July 27, 2015
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

A Lesson in Perseverance

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Opening Prayer

Spirit of Truth, reveal to me the things of God. Spirit of Power, encourage me to act courageously for You.

Read 2 Chronicles 24:1-16

[1] Joash 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. [2] Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the years of Jehoiada the priest. [3] Jehoiada chose two wives for him, and he had sons and daughters. [4] Some time later Joash decided to restore the temple of the LORD. [5] He 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. [6] Therefore 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?” [7] Now the sons of that wicked woman Athaliah had broken into the temple of God and had used even its sacred objects for the Baals. [8] At the king’s command, a chest was made and placed outside, at the gate of the temple of the LORD. [9] A 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. [10] All the officials and all the people brought their contributions gladly, dropping them into the chest until it was full. [11] Whenever 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. [12] The 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. [13] The 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. [14] When 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. [15] Now Jehoiada was old and full of years, and he died at the age of a hundred and thirty. [16] He was buried with the kings in the City of David, because of the good he had done in Israel for God and his temple.

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

We need to be alert to the perils of over-reliance on godly leaders and the crucial need for personal faithfulness “to the end of the road.”

We have leapt across much of the chronicler’s history, to the Temple’s renewal in the reign of the boy-king, Joash. There were momentous developments during the intervening period, including the division of Israel into two kingdoms following Solomon’s death (2 Chron. 10), the appearance of court-prophets (paid to give religious authority to whatever the kings wished to do) as well as authentic preachers speaking truth to power, as in the classic case of Micaiah (2 Chron. 18), and a descent into apostasy and anarchy (2 Chron. 22:10-12). As a result, Solomon’s Temple fell into a condition of ruin, neglected and unrepaired, as the contributions of devout Israelites to its maintenance dried up, leaving the treasury bankrupt.

The king in this passage, although only seven years old, had already lived through dramatic and terrifying events. Rescued from the clutches of the bloodthirsty queen, Athaliah (2 Chron. 22:11), he was whisked away and hidden in the Temple for six years before the old priest, Jehoiada, presented him with a copy of the covenant and declared him to be the Lord’s anointed. Jehoiada covenanted that “he, the people and the king would be the Lord’s people” (2 Chron. 23:16). This was, in other words, a reformation, a turning back to God and a fresh beginning.

Joash’s tender years contrasting with Jehoiada’s advanced age, the young boy and the old man joined forces to restore the Temple. Although the influence of the old priest on the boy-king was considerable, Joash was no mere puppet; it was he who decided that the Temple should be restored (4). Tragically, although Joash followed the Lord “all the years of Jehoiada the priest” (2), the passing of his mentor marked the beginning of his decline (17-19). We are reminded of the words of Jesus, “the one who stands firm to the end will be saved” (Matt. 24:13).

Apply

Did you have a mentor who played a big part in your own pilgrimage? How are you coping without them? What will you need to persevere until the end?

Closing prayer

Lord Jesus, at times I feel I cannot go a step further. I need a Sabbath, I need Your touch, to replenish me. Help me to persevere, help me to get through.

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