Who Was Joash in the Bible — In Biblical Context

The Biblical Context

Joash's life traces a tragic arc from miraculous preservation to reform to apostasy and murder, illustrating how dependence on godly mentors without personal conviction leads to ruin. He was the only surviving son of Ahaziah after his grandmother Athaliah seized the throne and slaughtered all the royal heirs. Jehosheba, Ahaziah's sister and wife of the high priest Jehoiada, rescued the infant Joash and hid him in the temple for six years. When Joash was seven, Jehoiada organized a coup. He gathered the temple guards and Levites, armed them with spears and shields from the temple storehouse, and crowned Joash king amid acclamations of 'Long live the king!' When Athaliah rushed into the temple crying 'Treason!' she was seized, taken out, and executed at the horse gate. Joash reigned under Jehoiada's guidance for many years, and 'they did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.' His greatest achievement was the temple repair. The temple had been damaged by Athaliah's sons (or perhaps by neglect), and Joash devised a clever system for funding repairs. He placed a chest with a hole in the lid at the temple entrance, and the people joyfully contributed. When the chest was full, the money was given to workers who repaired the temple honestly — 'they dealt faithfully.' The surplus was used to make vessels for the temple service. But after Jehoiada's death, Joash's true character emerged. Influenced by the princes of Judah, he abandoned the Lord and served Asherim and idols. God sent prophets, but they were ignored. Zechariah the son of Jehoiada — the man who had saved Joash's life — was filled with the Spirit and confronted the people: 'Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you.' The people conspired against Zechariah, and at Joash's command they stoned him in the court of the house of the LORD. With his dying breath, Zechariah cried, 'The LORD look upon it, and require it.' Within a year, God sent the Syrian army against Judah. Though the Syrian force was small, the Lord delivered a very great host into their hand 'because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers.' Joash was severely wounded, and his own servants conspired against him and killed him on his bed, avenging the blood of Zechariah. He was not buried in the tombs of the kings. Joash's story demonstrates that godly training without personal faith produces temporary reformation at best, that ingratitude toward those who have blessed us is a grievous sin, and that the God who shows mercy also requires accountability.

Where It Sits in Scripture

Supporting Passages