II Kings 12:2 - And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him.

II Chronicles 24:2 – And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD al the days of Jehoiada the priest.

I am bothered by something I have never been bothered about before. When I was young in the ministry, I was very interested in finding out what God wanted me to do. I am still concerned about that, but I am not nearly so interested in that as I once was. I am more interested now in what the next generation will do. I know many of them will follow the pattern I have left for them, but I am very interested in them following Christ left for them when I am gone.

II Peter 1:12-16 – Peter was very interested in presenting God’s eternal truth in such a way that those that remained alive after he died would remain true to God.

Psalm 48:13 - Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following.

Psalm 78:3-8 - Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. 4 We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. 5 For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: 6 That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: 7 That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: 8 And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.

Proverbs 30:11-14 – May the next generation not be like this: There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother. 12 There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. 13 There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up. 14 There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.

Why didn’t Joash (Jehoash) do right? It is very difficult to account for the wickedness of Joash, especially when he ordered the death of Jehoiada’s brother, Zechariah, II Chronicles 20-22. The plain truth is that Jehoash failed to listen to the clear command and instructions of God. I do not think it is right to say Jehoash wasn’t trained right, or that he had wrong influences, but there are a couple of instances of this being true.

II Chronicles 24:3 – Jehoiada took two wives for Jehoash. I do not think Jehoiada took these two wives for himself, but because Jehoiada remembered what happened when Jehoram (Jehoash’s dad) married Athaliah, and did not want that situation repeated, he chose these wives for the young king. I do not think this is error, but it might have left Jehoash with no mind of his own in choosing such a personal thing as a wife. If Jehoash cannot do such a thing as choose his own wife, he is certainly unable to take care of the entire kingdom. One of the qualifications of a pastor is that he be able to take care of his own house, for if he cannot take care of his own house, how can he take care of the house of God? I Timothy 3:5.

II Kings 12:4-8 – Joash wanted to repair the temple of God, which was not repaired until he brought it up. Note that Joash was seven years old when he was made king, and Jehoiada had much to do with that, but Jehoiada did nothing to repair the house of God until Joash brought it to his attention. According to Ussher’s Annals of the World, Joash was 30 years old (in the 23 year of his reign) that II Kings 12:6,7 happens. It should be noted that Jehoiada had much influence, which he apparently did not share with the king. It is quite apparent that Jehoiada did not readily obey the command of the king to repair the house of God (why I do not understand) until forced into that position. Note II Chronicles 23:1-11 how Jehoiada arranged all the circumstances of anointing the young king. What Jehoiada did was good, but it seems to me he did not give up his authority, but retained it. I could be wrong, it just seems that way to me. Notice II Kings 12:7-9 that Jehoash called for Jehoiada and commanded that contributions be stopped because the money was not being used for the repair of the temple. It was at this point that verse 9 states "But…", which reflects it was at that point that Jehoiada took the chest and bored a hole in it so the offerings could be received. Then the priests put all the money that was brought into the house of God.

There is no excuse for the sins of Joash, and there will be no excuse for the failures of the generation that follows us, just as there are not excuses for me or my generation. There is plenty of light for us to correctly follow the direction God gives to us.