The Goodness of Joash Was Only Skin Deep

In this chapter I'm struck by how shallow the character of Joash was. Even though Joash ruled over Judah for 40 years it was really Jehoiada the priest (his adoptive father) who was king by proxy. Jehoiada's influence over Joash was so great that after the death of Jehoiada remarkably Joash takes a 180 degree turn and what started out as a goodly and noble reign turns into more of the same evil which was spawned by his famously wicked mother. It makes you wonder about the power of "bad seed." Could it be that Joash was only being propped up spiritually by Jehoiada?

Several clues are given in this chapter which show the extent of Jehoiada's influence of Judah.

1. First, we see that any good in Joash came from the daily influence of Jehoiada.
   
   

   And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest. -- 2 Chronicles 24:2



2. Next we see Joash give a direct command to the priests and the Levites in verse 5 and they basically completely disregard his directive. Howbeit the Levites hastened it not (2 Ch. 24:5). It's not until Jehoiada gets involved that the Levites get moving to gather the offering of goods from the land to repair the temple as Joash had commanded.



3. The people's regard for Joash is clearly low. We see that upon his death Jehoiada is given a king's burial
   

   And they buried him in the city of David among the kings -- 2 Chronicles 24:16

Yet Joash was not treated so royally at his death.

and they buried him in the city of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchres of the kings. -- 2 Chronicles 24:25

It turns out that Joash is morally bankrupt at the end of his life and soon after his great mentor Jehoiada is gone the princes of Judah, who were clearly very wicked, had no trouble twisting his will. He readily agrees to unspeakable evil which Jehoiada would have surely condemned had he still been alive and well.

It brings up an intriguing thought. What kind of moral backbones would we have if suddenly our entire spiritual framework was stripped away? What if there were no more godly parents, church elders, christian friends, etc. left to influence our lives? How quickly would we corrode into moral decay? Could we find strength from within to sustain a godly life? It's an important matter to consider because in the end the condition of our spiritual health is really just a matter between us and God.