Immerse: Chronicles Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 92
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CHRONICLES
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over to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They demolished the altars
and smashed the idols, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front
of the altars.
Jehoiada now put the priests and Levites in charge of the Temple of the
Lord, following all the directions given by David. He also commanded
them to present burnt offerings to the Lord, as prescribed by the Law of
Moses, and to sing and rejoice as David had instructed. He also stationed
gatekeepers at the gates of the Lord’s Temple to keep out those who for
any reason were ceremonially unclean.
Then the commanders, nobles, rulers, and all the people of the land
escorted the king from the Temple of the Lord. They went through
the upper gate and into the palace, and they seated the king on the royal
throne. So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was peaceful
because Athaliah had been killed.
Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jeru
salem forty years. His mother was Zibiah from Beersheba. Joash did what
was pleasing in the Lord’s sight throughout the lifetime of Jehoiada the
priest. Jehoiada chose two wives for Joash, and he had sons and daughters.
At one point Joash decided to repair and restore the Temple of the Lord.
He summoned the priests and Levites and gave them these instructions:
“Go to all the towns of Judah and collect the required annual offerings, so
that we can repair the Temple of your God. Do not delay!” But the Levites
did not act immediately.
So the king called for Jehoiada the high priest and asked him, “Why
haven’t you demanded that the Levites go out and collect the Temple
taxes from the towns of Judah and from Jerusalem? Moses, the servant of
the Lord, levied this tax on the community of Israel in order to maintain
the Tabernacle of the Covenant.”
Over the years the followers of wicked Athaliah had broken into the
Temple of God, and they had used all the dedicated things from the
Temple of the Lord to worship the images of Baal.
So now the king ordered a chest to be made and set outside the gate leading to the Temple of the Lord. Then a proclamation was sent throughout
Judah and Jerusalem, telling the people to bring to the Lord the tax that
Moses, the servant of God, had required of the Israelites in the wilderness.
This pleased all the leaders and the people, and they gladly brought their
money and filled the chest with it.
Whenever the chest became full, the Levites would carry it to the king’s
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