While the books of 1 and 2 Kings deals primarily with Israel, the Northern Kingdom, occasionally one of Judah's kings makes an appearance, and in chapters 11-13 of 2 Kings, this is Joash. Brief synopsis...Queen Athaliah (self-appointed queen after her son Ahaziah is killed) has all the related princes killed. Joash's aunt hides him until he is seven, at which time he takes the throne of Judah.
By this time, Judah had also maintained several high places for their various worship, as opposed to solely using the temple. Most of the kings we read about here follow in the ways of Jeroboam, doing evil in the sight of the Lord. The text for Joash says he did RIGHT in the sight of the Lord. Good, right? Well, almost. It also says "Only the high places were not taken away." (2 Kings 12:2-3). High places would have been on hill tops, "closer to God", but had become places vital to Baal worship, and certainly unnecessary with the temple to be the central location for such worship.
In fact, Joash was wise to follow the high priest's leading (Jehoiada), and Joash managed to be a decent leader while Jehoiada was alive. His true colors showed, though, when the priest died, we later find out in Chronicles. I suppose we can only guess why he did not take down those potentially idolatrous high places. Laziness, complacency, indifference? We do not know. We have the luxury of reading ahead and knowing that Judah would be taken captive for their idolatrous ways, just like their relatives from Israel.
Some would say Joash was "good enough", and certainly he was better than some, or even most, especially compared to the kings of the Northern Kingdom. But God clearly does not ask us to compare ourselves to others around us (this comes up for us in 2 Corinthians 10:12, to another carnal group).
God gave Israel, Judah, and us His standard by which to live. Having no other gods before Him does not mean it is OK to keep those other gods around, or that we can leave other gods in place and have the strength to ignore them. He commands us to get rid of them. Get rid of the high places! Stop focusing on other things as if they are more important than Him!
I have to look at my own life, and be careful not to say "I am living pretty well for the Lord", as that implies there are areas to be fixed that are not being worked on. Joash did right, but either not to the fullest possible extent, or for the wrong reasons. God's Spirit will help me do right, when I let Him lead my life, completely!
Praying today for a full and complete Christian effort!
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