Preschool
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you (Acts 1:8).
Idolatry Cleansed and the Temple Repaired
Memory Verses
Primary
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8).
Junior
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8).
Background Scripture: 2 Chronicles 23; 24:1-14
Lesson Scripture: 2 Chronicles 23:16-19; 24:4-8, 12-14
Introduction
Throughout the Old Testament, God’s people tended to drift into idolatry. As we ponder our own lives, can we honestly say that we are any different? In this lesson, we will study how God used Joash and Jehoiada to bring about a revival among all of Judah. At other times, He has used other men and methods to accomplish his plan. Today, God is calling us to take a stand against the idols we are prone to raise up for ourselves. What are the lessons to be learned from this story about Joash? Let us open our hearts to what God may be asking of us.
Key Verse
Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion (Isa. 52:8).
Lesson Scripture
2 Chronicles 23:16 And Jehoiada made a covenant between him, and between all the people, and between the king, that they should be the Lord’s people.
17 Then all the people went to the house of Baal, and brake it down, and brake his altars and his images in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.
18 Also Jehoiada appointed the offices of the house of the Lord by the hand of the priests the Levites, whom David had distributed in the house of the Lord, to offer the burnt offerings of the Lord, as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was ordained by David.
19 And he set the porters at the gates of the house of the Lord, that none which was unclean in any thing should enter in.
24:4 And it came to pass after this, that Joash was minded to repair the house of the Lord.
5 And he gathered together the priests and the Levites, and said to them, Go out unto the cities of Judah, and gather of all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that ye hasten the matter. Howbeit the Levites hastened it not.
6 And the king called for Jehoiada the chief, and said unto him, Why hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the collection, according to the commandment of Moses the servant of the Lord, and of the congregation of Israel, for the tabernacle of witness?
7 For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up the house of God; and also all the dedicated things of the house of the Lord did they bestow upon Baalim.
8 And at the king’s commandment they made a chest, and set it without at the gate of the house of the Lord.
12 And the king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the Lord, and also such as wrought iron and brass to mend the house of the Lord.
13 So the workmen wrought, and the work was perfected by them, and they set the house of God in his state, and strengthened it.
14 And when they had finished it, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, whereof were made vessels for the house of the Lord, even vessels to minister, and to offer withal, and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Jehoiada.
Studying the Lesson
The land of Judah was in a time of unrest and had been under the rule of several sinful kings who did not honor or obey God. Wicked King Ahaziah had just been slain, and his mother had taken over the rule of the kingdom. To strengthen her position, she had ordered the killing of all the children of Ahaziah, her late son. What terrible, wicked cruelty, misguided belief, and greed caused this woman to callously slay her own grandchildren!
True God worship was no longer being practiced as it should have been. The temple of the Lord, which was central to Jewish worship, was defiled and in disrepair. The dedicated things that had been used in the service of the Lord were taken from the temple and used in idolatrous worship. How many people were left who were concerned about the situation? It seems that most had given way to the pressure to conform to what was popular or the desire to honor false gods. Surely there was a remnant who wholeheartedly wanted to follow the Lord, but they must have been the quiet of the land, staying in the background as popular opinion turned against serving God.
In this setting we find Jehoiada, a faithful priest who was willing to risk his life to follow God. To make his faithfulness even more amazing, we learn that he was married to the sister of the late king Ahaziah. Somehow, amid all the pressure around them, this couple had remained true to their convictions and commitment to follow God.
What were Jehoiada’s thoughts when he was made aware of the young prince Joash, who was in imminent danger of death from the wicked queen? Did he struggle with being willing to offer his assistance? Did he consider the risk to himself and his family? Did he see the opportunity that would come to him to be instrumental in the work of revival which would take place in the land? The Bible does not give us these details, but we do know that Jehoiada took the lad under his wing and took care of him for several years, all while hiding the fact for fear of the queen. Surely Jehoiada and his wife had to make many sacrifices to make sure that nothing happened to the young prince Joash. It must have been the central theme of their life around which everything else revolved.
Imagine the joy and triumph that Jehoiada felt when all the years of waiting and carefully preparing were rewarded by Joash being crowned as the king and the wicked queen who was leading the people in sin was destroyed. Finally, there could be a change! Now he could guide his people back to the truth.
After Joash became established as the king, it came into his heart to clean and repair the temple. This took much money and some time, and his first efforts were frustrated by the slothfulness of those who were commissioned to carry out his orders. The young king, however, was not deterred by others’ unwillingness to put their heart into the project. Instead of giving up when he found that no money was being collected in the way he had first commanded it to be done, he found another method to try. At last, he was successful, and enough money was donated to not only restore the temple but also to make the needed vessels for the temple worship.
God must have smiled as He looked down on his people again going to his temple to worship Him. He must have been pleased with Jehoiada and with Joash for taking the initiative and leading the people back onto the right paths.
Practical Truths for Today
What is idol worship? Is there such a thing as idol worship in present-day, modern culture? Though some cultures would still carry out idolatry in its ancient form, many proclaim we live in an enlightened age where we do not worship and bow before gods of stone, metal, or other imagery anymore. To most in the modernized world, it is not even a temptation to worship some object, representation, or symbol. So how do we apply this lesson in our present day?
Idolatry is defined in the dictionary as the worship of a physical object or as an immoderate attachment or devotion to something. The word worship means to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion. We typically do not see people bowing down before an idol, but this does not mean that idolatry is nonexistent around us. God’s people of the Old Testament were often surrounded by idolatrous people, and it is no different for us today. The evil forces who were responsible for the false religions of that day are just as alive today as they were then. The names of the gods have been changed, and the worship of such gods has been camouflaged to hide the ugly truth of its perversion from our eyes.
There is only one place of first love in the human heart. If God is our first love, we will follow Him, and any conflicting loves will be excluded. If we begin to allow other loves into our heart that conflict with and impede obedience to God, we are straying toward idolatry. In the idol worship of the Bible times, the people were required to sacrifice to the gods that they worshipped. Sometimes this even included the sacrifice of their own children. While this is too horrible to contemplate, should we not pause and consider how close we come to this very thing at times? What are the sacrifices that must be made if one follows the god of wealth? How many relationships have been willingly offered on his altars? If I neglect to spend the necessary time with my children because of being driven to get ahead, can I really say that I am not sacrificing to a false god? What is the object of my worship?
Other gods could be named as well. If the true God is not in the place of first love in our heart, and there is a void there, some other god of this world will fill it. We can see this happening around us with the gods of entertainment, fashion, sports, recreation, travel, and pleasurable living. Can we honestly say that we have not felt the desire or pressure to conform and bow to any of these gods? We may be under more pressure than we think, and the issue is perhaps more subtle than we realize. Our flesh will always want to follow these false gods because they promise much to self. While we do not actually have anyone demanding our participation in idol worship, we are in a situation that will desensitize us to the seriousness of it. The children of Israel likely strayed into idolatry because of a desire to be like their neighbors. Because we see and hear about these things every day, it begins to seem as if there is nothing wrong with them. Are we carefully hiding the truth in our hearts like Jehoiada hid young Joash while guarding our teaching of separation from the world?
The first step to cleansing our personal lives and, consequently, the church from idolatry is to recognize our need to be sanctified and the damage that may have already been done within the sanctuary of our own heart, life, and home. We need to be completely honest with ourselves: is God in the place of honor in my heart? Whom do I worship—Him or myself? God led Jehoiada in the work of cleansing and Joash in the repairing of the temple, but they needed the help of others. We also need the help of our brethren to clearly see our own issues and how to deal with them. In Jehoiada’s time, the need for cleansing was acute. It was a very widespread problem, but it seems that Jehoiada did not worry about that. Rather, he just did the little things that he could do until God led him forward in a more conspicuous way. Let us not be disheartened when we see the evil around us that wants to creep into the church. Let us rather do our part in keeping our own lives and families safe. Then God can lead us forward to a cleansing as He sees fit.
Questions
- After worship of the true God was again restored, the temple needed to be repaired. Is there a parallel for our lives?
- Identify some of the gods that are a particular temptation for us to worship.
- How can we recognize when the place of first love in our hearts is not fully occupied by God?
Source: COGICM Daily Bible Readings (Daily Bible Readings, PO Box 124, Glenn, CA 95943).