Joash was king of Judah and the only survivor of King Ahaziah's sons after Queen Athaliah killed the rest of the royal family. He was hidden in the temple for six years by his aunt Jehosheba and the priest Jehoiada, and was crowned at the age of seven. His reign was marked by temple restoration, but after Jehoiada's death he turned to idol worship.
2But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king's sons who were being put to death. She hid him and his nurse in a bedroom, out of Athaliah's sight, and so he was not killed.
12Jehoiada brought out the king's son, placed the crown on him and gave him the covenant scroll. They proclaimed him king and anointed him, and the people clapped their hands and shouted, "Long live the king!"
14There she saw the king standing by the pillar, as the custom was, with the officers and the trumpeters beside him, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out, "Treason! Treason!"
15Jehoiada the priest ordered the commanders of hundreds who were in charge of the troops, "Bring her out between the ranks, and put to the sword anyone who follows her." For the priest had said, "She must not be put to death in the house of the LORD."
5Jehoash said to the priests, "All the money from the sacred gifts brought into the house of the LORD—the money each man is assessed, the money paid as the valuation for persons, and all the money that anyone freely decides to bring to the house of the LORD—
8So King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and said to them, "Why are you not repairing the damage to the temple? From now on, take no more money from those who deal with you; hand it over instead for the repair of the temple."
10Then Jehoiada the priest took a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar, on the right as one enters the house of the LORD. There the priests who guarded the threshold put all the money that was brought into the house of the LORD.
11Whenever they saw that there was a large amount of money in the chest, the king's secretary and the high priest would come up, tie it in bags, and count the money found in the house of the LORD.
12They handed over the money that had been counted to the workmen appointed over the house of the LORD, and these paid it out to the carpenters and builders who worked on the house of the LORD,
After the priest Jehoiada died, Joash allowed himself to be influenced by the leaders of Judah to abandon the Lord and worship Asherah poles and idols.
18They abandoned the house of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherah poles and the idols. Because of this guilt of theirs, wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem.
Joash ordered Zechariah, the son of the priest Jehoiada, to be stoned because he had prophesied against the king's apostasy. This was a cruel act of ingratitude toward the family that had saved his life.
20Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood above the people and said to them, "This is what God says: Why do you break the commandments of the LORD, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, he has forsaken you."
22King Joash did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada his father had shown him, but killed Jehoiada's son. As he lay dying he said, "May the LORD see this and call you to account."