Ahaziah was king of Judah after his father Jehoram. He went to visit the king of Israel, and was killed as Jehu killed all the house of Ahab there. His mother Athaliah killed all his royal siblings to take the throne herself, but she missed Joash, hidden by a princess.
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Jehoiada the priest conspires to set up Joash as king 6 years later.
They crown Joash, kill Athaliah, covenant with God, tear down Baal idols & put Joash on the throne.
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Jehoiada gets wives for Joash, and later Joash decides to refurbish the temple, which was in disrepair from Athaliah's days. The Levites drag their feet, either because there is no mechanism to collect the money at first, or because Jehoiada is against it, but it's finally done with the box dedicated to the "building fund." When Jehoiada dies, Joash listens to his counselors and they worship other gods. Jehoiada's son, Zechariah prophesies a rebuke to Joash, and Joash has him killed in the temple court. Later, the Syrians invade and conquer Judah, leaving Joash wounded. He is assassinated.
How this is about Jesus
When Jesus mentions Abel to Zechariah in Matthew 23:35, some think he is referring to this incident. If so, what about Jesus saying, "Zechariah, son of Berechiah"? The Zechariah from 2 Chronicles 24 is the son of Jehoiada. It's possible it's still this guy, and Berechiah was another name for Jehoiada or his grandfather (that's less likely, though, given 2 Chron. 24:22). But I think it more likely Jesus meant the minor prophet Zechariah. The first verse of his book identifies him as the son of Berechiah. We don't know how he died, but oral tradition might, and Jesus would certainly know.
Application
High-powered national politics mixes with religious loyalty, then and now both. Athaliah was a train-wreck, and Jehoiada used wisdom and decisive force to end her. This shows the limitation of Romans 13 submission to the existing authorities. Even if her coup was illegitimate at its source, it was 7 years later that Jehoiada acted.
How this is about Jesus
When Jesus mentions Abel to Zechariah in Matthew 23:35, some think he is referring to this incident. If so, what about Jesus saying, "Zechariah, son of Berechiah"? The Zechariah from 2 Chronicles 24 is the son of Jehoiada. It's possible it's still this guy, and Berechiah was another name for Jehoiada or his grandfather (that's less likely, though, given 2 Chron. 24:22). But I think it more likely Jesus meant the minor prophet Zechariah. The first verse of his book identifies him as the son of Berechiah. We don't know how he died, but oral tradition might, and Jesus would certainly know.
Application
High-powered national politics mixes with religious loyalty, then and now both. Athaliah was a train-wreck, and Jehoiada used wisdom and decisive force to end her. This shows the limitation of Romans 13 submission to the existing authorities. Even if her coup was illegitimate at its source, it was 7 years later that Jehoiada acted.
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