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.”

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2 Kings 12 KJV

¹ In the seventh year of Jehu Jehoash began to reign; and forty years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. ² And Jehoash did that which wasright in the sight of the LORD all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him. ³ But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places. ⁴ And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the dedicated things that is brought into the house of the LORD, even the money of every one that passeth the account , the money that every man is set at, and all the money that cometh into any man’s heart to bring into the house of the LORD, ⁵ Let the priests take it to them, every man of his acquaintance: and let them repair the breaches of the house, wheresoever any breach shall be found. ⁶ But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house. ⁷ Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and the otherpriests, and said unto them, Why repair ye not the breaches of the house? now therefore receive no more money of your acquaintance, but deliver it for the breaches of the house. ⁸ And the priests consented to receive no more money of the people, neither to repair the breaches of the house. ⁹ But 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 cometh into the house of the LORD: and the priests that kept the door put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the LORD. ¹⁰ And it was so , when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags, and told the money that was found in the house of the LORD.  ¹¹ And they gave the money, being told, into the hands of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of the LORD: and they laid it out to the carpenters and builders, that wrought upon the house of the LORD,  ¹² And to masons, and hewers of stone, and to buy timber and hewed stone to repair the breaches of the house of the LORD, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it .  ¹³Howbeit there were not made for the house of the LORDbowls of silver, snuffers, basons, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of the LORD: ¹⁴ But they gave that to the workmen, and repaired therewith the house of the LORD. ¹⁵ Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they delivered the money to be bestowed on workmen: for they dealt faithfully. ¹⁶ The trespass money and sin money was not brought into the house of the LORD: it was the priests’. ¹⁷ Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it: and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. ¹⁸ And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and in the king’s house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem. ¹⁹ And 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? ²⁰ And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and slew Joash in the house of Millo, which goeth down to Silla.  ²¹ For Jozachar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, smote him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.