Friday, 22nd October 2021
Rev Daniel Xi An Poon
Section One V1-3 The Teaching of Jehoiada
V2 ‘Jehoash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him.’ By the help of Jehoiada, Jehoash was doing what pleases the Lord. Jehoiada was not a very brave king, but because of the teaching from Jehoiada, Jehoash was able to walk righteously in God’s Way.
V3 ‘But the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. These were the temples built by the wives of Solomon, they were also the reason Solomon failed to please God at the end of his life, and his future generations were also affected. It’s important that we don’t associate with any idols or false gods, otherwise the curses and sins will follow us and our generations.
Section Two V4-26 The Serving of Jehoiada
Jehoash wanted to rebuild the Temple, the House of God, where he had been living for the past seven years before he became the king, and it was very important for him that the Temple was fixed. But unfortunately, he used his own way and understanding to try to rebuild the House of God. V4-5 ‘And Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money of the dedicated gifts that are brought into the house of the Lord—each man’s census money, each man’s assessment money—and all the money that a man purposes in his heart to bring into the house of the Lord, let the priests take it themselves, each from his constituency; and let them repair the damages of the temple, wherever any dilapidation is found.”’
V6 ‘Now it was so, by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, that the priests had not repaired the damages of the temple.’ Whatever Jehoash planned to do was not accomplished, on the other hand, the high places of idols were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. Finally, when Jehoash was thirty years old, he realised his plan was not carried out, he went to seek his teacher Jehoiada. A lot of times we try to do things in our own way, we thought we are doing the right thing, but we did not seek the priests and authority of God, we also did not follow through and at the end, we did not do anything.
V7-8 ‘So King Jehoash called Jehoiada the priest and the other priests, and said to them, “Why have you not repaired the damages of the temple? Now therefore, do not take more money from your constituency, but deliver it for repairing the damages of the temple.” And the priests agreed that they would neither receive more money from the people, nor repair the damages of the temple.’ Jehoash was prideful, he did not follow through his words and the priests did not repair the damages of the Temple.
V9-10 ‘Then Jehoiada the priest took a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of the Lord; and the priests who kept the door put there all the money brought into the house of the Lord. So it was, whenever they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s scribe and the high priest came up and put it in bags, and counted the money that was found in the house of the Lord.’ Jehoiada was unlike the other priests, even though the king did not follow through the plan of rebuilding the Temple, Jehoiada was still faithful to make a plan to collect offering for the Temple.
V11-12 ‘Then they gave the money, which had been apportioned, into the hands of those who did the work, who had the oversight of the house of the Lord; and they paid it out to the carpenters and builders who worked on the house of the Lord, and to masons and stonecutters, and for buying timber and hewn stone, to repair the damage of the house of the Lord, and for all that was paid out to repair the temple.’ The serving of Jehoiada was not just in the Temple of God, but also to support the king of Judah, Jehoash. Even though Jehoash did not follow through his plan to repair the Temple of God, Jehoiada was able to support on the side to make it happen. We should not have an attitude of a ‘labour’, only do as we are told. The priests were like that, when Jehoash told them not to collect offering, they stopped collecting and did not repair the Temple.
Jehoiada did not need to show the king or the people how much he did for the Temple of God. By action, he carried out the plan of the king, and God saw it all. Do not think God does not see, everything we do for God and for the House of God, He knows, and He remembers.
Section Three V17-21 After Jehoiada Passed Away
In 2 Chronicles 24, it mentions the detail of the passing of Jehoash and Jehoiada. Jehoiada died of old age at 130 years old, and the people buried him in the City of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God and His House. After the death of Jehoiada the leaders of Judah came and bowed down to the king. And the king listened to them. Therefore, they left the House of the Lord, God of their fathers, and served wooden images and idols; and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass.
Jehoash grew up in the Temple of God, but was his life really transformed by God? Even though he had the Testimony in his hands when he was anointed king, but is the Law of the Lord really in his life? Jehoash had Jehoiada, the priest of God, to help him, but he did not listen to Jehoiada’s teaching. God continued to send prophets to Jehoash and the leaders of Judah, to bring them back to the Lord; and they testified against them, but they would not listen. Jehoash did not destroy the high places in Judah in the first place, because they belonged to the leaders of Judah.
Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, the priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, He also has forsaken you.’” So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the House of the Lord. Jehoash, the king, did not remember the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but killed his son; and as he died, he said, “The Lord look on it, and repay!” Jehoash did not learn from Jehoiada, instead, he learnt from the world, which had no righteousness of God, so it happened in the spring of the year that the army of Syria came up against him; and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the leaders of the people from among the people, and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus.
V17 ‘Hazael king of Syria went up and fought against Gath, and took it; then Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.’ After Jehoiada died, Jehoash listened to the leaders of Judah and worshipped idols. God’s favour left him and allowed the king of Syria to come and fight against Judah. Jehoash became the king out of a difficult environment, but he did not finish well. He had no wisdom and he lost everything he had.
V20 ‘And his servants arose and formed a conspiracy, and killed Jehoash in the house of the Millo, which goes down to Silla. For Jozachar the son of Shimeath and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, struck him. So he died, and they buried him with his fathers in the City of David. Then Amaziah his son reigned in his place.’ Jehoash’s own servants conspired against him because of the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest and killed him on his bed. When Jehoash was killed, the idols he worshipped did not help him. After he died, he was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings. The name of Jozachar meant ‘Jehovah-remembered’, which represented how God knew and remembered everything Jehoash did.
God sees everything we do, do not try to perform for people, on the other hand, do not worry about how people do not see the things we do for God, because God knows it all.
列王纪下 12 – 耶和华都看见
2021年10月22日 星期五
潘锡安牧师
一、（v.1-3）耶何耶大的教训
犹大王约阿施在圣殿里长大。他在祭司耶何耶大在世的时候，“就行耶和华眼中看为正的事。只是丘坛还没有废去，百姓仍在那里献祭烧香”（V2-3）。这些丘坛是当年所罗门为所娶的外邦妃嫔在圣殿对面盖的。约阿施在这件事上没有发挥自己作王的影响力，没有去教导犹大国的人不要拜这些假神，也没有去处理丘坛。约阿施本身是一个很软弱的君王，他能够行出神看为正的事只是因为有耶何耶大给他的教训。
二、（v.4-16）耶何耶大的服事
V4-5 之前犹大国是拜巴力的亚她利雅夺权，直到约阿施七岁的时候，祭司耶何耶大才带着中军兵为他平反，所以圣殿就没有被保护得好。约阿施登位后离开住了六年的圣殿，进入王宫，看到自己从小长大的地方破旧，就决定要“修理殿的一切破坏之处”。只是，他所靠的是自己想的方法。
V6 “到了约阿施王二十三年”也就是他30岁的时候，圣殿都还没有被修理，因为王只是发了修殿的命令却丢在那里不管，也没有处理之前为修殿而收的银子。他凭着血气想要修理圣殿，但如果百姓的心仍然在丘坛那里，所以人们也没有心要做这件事。约阿施作王后就喜欢自作主张，要修圣殿前并未先问过祭司耶何耶大的意见。他若常常进圣殿，就会跟进这个项目，不会到了自己30岁的时候才发现，说明王的心并不是真的神这里。
V7-8 出了问题，约阿施才想起要找自己的师傅耶何耶大。他“召了大祭司耶何耶大和众祭司来”，为圣殿没有被修理的事责备他们，但又让他们不要管收奉献的事了。由此可以看出约阿施骄傲又不能言出必行，而众祭司听了约阿施的话连修圣殿的事也不处理了。
V9 耶何耶大做了一个“奉献箱”，借此让犹大国的人学会感恩，因为当他们进入圣殿向神献祭的时候都可以看到这个奉献箱，记起圣殿的需要。
V10 守门的祭司“见柜里的银子多了”，没有私吞财物，而是去找来王的书记和大祭司处理。奉献给圣殿的金钱是属神的，所以要非常谨慎对待，要两个人清点，彼此作见证。
V11-16 约阿施之前已经让祭司们不要理这件事情，但耶何耶大仍然做好自己的工作，尽责帮助犹大君王，办理修葺圣殿的事。耶何耶大没有交差了事的“公务员心态”，他明白神的心意，也知道约阿施有勇无谋的为人，于是没有罗嗦，而是适时出手，用行动来服事神。耶何耶大在世的忠心服事，神都看见了，所以被记载在了圣经。
三、（v.17-21）耶何耶大死后
V17 列王纪和历代志对犹大历史的记载是互相平行又互相补充的。历代志下24章15-25节对耶何耶大死后的这段历史做了更为详细描述，让读者更明白事态的发展。根据历代志下的记载，修理圣殿的功劳其实是算在真正做事的耶何耶大名下，并且身为一名祭司，他死后还能葬在大卫王的坟墓里（代下24:16），说明百姓看他是君王。反观约阿施，虽然从小在圣殿长大，但他的生命没有对准神。他人生的前六年都是跟自己的奶妈躲在圣殿，虽有律法书在身边，但他的生命里却没有律法书，也没有作王该有的深度。在三十岁的时候，约阿施还是靠着血气跟人说话，没有感恩神放在他身边的祭司耶何耶大。所以在耶何耶大死后，约阿施原形毕露，跟着犹大的众首领离弃耶和华（代下24:17-18）。他软弱的个性在很多从小父亲缺席的男孩身上都很普遍，从小在只有奶妈的陪伴，没有阳刚之气，所以去拜巴力的妻子“亚舍拉”，又对错不分，不听神所差派给他的先知（代下24:18-19）。 耶何耶大的儿子撒迦利亚不畏惧来自人的压力，勇敢站出来讲真理，却遭到逼迫（代下24:20）。撒迦利亚是约阿施王的表兄弟，若没有王的吩咐，众人是不敢在圣殿杀他的（代下24:21-22）。约阿施没有学到耶何耶大或撒迦利亚的优点，而是见风使舵，跟随世界，以致失去神的保护，遭到亚兰王的攻击。
V18-21 约阿施没有finish well，他所拜的偶像没有帮助他，在将要被亚兰王攻取耶路撒冷的时候，他想靠着世界的方法解决问题，连人为圣殿分别为圣的金子和物品都拿出来送给敌人。这些事神都看见了，最后约阿施被自己的臣仆约萨拔杀死。“约萨拔”的意思是“耶和华记得”- 说明神记得约阿施怎样去拜偶像、记得他怎样虚伪、怎样属世界。他死后“葬他在大卫城，只是不葬在列王的坟墓里”(24:25)。
我们是否像耶何耶大那样做耶和华神看为正的事，还是像约阿施那样以为神看不到？让我们不要选择世界的道路，而是走在神给我们的恩典之路。