2 Chronicles 24:6,7
‘So the king summoned Jehoiada, the chief priest, and said to him, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and from Jerusalem the contribution of Moses, the servant of the LORD, and the congregation of Israel, for the tent of the testimony?” For the sons of the wicked Athaliah had broken into the house of God, and even used the holy things of the house of the LORD for the Baals.”‘
Verse 4 has Joash deciding to restore the house of the Lord. A wonderful wish for a king seeking to bring the people back to God. He was tapping into one of Moses’ commands to bring in contributions from the people. All of this is good. He wants to restore the temple and he is referring back to the way Moses directed.
Unfortunately the money wasn’t coming in. Like a wise king he asks the chief priest. He gets a surprising answer. There was improper use of the holy things in the temple at the present time. This seemed to be common knowledge as the contributions weren’t being made.
It may have been common knowledge or some may have known and spread it around. The thought was, “Why should we give our hard earned money when there is abuse going on?” However this was shared, it was enough to keep the people from giving. This is a legitamit complaint. When the king heard this he didn’t get angry. He apparently accepted it as something that was understandable. This was probably the concern, “If the sons of Athaliah are able to use the holy things for their own wishes, what’s to keep them from getting at the money?”
The king comes up with the idea of the chest. Somehow it was a secure way to give and the problem was solved. People began to give. The king solved this problem in a wise way. He didn’t get discouraged and give up. But inquired about the issue and came up with a solution.
We have noble goals and on occasion attempt to make them reality. Sometimes our efforts fail. Sometimes they aren’t God’s will and it’s a mercy killing. I can recall being in my 20’s and wanting to be a pastor. This was because God led many of us young guys to be involved in campus ministry at college. It was successful. The natural progression in my mind was to be a pastor. It flamed out. I was discouraged. I got married and became a teacher. This was wonderful. However, I continued to have hopes that ministry would spark and come to life. It wasn’t to be. About 40 years of age I realized my personality is not a good fit as a pastor. While I like people, I also like my solitude. I wouldn’t have had much of that as a pastor. God spared me.
Sometimes our noble goal is a good idea, but we run into obstructions. Like today’s passage there is a legitimate problem that needs to be addressed. Don’t let it destroy the goal, but seek to resolve it.
I’m in the middle of something like that. I was the advisor of one of the christian clubs on campus. Last year we had a below average leader who let the club die and didn’t present a successor. This year started without a club. The asb person said over the announcements that today was the last day to start a club. I emailed her and asked if the club had started outside of my knowledge. She said “no and that this was to be student led”. That was a slight hand slap. I asked a new student in my 1st period if he was interested. He said “yes” and has been busy trying to get it off the ground. It’s not a reality yet, but it’s going in the right direction. I was concerned that I couldn’t act. I figured it wouldn’t hurt just to ask a student. He was wearing Jesus shirts and wrote to me about his faith.
Running into road blocks is part of life. Often times these are tests of character and resiliency. Usually things that are worthwhile take effort. These ideas might be God’s will. l lead us through if we rely on Him. Thank You Lord that You work through us to accomplish Your will.