Joash (Judah) and a Repair List

And it came to pass after this, that Joash was minded to repair the house of the Lord. And he gathered together the priests and the Levites, and said to them, Go out unto the cities of Judah, and gather of all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that ye hasten the matter. Howbeit the Levites hastened it not.

2 Chron 24:4-5

After the wicked reign of his grandmother Athaliah, Joash was king of Judah. The beauty of this is that Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord (cf. 2 Kings 12:2). He was influenced and cooperative with the priest Jehoiada. We see in the above passage that he had his mind set to repair the house of the Lord. Have you ever put your mind to something? Do you have something within your line of sight that you know needs repairing? For me that seems as if it is an ongoing thing. Cars need work from time to time; a mower needs repaired every once in a while. However, it takes the mind to work to get it done.

If you are like me, lists help. I have an ongoing list that I make weekly and lay out my projects on paper. After that, I rank them and place a projected date. If Joash was a list-maker, repairing the house of the Lord would have been number one. He gathered the priests and said this is the top of my agenda so go raise the money. When the offering was collected, it was put to use .

And the king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the Lord, and also such as wrought iron and brass to mend the house of the Lord.So the workmen wrought, and the work was perfected by them, and they set the house of God in his state, and strengthened it. 2Chronicles 24:12-13

What things need corrected in your life? What breaches need mending in your faith? If you are a New Testament Christian, you are by definition the church of the living God. Maybe you do not look how you want because you have not set your mind to it. Invest the time you need to pray, to study, to sing psalms, to be in attendance when the brethren assemble. Make a list and prioritize to invest your treasure, time, and energy in the Lord’s body, and you will not be disappointed. Joash gave us a great example that we can follow if we will only stop walking by the problems we see every day and instead put our mind to repair them.

Grace and Peace,

R.D. Beavers

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