How often do we see a good leader listen to bad advice and make foolish decisions? Sadly, companies and empires have collapsed when good leaders make bad choices. Praise God He has decided that in His eternal kingdom, He will directly reign over His people. King Jesus never listens to bad advice, as He showed by conquering the devil's temptations.
But in many of the kings of the Old Testament, we glimpse the consequences of departing from a wise mentor, and accepting the counsel of ungodly people. Such is the case with King Joash, the boy-king.
Joash became king when God used the priest, Jehoiada, to save his life, to start a rebellion, and to defeat the wicked Queen Athaliah (see "Long Live the King"). Now, at 7 years old, Joash reigns over the nation of Judah. Graciously, God has already provided him with a wise mentor, the priest who raised him, Jehoiada. Here is what the Chronicler tells us of Jehoiada's influence on Joash's reign: "And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest," (2 Chronicles 24:2).
One major accomplishment included repairing and restoring the temple of God that had fallen into disrepair under Athaliah as it was neglected and somewhat replaced by Baal worship (the Chronicler briefly mentions that Athaliah's sons had robbed the temple to use the dedicated things for worshiping Baal). So, King Joash oversaw the repair of the temple from initiating a tax Moses had instituted for the maintenance of the tabernacle, to appointing bankers, to commissioning workers, to seeing the project completed. Before the days of bulldozers and cranes this was no small undertaking, and King Joash saw that the work was done, that obstacles were overcome, and that the LORD's house was restored. He prioritized worshiping God in Judah.
Sadly, though, this good leader did not continue to follow the Lord. After Jehoiada died at 130 years old, King Joash brought in new counselors, but these counselors did not fear the Lord. Joash began listening to influential men who convinced him to worship other gods, to embrace plurality, to hedge his bets, to ensure that he was with the times. King Joash listened and "they abandoned the house of the LORD," (2 Chronicles 24:18).
Now at this point it may be worth pausing and wondering aloud, "What harm could that cause?" If Joash is a good king and all the people did was worship some other gods, could it really be such a big deal? Isn't plurality a good thing? Shouldn't Christians promote tolerance? While there's room for discussing how Christians can and should engage the culture, in ancient Israel it was the king's job to know God's law and to make sure God's law remained the supreme standard of the land. Israel was chosen by God to be a nation set apart. There is not a one-to-one correlation between the theocracy of Israel and say the United States of America today (or the evangelical movement of the 20th and 21st centuries is the US either). For Joash, promoting pagan worship was absolutely wicked. Where the king goes, so goes the people. And the Chronicler summarized God's opinion of the choice to worship pagan gods, "wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs," (2 Chronicles 24:18).
Then, we get a glimpse of the toll sin takes on Joash. God sent prophets to warn Joash, and to call him back to the ways of God. Joash ignored them. He was set on listening to the new, foolish counselors. Finally, Jehoiada's son, a man named Zechariah, boldly called on Judah (and King Joash) to repent. Zechariah may have been in his 40s or 50s when Joash was being raised by Jehoiada. This means that Zechariah was like a much older brother or an uncle to Joash. Here was a man that Joash could trust.
Zechariah called out, "Why do you break the commandments of the LORD, so that you cannot prosper?" (2 Chronicles 24:20). But the people plugged their ears, and some demanded this man be silenced for standing against the times. What did King Joash do for his brother? He signed his death sentence, "By command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the LORD," (2 Chronicles 24:21). In the place where Jehoiada preserved Joash from death, Joash killed Jehoiada's son. Here is how far sin will take us.
Eventually, King Joash is wounded in battle and while recovering at home, two of his servants conspire against him because of his wicked treatment of Zechariah. Zabad and Jehozabad creep into Joash's chambers and put the king to death. King Joash had no idea that listening to such wicked counsel would cost him his life.
Now much could be said today. I do think we should all take sin (and the advice to sin) far more seriously than we do. I also think we should all take grace and mercy in Jesus far more seriously than we do. After listening to this story consider this staggering statement, "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us," (Romans 5:8). While we were listening to wicked advice, worshiping ourselves and our idols other than God, on a road to things like betrayal and murder, then God died for us! That's how committed God's love is for us. Here is rich hope for sinners like you and me. When we realize we have listened to bad advice, we can confess our sins to King Jesus, seek His gracious help in repenting, and remember that before, during, and after our sin, He loves us. As J.D. Greear reminds in his devotional, Gospel, "In Christ, there is nothing I can do that would make You love me more, and nothing I have done that makes You love me less."
And, may we remember that all of us are susceptible to the temptation to hear what we want to hear and walk down forbidden paths. No leader is immune to temptation's lure. Only Jesus perfectly conquered the devil's devices. For the rest of us, let us seize hold of the grace we have in Jesus, and fight by abiding close to the One who conquered sin and death.
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