CHAPTER XXII. We read, in the foregoing chapter, of the carrying away of Jehoram's sons and his wives; but here we find one of his sons and one of his wives left, his son Ahaziah, and his wife Athaliah, both reserved to be the shame and plague of his family. 1. Ahaziah was the shame of it as a partaker, 1. In the sin, and, 2. In the destruction, of the house of Ahab, v. 1–9. II. Athaliah was the plague of it, for she destroyed all the seed royal, and usurped the throne, v. 10-12. 7 And the destruction of Ahaziah was of God by coming to Joram; for when he was come, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab. AND the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah cuting judgment upon the house of Ahab, and his youngest son king in his stead: for the band of men that came with the Arabians to the camp had slain all the eldest. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned. 2 Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Athaliah' the daughter of Omri. 3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly. 4 Wherefore he did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab; for they were his counsellors after the death of his father to his destruction. 5 He walked also after their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead; and the Syrians smote Joram. 6 And he returned to be healed in Jezreel, because of the wounds which were given him at Ramah, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria. And Azariah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab at Jezreel, because he was sick. a 2 Kings 8. 24, &c. c. 21. 7. ver. 6. b c. 21. 6. e Gen. 27. 12, 13. Deut. 7. 3, 4. 13. 6-10. Matt. 10. 37. Acts 4. 19. d Prov. 12. 5. e Mic. 6. 16. f 2 Kings 9. 15. wherewith they wounded him. ↑ called Ahaziah, ver. 1, and Jehoahaz, c. 21. 17. NOTES TO CHAPTER XXII. V. 1-9. We have here an account of the reign of Ahaziah, a short reign, (of one year only,) yet long enough, unless it had been better. He was called Jeho-ahaz, ch. 21. 17, here Ahaz-iah, which is the same name, and of the same signification, only the words of which it is compounded, are transposed. He is here said to be forty-two years old when he began to reign, (v. 2,) which could not be, for his father, his immediate predecessor, was but forty when he died; and it is said, 2 Kings 8. 26, that he was twenty-two years old when he began to reign. Some make this forty-two to be the age of his mother Athaliah, for in the original it is, he was the son of forty-two years, that is, the son of a mother that was of that age; and justly is her age put for his, in reproach to him, because she managed him, and did what she would; she, in effect, reigned, and he had little more than the title of king. Many good expositors are ready to allow that this, with some few more such difficulties, arises from the mistake of some transcriber, who put forty-two for twenty-two, and the copies by which the error should have been corrected, might be lost. Many ancient translations read it here twenty-two. Few books are now printed without some errata, yet the authors do not therefore disown them, nor are the errors of the press imputed to the author, but the candid reader amends them by the sense, or by comparing them with some other part of the work, as we may easily do this. The history of Ahaziah's reign is briefly summed up in two clauses, v. 3, 4. That his mother and her relations were his counsellors to do wickedly, and it was to his destruction. I. He did wickedly. Though by a special providence of God he was preserved alive, when all his brethren were slain, and reserved for the crown, notwithstanding he was the youngest of them; though the inhabitants of Jerusalem, when they had buried his father ingloriously, made him king, in hopes he would take warning by that not to tread in his steps, but would do better for himself and his kingdom; yet he was not influenced by the favours either of God or man, but walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, did evil in the sight of the Lord like them, (v. 3, 4;) that is, He worshipped the same false gods that they worshipped, Baalim and Ashtaroth, supposing (as the learned Bishop Patrick thinks) that by these demons, as mediators, they might have easier access to the supreme Numen, the God of Israel, or that these they might resort to at all times and for all matters, as being nearer at hand, and not of so high a dignity, but of a middle nature, between the immortal God and mortal men-deified heroes; so they worshipped them as the church of Rome does saints and angels. That was sufficiently bad; but I wish there was no reason to suspect worse; I am apprehensive that they looked upon Jehovah, the God of their fathers, to be altogether such a one as these Baalim, and them to be as great and as good as he, nay, upon one account, more eligible, inasmuch as these Baalim encouraged all manner of lewdness and sensuality, which the God of Israel strictly forbade. 8 And it came to pass, that when Jehu was 'exefound the princes of Judah and the sons of the brethren of Ahaziah, that ministered to Ahaziah, he slew them. 9 And he sought Abaziah: and they caught him, (for he was hid in Samaria,) and brought him to Jehu: and when they had slain him, they buried him; Because," said they, he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who "sought the LORD with all his heart. So the house of Ahaziah had no power to keep still the kingdom. 10 But when Athaliah the mother of Ahazia h saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah. 11 But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons that were slain, and put him and his nurse in a bedchamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, (for she was the sister of Ahaziah,) hid him from Athaliah, so that she slew him not. 12 And he was with them hid in the house of God six years: and Athaliah reigned over the land. treading down. g Deut. 32. 35. Judg. 14. 4. 1 Kings 12. 15. c. 10. 15. Hos. 14.9. h2 Kings 9. 21. i 2 Kings 9. 6, 7. 2 Kings 10. 12-14. 12 Kings 9. 27. m 1 Kings 14. 13. n c. 17. 4. o 2 Kings 11. 1, &c. p 2 Kings 11. 2, Jehosheba. to keep him to idolatry; but when he was dead, the house of Ahab feared lest his father's miserable end should deter him from it, and therefore they were very industrious to keep him close to it, and to make him seven times more a child of hell than themselves. The counsel of the ungodly is the ruin of many young persons, when they are setting out in the world. This young prince might have had better advice, if he had pleased, from the princes and the judges, the priests and Levites, that had been famous in his good grandfather's time for teaching the knowledge of God; but the house of Ahab humoured him, and he walked after their counsel, gave himself up to be led by them, and did just as they would have him. Thus do they debase and destroy themselves, that forsake the divine guidance. III. He was counselled by them to his destruction. So it proved. Those that counsel us to do wickedly, counsel us to our destruction; while they fawn and flatter, and pretend friendship, they are really our worst enemies. They that debauch young men, destroy them, 1. It was bad enough that they exposed him to the sword of the Syrians, drawing him in to join with Joram king of Israel, in an expedition to Ramoth-gilead, where Joram was wounded; an expedition that was not for his honour. Those that give us bad counsel in the affairs of religion, if regarded by us, may justly be made of God our counsellors to do foolishly in our own affairs. But that was not all. 2. By engaging him in an intimacy with Joram king of Israel, they involved him in the common ruin of the house of Ahab. came on a visit to Joram, (v. 6,) just at the time that Jehu was executing the judgment of God upon that idolatrous family, and so was cut off with them, v. 7-9. He Here, (1.) See, and dread, the mischief of bad company, and of joining in with sinners. If not the infection, yet let the destruction, be feared; Come out from Babylon, that falling house, Rev. 18. 4. (2.) See, and acknowledge, the justice of God. His providence brought Ahaziah, just at this fatal juncture, to see Joram, that he might fall with him, and be taken as in a snare. This we had an account of before, 2 Kings 9. 27, 28. It is here added, that he was decently buried, (not as Jehoram, whose dead body was cast into Naboth's vineyard, 2 Kings 9. 26,) and the reason given is, because he was the son, that is, the grandson, of good Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with all his heart. Thus is he remembered with honour long after his death, and some respect showed even to his degenerate unworthy seed for his sake. The memory of the just is blessed, but the name of the wicked shall rot. V. 10-12. We have here what we had before, 2 Kings 11. 1, &c. 1. A wicked woman endeavouring to destroy the house of David, that she might set up a throne for herself upon the ruins of it. Athaliah barbarously cut off all the seed royal, (v. 10,) perhaps intending to transmit the crown of Judah after herself to some of her own relations, that though her family was cut off in Israel by Jehu, it might be planted in Judah. 2. A good woman effectually preserving it from being wholly extirpated. One of the late king's sons, a child of a year old, was rescued from among the dead, and saved alive by the care of Jehoiada's wife, (v. 11, 12,) that a lamp might be CHAPTER XXIII. Six years bloody Athaliah had tyrannized; in this chapter, we have her deposed and slain, and Joash, the rightful heir, enthroned. We had the account before, nearly as it is here related 2 Kings, 11. 4, &c. I. Jehoiada prepared the people for the king, acquainted them with his design, armed them, and appointed them their posts, v. 1-10. II. He produced the king to the people, crowned and anointed him, v. 11. II. He slew the usurper, v. 12-15. IV. He reformed the kingdom, re-established religion, and restored the civil government, v. 16-21. ND in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened AND in depuiada Azariah the son of Jeroham, and Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, and Azariah the son of Obed, and Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri, into covenant with him. 2 And they went about in Judah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the chief of the fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. 3 And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said unto them, Behold, the king's son shall reign, as the LORD hath said cof the sons of David. 4 This is the thing that ye shall do: A third part of you entering on the sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be porters of the "doors; -5 And a third part shall be at the king's house; and a third part at the gate of the foundation: and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the LORD. 6 But let none come into the house of the LORD, save the priests, and they that minister of the Levites; they shall go in, for they are holy: but all the people shall keep the watch of the LORD. 7 And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever else cometh into the house, he shall be put to death; but be you with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out. 8 So the Levites and all Judah did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest had commanded, and took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that were to go out on the sabbath; for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses/ a 2 Kings 11. 4, &c. b 2 Sam. 5. 3. c 2 Sam. 7, 12, 16. 1 Kings 9. 5. c. 21. 7. 1 Chr. 9. 19-27. Pa. 89. 29 ⚫ thresholds. d 1 Chr. 23. 28, 29. e Num. 3. 10, 38. f1 Chr. 24. 25. g 28am. 8. 7. ↑ shoulder. house. h Deut. 17, 18 10 And he set all the people, (every man having his weapon in his hand,) from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and the temple, by the king round about. 11 Then they brought out the king's son, and put upon him the crown, and gave him the testimony, and made him king: and Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, God save the king. 12 Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people into the house of the LORD. 13 And she looked, and behold, the king stood at his pillar at the entering in, and the princes and the trumpets by the king; and all the people of the land rejoiced, and sounded with trumpets: also the 'singers with instruments of music, and such as taught to sing praise. Then "Athaliah rent her clothes, and said, "Treason, treason! 14 Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds that were set over the host, and said unto them, Have her forth "of the ranges; and whoso followeth her, let him be slain with the sword. For the priest said, Slay her not in the house of the LORD. 15 So they laid hands on her; and when she was come to the entering of the horse-gate by the king's house, they slew Pher there. 16 And Jehoiada made a covenant between him, and between all the people, and between the king, that they should be the LORD's people. 17 Then all the people went to the house of Baal, and brake it down, and brake his altars and his images in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. 18 Also Jehoiada appointed the officers of the house of the LORD by the hand of the priests the Levites, whom David had distributed in the house of the LORD, to offer the burnt-offerings of the ordained for God's anointed; for no word of God shall fall to head, but it was in a good cause, and therefore he went on the ground. NOTES TO CHAPTER XXIII. V. 1-11. We may well imagine the bad posture of affairs in Jerusalem during Athaliah's six years' usurpation, and may wonder that God permitted it, and his people bore it, so long. But after such a dark and tedious night the returning day in this revolution was the brighter and the more welcome; the continuance of David's seed and throne was what God had sworn by his holiness, (Ps. 89. 36,) and an interruption was no defeasance; the stream of government here runs in in the right channel. The instrument and chief manager of the restoration is Jehoiada. boldly. It is here said, that his sons joined with him in anointing the young king, one of whom, it is likely, was that Zechariah whom Joash afterward put to death for reproving him, (ch. 24. 20,) which was so much the more ungrateful, because he bore a willing part in anointing him. V. 12-21. Here is, 1. The people pleased, v. 12, 13. When the king stood at his pillar, whose right it was to stand there, all the people of the land rejoiced to see a rod sprung out of the stem of Jesse, Is. 11. 1. When it seemed a withered root in a dry ground, to see what they despaired of ever seeing, a king of the house of David; what a pleasing surprise was it to them! They ran in transports of joy to see this sight, praised the king, and praised God, for they had with them such 2. Athaliah slain. She ran herself upon the point of the sword of justice; for, imagining her interest much better than it was, she ventured into the house of the Lord, at that time, and cried, Treason, treason! But nobody seconded her, or sided with her the pride of her heart deceived her; she thought all her own, whereas none were cordially so. Jehoiada, as protector in the king's minority, ordered her to be slain, (v. 14,) which was done immediately, (v. 15;) only care was taken that she should not be slain in the house of the Lord; that sacred place must not be so far disgraced, nor that wicked woman so far honoured. 1. He here appears to be a man of great conduct; that re-as taught to sing praise. served the young prince for so many years till he was fit to appear in public, and till the nation was grown weary of the usurper; prepared his work beforehand, and then effected it with admirable secrecy and expedition. When God has work to do, he will qualify and animate men for it. 2. A man of great interest. The captains joined with him, v. 1. The Levites and the chief of the fathers of Israel came at his call to Jerusalem, (v. 2,) and were there ready to receive his orders. See what a command wisdom and virtue will give men. The Levites and all Judah did as Jehoiada commanded, (v. 8,) and, which is strange, all that were intrusted with the secret, kept their own counsel till it was executed. Thus the words of the wise are heard in quiet, Ec. 9. 17. 3. The original contract agreed to, v. 16. In the Kings it was said Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord, the people, and the king, 2 Kings 11. 17. Here it is said to be between himself, the people, and the king; for he, as God's priest, was his representative in this transaction, or a sort of mediator as Moses was. The indenture was tripartite, but the true intent of the whole was, that they should be the Lord's people. 3. A man of great faith. It was not only common equity, (much less his wife's relation to the royal family, that put him upon this undertaking,) but a regard to the word of God, and the divine entail of the crown, v. 3. The king's son shall reign, must reign, as the Lord hath said. His eye to the promise, and dependence upon that, added a great deal of glory to this un-God covenanted by Jehoiada to take them for his people; the dertaking. 4. A man of great religion. This matter was to be done in the temple, which might occasion some breach of rule, and the necessity of the case might be thought to excuse it; but he gave special order that none of the people should come into the house of the Lord, but the priests and Levites only, who were holy, upon pain of death, v. 6, 7. Never let sacred things be profaned, no not for the support of civil rights. 5. A man of great resolution. When he had undertaken this business, he went through with it, brought out the king, crowned him, and gave him the testimony, v. 11. He ventured his king and people covenanted with him to be his; and then the king covenanted with the people to govern them as the people of God, and the people with the king to be subject to him, as the Lord's people, in his fear and for his sake. Let us look upon ourselves and one another as the Lord's people, and it will have a powerful influence upon us in the discharge of all our duty both to God and man. 4. Baal destroyed, v. 17. They would not have done half their work, if they had destroyed the usurper of the king's right only, and not the usurper of God's right; if they had asserted the honour of the throne, and not that of the altar. The LORD, as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was ordained by David. 19 And he set the porters at the gates of the house of the LORD, that none which was unclean in any thing should enter in. 20 And he took the captains of hundreds, and the nobles, and the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought down the king from the house of the LORD: and they came through the high gate into the king's house, and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom. 21 And all the people of the land rejoiced: and the city was quiet, after that they had slain Athaliah with the sword. CHAPTER XXIV. We have here the history of the reign of Joash, the progress, and especially the period, of which, was not of a piece with its beginning, nor shone with so much lus 6 And the king called for Jehoiada the chief, and said unto him, Why hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in, out of Judah and out of Jerusalem, the collection, according to the commandment of Moses the servant of the LORD, and of the congregation of Israel, for the tabernacle of witness? 7 For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up the house of God; and also all the dedicated things of the house of the LORD did they bestow upon Baalim. 8 And at the king's commandment they made a chest, and set it without at the gate of the house of the LORD. 9 And they made a 'proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in to the LORD the collection that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness. 10 And all the princes and all the people rejoiced,* tre. How wonderfully he was preserved for the throne, and placed in it, we read and brought in, and cast into the chest, until they had made an end. before; now here we are told how he began in the spirit, but ended in the flesh. I. In the beginning of his time, while Jehoiada lived, he did well; particularly, he took care to put the temple in good repair, v. 1-14. II. In the latter end of his time, after Jehoiada's death, he apostatized from God, and his apostacy was the contrary, v. 19. 2. He put Zechariah the prophet to death, because he reproved him for it, v. 20-22. 3. The judgments of God came upon him for it. The Syrians invaded him, v. 23, 24. He was struck with sore diseases; his own servants conspired against him, and slew him; and as a mark of infamy upon his ruin, 1. He set up the worship of Baal again, v. 15-18, though warned to him, he was not buried in the burying-place of the kings, v. 25-27. 11 Now it came to pass, that at what time the chest was brought unto the king's office by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, the king's scribe and the high priest's officer came and emptied the chest, and took it, and carried it to his place again. Thus they did day JOASH "was seven years old when he began to by day, and gathered money in abundance. reign; and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. 2 And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, all the days of Jehoiada the priest. 3 And Jehoiada took for him two wives, and he begat sons and daughters. 4 And it came to pass after this, that Joash was minded to "repair the house of the Lord. 5 And he gathered together the priests and the Levites, and said to them, Go out unto the cities of Judah, and gather of all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that ye hasten the matter. Howbeit the Levites hastened it not. Num. 28. by the hands of. 58. 10, 11. Rev. 18. 20 19, 1, 2. 13. • renew. c Ex. 30. 12, 16. greatest grievance of Athaliah's reign, was, the bringing in of the worship of Baal, and supporting of that; therefore that must be abolished in the first place. Down with Baal's houses, his altars, his images: down with them all, and let the blood of his priests be mingled with his sacrifices; for God had commanded that seducers to idolatry should be put to death, Deut. 13. 5, 6. 1 Chr. 26. 1, &c. to 2 Kings 11. 19. z Ps. a 2 Kings 11.21. 12. 1, &c. bc. 26, 5. Is. 29. 5. The temple service revived, v. 18, 19. This had been neglected in the last reigns: the priest and people wanting either power or zeal to keep it up, when they had princes that were disaffected to it. But Jehoiada put the offices of the house of the Lord into the proper course and proper hands again, which in the late times had been disturbed and invaded. (1.) He appointed the priests to their courses, for the due offering of sacrifices, according to the law of Moses. (2.) The singers to theirs according to the appointment of David. The sacrifices (it should seem) were offered with rejoicing and singing; and well they might be; we joy in God when we receive the atonement, Rom. 5. 11. (3.) The porters were put in their respective posts as David ordered, (v. 19,) and their office was to take care that none who were upon any account ceremonially unclean, should be admitted into the courts of the temple. 6. The civil government re-established, v. 20. They brought the king in state to his own palace, and set him upon the throne of the kingdom, to give law, and give judgment, either in his own person, or by Jehoiada his tutor. Thus was this happy revolution perfected; the generality of the people rejoiced in it, the rest were quiet and made no opposition, v. 21. When the Son of David is enthroned in the soul, all is quiet, and springs of joy are opened. 12 And the king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the LORD, and also such as wrought iron and brass to mend the house of the LORD. 13 So the workmen wrought, and the work was perfected by them, and they set the house of God in his state, and strengthened it. 14 And when they had finished it, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, whereof were made vessels for the house of the LORD, even vessels to minister, and to offer withal, and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver: and they offered burnt-offerings in the house of the LORD continually all the days of Jehoiada. d Num. 1. 50. Acta 7. 44. e c. 21. 17. f Ez. 16. 17-19. Hos. 2.8, 13. ↑ soice. h2 Cor. 9.7. i 1 Cor. 16. 2. the healing went up upon the work. ver. 6. or, pestils, right. Let those that are young, reckon it a blessing to them, and not a burden and check upon them, to have those with them, that will caution them against that which is evil, and advise and quicken them to that which is good: and let them reckon it not a mark of weakness and subjection, but of wisdom and discretion, to hearken to such. He that will not be counselled, cannot be helped. It is especially prudent for young people to take advice in their marriages, as Joash did, who left it to his guardian, to choose him his wives, because Jezebel and Athaliah had been such plagues, v. 3. That is a turn of life, which often proves either the make or marring of young people, and therefore should be attended to with great care. 2. Men may go far in the external performances of religion, and keep long to them, merely by the power of their education, and the influence of their friends, who yet have no hearty affection for divine things, nor any inward relish of them. Foreign inducements may push men on to that which is good, who are not actuated by a living principle of grace in their hearts. 3. In the shows of devotion, it is possible that those who have only the form of godliness, may outstrip those who have the power of it. Joash is more solicitous and more zealous about the repair of the temple than Jehoiada himself, whom he reproves for his remissness in that matter, v. 6. It is easier to build temples than to be temples of God. 4. The repairing of churches is a good work, which all in their places should promote, for the decency and conveniency of religious assemblies. The learned tell us, that in the Christian church, anciently, part of the tithes were applied that way. 5. Many a good work would be done that now lies undone, if there were but a few active men to stir in it and put it forward. When Joash found that money did not come in as he expected, one way, he tried another way, and that answered the intention. Many have honesty enough to follow, that have not zeal enough to lead, in that which is good. The throwing of money into a chest, through a hole in the lid of it, was a way that had not been used before, and perhaps the very novelty of the thing made it a successful expedient for the raising of money; a great deal was thrown in, and with a great deal of cheerfulness; they all rejoiced, v. 10. An invention to please people's humour may sometimes bring them to their duty. Wisdom herein is profitable to direct. 6. Faithfulness is the greatest praise, and will be the greatest 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. 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 tat 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 20 And the Spirit of God came upon Zecha-Damascus. riah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood k c. 23. ver. 2, 12, 14. / Prov. 26. 8. m Prov. 29. 12. 1 Kings 14. 23. Judg. 5. 8. c. 28. 13. 29. 8. 36. 14-16. Hos. 5. 10, 14. Zeph. 1. 4-6. Eph. 5. 6. p Jer. 7. 25, 26. 25, 4. 26, 5. q Ps. 95. 7, 8. Acts 7. 51. clothed, Judg. 6. 34. comfort, of those that are intrusted with public treasure, or employed in public business. The king and Jehoiada faithfully paid the money to the workmen, who faithfully did the work, v. 12, 13. V. 15-27. We have here a sad account of the degeneracy and apostacy of Joash. God had done great things for him; he had done something for God; but he proved ungrateful to his God, and false to the engagements he had laid himself under to How is the gold become dim, and the most fine gold changed! Here we find, him. I. The occasions of his apostacy: when he did that which was right, it was not with a perfect heart; he never was sincere, never acted from a principle, but in compliance to Jehoiada, who had helped him to the crown, and because he had been protected in the temple, and rose upon the ruins of idolatry. And therefore when the wind turned, he turned with it. 1. His good counsellor left him, and was by death removed from him. It was a mercy to him and his kingdom that Jehoiada lived so long. One hundred and thirty years, v. 15. By which it appears that he was born in Solomon's time, and had lived six entire reigns before this. It was an encouragement to him to go on in that good way which Jehoiada had trained him up in, to see what honour was done to Jehoiada at his death: they buried him among the kings, with this honourable encomium, perhaps it was part of the inscription on his gravestone, that he had done good in Israel. Judah is called Israel, because, the other tribes having revolted from God, they only were Israelites indeed. Note, It is the greatest honour to do good in our generations and those who do that which is good, shall have praise of the same. He had done good toward God; not that any man's goodness can extend unto him, but he had done good toward his house, in reviving the temple service, ch. 23. 8. Note, Those do the greatest good to their country, that lay out themselves in their places to promote religion. Well, Jehoiada finished his course with honour; but the little religion that Joash had, was all buried in his grave, and, after his death, both king and kingdom miserably degenerated. See how much one head may sustain, and what a great judgment to any prince or people, the death of godly, zealous, useful men is. See how necessary it is that, as our Saviour speaks, we have salt in ourselves, that we act in religion from an inward principle, which will carry us on through all changes. Then the loss of a parent, a minister, a friend, will not be the losing of our religion. 2. Bad counsellors got about him, insinuated themselves into his affections, wheedled him, flattered him, made obeisance to him, and, instead of condoling, congratulated him upon the death of his old tutor, as his release from the discipline he had been so long under, unworthy a man, a king. They tell him he must be priestridden no longer, he is now discharged from grave lessons and restraints, he may do as he pleases: and (would you think it?) the princes of Judah were the men that were so industrious to debauch him, v. 17. His father and grandfather were corrupted by the house of Ahab, from whom no better could be expected. But that the princes of Judah should be seducers to their king, was very sad. But they that incline to the counsels of the ungodly, will never want ungodly counsellors. They made obeisance to the king, flattered him into an opinion of his absolute power, promised to stand by him in making his royal will and pleasure pass for a law, any divine precept or institution to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding. And he hearkened to them: their discourse pleased him, and was more agreeable than Jehoiada's dictates used to be. Princes, and inferior people, have been many a time thus flattered into their ruin by those who have promised them liberty and dignity, but who have really brought them into the greatest servitude and disgrace. II. The apostacy itself; (v. 18,) They left the house of God, and served groves and idols. The princes, it is likely, had a request to the king, which they tell him they durst not offer while Jehoiada lived; but now they hope it will give no offence; it is, that they may set up the groves and idols again, which were thrown down in the beginning of his reign, for they hate to be always confined to the dull old-fashioned service of the VOL. I.-128 24 For the army of the Syrians came with a r Num. 14. 41. c. 15. 2. t Jer. 18. 18. u Matt. 21. 35. 23. 35. Acts 7. 58, 59. Prov. 17. 13. Ps. 10. 14. Jer. 51. 56. Luke 11. 51. 2 Tim. 4, 16. 1 in the revolution of. ≈ 9 Kinga 12. 17. 1 Darmesek. temple. And he not only gave them leave to do it themselves, but he joined with them. The king and princes, who, a while ago, were repairing the temple, now forsook the temple; who had pulled down groves and idols, now themselves served them. So inconstant a thing is man, and so little confidence to be put in him! III. The aggravations of this apostacy, and the additions of guilt to it. God sent prophets to them, (v. 19,) to reprove them for their wickedness, and to tell them what would be in the end thereof, and so to bring them again unto the Lord. It is the work of ministers to bring people, not to themselves, but to God; to bring those again to him, who have gone a whoring from him. In the most degenerate times, God left not himself without witness; though they had dealt very disingenuously with God, yet he sent prophets to them, to convince and instruct them, and to assure them that they should find favour with him, if yet they would return: for he would rather sinners should turn and live than go on and die; and they that perish, shall be left inexcusable. The prophets did their part, they testified against them; but few or none received their testimony. 1. They slighted all the prophets, they would not give ear; they were so strangely wedded to their idols, that no reproofs, warnings, threatenings, or any of the various methods which the prophets took to convince them, would reclaim them. Few would hear them, fewer would heed them, but fewest of all would believe them or be governed by them. 2. They slew one of the most eminent; Zechariah the son of Jehoiada, and perhaps others. Concerning him observe, (1.) The message which he delivered to them in the name of God, v. 20. The people were assembled in the court of the temple, (for they had not quite left it,) on occasion, probably, of some solemn feast, when this Zechariah, being filled with the spirit of prophecy, and known (it is likely) to be a prophet, stood up in some of the desks that were in the court of the priests, and very plainly, but without any provoking language, told the people of their sin, and what would be the consequences of it. He does not impeach any particular persons, nor predict any particular judgments, as sometimes the prophets did, but as inoffensively as possible reminded them of what was written in the law. Let them but look into their bibles, and there they would find, [1.] The precept they broke; "Ye transgress the commandments of the Lord, you know you do so in serving groves and idols; and why will you so offend God and wrong yourselves?" [2.] The penalty they incurred; "You know, if the word of God be true, you cannot prosper in this evil way; never expect to do ill, and fare well. Nay, you find already that because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you, as he told you he would," Deut. 29. 25.-31. 16, 17. This is the work of ministers, by the word of God, as a lamp and a light, to discover the sin of men, and expound the providences of God. (2.) The barbarous treatment they gave him for his kindness and faithfulness in delivering this message to them, v. 21. By the conspiracy of the princes, or some of their party, and by the commandment of the king, who thought himself affronted by this fair warning, they stoned him to death immediately; not, under colour of law, accusing him a as blasphemer, a traitor, or a false prophet, but in a popular tumult, in the court of the house of the Lord-as horrid a piece of wickedness as perhaps any we read of in all the history of the kings. The person was sacred, a priest; the place sacred, the court of the temple, the inner court, between the porch and the altar; the message yet more sacred, we have reason to think that they knew it came from the spirit of prophecy; the reproof was just, the warning fair, both backed with scripture, and the delivery very gentle and tender; and yet so impudently and daringly do they defy God himself, that nothing less than the blood of the prophet can satisfy their indignation at the prophecy. Be astonished, O heavens, at this, and tremble, O earth, that ever such a villany should be committed by men, by Israelites, in contempt and violation of every thing that is just, honourable, and sacred. That a king, a king in covenant with God, should command the murder of one whom it was his office to protect and counte(1017) 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. Is. 30. 17. * Lev, 26. 25. Deut. 28. 25, 48. a c. 22. CHAPTER XXV. Amaziah's reign is recorded in this chapter: none of the worst, and yet far from good. Most of the passages in this chapter we had before more briefly related, 2 Kings 14. Here we find Amaziah, 1. A just revenger of his fathers, death, v. 1-4. II. An obedient observer of the command of God, v. 5-10. HT. A cruel conqueror of the Edomites, v. 11-13. IV. A foolish worshipper of the gods of Edom, and impatient of reproof for it, v. 14-16. V. Rashly challenging the king of Israel, and smarting for his rastiness, v. 17-24. And lastly, ending lás days ingloriously, v. 25-28. AMAZIAH was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. 2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, but not 'with a perfect heart. 3 Now it came to pass, when the kingdom was established to him, that he slew his servants that had killed the king his father. 4 But he slew not their children, but did as it is written in the law in the book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, The "fathers shall not $or, commentary. a 2 Kings 14. 1, &c. confirmed upon him. & Ps. 78. 37. la. 29. 13. Hos. 10. 2. c Deut. 24. 16. d Jer. 31. 30. Ez. Lev. 26 37. Deut. 32. 30. 8. Is. 10. 5. b ver. 21, 22. I founding. nance! The Jews say, There were seven transgressions in 4. His people would not bury him in the sepulchres of the this; for they killed a priest, a prophet, a judge, they shed inno-kings, because he had stained his honour by his male-adminiscent blood, polluted the court of the temple, the sabbath, and the day of expiation; for, on that day, their tradition says, this happened. (3.) The aggravation of this sin; that this Zechariah, who suffered martyrdom for his faithfulness to God and his country, was the son of Jehoiada, who had done so much good in Israel, and particularly had been as a father to Joash, v. 22. The affront done by it to God, and the contempt put on religion, are not so particularly taken notice of, as the ingratitude there was in it to the memory of Jehoiada. He remembered not the kindness of the father, but slew the son for doing his duty, and what the father would have done, if he had been there. Call a man ungrateful, and you can call him no worse. (4.) The dying martyr's prophetical imprecation of vengeance upon his murderers; The Lord look upon it, and require it! This came not from a spirit of revenge, but a spirit of prophecy; He will require it. This would be the continual cry of the blood they shed, as Abel's blood cried against Cain: "Let the God to whom vengeance belongs, demand blood for blood." He will do it, for he is righteous. This precious blood was reckoned for quickly in the judgments that came upon this apostate prince; it came into the account afterward in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans; their misusing of the prophets was that which brought upon them ruin without remedy, (ch. 36. 16;) nay our Saviour makes the persecutors of him and his Gospel answerable for the blood of this Zechariah; so loud, so long does the blood of the martyrs cry, (see Matt. 23. 35:) such as this is the cry of the souls under the altar; (Rev. 6. 10,) How long ere thou avenge our blood? For it shall not always go unrevenged. Lastly, The judgments of God which came upon Joash for this aggravated wickedness of his. 1. A small army of Syrians made themselves masters of Jerusalem, destroyed the princes, plundered the city, and sent the spoil of it to Damascus, v. 23, 24. God's people, while they kept in with God, had often been conquerors, when the enemy had the advantage of the greater number; but now, on the contrary, an inconsiderable handful of Syrians routed a very great host of Israelites, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers, and then they were not only put upon the level with their enemies, but opposed them with the utmost disadvantage; for their God not only departed from them, but turned to be their enemy, and fought against them. The Syrians were employed as instruments in God's hand to execute judgments against Joash, though they little thought so, Is. 10. 6, 7, and see Deut. 32. 30. 2. God smote him with great diseases, of body, or mind, or both; either like his grandfather, (ch. 21. 18,) or like Saul, an evil spirit from God troubling him. While he was plagued with the Syrians, he thought that if he could but get clear of them, he should do well enough. But before they departed from him, God smote him with diseases. If vengeance pursue men, the end of one trouble will be but the beginning of another. 3. His own servants conspired against him. Perhaps he began to hope his disease would be cured, he was but a middle-aged man, and might recover it; but he that cometh up out of the pit, shall fall into the snare; when he thought he should escape death by sickness, he met it by the sword; they slew him in his bed, for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada; by which it should seem that he did not only slay Zechariah, but others of the sons of Jehoiada for his sake. Perhaps they that slew him, intended to take vengeance for that blood; this, however, was what God intended, in permitting them to do it. Those that drink the blood of the saints, shall have their own blood given them to drink, for they are worthy. The regicides are here named, (v. 26,) and it is observable that the mothers of them both were foreigners, one an Ammonitess, and the other a Moabitess. The idolatrous kings, it is likely, countenanced those marriages which the law prohibited for the prevention of idolatry; and see how they resulted in their own destruction. tration. Let him not be written with the righteous, Ps. 69. 28. These judgments are called the burdens laid upon him, (v. 27,) for the wrath of God is a heavy burden, too heavy for any man to bear. Or it may be meant of the threatenings denounced against him by the prophets, for those are called burdens; usually God sets some special marks of his displeasure upon apostates, in this life, for warning to all to remember Lot's wife. NOTES TO CHAPTER XXV. V. 1-13. Here is, I. The general character of Amaziah. He did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, worshipped the true God, kept the temple service a going, and countenanced religion in his kingdom; but he did not do it with a perfect heart, (v. 2,) that is, he was not a man of serious piety or devotion himself, nor had he any zeal for the exercises of religion. He was no enemy to it, but a cool and indifferent friend. Such is the character of too many in this Laodicean age: they do that which is good, but not with the heart, not with a perfect heart. II. A necessary piece of justice which he did upon the traitors that murdered his father; he put them to death, v. 3. Though we should suppose they intended to avenge on their king the death of the prophet, as was intimated, ch. 24. 25, yet that would by no means justify their wickedness; for they were not the avengers, but presumptuously took God's work out of his hands. And therefore Amaziah did what became him, in calling them to an account for it; but kept within the rule of that law which forbade the putting of the children to death for the parents' sin, v. 4. III. An expedition of his against the Edomites, who, some time ago, had revolted from under the dominion of Judah, to which he attempted to reduce them. Observe, 1. The great preparation he made for this expedition. (1.) He mustered his own forces, and marshalled them, (v. 5,) and found Judah and Benjamin in all but 300,000 men, that were fit for war, whereas, in Jehoshaphat's time, fifty or sixty years before, they were four times as many; sin weakens a people, diminishes them, dispirits them, and lessens their number and figure. (2.) He hired auxiliary troops out of the kingdom of Israel, v. 6. Finding his own kingdom defective in men, he thought to make it up with his money, and therefore took into his pay 100,000 Israelites. If he had advised with any of his prophets before he did this, or had but considered how little any of his ancestors got by their alliances with Israel, he would not have had this to undo again. But rashness makes work for repentance. 2. The command which God sent him by a prophet to dismiss out of his service the forces of Israel, v. 7, 8. He would not have him call in any assistance at all, it looked like distrust of God; if he made sure of his presence, the army he bad of his own was sufficient; but particularly, he must not take in their assistance, for the Lord is not with the children of Ephraim, because they are not with him, but worship the calves. This was a good reason why he should not make use of them, because he could not depend upon them to do him any service. What good could be expected from them that had not God with them, nor his blessing upon their undertakings? It is comfortable to employ those who, we have reason to hope, have an interest in heaven; and dangerous to associate with those from whom the Lord is departed. The prophet assured him that if he persisted in his resolution to take these idolatrous apostate Israelites with him, in hopes thereby to make himself strong for the battle, it was at his peril, they would prove a dead weight to his army, would sink and betray it; "God shall make thee fall before the enemy, and these Israelites will be the ruin of thy cause; for God has power to help thee without them, and to cast thee down, though thou hast them with thee." 3. The objection which Amaziah made against this command, and the satisfactory answer which the prophet gave to that objection, v. 9. The king had remitted one hundred talents to the men of Israel for advance money. "Now," says he, “if |