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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - 2 Chronicles 24:1 - 24:14
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The Good Rule of Joash During Jehoiada's Life
v. 1. Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, having been a mere infant when his aunt saved his life, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Zibiah of Beersheba.
v. 2. And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada, the priest. A single man who, like this venerable priest, adheres firmly to the Word of the Lord may be a very strong moral support for the whole Church.
v. 3. And Jehoiada, when the young king had reached the proper age, took for him two wives; and he begat sons and daughters.
v. 4. And it came to pass after this that Joash was minded to repair the house of the Lord, to renew and replace all those parts and sections which showed signs of decay, or which had been ruined by the idolaters.
v. 5. And he gathered together the priests and the Levites and said to them, Go out unto the cities of Judah, and gather of all Israel, of all those who belonged to the true Israel, who still professed their belief in Jehovah, money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that ye hasten the matter. Things were in such a condition that haste was required. Howbeit, the Levites hastened it not, the collecting of the Temple tax was not a task that appealed to them.
v. 6. And the king called for Jehoiada, the chief, and said unto him, Why hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the collection, the tax, or assessment, according to the commandment of Moses, the servant of the Lord, Exo_30:12-16, and of the congregation of Israel, for the Tabernacle of Witness? for it was for this tent and its service that the assessment had originally been levied.
v. 7. For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, the notorious idolater, the worshiper of Baal and Astarte, had broken up the house of God, doing considerable damage in parts of the buildings; and also all the dedicated things of the house of the Lord did they bestow upon Baalim, profaning the gold and silver vessels consecrated to Jehovah by using them for their idolatrous worship.
v. 8. And at the king's commandment they, the Levites, made a chest and set it without at the gate of the house of the Lord, evidently at the entrance to the Court of the Priests, where it was accessible to all members of the Jewish Church.
v. 9. And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem to bring in to the Lord the collection that Moses, the servant of God, laid upon Israel in the wilderness, the half-shekel Sanctuary money which all adults were required to pay every year.
v. 10. And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into the chest until they had made an end, either until all members of the nation had paid, or until the chest was full to the top.
v. 11. Now it came to pass that at what time the chest was brought unto the king's office by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, the king's scribe, his secretary, and the high priest's officer, his personal representative, came and emptied the chest, and took it, and carried it to his place again. Thus they did day by day, every day that it was necessary, whenever the chest was full, and gathered money in abundance.
v. 12. And the king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of the service of the house of the Lord, those in charge of the repair work in the Temple, and hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the Lord, and also such as wrought iron and brass to mend the house of the Lord, wherever the metal work required renewing.
v. 13. So the workmen wrought, and the work was perfected by them, literally, "and there was completed the healing," that is, they finished all the repairs; and they set the house of God in his state, and strengthened it.
v. 14. And when they had finished it, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, whereof were made vessels for the house of the Lord, such as were used in the Temple worship, even vessels to minister and to offer withal, altar vessels, and spoons, cuplike vessels for incense, and vessels of gold and silver, as it became necessary to replace the old and worn-out ones. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Jehoiada, under his direction the entire worship was conducted in the legal manner, as prescribed by the Lord. It is well-pleasing to God if believers serve Him with their gifts and sacrifices, with their money and possessions, if they aid in the spreading of the Word. At the same time the teachers of the Church ought to lead the way and admonish the members of the Church, in order that the sacred work may not suffer for want of interest.