Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 2 Chronicles
Chapter 24: They Would Not Give Ear
Joash does right all the days of the priest Jehoiada, who had saved and raised him, and even repairs the temple. But after Jehoiada dies, Joash listens to flattering princes, forsakes the LORD, and serves idols. When Jehoiada's own son Zechariah, filled with the Spirit, rebukes the nation, Joash has him stoned, forgetting all the kindness done him. A sobering study in borrowed faith, ingratitude, and the rejection of God's messengers.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 2 Chronicles chapter 24. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
After the Death of Jehoiada (2 Chronicles 24:17-19)
Once his godly mentor is gone, Joash abandons the LORD and turns to idols.
They Would Not Give Ear
"Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them. 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. Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the LORD; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear."
Word Study
"hearkened," Hebrew shama (שָׁמַע), to hear, listen, heed. The Chronicler had noted that "Joash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest" (verse 2), a telling phrase. His faithfulness lasted exactly as long as his godly mentor lived. The moment "after the death of Jehoiada," the princes came flattering, "and the king hearkened (shama) unto them." He transferred his listening from the godly priest to the ungodly nobles, and the result was swift apostasy: "they left the house of the LORD... and served groves and idols." The tragedy is that Joash's religion had been, it seems, largely borrowed, propped up by Jehoiada's influence rather than rooted in his own heart. When the prop was removed, he fell. Yet God's mercy pursued them even in their sin: "Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the LORD; and they testified against them." God did not abandon them to their idolatry without warning; He sent messenger after messenger. But the fatal words follow: "they would not give ear." They heard the flatterers gladly but stopped their ears to the prophets. The same verb shama exposes the heart: we always heed someone; the question is whether we hearken to God's word or to the voices that lead us astray.
Explanation
As long as the godly priest Jehoiada lived, Joash did what was right. But after Jehoiada died, the princes of Judah flattered the king, and he listened to them instead. Under their influence, the nation abandoned the temple and the worship of God and turned to idols, bringing God's wrath upon Judah. Even so, God mercifully sent prophets to call them back to Himself, and these prophets warned them plainly, but the people refused to listen. Joash's faith, which had depended so much on his mentor, collapsed once that support was gone, and he led the nation into apostasy.
Gospel Focus
Joash is a solemn warning against borrowed faith, devotion that depends on a godly influence rather than a personal root in God. He "did that which was right... all the days of Jehoiada," but no longer. A faith that rests on a parent, pastor, or friend, and not on one's own heart-relationship with God, will not survive when that support is removed. Jesus warned of the seed on stony ground that springs up quickly but, "having no root," withers away (Matthew 13:20-21). Each of us must have our own root in Christ, our own hearing of and heeding God's word. And notice the mercy of God even toward the fallen: "yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the LORD." God does not give up on wanderers easily; He sends warning after warning, "rising up early and sending" His messengers (Jeremiah 7:25). The tragedy is not that God stopped calling but that "they would not give ear." The gravest danger is a heart that will no longer listen, "Take heed... lest... any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin... To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts" (Hebrews 3:12-15). Put down your own roots in Christ, keep your ears open to God's word, and heed the voices that call you to Him, not the flatterers who lead you away.
The Stoning of Zechariah (2 Chronicles 24:20-22)
Jehoiada's son rebukes the nation in the Spirit and is murdered by the king he had every reason to trust.
The LORD Look Upon It, and Require It
"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. 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. 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."
Word Study
"require," Hebrew darash (דָּרַשׁ), to seek out, inquire after, hold to account. The Spirit of God comes upon Zechariah, son of the very Jehoiada who had saved Joash's life and thrones, and his message is a searching question: "Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you." This is the covenant principle stated bluntly: forsake God and He withdraws His favor. The response was murder: "they stoned him... at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD", killing God's prophet on the holiest ground, and worse, "Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son." Here is black ingratitude: the king repaid the man who had rescued and raised him by murdering that man's son. Dying, Zechariah cried, "The LORD look upon it, and require (darash) it", not personal vengeance, but a committing of his cause to the righteous Judge who will "seek out" and hold to account the shedding of innocent blood. Jesus placed Zechariah's murder at the climax of the martyrs' blood that a rejecting generation would answer for, "from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple" (Luke 11:51). The blood of God's faithful witnesses is precious to Him, and He will surely require it.
Explanation
God's Spirit came upon Zechariah, the son of Joash's benefactor Jehoiada, and he publicly rebuked the people: because they had forsaken the LORD, He had forsaken them, and they could not prosper. Instead of repenting, they conspired against Zechariah and, at King Joash's own command, stoned him to death in the temple courtyard. Joash thus repaid Jehoiada's life-saving kindness by murdering Jehoiada's son, an act of appalling ingratitude and wickedness. As Zechariah died, he entrusted his cause to God, saying, "The LORD look upon it, and require it," committing the injustice to God's righteous judgment.
Gospel Focus
The murder of Zechariah is one of Scripture's darkest scenes of a people rejecting God's messenger, and Jesus made it a marker of the age-long rejection of the prophets, "that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias... whom ye slew between the temple and the altar" (Matthew 23:35). The pattern of forsaking God, refusing His prophets, and killing His messengers reached its climax when the people crucified the Son Himself, of whom the Lord of the vineyard said, "They will reverence my son" (Matthew 21:37), and they slew Him. Yet here the gospel shines by contrast. Dying Zechariah cried, "The LORD look upon it, and require it", a just plea for God to avenge innocent blood. But the greater Martyr, Jesus, dying on the cross, cried, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). Where Zechariah's blood cried for justice, the blood of Jesus "speaketh better things than that of Abel" (Hebrews 12:24), crying not for vengeance but for mercy and forgiveness. God will surely "require" the blood of His witnesses, righteousness will be vindicated, but in Christ the blood that was shed becomes the fountain of pardon. Do not reject God's messengers or His Son; heed the word while it is "To day," and flee to the blood that speaks not condemnation but forgiveness.
Chapter in Review
Second Chronicles 24 traces the sad decline of Joash. He "did that which was right... all the days of Jehoiada the priest," even repairing the temple, but his faith proved borrowed: "after the death of Jehoiada" he hearkened to flattering princes, forsook the LORD, and served idols, and though God mercifully "sent prophets to them," "they would not give ear." When Jehoiada's own son Zechariah, filled with the Spirit, rebuked them, "because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you," Joash had him stoned in the temple court, forgetting all the kindness Jehoiada had done him. The dying prophet committed his cause to God: "The LORD look upon it, and require it." The chapter warns against faith that depends on others rather than a personal root in God, against ingratitude and hardened deafness to God's word, and against rejecting His messengers, and it points to the greater Martyr, Christ, whose blood cries not for vengeance but for mercy.
Key Takeaways
- Beware borrowed faith. Joash did right only "all the days of Jehoiada"; each must have their own root in Christ.
- God keeps calling the wanderer. "Yet he sent prophets"; His mercy warns again and again before judgment.
- The gravest danger is a deaf heart. "They would not give ear"; today, if you hear His voice, harden not your heart.
- Ingratitude hardens into cruelty. Joash repaid his rescuer by murdering his son; guard your heart against forgetting kindness.
- The blood of Christ speaks better things. Where Zechariah cried for justice, Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them."
Questions for Reflection
- Is your faith rooted personally in Christ, or propped up by someone else's godliness?
- Whose voices are you hearkening to, godly counsel or flattering ones that lead you astray?
- Is your heart open to God's word, or growing hardened and deaf to His warnings?
- Do you remember and honor the kindnesses others, and God, have shown you?
- Have you fled to the blood of Jesus, which speaks not vengeance but forgiveness?
References
- Scripture: 2 Chronicles 24:1-27, King James Version (commentary focuses on verses 17-22; see also verse 2).
- Cross-references: Jeremiah 7:25; Matthew 13:20-21; 21:37; 23:35; Luke 11:51; 23:34; Hebrews 3:12-15; 12:24.
- Hebrew word meanings: standard lexical sources (Strong's, BDB) for shama ("hearkened") and darash ("require"); background on Joash, Jehoiada, and the martyrdom of Zechariah.