“They decided to abandon the Temple of the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and they worshiped Asherah poles and idols instead..."
“The Spirit of God came upon Zechariah…and He said, ‘Why do you disobey the LORD’s commands and keep yourselves from prospering? You have abandoned the LORD, and now he has abandoned you!”
2 Chronicles 24:18, 20 NLT
Earlier Jehoiada the priest had decided to act and removed Queen Athaliah from power. Shortly thereafter, King Joash decided to repair and restore the Temple. However, after Jehoiada’s death, Joash and the leaders of Judah decided to abandon the Temple of the Lord to worship idols.
All decisions have lasting effects, some good, others devastating. When Jehoida decided to remove Athaliah, evil was replaced with peace and joy. When Joash decided to repair the Temple, God once again had a place to dwell, and people had a place to worship. However, when the leaders decided to abandon the Lord, His anger fell on the nation. And even though God pleaded with His people, they would not listen. (v. 19)
Finally, the folly of their decision was exposed—They abandoned God, so God abandoned them. In reality, they decided to keep themselves from prospering—no God, no prosper! That fact soon became evident. Judah was soundly defeated by an army much smaller than theirs, and King Joash was assassinated and not even buried in the royal cemetery.
On the other hand, Jehoiada the priest who decided to stand for righteousness, lived a long life and was buried among the kings instead of Joash!
You too can decide to prosper—simply decide to serve God!
