After king Ahaziah’s death, his mother, Athaliah, began killing all of the royal seed (2 Kings 11:1). Athaliah crowned herself queen, and seized the throne in Judah and reigned for six years. Ahaziah’s sister, Jehosheba, took his last remaining son, Joash, and hid him in the house of the Lord for six years (2 Kings 11:2-3).
Jehoiada the priest, and the husband of Jehosheba, staged a revolt against the self-proclaimed queen, and had her killed. It was then that Joash became king of Judah at a very young age. Fortunately he had the guidance of Jehoiada (2 Kings 12:1-2). Things went well for Joash as long as he listened to the instruction of the priest. We should note the possible influence that Joash’s stay in the Temple, and the influence of the priest had upon him at such a young age. Obviously Joash’s father and grandmother were terrible examples for the child, and had it not been for the priest and the environment of the Temple, Josash may have ended up just like the rest of his family. Despite Joash failing to remove the high places, he did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and reigned for forty years in Jerusalem (2 Kings 12:1-3).
During the awful years of Ahaziah and Athaliah, the house of the Lord had become neglected spiritually and materially. Joash realized that the house of the Lord was in disarray and decided to have it repaired. Joash had a large offering box built and had it located near the altar. The king and the priest encouraged the people to bring offerings for the repairs.
Joash recognized the importance of the house of the Lord, because it had been the very place that preserved him! Additionally, Joash made sure that priesthood was also taken care of during the building project (2 Kings 12:6-9). The king made sure the priests could continue doing the work of the ministry while the repairs were completed by professionals. Joash seemed to have understood the significance of the both the church, and the ministry of the church.
Your local church should be the most cared for building in your city. It’s not the building, but it’s what the building represents. It represents the Lord, who we worship! Furthermore, the church leadership shouldn’t be the only ones bearing the responsibility of overseeing the repairs and maintenance of the facilities either. The most important responsibility for pastors and spiritual leaders is prayer and the ministry of the Word (Acts 6:1-6). Let us take care of God’s house, and His ministers. Because we never know when there might be a Joash who needs a godly environment and holy influences.