2Kings 12:1 ¶ In the seventh year of Jehu Jehoash began to reign; and forty years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2 And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3 But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.
Jehoash’s reign is lined up with Jehu’s in
Israel. He was a good king in God’s sight as long as Jehoiada taught and
counselled him but faltered in that he did not put an end to the idolatry of
the people, probably for political reasons.
2Kings 12:4 ¶
And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the dedicated things
that is brought into the house of the LORD, even the money of every one
that passeth the account, the money that every man is set at, and
all the money that cometh into any man’s heart to bring into the house of the
LORD, 5 Let the priests take it
to them, every man of his acquaintance: and let them repair the breaches of the
house, wheresoever any breach shall be found. 6
But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king
Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house. 7 Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the
priest, and the other priests, and said unto them, Why repair ye not the
breaches of the house? now therefore receive no more money of your
acquaintance, but deliver it for the breaches of the house. 8 And the priests consented to receive no more
money of the people, neither to repair the breaches of the house. 9 But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and
bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side
as one cometh into the house of the LORD: and the priests that kept the door
put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the LORD.
10 And it was so, when they saw
that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s scribe and the
high priest came up, and they put up in bags, and told the money that was found
in the house of the LORD. 11 And they
gave the money, being told, into the hands of them that did the work, that had
the oversight of the house of the LORD: and they laid it out to the carpenters
and builders, that wrought upon the house of the LORD, 12 And to masons, and hewers of stone, and to
buy timber and hewed stone to repair the breaches of the house of the LORD, and
for all that was laid out for the house to repair it. 13 Howbeit there were not made for the house of
the LORD bowls of silver, snuffers, basons, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or
vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of the
LORD: 14 But they gave that to the
workmen, and repaired therewith the house of the LORD. 15 Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into
whose hand they delivered the money to be bestowed on workmen: for they dealt
faithfully. 16 The trespass money and
sin money was not brought into the house of the LORD: it was the priests’.
Basically, this boils down to the fact that
the first temple was in a disgraceful state of disrepair. Commentators said
that the priests pocketed the money that should have gone to the repairs. So
here in this passage we see King Jehoash aka Joash commanding that money that
was brought in be used to repair the house of God with exceptions of money that
was to go to the priests legitimately. They focused on structural repairs
rather than items such as snuffers and other vessels of gold. It appears that
everyone worked faithfully and honestly on this project so there was no
haggling or bickering about the work or the payment for it.
2Kings 12:17 ¶ Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it: and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. 18 And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and in the king’s house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem. 19 And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 20 And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and slew Joash in the house of Millo, which goeth down to Silla. 21 For Jozachar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, smote him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.
So Jehoash buys off King Hazael of Syria with
the treasures from Solomon’s Temple and the King’s palace. This sell-out may
have prompted his servants to assassinate him and place his son on the throne.
Notice how the spellings of Joash and Jehoash are together in this passage for
the same person. The fact that his mentor, Jehoida, was dead perhaps led to
this action that showed no faith in God and led to his downfall.
2Chronicles 24:15 ¶ But Jehoiada waxed old, and was full of days
when he died; an hundred and thirty years old was he when he died.
No comments:
Post a Comment