Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 12
The work on the temple (the house of God in Jerusalem) continued for several years. During that time, Joash remained loyal to God because Joash accepted the advice of Jehoiada, the chief priest. Jehoiada died at a truly great age, and he received the honour of a royal funeral (2 Chronicles 24:15-16).
Afterwards, Joash found other advisers who persuaded him not to be loyal to God. God gave a message to warn Joash to Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada. Joash would not listen to Zechariah, and he ordered Zechariah’s death (2 Chronicles 24:17-22).
It was after those events that the army of Aram (also called Syria) attacked Judah. Aram’s king was Hazael, the man whom Elisha appointed in 2 Kings 8:7-13. As 1 Kings 19:15-17 says, God allowed this cruel man to become king as an act of judgment against his people’s evil deeds.
Aram had no border with Judah; its land was far to the north-east of Judah. Hazael originally brought his army south into this region to attack Philistia, on the west side of Judah. He defeated Gath, one of Philistia’s most important cities, which was near Philistia’s border with Judah. When he had gained control over Gath, he decided to attack Judah and then Jerusalem.
Judah had a large army (2 Chronicles 17:14-18), and Hazael had only brought with him a small army. However, God allowed Hazael’s army to defeat Judah’s army. 2 Chronicles 24:24 says that this was an act of God’s judgment against Judah. They had turned away from God, so God permitted them to suffer this trouble. God wanted Judah’s people to turn back to him, so that he could work in their lives again.
Next part: Joash's peace agreement with Hazael (2 Kings 12:18)
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