Joash Repairs the Temple

Joash became king as a boy and reigned in Jerusalem for forty years. While Jehoiada the priest instructed him, he did what was right in the Lord’s eyes. Even so, the high places remained. In time, Joash decided that the Lord’s house should be restored.

Joash first told the priests and Levites to collect money given for the Lord’s house and use it to repair every place that was damaged. The house had been broken up in earlier days, and things dedicated to the Lord had been given to the Baals. But the work was delayed, even into the twenty-third year of Joash’s reign.

So the king called for Jehoiada and asked why the repairs had not been done. After that, a chest was made for the offerings at the Lord’s house. A proclamation went out through Judah and Jerusalem, calling the people to bring the collection. The rulers and the people rejoiced and kept bringing their gifts.

When the chest held a large amount, the king’s scribe and the priestly leaders emptied and counted the money. Then it was given to those overseeing the work on the Lord’s house. They paid carpenters, builders, masons, and stone cutters, and bought timber and cut stone for the repairs.

The workers kept going, and the repair work moved ahead. The house was restored and strengthened. The money was placed in the hands of trustworthy men, and no accounting was demanded from them, because they acted faithfully. Kings notes that the repair money was used for the work itself, and Chronicles adds that after the work was finished, remaining money was used to make vessels for the house.