The One Year Bible for Men - Flipbook - Page 93
671
July 29
LET GOD TRAN S FORM YOU I NTO A N EW
PE RSON BY C HANG I NG TH E WAY YOU TH I N K.
ROMANS 12:2
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was collected. 12 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 metal
workers, who made articles of iron and bronze
for the Lord’s Temple.
13 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. 14 When
all the repairs were finished, they brought
the remaining money to the king and Jehoi
ada. 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 sil
ver. And the burnt offerings were sacrificed
continually in the Temple of the Lord during
the lifetime of Jehoiada the priest.
15 Jehoiada lived to a very old age, finally
dying at 130. 16 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.
17 But after Je
hoiada’s death, the leaders
of Judah came and bowed before King Joash
and persuaded him to listen to their advice.
18 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. 19 Yet the Lord sent prophets
to bring them back to him. The prophets
warned them, but still the people would not
listen.
20 Then the Spirit of God came upon Zech
ariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood
before the people and said, “This is what God
says: Why do you disobey the Lord’s com
mands and keep yourselves from prospering?
You have abandoned the Lord, and now he has
abandoned you!”
21 Then the leaders plotted to kill Zechar
iah,
and King Joash ordered that they stone him to
death in the courtyard of the Lord’s Temple.
J u ly 2 9
2 CHRONICLES 24:1–25:28
Joash was seven years old when he became
king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years.
His mother was Zibiah from Beersheba. 2 Joash
did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight
throughout the lifetime of Jehoiada the priest.
3 Jehoiada chose two wives for Joash, and he
had sons and daughters.
4 At one point Joash decided to repair and re
store the Temple of the Lord. 5 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.
6 So the king called for Jehoiada the high
priest and asked him, “Why haven’t you de
manded that the Levites go out and collect
the Temple taxes from the towns of Judah and
from Jerusalem? M
oses, the servant of the
Lord, levied this tax on the community of Is
rael in order to maintain the Tabernacle of the
Covenant.*”
7 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.
8 So now the king ordered a chest to be
made and set outside the gate leading to the
Temple of the Lord. 9 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. 10 This pleased
all the leaders and the people, and they gladly
brought their money and filled the chest
with it.
11 Whenever the chest became full, the Le
vites would carry it to the king’s 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
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