II Kings 12, Reign of Joash

At age seven, Joash is installed as king of Jerusalem. The date is about 835 BC.

2 Kings 12: 1-5, Plans to repair the temple

In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother's name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba. 

Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him. The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.

 

Joash said to the priests, "Collect all the money that is brought as sacred offerings to the temple of the LORD--the money collected in the census, the money received from personal vows and the money brought voluntarily to the temple. Let every priest receive the money from one of the treasurers, and let it be used to repair whatever damage is found in the temple."

Joash gives instructions on repairing the temple. (The temple of Solomon is about 160 years old when Joash's reign begins and has endured a number of apostate rulers.) There are three funds for the temple and priesthood, as explained by August Konkel's online commentary: money collected in a regular census tax (Exodus 30: 11-16) donations from personal vows (Leviticus 27: 1-8)  and other miscellaneous donations.

2 Kings 12: 6-8, Twenty three years later

But by the twenty-third year of King Joash the priests still had not repaired the temple. Therefore King Joash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and asked them, "Why aren't you repairing the damage done to the temple? Take no more money from your treasurers, but hand it over for repairing the temple." The priests agreed that they would not collect any more money from the people and that they would not repair the temple themselves.
 

The temple is still in need of repair.  A decision is made on the funding, that the income is no longer to go to the priests but for repairs and a separate group will focus on repairing the temple.

2 Kings 12: 9-12, Donation box

Jehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in its lid. He placed it beside the altar, on the right side as one enters the temple of the LORD. The priests who guarded the entrance put into the chest all the money that was brought to the temple of the LORD. Whenever they saw that there was a large amount of money in the chest, the royal secretary and the high priest came, counted the money that had been brought into the temple of the LORD and put it into bags. When the amount had been determined, they gave the money to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. With it they paid those who worked on the temple of the LORD--the carpenters and builders, the masons and stonecutters. They purchased timber and dressed stone for the repair of the temple of the LORD, and met all the other expenses of restoring the temple.

Jehoiada sets up a chest into which people can put money.  From time to time that account is used to repair the temple. (This is the first example of a designated building fund! All of this money is to be used for temple repair!) 

2 Kings 12: 13-16, Money spent for workers

The money brought into the temple was not spent for making silver basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets or any other articles of gold or silver for the temple of the LORD; it was paid to the workmen, who used it to repair the temple.

 

They did not require an accounting from those to whom they gave the money to pay the workers, because they acted with complete honesty. The money from the guilt offerings and sin offerings was not brought into the temple of the LORD; it belonged to the priests.

 

The temple repair project now has top priority and that money is not to be diverted to other needs. The text clarifies that the money brought into the temple was used exclusively for repairs. This was done without any accounting of the money since everyone was honest. (!)

2 Kings 12: 17-18, Hazael on attack

About this time Hazael king of Aram went up and attacked Gath and captured it. Then he turned to attack Jerusalem. But Joash king of Judah took all the sacred objects dedicated by his fathers--Jehoshaphat, Jehoram and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah--and the gifts he himself had dedicated and all the gold found in the treasuries of the temple of the LORD and of the royal palace, and he sent them to Hazael king of Aram, who then withdrew from Jerusalem.

Hazael conquers Gath and then attacks Jerusalem.  Joash bribes Hazael to go away.

In 2 Chronicle 24 we read more about the reign of Joash. There we read that after the death of the priest Jehoiada, Joash abandoned the temple and allowed others to worship Asherah poles and other idols. When Zechariah, son of Jehoiada, spoke out against this, Joash had him killed. It was after that that Hazael invaded Jerusalem, taking the treasure from the temple. In that attack, Joash is seriously injured.

2 Kings 12: 19-21, Coup

As for the other events of the reign of Joash, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?

His officials conspired against him and assassinated him at Beth Millo, on the road down to Silla. The officials who murdered him were Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer. He died and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. And Amaziah his son succeeded him as king.

Officials in Joash's court assassinate him.  Yet they install his son as king. (The account in 2 Chronicles 24 will give the murder of Zechariah as reason for the assassination of Joash and identifies Joash's assassins as children of Moabite and Ammonite women. Hubbard suggests the assassins were mercenary soldiers.)

We will learn more of Amaziah in 2 Kings 14. In the next chapter we return to the history of Israel.