Year One, December 10

You Received Without Paying; Give Without Pay1

2 Kings 12:1-15

1aIn the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash (An alternate spelling of Joash) began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. 2And Jehoash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all his days, because Jehoiada the priest instructed him.

Unfortunately, Jehoash was controlled by those around him. He lacked strength of character. He was good only as long as the real reins of his actions were in godly hands. People should have minds of their own. They should have principles that will guide them no matter whose company they are in. Still, Jehoiada deserves great honor for the way he managed the affairs of the kingdom.

3Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away; the people continued to sacrifice and make offerings on the high places.

4Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money of the holy things that is brought into the house of the LORD, the money for which each man is assessed—the money from the assessment of persons—and the money that a man’s heart prompts him to bring into the house of the LORD, 5let the priests take, each from his donor, and let them repair the house wherever any need of repairs is discovered.” (The king had been brought up in the temple. Therefore he felt a great love for it. He had only an appearance of godliness,2 but his appearance was very energetic. His zeal put even the priests to shame. Those who have nothing except external religion are often more passionate about it than those who possess the reality of godliness.)

6But by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, the priests had made no repairs on the house. 7Therefore King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and said to them, “Why are you not repairing the house? Now therefore take no more money from your donors, but hand it over for the repair of the house.” (Pastors should not be burdened with the responsibility of raising money. They have higher duties. The priests managed the money poorly. They failed to keep contributions for the repairs in a separate fund, so the king decided on another plan. If we cannot come up with resources for a good work one way, we must try another.) 8So the priests agreed that they should take no more money from the people, and that they should not repair the house.

9Then 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 entered the house of the LORD. And the priests who guarded the threshold put in it all the money that was brought into the house of the LORD. 10And whenever they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king’s secretary and the high priest came up and they bagged and counted the money that was found in the house of LORD.

This was a new approach and the people liked the idea. It is most important that people should be sure that whatever is given to the cause of God is used honestly.

11Then they would give the money that was weighed out into the hands of the workmen who had the oversight of the house of the LORD. And they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders who worked on the house of the LORD, 12and to the masons and the stonecutters, as well as to buy timber and quarried stone for making repairs on the house of the LORD, and for any outlay for the repairs of the house. 13But there were not made for the house of the LORD basins of silver, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, or any vessels of gold, or of silver, from the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, 14for that was given to the workmen who were repairing the house of the LORD with it.

This is a good place to stop and ask if each of us is doing our part for the support of God’s worship and work. Let us not be content to live in well-maintained homes while the house of worship is in disrepair.

15And they did not ask an accounting from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to pay out to the workmen, for they dealt honestly. (Faithfulness is a great virtue. Whatever may happen to us, we must keep an accurate account of expenses. A Christian should be someone who can be trusted with even very large amounts of money. Whether we seem to be unimportant or lords of the land, our first duty to other people is to be thoroughly honest.)

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¹ Matthew 10:8

² 2 Timothy 3:5, “having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.”