2 Kings 12:4-16

The Voice

The “high places” where the Israelites worship the Lord start out as pagan shrines. When Solomon builds the temple in Jerusalem, he converts those high places to shrines—honoring both the Eternal of Israel and the foreign deities that are worshiped by his many wives and concubines—so the northern tribes don’t have to travel so far to worship and so the locals can retain some of their heritage. Unfortunately Solomon’s attempt to grow the worship of God in the north produces odd cults that blend worship of the Lord with worship of other gods at these high places. No matter how good a king is, if he leaves the high places standing, then he isn’t fully committing his nation to God and there must be repercussions.

Jehoash (to the priests): ⁴Any money that comes into the Eternal’s house, any monetary offerings that a man is led to give—money for sacred things, census fees, personal vows, and goodwill offerings— ⁵belong to the priests, from the contributors, so they can repair what needs to be repaired in the Eternal’s temple.

⁶During King Jehoash’s 23rd year, the Eternal One’s temple was only getting worse because the priests had not used any money to repair the Eternal One’s house. ⁷So King Jehoash questioned Jehoiada and the other priests.

Jehoash: Why have you not made the needed repairs for the Lord’s temple? The dilapidations are only getting worse. Don’t take any more money from anyone. Use all the money that has been collected already to repair the Eternal’s house immediately.

⁸The priests agreed they would not take any more monetary offerings from anyone, and they would not repair the Eternal’s temple.

^9-10Jehoiada the priest gouged a hole in the lid of a chest and set it next to the altar. He put it on the right side of the altar, so that everyone walked past it as they entered into the Eternal’s temple. The priests who stood at the entrance placed all the monetary offerings that were carried into the Eternal’s temple into the chest. When the chest was almost full, the king’s secretary and the high priest counted the money and placed it into separate bags. ¹¹They handed the money to the workers who took care of the Eternal’s temple, and then handed out money to the carpenters and builders who repaired it, ¹²and they also gave some of the money to the masons and stonecutters who paid for the wood and carved stone and other materials that went into repairing the Eternal’s temple. ¹³None of the monetary offerings that were given to the Eternal’s temple were used to make silver cups, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, gold vessels, or silver vessels. ¹⁴All the money went to those who repaired the Eternal’s temple for their work. ¹⁵The priests did not ask for any receipts or documentation to be made of the financial handlings. The workers were completely trustworthy and did not cheat. ¹⁶Any monetary offerings—be they guilt offerings or sin offerings—still belonged to the priests and were not carried into the Eternal’s temple.