be seen next is not a very good picture. What wasn't recorded in 2nd Kings was recorded in 2nd Chronicles. We can read this very sad incident as 2nd Chronicles 24 closes with Joash giving in to peer pressure:

15 But Jehoiada waxed old, and was full of days when he died; an hundred and thirty years old was he when he died. 16 And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God, and toward his house. 

17 Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them. 18 And they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass. 

19 Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the LORD; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear. 

20 And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you. 

21 And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD. 22 Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The LORD look upon it, and require it. 

23 And it came to pass at the end of the year, that the host of Syria came up against him: and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people, and sent all the spoil of them unto the king of Damascus. 24 For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men, and the Lord delivered a very great host into their hand, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash. 

25 And when they were departed from him, (for they left him in great diseases,) his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and slew him on his bed, and he died: and they buried him in the city of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchres of the kings. 26 And these are they that conspired against him; Zabad the son of Shimeath an Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith a Moabitess. 27 Now concerning his sons, and the greatness of the burdens laid upon him, and the repairing of the house of God, behold, they are written in the story of the book of the kings. And Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.

This would be very interesting to learn that Joash himself actually didn't learn to make wise decisions for himself. It felt like every step was dictated by Jehoiada. He had no real initiative to be a good ruler unlike his descendant Josiah or his other forefathers such as Asa and Jehoshaphat. Instead, he was just like a puppet and a robot to Jehoiada. He instead gave in to peer pressure from the princes of Judah (or I think the better translation is nobles) and killed an innocent man who wanted to bring him to restoration. This really showed Joash was a very immature man for a guy in his 40s. Besides, while I do believe Joash was saved but he did commit a sin unto physical death. Vernon McGee even has an opinion that Joash might have been given the wrong information. Regardless, Joash wasn't very mature to stand up and have a backbone against the princes of Judah. This resulted in him getting slain on his own deathbed by a Moabite and an Ammonite. Eventually, Amaziah would succeed Joash and it would lead down to Jotham, Ahaz (wicked king), Hezekiah, Manasseh (wicked but later repented), Ammon (reigned two years as a wicked king), and Josiah. Unfortunately, Josiah was a good king but a lousy father who had two wicked known sons Jehoiakim (who got cursed for cutting down the warnings of a prophet) and Zedekiah who was eventually exiled to Babylon. 

This also reminds me of my falling away in my final year of high school. The very man who mentored me well soon resigned. I felt I missed him which ended up in me sliding down the slippery slope. I placed that man who first preached to me the message of salvation on a pedestal. After I told him I finally got saved - he guided me in my growing up years. Then he resigned, got married, and had a couple of daughters. I soon started to ignore his advice to never go after unbelieving women or avoid early courtships during the teenage years. I just felt like I gave in to peer pressure that peers and family had. My problems got worse because I relied too much on him like Joash did to Jehoiada. I soon got touchy with people who cared enough to stop me from foolishness I wanted to do. I really thought about how I was a teenager who never grew up because I got too reliant on one man of God (than rely on the one who sent the man) to help in my self-maturity.