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Chapter 12 continues the reign of Joash the 8th. King of Judah. He had destroyed all the temples and altars to the pagan god Baal, but he had allowed the altars on the "high places" to the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.
He was concerned for the condition of the Temple in Jerusalem so he ordered his Uncle Jehoiada, the Priest, to take all of the money that came into the Temple and use it for repairs. The money came from several sources. There were money offerings for sin and repentance. There was also an assessment placed on all who belonged to the Lord, either by birth or by vow, and recorded in Lev. 27.
Recorded in Lev. 27 were the following annual assessments:
These assessments and offerings plus other contributions were to be used for the repairs to the Temple, but these assessments had not been collected for years. The past Kings showed little interest in the support of the Priests or the Temple. The Priests had shown little also and had resorted to extortion and bribery to maintain themselves. Here Joash is ordering the Priests to collect these assessments from the people and use the money solely for Temple repairs.
Well, it appears that Joash got busy and did not check back to see if the Priests were doing as he had ordered and 25 years went by and finally he called in Jehoiada and other Priests only to learn that nothing had been done to the Temple. What little money had come in the Priests used for themselves. When questioned by Joash, the Priests agreed to set up a special fund that would not go thru their hands less it might be accidentally diverted for their use. They set up a large chest at the right hand side of the Alter in the Temple and the "door keepers" put all of the people's assessments and contributions into it. Whenever the chest became full, the Kings Financial Secretary and the High Priest counted it and gave it to the construction Superintendent to buy materials and pay for labor in the making of the repairs. No accounting was required from the Superintendent, for he was considered honest. Another account was set up from the "guilt" and "sin" offerings and this was given to the Priests for their use.
About this time, King Hazael of Syria, defeated the city of Gath in Philistia and moved east to attack Jerusalem. Joash took the treasures of the Palace and Temple and sent them to Hazael who then called off the attack. Joash reigned for 39 years and was assassinated by trusted aides and was buried in the Royal Cemetery in Jerusalem. His son, Amaziah, became the 9th. King of Judah.
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