The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 12:7,
"Why aren't you repairing the damage done to the temple? Take no more money from your treasurers, but hand it over for repairing the temple."
These words were spoken by King Joash of Judah to the priests of the temple of the Lord. The King had told them to take the money brought as sacred offerings and use it to repair whatever damage existed to the temple. Apparently the temple had been allowed to fall into disrepair.
Where had the money been going before this? Certainly not to the things of the Lord as expressed by the disrepair of the temple. Funds that were brought into the temple apparently wound up in the pockets of disreputable priests and others. (As I often observe, some things never change, do they?) Joash set himself to correct this.
Of the twenty monarchs of Judah, I count twelve as "bad" and eight as "good". That count comes from the comments made about the monarchs, such as in verse 2 of this chapter, "Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him." Conversely we read of his predecessor, King Ahaziah, "He followed the ways of the house of Ahab and did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was related by marriage to Ahab's family." 2 Kings 8:27.
As one of the "good" kings, Joash held the things of the Lord as important and directed the priests to restore the temple. Surprisingly, the king was ignored, the repairs were not being made and so Joash stepped in and brought the scandal to an end. The priests would no longer receive any money. All the money would go only to those who repaired the temple... and to insure no scams took place, the priests were not allowed to do any of the work themselves. All money would only go toward repairing the temple. "The priests agreed that they would not collect any more money from the people and that they would not repair the temple themselves." Verse 8.
"Why aren't you repairing the damage done to the temple? Take no more money from your treasurers, but hand it over for repairing the temple."
These words were spoken by King Joash of Judah to the priests of the temple of the Lord. The King had told them to take the money brought as sacred offerings and use it to repair whatever damage existed to the temple. Apparently the temple had been allowed to fall into disrepair.
Where had the money been going before this? Certainly not to the things of the Lord as expressed by the disrepair of the temple. Funds that were brought into the temple apparently wound up in the pockets of disreputable priests and others. (As I often observe, some things never change, do they?) Joash set himself to correct this.
Of the twenty monarchs of Judah, I count twelve as "bad" and eight as "good". That count comes from the comments made about the monarchs, such as in verse 2 of this chapter, "Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him." Conversely we read of his predecessor, King Ahaziah, "He followed the ways of the house of Ahab and did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was related by marriage to Ahab's family." 2 Kings 8:27.
As one of the "good" kings, Joash held the things of the Lord as important and directed the priests to restore the temple. Surprisingly, the king was ignored, the repairs were not being made and so Joash stepped in and brought the scandal to an end. The priests would no longer receive any money. All the money would go only to those who repaired the temple... and to insure no scams took place, the priests were not allowed to do any of the work themselves. All money would only go toward repairing the temple. "The priests agreed that they would not collect any more money from the people and that they would not repair the temple themselves." Verse 8.
Money has a way of corrupting people as we all know. The priesthood in Judah was no exception. Many churches today, many TV evangelists, many "para-church" organizations today are no exception either. Money has a way of corrupting, because sinful man struggles with his vices. It is the same for the pastor, the men who meet as elders, as well as many folks who sit in the pew. Not all, to be sure, as there are many wonderful people who have given their hearts to the Lord. However, we should never be ignorant or complacent about the reality that the potential is always there for corruption to creep in.
Even in the most unlikely places.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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