Jehoiada the priest, his son Zechariah,
and King Joash
Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them. And they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass. Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the LORD; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear. And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you. And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD. Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The LORD look upon it, and require it.-2 Chronicles 24:17-22***Joash (Jehoash) was born into the tribe of Judah to King Ahaziah and Zibiah. Ahaziah was born to King Joram (Jehoram) and Athaliah. Joram was the 5th king to rule Judah, the southern nation in the Promised Land, and Ahaziah was the 6th king, and Athaliah was the daughter of King Ahab, the 7th king to rule over all of the Israelites in the northern nation of Israel in the Promised Land. Ahaziah, Athaliah and Joram were idolaters. When Athaliah learned that Ahaziah was dead, she began putting her royal descendants to death and started ruling Judah. Ahaziah's sister Jehosheba (Jehoshabeath) was the wife of Jehoiada the priest. Notably, Jehosheba hid Ahaziah's 1-year-old son Joash (Jehoash) and Joash's nurse, and Joash remained hidden 6 years in a bedchamber in the temple of the Lord. When Joash was 7 years old, Jehoiada and his sons presented Joash to their fellow Israelites as the rightful ruler of Judah, and the crown was put upon Joash's head. Jehoiada and his sons anointed Joash, and Joash became the 7th king to rule Judah, and Athaliah was killed. Jehoiada mentored Joash and taught Joash to obey the Ten Commandments that the Israelite ancestors heard the voice of the Lord God proclaim to them, and the judgments, statutes, and laws that the Lord God gave Moses for the Israelites. During his 40-year reign, Joash commanded that the temple of the Lord be repaired and he established a collection system whereby funds were received and distributed to pay for materials and workmen. After 130-year-old Jehoiada died, Joash joined the actions of his idol worshiping peers and disregarded the temple of the Lord. Joram's great-grandfather King Abijam (Abijah) was an idolater and the 2nd king to rule Judah. Abijam's father King Rehoboam was an idolater and the 1st king to rule Judah. Before Rehoboam ruled Judah, he ruled over all of the Israelites in the Promised Land, the land that the Lord God promised to give to Abraham (Abram the Hebrew), and to Abraham's son Isaac, and to Isaac's youngest fraternal twin son Jacob (Israel), and to their descendants. The divinely inspired Scriptures of the Holy Bible reveal that after Rehoboam gave a specific answer, the Israelites split into 2 kingdoms, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of Rehoboam's father King Solomon. Judah was the nation in the south and Jerusalem was the royal city. Israel was the northern nation, Samaria was the final royal city and Jeroboam, the son born to Nebat and Zeruah, was the 1st king to reign. King Pekah was the 18th king to rule over all of the Israelites in the northern nation of Israel. During Pekah's 20-year reign, the Assyrians invaded the kingdom and King Tiglath-pileser, ruler of Asyria, began taking Israelites captive. During the 9th year of the reign of King Hoshea, the 19th king to rule the northern nation, the Assyrians conquered Samaria, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. Less than 125 years after Samaria was conquered, Joash's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson Jehoiakim (Eliakim) became the 17th king to rule Judah. During Jehoiakim's 11-year reign, the Babylonians (Chaldeans) invaded Judah and Jerusalem and King Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of Babylon, began looting the temple of the Lord. Jehoiachin (Jeconiah/Coniah), the son born to Jehoiakim and Neshustha, was the 18th king to rule Judah. During Jehoiachin's 3-month reign, the Babylonians took more prominent Israelites, including Jehoiachin, his wives and mother, to Babylon. During the 11th year of the reign of Jehoiakim's brother Zedekiah (Mattaniah), the 19th king to rule Judah, the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. Over 500 years after Israelites began returning to Judah and Jerusalem, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, was born. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, a virgin, and Jesus was born into the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Judah's kings, to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin.-Genesis 11:26-50:26, Exodus, Numbers 20:1-29, 27:12-23, Deuteronomy 31:1-30, 32:44-52, 34:1-12, Joshua 1:1-4:24, 23:1-24:33, Judges 1:1-2:23, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles 1:1-34, 2:1-17, 3:1-24, 10:1-29:30, 2 Chronicles, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26