2 Kings 12:1–21

We have here an account of the repairing of the temple in the reign of Joash. I. It seems, the temple had gone out of repair. Though Solomon built it very strong, of the best materials and in the best manner, yet in time it went to decay, and there were breaches found in it (Kg2 12:5), in the roofs, or walls, or floors, the ceiling, or wainscoting, or windows, or the partitions of the courts. Even temples themselves are the worse for the wearing; but the heavenly temple will never wax old. Yet it was not only the teeth of time that made these breaches, the sons of Athaliah had broken up the house of God (Ch2 24:7), and, out of enmity to the service of the temple, had damaged the buildings of it, and the priests had not taken care to repair the breaches in time, so that they went worse and worse. Unworthy were those husbandmen to have this valuable vineyard let out to them upon such easy terms who could not afford to keep the winepress in due and tenantable repair, Mat 21:33. Justly did their great Lord sue them for this permissive waste, and by his judgments recover locum vastatum - for dilapidations (as the law speaks), when this neglected temple was laid even with the ground. II. The king himself was (as it should seem) the first and forwardest man that took care for the repair of it. We do not find that the priests complained of it or that Jehoiada himself was active in it, but the king was zealous in the matter, 1. Because he was king, and God expects and requires from those who have power that they use it for the maintenance and support of religion, the redress of grievances, and reparation of decays, for the exciting and engaging of ministers to do their part and people theirs. 2. Because the temple had been both his nursery and his sanctuary when he was a child, in a grateful remembrance of which he now appeared zealous for the honour of it. Those who have experienced the comfort and benefit of religious assemblies will make the reproach of them their burden (Zep 3:18), the support of them their care, and the prosperity of them their chief joy. III. The priests were ordered to collect money for these repairs, and to take care that the work was done. The king had the affairs of his kingdom to mind, and could not himself inspect this affair, but he employed the priests to manage it, the fittest persons, and most likely, one would think, to be hearty in it. 1. He gave them orders for the levying of the money of the dedicated things. They must not stay till it was paid in, but they must call for it where they knew it was due, in their respective districts, as redemption-money (by virtue of the law, Lev 27:2, Lev 27:3), or as a free-will offering, Kg2 12:4. This they were to gather every man of his acquaintance, and it was supposed that there was no man but had acquaintance with some or other of the priests. Note, We should take the opportunity that God gives us of exciting those we have a particular acquaintance with to that which is good. 2. He gave them orders for laying out the money they had levied in repairing the breaches of the house, Kg2 12:5. IV. This method did not answer the intention, Kg2 12:6. Little money was raised. Either the priests were careless, and did not call on the people to pay in their dues, or the people had so little confidence in the priests' management that they were backward to pay money into their hands; if they were distrusted without cause, it was the people's shame; if with, it was more theirs. But what money was raised was not applied to the proper use: The breaches of the house were not repaired; the priests thought it might serve as well as it had done, and therefore put off repairing from time to time. Church work is usually slow work, but it is a pity that churchmen, of all men, should be slow at it. Perhaps what little money they raised they thought it necessary to use for the maintenance of the priests, which must needs fall much short when ten tribes had wholly revolted and the other two were wretchedly corrupted. V. Another method was therefore taken. The king had his heart much set upon having the breaches of the house repaired, Kg2 12:7. His apostasy, at last, gives us cause to question whether he had as good an affection for the service of the temple as he had for the structure. Many have been zealous for building and beautifying churches, and for other forms of godliness, who yet have been strangers to the power of it. However, we commend his zeal, and blame him not for reproving even his tutor Jehoiada himself when he saw him remiss; and so convincing was his reproof that the priests owned themselves unworthy to be any longer employed, and consented to the taking of some other measures, and the giving up of the money they had received into other hands, Kg2 12:8. It was honestly done, when they found they had not spirit to do it themselves, not to hinder other people from doing it. Another course was taken, 1. For raising money, Kg2 12:9, Kg2 12:10. The money was not paid into private hands, but put into a public chest, and then people brought it in readily and in great abundance, not only their dues, but their free-will offerings for so good a work. The high priest and the secretary of state counted the money out of the chest, and laid it by in specie for the use to which it was appropriated. When public distributions are made faithfully public contributions will be made cheerfully. The money that was given, (1.) Was dropped into the chest through a hole in the lid, past recall, to intimate that what has been once resigned to God must never be resumed. Every man, as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give. (2.) The chest was put on the right hand as they went in, which, some think, is alluded to in that rule of charity which our Saviour gives, Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth. But, while they were getting all they could for the repair of the temple, they did not break in upon that which was the stated maintenance of the priests, Kg2 12:16. The trespass-money and the sin-money (which were given to them by that law, Lev 5:15, Lev 5:16) were reserved to them. Let not the servants of the temple be starved under colour of repairing the breaches of it. 2. For laying out the money that was raised. (1.) They did not put it into the hands of the priests, who were not versed in affairs of this nature, having other work to mind, but into the hands of those that did the work, or at least had the oversight of it, Kg2 12:11. Those were fittest to be entrusted with this business whose employment lay that way. Tractant fabrilia fabri - Every artist has his trade assigned; but let not those who are called to war the holy warfare entangle themselves in the affairs of this life. Those that were thus entrusted did the business, [1.] Carefully, purchasing materials and paying workmen, Kg2 12:12. Business is done with expedition when those are employed in it that understand it and know which way to go about it. [2.] Faithfully; such a reputation they got for honesty that there was no occasion to examine their bills or audit their accounts. Let all that are entrusted with public money, or public work, learn hence to deal faithfully, as those that know God will reckon with them, whether men do or no. Those that think it is no sin to cheat the government, cheat the country, or cheat the church, will be of another mind when God shall set their sins in order before them. (2.) They did not lay it out in ornaments for the temple, in vessels of gold or silver, but in necessary repairs first (Kg2 12:13), whence we may learn, in all our expenses to give that the preference which is most needful, and, in dealing for the public, to deal as we would for ourselves. After the repairs were finished we find the overplus turned into plate for the service of the temple, Ch2 24:14.

Jehoash said to the priests, &c.--There is here given an account of the measures which the young king took for repairing the temple by the levying of taxes: 1. "The money of every one that passeth the account," namely, half a shekel, as "an offering to the Lord" (Exo 30:13). 2. "The money that every man is set at," that is, the redemption price of every one who had devoted himself or any thing belonging to him to the Lord, and the amount of which was estimated according to certain rules (Lev 27:1-8). 3. Free will or voluntary offerings made to the sanctuary. The first two were paid annually (see Ch2 24:5).

Why repair ye not the breaches of the house?--This mode of collection not proving so productive as was expected (the dilatoriness of the priests was the chief cause of the failure), a new arrangement was proposed. A chest was placed by the high priest at the entrance into the temple, into which the money given by the people for the repairs of the temple was to be put by the Levites who kept the door. The object of this chest was to make a separation between the money to be raised for the building from the other moneys destined for the general use of the priests, in the hope that the people would be more liberal in their contributions when it was known that their offerings would be devoted to the special purpose of making the necessary repairs. The duty of attending to this work was no longer to devolve on the priests, but to be undertaken by the king.

they gave the money, being told, into the hands of them that did the work--The king sent his secretary along with an agent of the high priest to count the money in the chest from time to time (Ch2 24:11), and deliver the amount to the overseers of the building, who paid the workmen and purchased all necessary materials. The custom of putting sums of certain amount in bags, which are labelled and sealed by a proper officer, is a common way of using the currency in Turkey and other Eastern countries.

Howbeit there were not made . . . bowls, &c.--When the repairs of the temple had been completed, the surplus was appropriated to the purchase of the temple furniture. The integrity of the overseers of the work being undoubted, no account was exacted of the way in which they applied the money given to them, while other moneys levied at the temple were left to the disposal of the priests as the law directed (Lev 5:16; Num 5:8).

In the seventh year of Jehu Jehoash began to reign,.... So that he reigned twenty one or twenty two years contemporary with Jehu's reign, for Jehu reigned twenty eight years: and forty years reigned he in Jerusalem; the same number of years David and Solomon reigned: and his mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba; a city in the tribe of Simeon, in the extreme part of the land of Canaan southward; her name in the Chaldee dialect is Tabitha, the same with Dorcas in Greek, Acts 9:36.

And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all his days,.... Worshipping the only true God, and ruling and walking according to the law of God: wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him; and so long as he observed his instructions, and as long as that priest lived, he reigned well; for to that period "all his days must be limited"; for after his death he was seduced by the princes of Judah to idolatry, and lived scandalously, and died ignominiously; see 2 Chronicles 24:2.

But the high places were not taken away,.... Used before the temple was built, or set up in Rehoboam's time, 1 Kings 14:23 contrary to the law of God, which required that sacrifices should only be offered in the place the Lord chose to dwell in, Deuteronomy 12:4 the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places; as they had done in the times of Athaliah, and though the pure worship of God was restored at Jerusalem; and indeed this they did in all preceding reigns; nor was it in the power of the best of kings, at least they did not think it safe to attempt to remove them till Hezekiah's time; so fond were the people of them because of their antiquity and supposed sanctity, and for the sake of ease.

And Jehoash said to the priests,.... Being minded or having it in his heart, to repair the temple, as in 2 Chronicles 24:4 not only because it was the sanctuary of the Lord, though that chiefly, but because it had been a sanctuary to him, where he was hid and preserved six years: all the money of the dedicated things that is brought into the house of the Lord: or rather, "that is to be brought", as De Dieu, and others render it, the particulars of which follow: even the money of everyone that passeth the account; or that passeth among them that are numbered, as in Exodus 30:13 that were upwards of twenty years of age, and bound to pay the half shekel for the ransom of their souls; and it is called the collection or burden Moses laid on them in the wilderness, 2 Chronicles 24:6. the money that every man is set at; the price the priest set upon or estimated a man at, or whomsoever that belonged to him, that he devoted to the Lord, which by the law he was bound to pay for his redemption, and, till that was done, he and they were not his, but the Lord's, of which see Leviticus 27:1 and here the Targum calls it, the money of the redemption of souls, which is the gift of a man for the redemption of his soul: and all the money that cometh into any man's heart to bring into the house of the Lord: vows and freewill offerings made of their own accord.

Let the priests take it to them, every man of his acquaintance,.... Of those that were most known by them; for the priests had cities assigned them in several parts of the land, and they that dwelt with them in them, or in the parts adjacent to them, were best known by them; and they were sent into all the cities, some to one and some to another, where they were most acquainted, to collect money, both what was due by law, and what the people should freely give, see 2 Chronicles 24:5. and let them repair the breaches of the house, wheresoever any breach shall be found: that is, of the temple, which, according to the Jewish chronology (i), had been built but one hundred and fifty five years; and being built very strong, would have needed no considerable repairs as yet, but that it had been broken up and misused by Athaliah and her sons, 2 Chronicles 24:7. (i) Seder Olam Rabba, c. 18.

But it was so, that in the twenty and third year of King Jehoash, the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house. Either the people being backward to pay in the money, or the priests converted it to their own use: or, however, were negligent of doing the work enjoined them by the king, either in collecting the money, or in using it as they were directed.

Then King Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and the other priests,.... The common priests, Jehoiada being high priest: and said unto them, why repair ye not the breaches of the house? in which they appeared to him very dilatory; the reason might be, the people were not forward to pay in their money, and they might not choose to begin the repairs until they had got it all in, or at least what was sufficient to carry them through them: now therefore receive no more money of your acquaintance; suspecting that what they had received they kept for their own use: but deliver it for the breaches of the house; into other hands for that use, and so dismissed them at once from collecting the money, and being concerned in the repairs of the temple.

And the priests consented to receive no more money of the people,.... And delivered up what they had: neither to repair the breaches of the house; being very willing to be stop both services, and especially since they seemed to be suspected.

But Jehoiada the priest took a chest,.... By the commandment of the king, 2 Chronicles 24:8, to put the money collected into, to prevent any fraud, or suspicion of any: and bored a hole in the lid of it; to drop the money into, by which means it could not be taken out without taking off the lid: and set it beside the altar; the altar of burnt offering, in the court: on the right side, as one cometh into the house of the Lord; that is, on the north; for the entrance into the temple was at the east: in 2 Chronicles 24:8, it is said to be set without at the gate of the house; which Dr. Lightfoot (k) thinks respects another time, and that either another chest was made, or the same that was first placed by the altar, in the court of the priests, and so in their hands, and the money not coming in apace, was removed without the court at the entrance of it, whither the people brought it readily: and the priests that kept the door; the door of the outward court, the levites, the porters, or rather, as the Targum, the priests, the treasurers, who were appointed to this service in the room of the others dismissed; and so Kimchi and other Jewish commentators interpret this of the keepers of the vessels of the sanctuary, and not of the doors of it: these put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord; by the people from the several parts of the country, who, by proclamation, were required so to do, and very readily did, 2 Chronicles 24:9. (k) Prospect of the Temple, ch. 30. p. 20, 22.

And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest,.... Which might easily be guessed at by the number of the people which contributed: that the king's and the high priest came up; to the temple; the high priest did not choose to come alone, lest he should be suspected, but to have the king's secretary with him, that the money might be taken out of the chest, and told in the presence of them both: in 2 Chronicles 24:11 instead of the "high priest", it is the "high priest's officer", which the Targum there calls the Sagan of the high priest, or his deputy, who, perhaps, attended when the high priest could not: and they put up in bags, and told the money that was found in the house of the Lord; that is, they poured the money out of the chest, or emptied it, as in 2 Chronicles 24:11 and counted it, and very likely set down the sum in writing, and put it up in bags, very probably sealed.

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,.... Who were appointed overseers of the workmen employed in the repairs of the temple; which overseers were laymen, and not priests, they being discharged from any concern in the repairs: this money "told", Kimchi interprets of its being coined; he supposes money coined and uncoined to be brought, which was put in separate bags; and that, which was not coined, they coined it before they delivered it to the overseers to pay the workmen with: and they laid it out to the carpenters and builders that wrought upon the house of the Lord; paid them with it, some that wrought in cutting the timber, and others in building with it.

And to masons, and hewers of stone,.... Which they cut out of the mountain, and the masons repaired the stone walls with: and to buy timber; felled in Lebanon: and hewed stone; fitted for building with: to repair the breaches of the house of the Lord; where both timber and stone were wanting: and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it; in whatsoever else it needed, as iron and brass to mend it, 2 Chronicles 24:12.

Howbeit there were not made for the house of the Lord, bowls of silver,.... Either to hold the blood of the sacrifices, or the drink offerings of wine: snuffers; to trim the lamps; or, as Jarchi and other writers, both Jewish and Christian, musical instruments: basins; vessels to sprinkle the blood with, as the word signifies: trumpets; silver ones, to call the assembly, blow over the sacrifices, &c. any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver; for any other use: these were not made of the money that was brought into the house of the Lord; yet, in 2 Chronicles 24:14, it is said they were, which is to be reconciled thus; they did not make any of those things at first, until the house was repaired, and the charges of it defrayed; and then of what remained they made vessels for the house, which were wanting, that Athaliah had bestowed on Baalim, 2 Chronicles 24:7.

But they gave that to the workmen, and repaired therewith the house of the Lord. They took care that the workmen should first be paid for the repairs of the temple.

Moreover, they reckoned not with the men into whose hand they delivered the money to be bestowed on the workmen,.... That is, the king's secretary and the high priest, or his officer, never called to account the overseers of the workmen, to whom they committed the money to pay them with; never examined how they laid it out, and for what: for they dealt faithfully; they saw they acted such an honest and upright part, and such an high opinion had they of them, that they never examined their accounts, or called for their bills.

The trespass money and sin money was not brought into the house of the Lord,.... Which was the money persons at a distance sent for their trespass and sin offerings instead of cattle, with which the sacrifices were bought; and what remained of the money was not brought into the temple, and made use of in the above manner: it was the priest's; the overplus of it, and such of the sacrifices which by the law were appropriated to them.

Then Hazael king of Syria went up and fought against Gath, and took it,.... When Jehoiada was dead, and Jehoash was become an apostate, the Lord suffered the king of Syria to be a scourge to him; who first attacked Gath, and took it, which was formerly one of the principalities of the Philistines, but was subdued by David, and had been in the hands of the Israelites ever since; the king of Syria began with this, as nearest to him, to open the way for what he had further in view: and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem; he made such preparations, and took such measures, as plainly indicated what his design was.

And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated,.... To sacred uses, and had laid up in the temple: and his own hallowed things: which he had devoted to the same uses: and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the Lord: which were gifts and presents from divers persons for sacred services: and sent it to Hazael king of Syria, and he went away from Jerusalem; to bribe him, that he might desist from his purpose; which showed a meanness of spirit, and was the effect of his idolatry and apostasy, having forsaken the Lord, and being forsaken by him; in whom should have been his trust and confidence, and then he need not have been afraid to meet the king of Syria.

And the rest of the acts of Jehoash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? In the registers and annals of those princes; some of them are to be met with in 2 Chronicles 24:1.

And his servants arose,.... This was after he had slain Zechariah the son of Jehoiada, who reproved him for his idolatry; and after a second expedition of the king of Syria, who came to Jerusalem, and spoiled it, and left Jehoash diseased, as is recorded in 2 Chronicles 24:23, and made a conspiracy; not to get the kingdom into their hands, for his son succeeded him, but to avenge the death of Zechariah: and slew Jehoash in the house of Millo, which goeth down to Silla; these are both names of places; perhaps the latter is mentioned, to distinguish this Bethmillo from Millo in Zion; or rather that itself is meant, and described by the descent from it to a causeway, as Silla may signify, which led to the royal palace.

For Jozachar the son of Shimeath,.... Said to be an Ammonitess, and this man's name Zabad, 2 Chronicles 24:26, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants; who is said in the same place to be the son of Shimrith a Moabitess: these smote him, and he died; justly did he fall by the hands of such persons for his idolatry: and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David; but not in the sepulchres of the kings, because of his idolatry and murder of a priest of the Lord: and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead; the conspirators not seeking the kingdom, but vengeance on him for his sins, which, whether right in them to do, was suffered by the Lord.

Then Hazael . . . fought against Gath--(See on Ch2 24:23).