2 Chronicles 24:1-19

Joash Repairs the Temple 1Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba. 2Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the years of Jehoiada the priest.

3Jehoiada chose two wives for him, and he had sons and daughters. 4Some time later Joash decided to restore the temple of the LORD .

5He called together the priests and Levites and said to them, “Go to the towns of Judah and collect the money due annually from all Israel, to repair the temple of your God. Do it now.” But the Levites did not act at once.

6Therefore the king summoned Jehoiada the chief priest and said to him, “Why haven’t you required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax imposed by Moses the servant of the LORD and by the assembly of Israel for the tent of the covenant law?”

7Now the sons of that wicked woman Athaliah had broken into the temple of God and had used even its sacred objects for the Baals. 8At the king’s command, a chest was made and placed outside, at the gate of the temple of the LORD . 9A proclamation was then issued in Judah and Jerusalem that they should bring to the LORD the tax that Moses the servant of God had required of Israel in the wilderness. 10All the officials and all the people brought their contributions gladly, dropping them into the chest until it was full. 11Whenever the chest was brought in by the Levites to the king’s officials and they saw that there was a large amount of money, the royal secretary and the officer of the chief priest would come and empty the chest and carry it back to its place. They did this regularly and collected a great amount of money.

12The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who carried out the work required for the temple of the LORD . They hired masons and carpenters to restore the LORD ’s temple, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the temple. 13The men in charge of the work were diligent, and the repairs progressed under them. They rebuilt the temple of God according to its original design and reinforced it.

14When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada, and with it were made articles for the LORD ’s temple: articles for the service and for the burnt offerings, and also dishes and other objects of gold and silver. As long as Jehoiada lived, burnt offerings were presented continually in the temple of the LORD . 15Now Jehoiada was old and full of years, and he died at the age of a hundred and thirty.

16He was buried with the kings in the City of David, because of the good he had done in Israel for God and his temple.

The Wickedness of Joash 17After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them. 18They abandoned the temple of the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and worshiped Asherah poles and idols. Because of their guilt, God’s anger came on Judah and Jerusalem.

19Although the LORD sent prophets to the people to bring them back to him, and though they testified against them, they would not listen.