12:2 - Hey..it's one of the few kings with a positive description. We should really soak this in (Although he still doesn't take the bold steps to remove the idolatry of the high places - kinda like a nice Christian kid who doesn't stand up for people getting picked on because he doesn't want to bring the wrath of the crowd on himself...good kid - just controlled by fear).
12:6 - Joash tries to get the priest to use some of their share of the offering money to repair the temple, but years go by and they don't do anything. The newness of the temple has worn off and the priests aren't as motivated to fix it up. His plan fails, so the king starts to think outside the box (And creates the first Israelite offering box!).
12:9 - Offering boxes - YAY! The plan works...when the box is full of offerings, they take the money and give it to repairmen to fix up the temple. Now the lazy priests don't have to pay for the repairs or fix it themselves...they should be happy. But there is some fallout - the offering boxes take one of the priestly duties away from them (receiving offerings from people) and the priests become less important in the religious process. They don't like that.
12:18ff - Joash takes the sacred objects from the temple and gives them to Syria as a payoff. It keeps the Syrians at bay, but also widens the gap between Joash and the priesthood. Trouble is a brewin'!
12:20 - 2 Chronicles 24 tells us a little more about why Joash is assassinated. Jehoiada, the priest who trained Joash in the ways of faith, dies and his son becomes the next high priest. The son starts getting in people's faces with his teachings and Joash has him killed! That is the final straw between the king and the priests and somebody hires a couple of foreign assassins to kill the king. His rule started out so well, and ends with this...sad.
13:2-6 - Here we go again! Jehoahaz is evil (shocking!). Even after he begs the Lord for help and gets it, he again turns away and not only sins himself, but leads his people into a period of prolific sinning (To understand how God feels about leaders like this check out Romans 1:32). How do we do it? How do we as human beings justify our unrighteous actions when again and again we have seen the faithfulness of God? How do I do it?
13:11 - Deja Vu all over again.
13:14 - I cracks me up (not really, though) that people who reject God always come running back when everything is falling apart. Joash comes crying to Elisha, who is on his death bed, about the destruction of the Israelite army.
13:21 - Elisha's ministry begins in death when the bears maul the young men who doubted his prophetic position, and his ministry ends with life giving power beyond the grave. If those bookends aren't proof that that he was God's priest, I don't know what it. P.S. - they ought to make the next Indianan Jones movie about trying to find the bones of Elisha that have life giving power.
13:23 - This is so comforting...God remains faithful even when His people are not.
14:3 - Yay! Not a man after God's heart like David, but not evil either! We gotta take what we can get with these guys. But we will see shortly that he is still pretty stupid.
14:8 - Amaziah starts feelings pretty good about the victories that God has been giving him, so he decides to take on big brother. When he tells Joash that he wants to meet face to face, it's kinda like saying, "Let's take this outside - your army against mine." I know it seems like it comes out of the blue, but he most likely wants to fight because of border disputes (Some of which will be explained better through the Chronicles).
14:9 - I always love ancient smack talk.Joash actually tries to talk Amaziah out of the fight. He says, "Hey thistle-boy...if you try to comes mess with the cedars, you are gonna get crushed." Which is the ancient version of, "If you can't run with the big dogs, stay on the porch."
14:11 - Amaziah pushes ahead with the war and get humiliated totally. Joash defeats him, captures him, drags him to his own capital and makes him watch as they pillage the entire city. I don't think things turned out like Amaziah expected them to!
14:19-20 - The people never forgive him for the humiliation at the hands of the Israelites and even when he runs away, they track him down and kill him. On a kinder note, they do bring his body back to Judah to be buried with honor. I think I'd take the living over the honored burial, but you gotta find the silver lining.
14:21 - I know this all seems out of order, but what this verse implies is that while Amaziah was still alive, he was replaced as king by his 16 year old son. Talk about a humbling experience. We are not sure why, but maybe he was still being held captive by Joash. Amaziah never again regains the respect of the people. His entire story serves as a powerful illustration for leaders of any kind. Even leaders with great beginnings and great potential can come crashing down to earth bringing to people they lead with them, if they don't live honorably and listen to voices of wisdom around them. Both kings in today's reading who were described as good rulers, had their reigns ended with assassination because they alienated the people they led.
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