Keith’s Blog

As I was reading this morning I came across a passage of Scripture that brought back some memories. In 2 Kings you will find the account of King Joash. He began to reign when he was seven years old as the king of Judah. He was kept in hiding for six years from his grandmother that had murdered all of his brothers and cousins. Sound like a soap opera? The grandmother was also the queen of Judah…not something God had set up. She killed off all of her relatives to take possession of the throne. She must have been one nasty woman. I would like to call her something else but decency will not allow me. Eventually the wicked, queen grandmother was assassinated and Joash took the throne that was rightfully his at the ripe old age of seven. The Bible says that Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years that the priest Jehoiada instructed him. There are two events that we remember Joash for. One of them is the chest of Joash. This was a wooden chest with a hole bored in the top where people would bring their offerings for the repair of the temple. I remember the few times I went to the little Methodist Chapel with my grandparents as a small child there would be a time in the service when any child that had a birthday would come and place a token offering in a little bird house looking church model. As I read the story of Joash I see a seven year old king placing his pennies in a similar box. But apparently the people did this for a long time because the box would get full and they would have to empty it and start over. This struck a nerve with me because I once pastored a church where the very first time I met the treasurer he introduced himself to me as “the Judas of the bunch.” Whoa! Red Flag! And it was a self fulfilling prophecy. We later found out the man was hiding money. He would count the offerings, by himself, put it in the back of his car and drive around with it for a week or two before depositing it. Joash did not worry about the money in his chest because “They did not require an accounting from those to whom they gave the money to pay the workers, because they acted with complete honesty” 2 Kings 12:15. I was a young, stubborn pastor and it came down to a “him or me” ultimatum with my treasurer. The church chose him because of his seniority and I watched God take His hand off that church. We have a great system of checks and balances in our church at Cades Cove. I have never even been in our counting room nor do I intend to go. We have different teams assigned to counting, book keeping etc. An old preacher told me early on in ministry, “Son, if you will keep your hands off women and money you will be alright.” So far, so good. The other event Joash is known for is giving away the gold and silver of the temple to keep another king from attacking Judah. The king did not attack Judah, but a pattern was formed where foreign kings would come and the kings of Judah would use the furniture and jewels of the temple to barter freedom. Hello?! What happened to kings with backbone that would say “We bow to no one but God and He will fight for us!” Joash had plenty of accounts to refer to of how God delivered with the choir, with a broken lamp, with watery ditches, thunder, etc. I believe that honesty and faith are virtues that are extinct from many of the things we do “in the name of God” and under the umbrella of the church. Maybe honesty could be our first step back toward the holiness of God.