PROPER MONEY MANAGEMENT

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Joash said to the priests, "Collect all the money that is brought as sacred offerings to the temple of the Lord - the money collected in the census, the money received from personal vows and the money brought voluntarily to the temple. Let every priest receive the money from one of the treasurers, and let it be used to repair whatever damage is found in the temple."

But by the twenty-third year of King Joash the priests still had not repaired the temple. Therefore King Joash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and asked them, "Why aren't you repairing the damage done to the temple? Take no more money from your treasurers, but hand it over for repairing the temple." The priests agreed that they would not collect any more money from the people and that they would not repair the temple themselves.

Jehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in its lid. He placed it beside the altar, on the right side as one enters the temple of the Lord. The priests who guarded the entrance put into the chest all the money that was brought to the temple of the Lord. Whenever they saw that there was a large amount of money in the chest, the royal secretary and the high priest came, counted the money that had been brought into the temple of the Lord and put it into bags. When the amount had been determined, they gave the money to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. With it they paid those who worked on the temple of the Lord - the carpenters and builders, the masons and stonecutters. They purchased timber and dressed stone for the repair of the temple of the Lord, and met all the other expenses of restoring the temple.

The money brought into the temple was not spent for making silver basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets or any other articles of gold or silver for the temple of the Lord; it was paid to the workmen, who used it to repair the temple. They did not require an accounting from those to whom they gave the money to pay the workers, because they acted with complete honesty. The money from the guilt offerings and sin offerings was not brought into the temple of the Lord; it belonged to the priests.

2 Kings 12:4-16

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As we see in this passage from 2 Kings, Chapter 12, the temple of the Lord was in need of repair. Built 124 years before the reign of Joash during the time when Solomon was Israel’s king, temple usage over time would obviously result in a need to renovate.

This is what led Joash to order his priests to "Collect all the money…brought as sacred offerings to the temple of the Lord - the money collected in the census, the money received from personal vows and the money brought voluntarily to the temple.” The money was to be collected from their temple treasurers and use it to “repair whatever damage is found in the temple."

The guidance was clear. Unfortunately, the execution of the guidance was lacking.

We know this because scripture tells us that no repairs had been made by the 23rd year of Joash’s reign. What were the priests doing during this time? What were they doing with all the money they were told to collect? We’re they even collecting what the king ordered? The lack of action brings to mind so many questions but we don’t get any answers from our passage.

We do know that Joash lost confidence in his priest’s ability to carry out his orders. In frustration, he “summoned Jehoiada the priest and the other priests”, asking them, "Why aren't you repairing the damage done to the temple? Take no more money from your treasurers, but hand it over for repairing the temple."

And so that’s what happened. The “priests agreed that they would not collect any more money from the people and that they would not repair the temple themselves.” Instead, “Jehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in its lid” before placing it “beside the altar, on the right side as one enters the temple.” We read that the priests then “put into the chest all the money that was brought to the temple of the Lord” and when “they saw that there was a large amount of money in the chest, the royal secretary and the high priest came, counted the money that had been brought into the temple of the Lord and put it into bags.” The money was then given “to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple” who used it to pay “those who worked on the temple of the Lord - the carpenters and builders, the masons and stonecutters.” They also “purchased timber and dressed stone for the repair of the temple of the Lord, and met all the other expenses of restoring the temple.” Scripture tells us that “the money brought into the temple was not spent for making silver basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets or any other articles of gold or silver for the temple of the Lord.” All went to pay the workman to repair the temple.

So we see that after Joash became involved and laid down the law to his priests, proper money management began to take place. The money got into the hands of the right people and this resulted in no need to receive an “accounting from those to whom they gave the money to pay the workers, because they acted with complete honesty.” And when it comes to money, this is key.

How many times do we read about cases where money is mismanaged in society today? The news is filled with stories of people who were trusted to handle finances and then allowed sin to enter in and drive them toward misconduct. Fraudulent use of money runs rampant…and the greater the amount of money, the greater the risk of temptation to do wrong.

Friends, when it comes to managing our money, we simply must consult God and God alone as to how we should handle it. For He and only He is the One who blesses us with what we have…and He blesses us with it so that we might use it to His glory. Using it for anything other than that (i.e. using it to fulfill our will and not His), only leads to disaster and destruction…just what Satan wants to happen.

God will ensure that we get our money into the hands of the right people. We need only remember to consult Him and then follow His guidance.

And you can take that to the bank.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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