Immerse: Chronicles Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 93
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C hronicles – E Z R A – N E H E M I A H
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officials. Then the court secretary and an officer of the high priest would
come and empty the chest and take it back to the Temple again. This
went on day after day, and a large amount of money was collected. The
king and Jehoiada gave the money to the construction supervisors, who
hired masons and carpenters to restore the Temple of the Lord. They also
hired metalworkers, who made articles of iron and bronze for the Lord’s
Temple.
The men in charge of the renovation worked hard and made steady
progress. They restored the Temple of God according to its original design
and strengthened it. When all the repairs were finished, they brought the
remaining money to the king and Jehoiada. It was used to make various
articles for the Temple of the Lord—articles for worship services and for
burnt offerings, including ladles and other articles made of gold and silver.
And the burnt offerings were sacrificed continually in the Temple of the
Lord during the lifetime of Jehoiada the priest.
Jehoiada lived to a very old age, finally dying at 130. He was buried
among the kings in the City of David, because he had done so much good
in Israel for God and his Temple.
But after Jehoiada’s death, the leaders of Judah came and bowed before
King Joash and persuaded him to listen to their advice. They decided to
abandon the Temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they
worshiped Asherah poles and idols instead! Because of this sin, divine
anger fell on Judah and Jerusalem. Yet the Lord sent prophets to bring
them back to him. The prophets warned them, but still the people would
not listen.
Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest.
He stood before the people and said, “This is what God says: Why do you
disobey the Lord’s commands and keep yourselves from prospering? You
have abandoned the Lord, and now he has abandoned you!”
Then the leaders plotted to kill Zechariah, and King Joash ordered that
they stone him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s Temple. That was
how King Joash repaid Jehoiada for his loyalty—by killing his son. Zech
ariah’s last words as he died were, “May the Lord see what they are doing
and avenge my death!”
In the spring of the year the Aramean army marched against Joash. They
invaded Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the leaders of the nation. Then
they sent all the plunder back to their king in Damascus. Although the Ara
means attacked with only a small army, the Lord helped them conquer the
much larger army of Judah. The people of Judah had abandoned the Lord,
the God of their ancestors, so judgment was carried out against Joash.
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