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Hello, welcome back again to the Bible Journey Daily Podcast. It's wonderful to have you with me here again as we continue our study series through the Book of Two Chronicles, a book that shows us today again how the choices of individuals shape the spiritual direction, not just of them and their families, but communities and even potentially entire nations. But before we begin today, I just want to pause and say a heartfelt thank you to every one of you who choose to listen to this podcast. But the reason I'm speaking today beforehand quickly is to tell you something important. A number of you may have recently found that my podcast has slipped out of your list of shows that you subscribe to, particularly if you're on iTunes. The reason with this being is probably to do with the name change. When a month or two ago, I when I changed it from the Bible Project Daily Podcast to the Bible Journey Daily Podcast, I did that at request of the Bible Project YouTube channel because I wanted to avoid any confusion between us. I was assured by Apple, by BuzzSprite, by everyone else that the name change would not matter, that everybody who searched or subscribed would still be directed to my link, what's called an RSS feed. But I'm aware now on Apple, I think only Apple, that that has disappeared out of people's listings and then no longer the episodes are even appearing there. Now I may be shouting into the void here because if you're not getting this, you're not hearing this. But please, if you do become aware of this, you can find this podcast anywhere on Apple, particularly by just searching me for me by name, Jeremy R. McCandless, the R helps it find more easily, or by searching for the Bible Journey Daily Podcast. You can also simply you will find the link to this podcast and how to subscribe to it in the episode notes of every episode. Now, of course, if you wanted to avoid all of this, you could access all my podcasts, not just this one, but the four other monthly ones, by simply following me on Patreon. You can also do that for free. You don't have to subscribe to one of the supporters' financial tiers. You can subscribe for free, and that way you'll have access to everything, and indeed early access, two weeks early, with no ads either. So think about that because that's why you'll never be at the mercy of the algorithms or even changes in the processes and the way these podcast platforms manage their lists, etc. Anyway, back to today's episode, and I've entitled it Taking Good Advice. Now, of course it's wise to listen to advisors, we all know that, but it is wise, yes, only if you're listening to the people who are giving you the right advice. So the issue is not simply about being willing to take advice, the issue is being able to discern which voices should shape your decisions, your direction, and your spiritual life, and whether that advice is good, timely, and proper. Now there is a story in the Old Testament that illustrates that point for us today, and it does so with really quite striking clarity. It is the story, the continued story of Joash, our new young king, a king who will listen to two very different sets of advisors and whose whole life at different points took very different paths depending on which voice he followed at a particular point in time. And this is the valuable lesson I think this story can teach us about the advice that we receive in life and the influences that we allow into our lives, as well as the importance of surrounding ourselves with people who will point us towards the Lord. The story is recorded in today's chapter, we're looking at 2 Chronicles chapter 24. So turn with me to the passage, open your mind, your heart, maybe even your physical Bible if you've got it with you, and let's explore what we can glean about taking good advice. Welcome to today's episode of the Bible Journey Daily Podcast. Verse 1 says, Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for 40 years. So we saw Joash begin his reign yesterday, didn't we? As a child, just seven years old, and we're now told he reigns for 40 years over the southern kingdom of Judah. This is. Now this is a long reign, even by biblical standards, and the writer, the chronicler, immediately tells us, flags up for us, the key to his early success. Verse 2 says, Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years of Jehoiada the priest. This is the central core truth of this passage. Joash did what was right as long as Jehoiada lived, and because Jehoiada was his mentor, his counsellor, and indeed his spiritual guide, and as long as Joash listened to him, he walked in the way of the Lord. Jehoiada, it seems, even arranged Joash's marriage. Verse 3, Jehoiada chose two wives for him, and he had sons and daughters. So this priest was deeply involved in Joash's life, guiding him, protecting him, shaping his decisions, and under his influence Joash reign began well. And it is during this time that Joash, as it says, sets his heart on repairing the temple. The text continues. So the young king sets his heart on repairing the temple. A good thing. This is the temple that has suffered some neglect over recent years. Damage even during the reuse of Atheliah's wicked rule. So Joash gathers the priests and the Levites, and he gives them a very clear command to go to the towns of the southern kingdom of Judah and collect the money that is due annually to repair the temple. Do it now, he says. But then it notes that the Levites did not, in fact, go out and do it quickly. So now this is the temple tax established by Moses, and it's not been collected for a number of years, and the temple was in disrepair, and Joash expected the Levites to act promptly in this, and when they didn't, Joash confronted the high priests, and he rebukes Joash confronts them, he rebukes the Levites. Therefore the king summoned Jehoiada the high priest and said to him, Why haven't you required their Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax imposed by Moses the servant of the Lord and by the assembly of Israel for the tent of the covenant law? Now the sons of this wicked woman Athelah have now broken into the temple of God and used even its sacred object for the Baals. So Joash is frustrated because these Levites are slow to respond, and the temple is broken, damaged, desecrated. And then the writer reminds us why the temple needed repair. It was because these sons, then these of course are the sons of the same wicked family we saw earlier, and they have vandalized the temple and stolen sacred objects. They've also dedicated holy things to Baal. No wonder the temple is in need of urgent restoration. So now a different strategy is put in place. A chest is then set up and set out to gather in offerings. Picking up in verse 8. At the king's command the chest was made and placed outside at the gate of the temple of the Lord. And a proclamation was then issued in Judah and Jerusalem that they should bring to the Lord the tax that Moses, the servant of God, had required of Israel in the wilderness. All the officials and all the people brought their contributions gladly, dropping them into the chest until it was full. So Joash gives up on these Levites' slow efforts and establishes a new system, and he places a chest at the temple gate. And a proclamation is made throughout all of Judah and indeed Jerusalem that the people are commanded to bring the temple tax. This is the same tax, of course, that Moses outlined in the wilderness, and the response, well, it's overwhelming. Everyone brings their contributions gladly, it says, filling the chest they gave joyfully, generously, and gladly. Just as Paul writes later in 2 Corinthians chapter 9, when he says the identical thing that people should give joyfully, generously, and then adds that God loves a cheerful giver. And Judah, at this time, it seems is full of cheerful givers. Verse 11 continues, whenever the chest was brought in by the Levites to the king's officials, they saw that there was a large amount of money, and the royal secretary and the officer of the high priest came and emptied the chest. They did this regularly and collected a great amount of money. So the chest fills up, and they empty it, and they set it out again, and it fills up again. Day after day the people give, day after day the chest overflows. So this is revival level generosity we're seeing here. The kind that comes from hearts stirred by God, and the temple is now being repaired. Verses twelve and fourteen. The king and Jehoiada gave to those who carried out the work required for the temple of the Lord. They hired masons and carpenters to restore the Lord's temple, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the temple. The men in charge of the work were diligent, and the repairs progressed under them. They rebuilt the temple of God according to its original design, and reinforced it, and when they finished they brought the rest of the money to the king in Jehoiada, and with it they made articles for the Lord, for the Lord's temple, articles for the service and for the burnt offerings, and also dishes and other objects of gold and silver. As long as Jehoiada lived, burnt offerings were presented continually at the temple of the Lord. Now the point being made here is that the funds are being used exactly as intended, and they're going straight to the workers who are doing the work now, not being funnelled and administered through this religious system. The offerings come in and is given to the workers and the masons and the people repairing the stonework, the carpenters are given their funds to restore the woodwork, and the metal workers rebuild all the iron and bronze structures. So it also tells us that they worked faithfully and they worked carefully and efficiently, and they restored the temple to its original condition, and it adds even reinforcing it in places. So not only was the temple restored, but it is also then refurnished. They made, with the extra money, they made new utensils and articles for worship, items of silver and gold and tools for the offerings. So worship is restored, and it set finishes by saying sacrifices were continually offered, and the temple was alive again. Okay, it's good so far, isn't it? But then the narrative pivots, and we will now see the danger of listening to the wrong voices, picking up in verse 15. Now Jehoiada was old and full of years, and he died at the age of a hundred and thirty, and he was buried with the kings in the city of David because of the good he had done in Israel for God and his temple. So Jehoiada lived indeed a long and fruitful life, a hundred and thirty years, and we are told he was buried in the city of David among the kings. Now this is an extraordinary honor. Jehoiada, of course, was not royalty, he was a high priest, but he was buried with the kings because he had acted, well, some would say, more like a king than most of the kings themselves. He was the one who had protected the Davidic line, he had restored the temple, and he'd led the nation back to God. And when he died, something else died with him, sadly, that spirit of reformation, because now we see Joash begin to listen to the wrong advisers. Verses seventeen and eighteen. After the death of Jehoidah, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them, and they abandoned the temple of the Lord, the god of their ancestors, and they worshipped Asherah Poles and idols, and because of their guilt God's anger came on Judah and Jerusalem. This many say is the turning point of the chapter. When Joash begins listening to this new set of advisors, men who've come to flatter him, pamper him, appeal to his pride, and of course Joash listens. The temple Joash had just restored is now over the coming years abandoned bit by bit. The idols Jehoiad had destroyed are now rebuilt, and the worship Jehoash had revived is effectively being left behind. But please notice Joash's downfall began with him listening to these wrong voices. Verse 19. So God responds to this situation. He sends prophets, but it tells us the people refuse to listen to them. These prophets warn them and try and call them back. The Lord effectively pleads with them through his messengers, but the text tells us they refuse, the people refuse to listen. So what's gone on here is Joash initially listened to Jehoiada, the high priest, and he prospered, but Joash is now listening to these flattering officials, and the nation is in decline. And Joash, by then refusing now to listen to God's prophets, the he and the nation will fall. Verse 20 tells us about one of these prophets. Then the Spirit of God came on Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, the priest, and he stood before the people and said, This is what God says. Why do you disobey the Lord's commands? You will not prosper because you have forsaken the Lord, and he has forsaken you. So this Jech this Zechariah is Jehoiada's son, and it tells us he's filled with the Spirit of God, and he stands up before the people, and he speaks out boldly, and he warns very clearly, and the message is simple, you have forsaken the Lord, and because of that you will not and cannot prosper. If you abandon God, he will abandon you. Now, what's important to note here is God never abandons his people without warning. He has sent his prophets, he sends his messengers, he always signals the truth, but Joash and indeed the nation of Judah at this time are refusing to listen. Now, many people hear this name and assume this is Zachariah, the same man who wrote the book of Zechariah. But I don't believe this is the case because these two men have different fathers. This is the high priest's son, Jehoiada's son, and these are people who are declared to come and live in different areas, and they also serve in different roles. But Jesus, in his occasions of referring to Zechariah, in the one we read about in Matthew 23, 35, he says that Zechariah, he quotes the one who was murdered, quote, between the temple and the altar. Now this reference has led to much discussions. Some commentators suggest son of Jehoielkah could also mean grandson, which is possible, but more commonly it says that there were two men called Zechariah who were killed in or around the temple over a period of time, or that Jesus was in quoting this was referring to the entire prophetic tradition being ignored and symbolized by Zechariah's death. But the simplest explanation is this, and most Bible commentators agree that there were probably two Zecharias, both faithful men, both prophets, and both murdered. And Jesus refers to the one who's murdered in the temple. Here we find in 2 Chronicles 24 when he quotes him in that way. Anyway, Joash's response to what Zechariah says is to order his death, picking up in verse 21. But they plotted against him, and by order of the king, they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord's temple. King Joash did not remember the kindness of Zechariah's father Jehoiada that he had shown him, but killed his son, who said as he lay dying, May the Lord see this and call you to account. Now don't miss just how shocking this is. Joash, the boy that Jehoiada saved, raised, protected, and guided. This same guy now as an adult, orders the execution of Jehoiada's son. And his son dies in the courtyard where Joash had been crowned as king. He dies in the place where Joash once stood as a child under Jehoiada's blessing, and he dies at the command of the very king that his father has saved. Wow, that's something, isn't it? One commentator I read said this the murder of Zechariah was particularly heinous because this effectively means that Joash killed his own cousin. This is the tragic result, the potential of listening to the wrong voices, and just how far it can take us. Joash's life illustrates for us here in cold, uncertain terms, the potential consequences, the danger of taking ungodly counsel. Now we began this chapter with Joash in a good place, repairing the temple. It was a beautiful season of renewal, generosity from the people, and obedience of the people to God's word. But the story has now turned completely, hasn't it? Joash has rebelled and he's abandoned the Lord. He silenced God's prophets and he's murdered Zachariah. And now the final part of the for story unfolds for us, which is the contribution, his retribution. The plot thickens, as they say, and the judgment of God now finally arrives. Picking up in verse twenty-three. At the turn of the year, the army of Aram marched against Joash. It invaded Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the leaders of the people, and they sent all the plunder to their king in Damascus. Though the Aramean army had come with only a few men, the Lord delivered into their hands a much larger army, because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the god of their ancestors, judgment was executed on Joash. So this foreign army, the Arameans, they invade Judah, they kill their leaders, and they carry off the plunder, and they send the spoils to Damascus. There's real divine irony at play here, because it also adds the detail that this is a small army defeating the large army of Judah. And why does this happen? Because Judah has forsaken the Lord. Joash's rebellion now brings husband. The king, who once restored the temple, now faces its destruction because he abandoned the god of that temple. It then continues, when the Arameans withdrew, they left Joash severely wounded. His officials conspired against him for murdering the son of Jehoiada the priest, and they killed him in his bed. So he was died and was buried in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings. So Joash has been wounded in this battle, and his own servants, the very men, remember who once bowed before him, and sycophantically advising him, now conspire against him, and they kill him in his bed. And then the final humiliation, they bury him in Jerusalem, yes, but not with the other kings. So he began like a king as a child, but he now ends up dead in his bed like a traitor. Then the book closes and it says those who conspired against him were Zabad, son of Shemith, an Ammonite woman, and Jehoshabad son of Shemir, a Moabite woman, the accounts of his sons and many prophecies about him and the record of the restoration of the Temple of God are all written in the annotations on the Book of the Kings. And Amazah his son succeeded him as king. So these closing verses are the chronicler's final notes. And he lists the names of Joash's assassins for us. And he notes that the details of Joash's sons. He lists the names of Joash's assassins and the fact that they were children of foreign kings and of foreign lands. He also notes the detail of Joash's sons and the prophetic warnings that we've read about and all the stuff about the temple restoration. In fact everything he's wrote written he confirms that they are also written and recorded in the Annals of the King, which is of course likely referring to the historical records that lie behind those books that we call one and two kings through which there's been a tremendous overlap of telling the same accounts from slightly different perspective. And then it simply finishes by telling us that his son a Moseia his son succeeded him as king. So in fact the Davidic line still continues but not because of Joash but despite of him so this story is a tragic story with a tragic end, isn't it? But it also can be deeply instructive for us. As long as Joash listened to one God at least one godly advisor, in this case Jehoiada, he did what was right. But when he listened to these ungodly counsellors and that's counsellors plural he did evil. You see the writer wants us to see very clearly that good advice good advice leads to obedience and blessing and bad advice leads to idolatry and the consequences of that ignoring God's voice will always lead to judgment and listening to the wrong voices can effectively lead us to ruin. And the writer the chronicler also stresses another important aspect within all this being that every king succeeded depending on his submission to God's authority expressed in the law of Moses and in the word of the law and the prophets. So Joash started well but he certainly didn't finish well and that is a point the New Testament also tries to press in upon us. The Apostle John writing in his second letter chapter 8 says Watch yourselves that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you might be rewarded fully. So John knew what Joash never learned. He knew it was good to start well but he also knew it was even more important to finish well. Joash did indeed begin with zeal, generosity, obedience but he ended up seeped in idolatry and fell under murder including his own unjudgment. He started under the influence of this godly mentor but ended under the influence of flattering fools. He began with the temple being restored but he ended with the temple being abandoned. He began with God's blessing but he ended with God's discipline. So Joash's life is a warning to every believer even today. Starting well is good, friends, but finishing well is essential and finishing well requires that we listen to the right voices the voices that align with Scripture the voices that point us towards Christ and the voices that strengthen our obedience in him thanks for being with me today indeed for joining me on this episode of the Bible Journey Daily Podcast. And also tells us that finishing well requires to not only listening to right advisors and having the right influences but most importantly paying attention to what the Word of God says. Now in our next episode we'll continue into our next chapter of 2 Chronicles chapter 25 where we will consider some helpful advice about what actually lies behind all forms of idolatry. It's another very practical and timely lesson for each and every one of us. But until then may the Lord keep your heart steady your ears attentive to his word and your steps and actions in the world faithful so that you not only start well but that you continue well and that you finish well. I'll see you in the next episode. Bye bye for now