Daily Devotional · 2 Chronicles 24:2, 17–18
As Long as the Priest Lived
Reflection
King Joash of Judah had an unusual story: he had been hidden in the temple as an infant to protect him from the murderous Queen Athaliah, and raised by the priest Jehoiada. When he became king, Jehoiada was his mentor and guide — and under Jehoiada's influence, Joash ruled well and restored the temple. The narrator's summary has a notable qualification: "Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years of Jehoiada the priest." Not all the years of his reign. All the years of Jehoiada's life. When Jehoiada died at 130 years old, the officials of Judah came to Joash and bowed down to him and flattered him. And Joash listened. "After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them. They abandoned the temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and worshiped the Asherah poles and the idols." Jehoiada's son Zechariah was filled with the Spirit and warned them. Joash ordered him stoned to death in the temple court — the son of the priest who had protected and raised him. Zechariah's dying words: "May the Lord see this and avenge it." Joash's faithfulness was real, but it was dependent on a human mentor rather than a personal relationship with God. When the mentor was gone, there was no root system of personal faith to sustain him.
Background
The story of Joash and Zechariah is referenced in the New Testament by Jesus himself (Matthew 23:35 and Luke 11:51), who speaks of "the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah who was killed between the temple and the altar." This suggests that Zechariah's death — and the injustice of it — was remembered as a defining act of Israel's failure to receive God's prophets.
Truth
Faith built entirely on a human mentor — without personal roots in God's word and prayer — is vulnerable the moment the mentor is gone. The people who spiritually formed us are gifts, not substitutes for our own relationship with God. Their influence is meant to point us to the Source, not become the source.
Application
Who has been the Jehoiada in your spiritual life — the mentor or leader whose presence has sustained your faith? Thank God for them. Then ask honestly: if that person were removed from your life, would your faith stand on its own? What roots do you need to develop in your direct relationship with God?