JOASH AND THE REPAIR OF THE TEMPLE Joash the son of Ahaziah reigned for forty years (835-796 BC) (2 Chronicles 23: 1; 24: 27); which we can divide into two parts: before the death of Jehoiada the high priest; and after his death. During the first part, Joash worked under the guidance of the priest with the spirit of godliness; and God made the life of Jehoiada long to reach 130 years of age (2 Chronicles 24: 15); the longest since the days of Omram father of Moses and Aaron who lived for 137 years (Exodus 6: 20). Jehoiada, as a guardian, mentor, and counselor, undoubtedly had his active role in the life of Joash, whether in resisting the worship of Baal, in the care for repairing the temple, and in the worship of the living God. Indeed, Solomon built the temple with the best material possible; but with time, lack of care to maintain it, the loss of interest of the people to worship God, the evil effort of the sons of Athaliah to destroy it, and to move many of its vessels and holy articles to the temple of Baal (2 Chronicles 24: 7), have all destroyed the house. It is befitting of the believer, beside his care for the house of the Lord in this world, in which the congregation of God gather together with the angels to worship God with a flaring spirit, to care for the inner house of God in his heart, as well as in those of his brethren; that needs no material maintenance, and that neither the time, nor the devil with all his hosts, would be able to destroy, nor to move its holy articles to unbefitting places. This is the house made by the Holy Spirit of God, not man-made. What shall I call it? … Shall I call it another Golgotha? … the dwelling place of God with men? … the deposit of heaven? … the paradise, fruitful by the Spirit? … the (hospital) of souls, where the Lord is the heavenly Physician? … the haven of comfort? … the heavenly treasure which cannot be robbed or stolen? … the embassy of God? … or the house of the divine and brotherly love? + That spiritual paradise is the church; and the tree of life is its holy alter The tree of knowledge is outside its door, from which the lovers of the world pluck its fruit every day; Here (in the church), the serpent that deceived our mother Eve, cannot enter; because Mary stands to listen to the word of the angel Gabriel; The Virgin Mary and the alert angel utter the clear truth; whereas the one who utters the hateful thoughts is driven out, . The time when the old Eve talked to the serpent is over; and the young girl entered to talk to the angel The cherub who was assigned to guard the gate of paradise is out of commission; and the gate of paradise is wide open. Therefore, come, O dead, and enter when resurrected; There are no more gates, nor guards on the tree of life; for even the splendid thief and murderer entered; Come, O good and bad (the repentant); enter, and eat from the tree that scatters its fruit on the near and far; Eve plucked the fruit that kills, gave it to Adam; and both died because of that deadly food; + The church in the world is a secure haven; let everyone who labors, come to find comfort in it; its doors are open, its eyes are good, its heart is wide; its banquet is loaded, and its wine is good for the worthy; Come, O lovers of the world, out of the maze of this evil world; find comfort in the house full of compassion on those who enter; O exhausted laborer, who seeks and chases the riches that are mortal and temporary; O rich, who lost his way because of his riches, acquire God, and hate the riches that will eventually not be yours; O who runs after the world that caused him to suffer, come to find comfort in the chamber of light; For in it you will find life, blessings, and all pleasures; where man lives rich without worries. 1- Joash under Jehoiada’s guidance 1 - 3 2- Care to repair the Lord’s house 4 - 16 3- Jehoash gives Hazael king of Aram the gold of the Lord’s house and of the king’s house 17 - 18 4- The death of Joash 19 -21 1- JOASH UNDER JOHIADA’S GUIDANCE: “In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba” (1) Here the name of the mother of the king is mentioned; for in many countries the queen mother used to play a practical role in the royal household; and to have authority and honor (1 king 15: 13) “Jehoash did what was right in the sight of the LORD all the days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him” (2) As the high priest Jehoiada had a great influence upon king Jehoash, the king did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days in which the priest instructed him; even though he failed to remove the high places. Of his most important achievements was the repair of the house of the Lord that was in very bad shape; for the leaders and the people on all levels were preoccupied with the pagan worship for a long time, and disregarded the house of the Lord. Yet, after the death of the high priest, ‘the leaders of Judah came and bowed down to the king; and the king listened to them. Therefore they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers, and served wooden images and idols; and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass” (2 Chronicles 24: 17, 18). And when Zechariah the son (or the grandson) of the high priest Jehoiada attempted to bring the people back to the worship of the living God, king Jehoash condemned him to be stoned to death (2 chronicles 24: 17-18), to which the Lord Christ referred in (Matthew 23: 35; Luke 11: 51). … Jehoash, nevertheless, was considered one of the few kings who showed some kind of righteousness. “But the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places” (3) Although worship on the high places was against the divine law (See Deuteronomy 12: 1-14), yet it was not as horrible as worshipping the Baal. Even during the days of the godly kings, the people used to worship the lord in them (1 kings 15: 14; 22: 43).. How faithful was Jehoiada in instructing king Jehoash; and how strong was his influence on him; is clear in that, once Jehoiada died, Jehoash listened to the leaders of Judah, and they worshiped the wooden images and idols (2 Chronicles 24: 17-19); But although the verse in the Cronicles, does not refer to that Jehoash, himself worshipped the idols, but allowed the leaders of Judah to do; Yet it was his responsibility being the king. Without the total destruction of the high places it was not possible to do any real reform; Jehoiada, unfortunately did not use his influence on the young king, and the submission of the priests and leaders to him, to destroy them. Therefore, even, with the repair of the temple, and the zeal of the people to partake of it, yet leaving those high places intact, did not help to take away idol-worship from the hearts of the leaders, who, once Jehoiada died, they hastened to return to it. It is difficult to evaluate, whether the heart of the high priest was put to comfort by getting rid of the evil Athaliah; and by the great zeal of the people to repair the temple; and did not wish to apply more pressure on them to take away the high places? … Or he fear the rebellion of the leaders against him, on account of that, in their sight, taking the high places away implies some kind of exaggeration? … Or has the high priest assumed that, with time, those high places will gradually fade away, through the practical care for the temple and the worship of the living God? … Although these questions are difficult to answer. Yet it was befitting of that great priest to listen to the words said by the prophet Moses to the tyrant Pharaoh: “Not a hoof shall be left behind” (Exodus 10: 26); when the later allowed the Israeli people to go together with their women and children, but “Let your flocks and herds be kept back” (Exodus 10: 24). … It is, therefore, befitting of all of us, together with our women, children, flocks, and herds, to get away from the dominion of the devil and his kingdom, to offer everything to the account of the kingdom of God, to leave no hoof to him in our life.. It was befitting of Jehoiada to say together with the psalmist: “O daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed, happy is the one who repays you as you have served us; happy is the one who takes and dashes your little ones against the rock” (Psalm 137: 8, 9). The high places were like evil or unclean little thoughts; which, if left to grow, they will open the gates of evil anew.. Let us therefore, by the Spirit of the Lord, uproot the evil, and deliver our life to Him, to conform us according to the image and likeness of God. + By “the little ones” here he means the evil thoughts … those which, if we feel that they are little at the beginning, we should take hold of them, cut them off, and dash them against the Rock, which is Christ (1 Corinthians 10: 4). We should kill them, according to the Lord’s command, and not leave them breathe inside us. + I plead to you, therefore to “put on the new man who is created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4: 20-24 Romans 12: 1-2); Take head that you can be renewed, and throw off the image of (the pig) from yourselves, namely the impure soul, and that of (the dog), that refers to him who barks and talks filth. We can turn, even from the image of the (serpent), by which the wicked are addressed by the Lord, saying: “.”O, serpents, broods of vipers”.(Matthew 23: 33) Now, if we are convinced that we can turn away from the images of the pigs, the dogs, and the serpents, let us learn from the apostle how this could be done, and how it all depend on us, saying: “We all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3: 17). If you are conformed and changed by the Lord; you turn from dog to man. If you were wild and cruel, and listened to the Word that domesticated and turned you to a man, you will not any more be addressed as: “serpents, brood of vipers (Matthew 23: 33). (The scholar Origen) 2- CARE TO REPAIR THE LORD’S HOUSE : Because Athaliah and her followers abused the temple and moved all the dedicated things of the house of the Lord, over to the Baal’s. (2 Chronicles 24: 7), Jehoash intended to repair the temple, and set it for the priests to collect the silver donated to the temple, and use it to repair it. The sources of that silver were: a- The cost of the offerings redeemed by silver by those who offer them (Leviticus 27: 11-12) b- The census money; namely that of the souls: ½ shekel on every soul, measured by the shekel of the sanctuary; on every male from 20 years old over (Exodus 30: 11-12) c- The donations (the assessment money), namely all the money that a man purposes in his heart to bring it into the house of the Lord. Yet that system did not work, because the priests cared more for their own benefit. That is why, after a long time passed, and no progress happened in the repair of the temple, the king stopped the priests from collecting the silver from the people. “And Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money of the dedicated gifts that are brought into the house of the LORD—each man’s census money, each man’s assessment money— and all the money that a man purposes in his heart to bring into the house of the LORD” (4) Perceiving his responsibility as a king who will be questioned by God about repairing the temple, the work that nobody else could do, Jehoash, as well, saw the temple as the stronghold where he was hidden during his early childhood from the face of the wicked Athaliah. The repair of the temple was usually done on the expense of the kings, but Jehoash felt that it should be done on the expense of the whole congregation, under the supervision of the priests (4-6); to deprive no one of getting the blessing of partaking of that work. As that did not work the way he intended it to be done, the king ordered that all the silver donated should be collected in a box; part of which was to be spent on the repair of the temple by the high priest and the king’s scribe; which had its impact on the income of the priest. … As the coins were not minted at that time, the silver were presented in alloys by weight. “let the priests take it themselves, each from his constituency; and let them repair the damages of the temple, wherever any dilapidation is found” (5) Assigning a box for that purpose, the king, beside removing the idols and all traces of idol-worship, proclaimed the need to repair the temple that was subjected to damage, and to remove the abominations, accumulated along the years, through the neglect of the wicked leaders, queen Athaliah in particular (2 Chronicles 24: 7, 8) But as the priests, unfortunately, were not faithful on the silver donated for that purpose, According to the Greek law at that time, the accounts of the temple had to be audited from time to time (2kings 12: 15; 22: 17). 6 Now it was so, by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, that the priests had not repaired the damages of the temple” (6) The reason for the delay to repair the temple was one or all of the following reasons “ a- The income of the house of the Lord was so little to cover even the necessary expenses.. b- The priests cared for their own benefit more than for repairing the house of the Lord c- The people had no more confidence that the money collected was spent as is befitting. d- Although the people generously donated, yet, because the priest did not move as they should to do the repair, the people lost interest and stopped donating. , “ So King Jehoash called Jehoiada the priest and the other priests, and said to them, “Why have you not repaired the damages of the temple? Now therefore, do not take more money from your constituency, but deliver it for repairing the damages of the temple.” (7) In an attempt to regain the confidence of the people, the king ordered the repair to be done under the direct supervision of the high priest and the king’s scribe as his deputy. It is amazing that the king who had such a zeal to repair the house of the Lord, perverted to idol-worship after the death of Jehoiada the high priest . Did he care to repair the building and disregarded the inner repair of the soul; …. Or he was faithful in his care to repair both the building and the godly life; and his perversion later on was provoked by some leaders, because of his poor personality, and that because he did not bear inside him strong depths and steadfast foundation, he was moved according to what the others told him to, sometimes with a spirit of godliness, and other times with evil “And the priests agreed that they would neither receive more money from the people, nor repair the damages of the temple” (8). “Then Jehoiada the priest took a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of the LORD; and the priests who kept the door put there all the money brought into the house of the LORD.” (9) The king used the system of the chest with a hole in its lid, to collect the silver; for the purpose of repairing the temple, which only the high priest and the king’s scribe had the authority to open.. Being set beside the altar, on the right side, as one comes into the house of the Lord, it was visible to all the people who again resumed donating with abundance (2 Chronicles 24: 10); and the work started and was consummated within a short period of time.. The gatekeepers watched all who entered, to keep any pagan worship, or anything that contradicted with the law of the Lord, from entering into the house of the Lord. “So it was, whenever they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s scribe and the high priest came up and put it in bags, and counted the money that was found in the house of the LORD” (10) What happened then, and continues to happen along the generations, reveals the important role of the leader; for the people in general, when they see that their leader is full of zeal, they strongly respond to him. What Jehiash showed of serious desire for work, provoked many to contribute in an amazing way. That what puts the leader in a critical position; for, in case they behave with the spirit of zeal, they will ignite the hearts of many to work and to give in a strong way. But if they do formalities slothfully and with no spirit, that will reflect negatively on their subjects.. It is befitting of the leaders, to have their role in the life of their people, to listen to the words of the Lord Christ, saying: “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me? … Tend My sheep” (John 21: 16). For, by love, the hearts of the people would ignite with that of the leader to work with a holy zeal. + “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me … Tend My sheep” I wish we do not love ourselves, but love Him, and by tending His sheep, we seek what is his, and not what is ours; for he who lives by himself will surely lose his life. I wish the shepherds of the herd would not love themselves, lest they would be tending the sheep as though they are their own possession, and not that of the Lord Christ. I wish they, being ‘lovers of money’, do not seek a material profit; Or treat the people while ‘puffed up with pride’; Or seek glory from the honor given to them, being ‘haughty’; Or fall into heresies as ‘blasphemers’ Or despise the saintly fathers as ‘disobedient’ Or pay the good back with evil; being ‘deniers of good deeds’’ Or kill themselves and others, being ‘without mercy’. Or attempt to distort the image of the saints, being ‘false witnesses’, Or set their evil desires free, being ‘unclean’ Or always complain, being ‘unmerciful’, Or know nothing about the ministry of love, being ‘without compassion’, Or disturb humanity by their foolish debates, being ‘stubborn’ Or do not understand what they persistently say, being ‘blind’ Or prefer carnal pleasures to the spiritual joy, being ‘self- lovers, more than their love for God’ Those and other like transgressions, whether they are all in one person, or one of them has the authority on one person, and another on someone else; they all are from the same root, namely being ‘self-lovers’ This transgression that those who shepherd the herd of Christ should avoid, is to seek what is for themselves, and not what for Jesus Christ; and use the shed blood of Christ to realize their own evil desires. Those who shepherd His herd, should have a great love, with a spiritual zeal, to overcome the fear of death, that makes us reject to die, to live with Christ; the way the apostle Paul wished to depart and be with Christ (Philippians 1: 23). (St. Augustine) The high priest and the king’s scribe gave a magnificent portrait and a living example of the mutual work; in which the priests do not disregard the role of the laymen; and the later does not isolate himself from the priests. For they both need each others; Where love and cooperation are, God would proclaim His presence, and pour His blessing on all. If the high priest and the king’s scribe could, by love, work to the account of repairing the temple; it is befitting of the priests, together with the people, to work, if possible, to the account of the edification of the kingdom of God, in the heart of every man. The people not only have a role in the church, but they, being themselves, the church, do the work of the church, namely, ‘love’, translated according to the talent of each of its members, his possibilities, and his role in the holy congregation; for love should be practically expressed. + Love should not be inactive; You would not be able to show me one as such. + We do not tell you to refrain from practicing love; for in case you do, you would then be with cold feeling, dead, hated, and miserable; Go ahead and love; but care to know what you do. (St. Augustine) + Because of this, the Lord brought to us His exalted heavenly teachings; to take away our vain thoughts, to be, if possible, like Him;… but how could we be? … If we do everything according to the common good, and not only to our own; according to the words of the apostle, saying: “For even Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written, ‘the reproaches of those who reproached You, fell on Me” (Romans 15: 3; Psalm 69: 6). Let no one, therefore, seek what is for him; let no one be passive, but truly seek what is good for himself, when he cares for what is for his brethren; For what is for their benefit, is for our benefit as well; because we are one body and members of one body. Even if he is not a relative or a friend, yet, being man, he partakes of your same nature, has the same Lord, a fellow servant, a company in your journey; born like you in the same world. + Don’t lay the whole burden upon your teachers and those who guide you… if you choose, you can teach among yourselves, more than we could ever do; as you have more chances to encounter one another more than we have; are acquainted with the circumstances of each other more than we do, and you have more freedom to speak and to love; which are all very important in teaching. … You are more capable than us to rebuke and to counsel one another; … I, therefore implore you, not to despise such a talent; for everyone of you has his wife, his friends, his neighbors, and his servants; … If you help your neighbor in some way, you will get a great reward from God.; … You may say to me: I am not elequent ; But it is not a matter of speech nor of eloquence; … Support him by doing everything as is befitting; namely, not like someone walk without sin; nor as a teacher, but as a friend and a brother. This is the true friendship: “A brother helping another will be like a strong city” (Proverb 18: 19) Friendship is not eating and drinking, for that is common even among thieves and murderers; but to be friends, we have to care for one another. “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6: 2). + Everyone of you – if he so chooses – can be a teacher. … I know many families who got great benefit from the virtues of their servants; … I address all in general, as well as every individual. Let everyone of you care for the salvation of his neighbors; … For in so doing, there is great benefit; not only that it would alleviate the burden of work on the teacher, but every student would partake of the suffering, to become able to teach. + We can consider every believer a shepherd of his own household, friends, servants, wife, and children. + Make your house a church. + Nothing will make man like Christ like caring for his neighbors, + I cannot see the salvation of him who does not work for the sake of the salvation of his neighbors. + Nothing is of no true value, like a Christian who does not care for the others. (St. John Chrysostom) “Then they gave the money, which had been apportioned, into the hands of those who did the work, who had the oversight of the house of the LORD; and they paid it out to the carpenters and builders who worked on the house of the LORD” (11) Those who did the work were many, and of several nationalities, because of the greatness of the task, for the house of the Lord, for so long, was left without any maintenance or repair. “and to masons and stonecutters, and for buying timber and hewn stone, to repair the damage of the house of the LORD, and for all that was paid out to repair the temple”.(12) “However there were not made for the house of the LORD basins of silver, trimmers, sprinkling-bowls, trumpets, any articles of gold or articles of silver, from the money brought into the house of the LORD” (13). The house of the Lord was empty, for the kings have taken all its vessels and articles and gave them to their enemies. (1 Kings 14: 26 15: 18) “But they gave that to the workmen, and they repaired the house of the LORD with it” (14). “Moreover they did not require an account from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to be paid to workmen, for they dealt faithfully” (15) According to the statutes of the Lord (Leviticus 5: 16; Numbers 5: 8-9) “ The money from the trespass offerings and the money from the sin offerings was not brought into the house of the LORD. It belonged to the priests” (16). 3- JEHOASH GIVES HAZAEL KING OF ARAM THE GOLD OF THE LORD’S HOUSE, AND OF THE KING’S HOUSE:: Having reached the age of 130 years, Jehoiada died; and Jehoash, according to the counsel of the princes, forsook the worship of the living God, to which he was faithful during the life of Jehoiada. And the idol-worship returned through the women of Sidon who were punished in the days of the high priest. And when Zechariah the son of Jehoiada attempted to stand firm with his whole strength and with a fiery spirit, against such evil deeds, he was stoned to death while standing between the temple and the altar, on the holy ground…. Many have been offended by such a crime through a command from the king himself, regardless of the great care and kindness which Jehoiada, his father has done to him; … Zechariah cried out to God, as a witness of that criminal act; saying: ”The Lord look on it and repay”.(2 Chronicles 24: 22). + That saintly man (the priest Zechariah), by the spirit of prophecy, foresaw the calamities that would soon dwell upon the king and his kingdom…. For after a year the Syrians (the Aramites) invaded Judah and robbed the land. And, although,in order to save his life, the king gave up all the treasures of the house of the Lord and his own house; yet that was not enough to spare him of abuse by his enemies, he was severely wounded; his own servants conspired against him, and killed him on his bed (2 Chronicles 24: 17-25) “Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against ‘Gath’, and took it; then Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem”(17) “And Jehoash king of Judah took all the sacred things that his fathers, Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own sacred things, and all the gold found in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and in the king’s house, and sent them to Hazael king of Syria. Then he went away from Jerusalem” (18). Although Jehoram and Ahaziah dedicated holy things to the house of the Lord, they worshipped the idol as well; and their worship was a mixture of this and that. The book of the Chronicles did not say that Hazael was there; but the talk here was about the leader of the Aramite army, the deputy of the king, yet everything happened by the king’s command, as though present. Some say that he sent the army first, then followed later himself. The disobedient kingdom of Israel publicly rebelled against the Lord since Jeroboam set the two golden calves, to keep the people from longing to go to the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem; appointed priest who did not belong to the tribe of Levi (1 kings 12: 28, 310; and held a feast in Bethel. Not a single one of their kings sought the Lord, except once, when the affliction was intense because of the Aramite invasion (2 kings 13; 4-5); And the Lord actually saved them, “But they did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam who made Israel sin”, Before such public and persistent stubbornness along the generations, God delivered them to the Assyrian captivation, they forsook their land, like a divorced wife who forsakes her marital home. 4- THE DEATH OF JOASH: “Now 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?” (19) “And his servants arose and formed a conspiracy, and killed Joash in the house of the Millo, which goes down to Silla” (20). To “The house of Millo”, built by Solomon (1 kings 9: 15, 24); Jehoash took refuge at the time of danger. He was severely wounded when he was attacked by a small company of the Aramites (2 Chronicles 24: 24-25); Then was killed by two of his own servants. “ For Jozachar the son of Shimeath and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, struck him. So he died, and they buried him with his fathers in the City of David. Then Amaziah his son reigned in his place” (21) He was not buried in the city of David, though not in the tombs of the kings, a reference to not giving him the honor due to kings.… He was killed by the officers, not on account of his apostasy from the worship of the living God to that of the Baal, but because of the disturbance that prevailed on the kingdom; But God allowed for his killing for his persistent perversion to evil, on the hands of evil people; and for killing Zechariah the son of Jehoiada (2 Chronicles 24: 17- 22).. ------------------------------ AN INSPIRATION FROM 2 KINGS 12 WHO WILL SET YOUR KINGDOM IN ME, BUT YOU? + Jehoash cared to repair Your temple in the earthly Jerusalem; And the hearts were stirred up to collect silver to partake of the repair; Now, here is Your temple in me that I ignored by my own free will; Its repair needs no gold or silver; For You Yourself provided its expenses on the cross; It needs no temporal guarding; Nor material possibilities; Your Holy Spirit sets out of it a heavenly paradise; By planting in it Your life-giving cross; By planting in it the tree of life; In Your divine presence, the serpent cannot crawl into it; And it will not incline my ear to listen to it; As long as Your voice exults my depths. + Your temple in me is the subject of Your Father’s pleasure; And the lab of Your fiery Spirit, beloved by Him; A living icon of heaven, and a deposit of the heavenly life. + What can I call that temple set by Your right hand? It is Your dwelling place, and an amazing presence of Your majesty; It is a hospital for the souls; Where, by Your wounds, You heal all my ailments; It is the haven of comfort; Where everyone who labors will find shade under Your wings; It is a treasure, that the hosts of the devil cannot rob; It is a place for a living testimony to You; It is an embassy of heaven on earth; It is a place for the heavenlies to encounter the weak men; It is the house of the divine and the brotherly love; Where You lie Your head and find comfort. + Set Your kingdom in my depths; Uproot all the roots of sin from me; Receive my whole being, possibilities and talents; Consecrate them to Yourself, so that the devil would have nothing in me; I shall completely retreat from his kingdom; I shall leave no (hoof) in his land; By You, I shall crush evil; By You, I shall leave no evil thoughts hidden in me; By You, O Rock of ages, I shall dash every little though of the devil that dwell in my depths; Sanctify me completely; To carry Your joyful icon.
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