722
T HE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
November 1924
God’s swift judgment fell upon her as it fell upon her father and mother, and as it must eventually fall upon every sinner (Isa. 14:27). “ For the Lord of hosts hath purposes, and who shall dis annul; and his hand is stretched out and who shall turn it back.” The people pledged their loyalty to Jehovah, broke down the altars of Baal, slew his high priests and restored the worship of the true God. (4 ) THE CULPABLE PRIESTS, 12:4-8. “ Why repair ye not the breaches of the house?” v. 7. Joash reigned successfully for twenty-three years and prospered because he kept the covenant which had been made (11:17), though the high places were not taken away, and the people burned incense and sacrificed on them. The temple of God was in bad repair; it had suffered at the hands of the sons of Athaliah (2 Chron. 24:7). Joash had ordered the priests to take the dedicated money and lay aside for its repair. The priests appropriated the money for themselves. In this they were typical men (Isa. 56:10, 12; Mai. 1:10). They had no heart in the work, but they had a heart for the money. The priests were faithless. The church has been faith less. The church has been 2000 years with a command from the lips of the Lord. What has been done? Paul did more work single-handed than can be done now by a dozen boards of foreign missions. (Matt. 28:18, 19; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:18, 20.) The church has had many breaches made in its walls by its own professed followers, as well as by its enemy, Satan. The standards of the church have been attacked. The fun damentals of the Scripture have been violated. The Lord’s Virgin Birth, His Death, His Resurrections-who cares?« Ministers and teachers who insinuate doubts regarding these doctrines are welcomed in public and private places and given the right hand of fellowship. How easy to criticize these Jewish priests for neglect of the earthly house! Why not take to ourselves the blame we so riehly deserve? (5 ) THE CONSERVATION OF FUNDS, 12:9-16. “ And the priests that kept the door, put therein all the money.” v. 9. The king woke up and demanded a reason—why? So God calls men to account (Rom. 14:12). God will have a Nathan to come and put his finger upon us and say, “ Thou art the man! ” Then the king devised a plan, using good common sense. A big mite-box was placed in the treasury, in which the people were to put their offerings for the specific work of repairing the temple (Mark 12:41). There was a sys tematic administration of funds. The priests got their portion, the men got theirs and the house received the needed repairs. The lesson is simple. We need system in our work for the Lord. There is a good way and a best way to do things. There is a slovenly way. About the poorest work done in the world is the work which is done for the Lord. An opinion seems to prevail that anything will do for the Lord—bits of time, bits of money, bits of fellowship. Every believer must find a way. He must have his “ mite” box, hut he should spell the word “ might.” Beware of the breaches! They are easily made. The building used for the worship of God should not be devoted to secular things. It produces an irreverent spirit. Some have dance halls, billiard rooms and stages for plays in their church buildings, but people will never be made spiritual by these things.
Our bodies are temples (1 Cor. 6:19). Let us keep them for the Lord. TOPICS FOR STUDY (1) Is our rejected King safely hidden and where? (2) Will He in due time be openly manifested to the world? (3) What is He waiting for? (4) How will He be anointed? (Heb. 1:8.) (5) Will God’s purposes ever be defeated? ( 6 ) How should men serve who are called to be servants of God? (7) What are some of the hindrances to the service of God? ( 8 ) Is it possible to withhold from God His due and yet prosper spiritually? 11:8. Bedchamber— i.e., not the sleeping apartment, but the storeroom in which bedding was kept. No one would be supposed to occupy that storeroom.-—Horn. Com. Jehosheba, as the daughter of one king and sister of another, would naturally know every nook and COMMENTS corner and hiding-place in the palace; FROM THE and as the wife of the high priest would COMMENTARIES know all about the Temple, where the V. V. Morgan boy Joash and his nurse were hid in the house of the Lord six years, in some of the many small rooms built in three stories around the Temple buildings—.Farrar. Note the providence of God in this transaction. God’s providence is always around us, but we see His working more clearly in those unexpected events which change the whole course of our lives. Robert son, the famous preacher of Brighton, says that his whole life was changed by the barking of a dog.— Peloubet. The church of God is a good hiding place. Would God that we were all as wise as Jehosheba, and knew that the church of God is the best hiding-place.|s-Hom. Com. 11:4. Jehoiada gained the confidence of the people before he disclosed to them his purpose to depose Athaliah, who was reigning without right, and place Joash, the rightful sovereign, upon the throne.|§-Pract. Com. 11:12. The Testimony was placed in his hands. By this, we must understand the Law, as the people then possessed it. Express direction is given in Deut. 17:18, 19, that when a king shall be chosen he shall have a copy of the law, which he shall study “ that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes to do them.” So the delivery o f the Law would naturally form a most solemn portion of the coronation ceremony. —Cambridge Bible. The Bible of the time of Joash, the Book of the Law of God, which was placed in his hands, reminds us of the use of the Bible in the coronation of all the English kings. The Bible is handed to the King by the Archbishop, saying, “ Our gracious King, we present you with this Book, the most valuable thing that this world affords. Here is wis dom; this is the Royal Law; these are the lively Oracles of God. Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this Book, that keep and do the things contained in it.*’ Every boy and girl, every young man and maiden ought in heart and soul to take upon himself just such a corona tion, that will make him a king, or her a queen all through life, and in the world to come.— Peloubet. 11:16. Athaliah’s sin was to be visited upon her own head. She had put to death many that she might reign, and now when right and justice were to triumph she must pay the penalty.—Pract. Com. 12:1. This is another form of “ Joash” (ch. 11:2; 2 Chron. 22:11).— Selco. 12:2. While Jehoiada lived, Joash faithfully observed the covenant he had made with Jehovah, and, though the fact is not stated, it is implied that he afterwards departed from the counsels of his benefactor. This defection is related in the Chronicles.—Horn. Com. 12:4. Josephus says that the priests and Levites were sent through the whole land to ask half, a shekel from each person for the furniture and restoration of the temple. —Cambridge Bible.
Made with FlippingBook Online document