Joash the Boy King

Title Ideas:The boy Joash becomes king of Judah.Joash restores the Lord’s temple. Advice from bad people leads to destruction.

Israel Land was divided into two [countries], a northern one called Israel, and a southern one called Judah. When [Ahaziah] the one king over Judah died, his mother [Queen] Athaliah ordered soldiers to kill all the king’s sons and their families.

But a servant woman rescued the king’s little boy whose name was Joash. She was a priest’s wife, so she hid the child inside the [Lord’s] temple [in Jerusalem] for six years. The priest’s name was Jehoiada.

When Joash was aged seven years, Jehoiada led him before [to] the temple, where soldiers protected him. There Jehoiada poured oil on Joash’s head to show to everyone that he [Joash] was the new king. All the people there shouted, “Long live the king!”

When Queen Athaliah heard their shouts, she ran to the temple, tearing her clothes and shouting, “You all are committing treason [betrayal]!” The priest Jehoiada ordered some soldiers, “Seize her [Athaliah / the queen], drag her outside the temple, and kill her!” [The soldiers did that.]

Next, the priest Jehoiada commanded the new king Joash and the Judah leaders, “Make a covenant with the Lord, today, promising to worship only the Lord!” And they all agreed.

Next, all the people there hurried off to another temple, where Athaliah used to worship the idol [false god] named Ba’al. There they broke in pieces Ba’al’s image and altars. Then they killed the priest who had served in Ba’al’s temple.

When Joash grew up, he wanted to repair the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem, so he ordered the temple priests, “Begin collecting money to pay for making repairs!” But after a few years, the priests had not yet made any repairs.

So Joash ordered Jehoiada and the other priests, “You must repair the temple with all the money you collect from people!”

Jehoiada then made a big [wooden] box [chest] with a little opening in its top. He set it near the temple gate, so that people could drop money offerings into the box [chest].

From then on, the priest Jehoiada took money from the chest to buy wood, stone and metal for the temple [repairs], and to pay workers who repaired the temple.Priests made sacrifices at the temple every day, while Jehoiada was alive.

But after Jehoiada died, King Joash [stopped listening to the priests and] other leaders [princes] in Judah persuaded him to abandon the Lord’s temple and to begin worshiping other gods by bowing down before idols made from stone, metal and wood.

One day, [when Joash was at the temple], the Lord’s Spirit came upon Jehoiada’s son Zechariah, and he shouted [prophesied] to the people there: “Because you have abandoned [stopped worshipping / serving] the Lord, he has abandoned you!” Then, Joash, [because he did not like the warning] ordered the people, “Thrown stones at Zechariah until he dies!” And they did so.

That same year, an army from Syria attacked Judah and Jerusalem, stealing everything they wanted. Some Syrian soldiers wounded Joash in a battle, and a little later, two servants belonging to Joash killed him on his bed, to take revenge for Joash killing Zechariah.