2 Kings 12:21: “For Jozachar the son of Shimeath and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, [Joash’s] servants, struck him. So [Joash] died, and they buried him with his fathers in the City of David. Then Amaziah his son reigned in his place.”

August 6th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

In the last chapter, the wife of the high priest rescued the infant Prince Joash from his deadly grandmother the queen. After 7 years of raising him in hiding in the temple with her husband, the 7-year-old prince was crowned king. And as long as his surrogate father the high priest was alive, he followed the Lord. He even showed a zeal for the temple, where he was raised, when he initiated a special offering or tax that was used to restore and keep it in good repair.

Regrettably, shortly after the high priest died, the impressionable Joash succumbed to the influential, ungodly leaders of Judah. Sometime after he was 30 years old, he even began to allow idol worship. King Joash accomplished nothing else during his reign and was finally assassinated. Joash began with great promise, but he ended without reaching his full potential because he got his eyes off God. It is a strange irony that this king who had such zeal for the house of the Lord didn’t show that same zeal for the Owner of the house.

There is a danger in becoming too enamored with a church building. Many men have built huge edifices supposedly to God, but in final analysis, it seems the building was really to men. All over Europe today, we find more than a 100 empty cathedrals with less than 50 believers worshiping on any Sunday. We must all be careful not to focus too much on a certain place to worship God. The place is not God, but many have failed to recognize this distinction.

“LORD, help us keep You as the center and not deteriorate down to focusing on a place, music, or person.”