2 Kings Chapter 12
Showing all 21 verses for 2 Kings Chapter 12.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"In the seventh year of Jehu Jehoash began to reign; and forty years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. "
"Jehoash became king in the seventh year of Jehu's reign over Israel, and he reigned in Jerusalem for forty years. His mother's name was Zibiah, from Beersheba."
Every life, however it starts or ends, is grounded in real relationships and a real history - I know your story from beginning to end, and none of the details are wasted on me.
"And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him. "
"Jehoash did what was right in the LORD's eyes throughout the time that the priest Jehoiada was guiding him."
I want you to grow into goodness that's genuinely yours, not just borrowed from whoever happens to be guiding you at the time. Let the people who mentor you help form convictions that will hold even when they're no longer there to remind you.
"But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places. "
"But the illegal local shrines weren't removed - people kept offering sacrifices and burning incense at them."
Don't wait for perfect transformation before celebrating real progress, but don't mistake partial change for completion either - I want you to keep working at the areas of your life you haven't fully brought into the light, even after real growth elsewhere.
"And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the dedicated things that is brought into the house of the LORD, even the money of every one that passeth the account, the money that every man is set at, and all the money that cometh into any man’s heart to bring into the house of the LORD, "
"Jehoash told the priests, "All the money brought in as dedicated gifts - the census money, the money from personal vows, and whatever anyone voluntarily brings to the Temple -"
Loving what matters to you sometimes looks unglamorous - budgets, upkeep, follow-through. I honour practical stewardship as much as heartfelt devotion; they're meant to work together.
"Let the priests take it to them, every man of his acquaintance: and let them repair the breaches of the house, wheresoever any breach shall be found. "
"let the priests take it, each from people they know, and use it to repair whatever damage is found in the Temple.""
I'm not impressed by intentions alone - I want you to build real accountability into the good things you set out to do, because good aims without workable structure often quietly fail.
"But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house. "
"But by Jehoash's twenty-third year as king, the priests still hadn't repaired the Temple's damage."
Don't let years slip by on good intentions that never turn into action - I'd rather you fix a broken system honestly, even late, than let neglect quietly continue because nobody wants to admit the plan isn't working.
"Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and the other priests, and said unto them, Why repair ye not the breaches of the house? now therefore receive no more money of your acquaintance, but deliver it for the breaches of the house. "
"So King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada and the other priests and asked them, "Why haven't you repaired the Temple? From now on, stop collecting money from your contacts, and instead hand it over directly for the repairs.""
When something you care about isn't happening, don't just keep hoping harder - ask honestly why, even of people you respect, and change what needs changing. I value honest correction far more than comfortable silence.
"And the priests consented to receive no more money of the people, neither to repair the breaches of the house. "
"The priests agreed to stop collecting money from the people and to stop being responsible for the repairs."
If you find you're not the right person, or your method isn't working, for something you once took on, I don't want your pride to keep you clinging to it - stepping back gracefully can be as faithful as stepping up.
"But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one cometh into the house of the LORD: and the priests that kept the door put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the LORD. "
"But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, drilled a hole in its lid, and placed it beside the altar, to the right as you enter the Temple. The priests on door duty put all the money brought to the Temple into it."
Good structures serve good purposes - I care that resources meant for good are actually used well, and I'm glad when people design honest, transparent systems rather than relying on vague trust alone.
"And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags, and told the money that was found in the house of the LORD. "
"Whenever they saw there was a lot of money in the chest, the royal secretary and the high priest would come, count it, and put it into bags."
When something valuable is entrusted to you, welcome accountability rather than resisting it - shared oversight isn't a lack of trust, it's a form of care that protects everyone involved, including you.
"And they gave the money, being told, into the hands of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of the LORD: and they laid it out to the carpenters and builders, that wrought upon the house of the LORD, "
"They handed the counted money over to those overseeing the Temple work, who paid it out to the carpenters and builders working on the Temple,"
Don't let good systems become bureaucracy for its own sake - I want the structures you build in life to actually serve people and get real good done, not just look orderly.
"And to masons, and hewers of stone, and to buy timber and hewed stone to repair the breaches of the house of the LORD, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it. "
"and to stonemasons and quarry workers, and to buy timber and cut stone for repairing the Temple, and for all the other expenses of the restoration."
When you set out to restore or rebuild something in your life - a relationship, a habit, a piece of yourself - expect it to require real, detailed, sometimes tedious work, not just a single moment of good intention.
"Howbeit there were not made for the house of the LORD bowls of silver, snuffers, basons, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of the LORD: "
"However, none of the money brought to the Temple was spent on silver bowls, wick-trimmers, basins, trumpets, or any gold or silver vessels for the Temple -"
I ask you to be honest about what's actually needed versus what's merely desired when you're stewarding resources - meeting real, urgent need matters more to me than appearances or extras.
"But they gave that to the workmen, and repaired therewith the house of the LORD. "
"instead, it all went to the workers, and they used it to repair the Temple."
When you manage something entrusted to you well, and it does exactly what it was meant to do, that's worth noticing and being glad about - I delight in faithfulness that's followed all the way through.
"Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they delivered the money to be bestowed on workmen: for they dealt faithfully. "
"They didn't even require the overseers to account for the money handed to the workmen, because those men were trustworthy."
Earn the kind of trust that removes the need for others to constantly check up on you - and when you see that trustworthiness in someone else, honour it by not micromanaging what they've already proven they can be relied on to do well.
"The trespass money and sin money was not brought into the house of the LORD: it was the priests’. "
"Money from guilt offerings and sin offerings wasn't added to this repair fund - that belonged to the priests."
Be clear-eyed and honest about what different resources, gifts or responsibilities in your life are actually for - I appreciate careful, purposeful stewardship over vague, uncounted generosity.
"Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it: and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. "
"Then Hazael, king of Syria (Aram), attacked and captured Gath, and then set his sights on Jerusalem."
I don't promise you a life free from external threats or difficult circumstances just because you're trying to live well - what matters is how you respond when trouble arrives at your door, not whether it arrives at all.
"And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and in the king’s house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem. "
"Jehoash king of Judah took all the sacred items dedicated by previous kings, along with his own dedicated items and all the gold from the Temple and palace treasuries, and sent it all to Hazael, king of Syria - and Hazael withdrew from Jerusalem."
Sometimes protecting what matters most - people's lives, a community's survival - costs you the very things you've worked hard to build or restore. I don't ask you to hoard treasure, material or otherwise, above the safety and wellbeing of the people around you.
"And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? "
"As for the rest of what Joash did, isn't it all recorded in the official records of the kings of Judah?"
Not every detail of your life needs to be recorded or remembered by others to matter to me - I see and value the whole of your story, even the parts left out of anyone else's telling of it.
"And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and slew Joash in the house of Millo, which goeth down to Silla. "
"His own officials conspired against him and killed Joash at Beth Millo, on the road down to Silla."
I care as much about how you finish as how you start - don't coast on an early season of faithfulness and assume it will carry you to the end. Stay accountable and stay humble the whole way through, especially once the people who once held you accountable are gone.
"For Jozachar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, smote him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead. "
"Jozachar son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer, his own officials, struck him down and he died. He was buried with his ancestors in the City of David, and his son Amaziah became king in his place."
Even after real betrayal or loss, life goes on, and so can you - I don't want a painful ending to one chapter of your life to convince you the whole story is over. There's always a next chapter, however hard the last one was.