Dragging Sandals

2 Chronicles 24:1-14

    1 Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2 Joash did what was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest. 3 And Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he had sons and daughters.

    4 Now it happened after this that Joash set his heart on repairing the house of the LORD. 5 Then he gathered the priests and the Levites, and said to them, "Go out to the cities of Judah, and gather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that you do it quickly."
However the Levites did not do it quickly. 6 So the king called Jehoiada the chief priest, and said to him, "Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and from Jerusalem the collection, according to the commandment of Moses the servant of the LORD and of the assembly of Israel, for the tabernacle of witness?" 7 For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken into the house of God, and had also presented all the dedicated things of the house of the LORD to the Baals.

    8 Then at the king's command they made a chest, and set it outside at the gate of the house of the LORD. 9 And they made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to bring to the LORD the collection that Moses the servant of God had imposed on Israel in the wilderness. 10 Then all the leaders and all the people rejoiced, brought their contributions, and put them into the chest until all had given. 11 So it was, at that time, when the chest was brought to the king's official by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, that the king's scribe and the high priest's officer came and emptied the chest, and took it and returned it to its place. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance.

    12 The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of the LORD; and they hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the LORD, and also those who worked in iron and bronze to restore the house of the LORD. 13 So the workmen labored, and the work was completed by them; they restored the house of God to its original condition and reinforced it. 14 When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada; they made from it articles for the house of the LORD, articles for serving and offering, spoons and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the LORD continually all the days of Jehoiada.

Joash began well as a child king, doing what pleased God for the time in which the priest Jehoiada still lived and guided him; unfortunately, afterwards he would fall away.  Here we see the burning desire in Joash to restore the house of God which the wicked woman Athaliah had desecrated with idols and unholy use of the dedicated things of God’s tabernacle.  She had rededicated the things of the LORD to false gods in rebellion against the only real and living Lord God of Israel and Judah, and now the godly king Joash set about to restore and reform the worship back to the purity commanded and prescribed by the LORD.  He tasked the priests and Levites to go to each city and gather contributions for the work, but they dragged their sandals and moved ever so slowly.  Therefore, the king then used godly wisdom to make a collection box outside the temple of God at its gate and directed all the people of God to put their contributions for the work of God’s house in it as they entered, just as Moses had first ordained (Exodus 30:16) as they wandered before entering the promised land.  The people gave willingly and abundantly (2 Corinthians 8:3), and those in charge daily brought the chest to the king to collect the funds to be dispersed to the workers by the priest Jehoiada and Joash for supplies and labor in restoring the temple.  These workmen were worthy of their hire, completing the work with the finished temple as it once was once more.  They even made it reinforced, stronger and sturdier that previously.  The leftover funds were used to make serving and offering vessels for God’s house; none went to waste or was misused in any way, for the people had a mind to honor God and not seek their own gain.  Such it should be with God’s people in Christ today, giving willingly to meet the needs of the temple which is us, His people, as well as the place we worship in.  We should not drag our sandals when we hear of the needs and are asked to gather what is required for the work of the gospel.  Where our treasure sits is where our hearts are, so we need to fill the box for God’s work.