After King, Ahaziah had been slain his mother Athaliah decided to wipe out the rest of his line before they were slaughtered by Jehu. She killed every last relative of Ahaziah except for Joash, who was hidden by Jehosheba and her husband, Jehoida. They hid Joash in God’s temple for six years until he was seven years old. Once he reached the age of seven Athaliah was killed, and Joash became king. The following Kings appear on the Bible Timeline during the reign of the Kings of the Divided Kingdom.
Jehodiah’s Influence on Joash
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Jehoida was a god fearing priest who mentored and advised King Joash once he came to power. Jehoida helped to keep Joash on the right path with God and influenced him to restore the true worship of God back to Israel. He even had him work on Solomon’s Temple to keep it in good condition. As long as Jehodia was around Joash ruled the kingdom in peace and honored God. Eventually, Jehodia had died at a very old age of 130. Once Jehoida had passed Joash began to do evil. He started the Israelites back on the path of false worship and he murdered Zechariah the son of Jehoida when he confronted him about this sin. Eventually, Joash was defeated at the hands of a foreign army, and he was injured. While he was trying to recover from his injuries God allowed his officials to plot against him and they assassinated the king.
Zechariah
Zechariah became king of Israel, and he followed in the ways of Jeroboam. He worshipped the Golden Calves and was considered evil by the Lord. He influenced the people to continue in sin. King Zechariah was eventually assassinated by Shallum, the son of Jabesh. When King Zechariah had died this fulfilled a prophecy by God in 2 Kings 10 about Jehu. God said that Jehu‘s descendants will sit on the throne of Israel for four generations, and Zechariah’s short six-month reign was the fulfillment of this promise.
Shallum
Shallum was the son of Jabesh, and he handles eliminating the evil King Zechariah. He was only to remain on the throne of Israel for one month as king before he was assassinated by a man named Menahem. This assignation was carried out Menahem because he was a commander in the Israeli army that refused to accept Shallum’s self-appointment as king.
The Significance of these Three Kings
Joash, Zechariah and Shallum were three rulers in the long line of kings that were given the responsibility of leading God’s chosen people. Joash was on the right path under the guidance of Jehoida but once the old priest died he became evil. Zechariah as an evil king and Shallum probably was the same way, but the Bible doesn’t necessarily mention this fact. Each of these kings probably would have had long and productive reigns if they would have obeyed God. Each of them had ruled for only a short period before they died, and they were not considered to be god-fearing men.
Biblical References
- 2 Kings 11:1-3 Joash is hidden in God’s temple in order so that he may become the king.
- 2 Kings 11:21 Joash becomes the king at age seven.
- 2 Chronicles 24 Details Joash’s reign and demise as a ruler
- 2 Kings 15:8-12 Zechariah becomes king but has a short reign after being assassinated by Shallum.
- 2 Kings 15:13-15 Shallum becomes king as is assassinated by Menahem.
