Study Desk

So they were all inside the temple to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty of his men outside the building and had warned them, "If you let anyone escape, you will pay for it with your own life."

In all, Jehu reigned over Israel from Samaria for twenty-eight years.

Joash remained hidden in the Temple of the Lord for six years while Athaliah ruled over the land.

The other two units who are off duty on the Sabbath must stand guard for the king at the Lord 's Temple.

So the commanders did everything as Jehoiada the priest ordered. The commanders took charge of the men reporting for duty that Sabbath, as well as those who were going off duty. They brought them all to Jehoiada the priest,

Then Jehoiada the priest ordered the commanders who were in charge of the troops, "Take her to the soldiers in front of the Temple, and kill anyone who tries to rescue her." For the priest had said, "She must not be killed in the Temple of the Lord ."

Let the priests take some of that money to pay for whatever repairs are needed at the Temple."

So King Joash called for Jehoiada and the other priests and asked them, "Why haven't you repaired the Temple? Don't use any more money for your own needs. From now on, it must all be spent on Temple repairs."

So the priests agreed not to accept any more money from the people, and they also agreed to let others take responsibility for repairing the Temple.

the masons, and the stonecutters. They also used the money to buy the timber and the finished stone needed for repairing the Lord 's Temple, and they paid any other expenses related to the Temple's restoration.

The money brought to the Temple was not used for making silver bowls, lamp snuffers, basins, trumpets, or other articles of gold or silver for the Temple of the Lord .

It was paid to the workmen, who used it for the Temple repairs.

However, the money that was contributed for guilt offerings and sin offerings was not brought into the Lord 's Temple. It was given to the priests for their own use.

Then Jehoahaz prayed for the Lord 's help, and the Lord heard his prayer, for he could see how severely the king of Aram was oppressing Israel.

Then he commanded, "Open that eastern window," and he opened it. Then he said, "Shoot!" So he shot an arrow. Elisha proclaimed, "This is the Lord 's arrow, an arrow of victory over Aram, for you will completely conquer the Arameans at Aphek."

However, he did not kill the children of the assassins, for he obeyed the command of the Lord as written by Moses in the Book of the Law: "Parents must not be put to death for the sins of their children, nor children for the sins of their parents. Those deserving to die must be put to death for their own crimes."

Judah was routed by the army of Israel, and its army scattered and fled for home.

King Amaziah of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of King Jehoash of Israel.

For the Lord saw the bitter suffering of everyone in Israel, and that there was no one in Israel, slave or free, to help them.

The rest of the events in the reign of Jeroboam II and everything he did—including the extent of his power, his wars, and how he recovered for Israel both Damascus and Hamath, which had belonged to Judah—are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel.