[Repair the damaged temple]
2 Kings 12:4-16
Medieval Gothic cathedrals are symbolized by their soaring cross towers, the most iconic of which is the Cologne Cathedral in Germany. Its said that even after its completion, the temple would require repeated repairs due to accidents and wars, and that repairs would continue until the end of time. As great as these temples are, they dont take us to heaven. Thats because the invisible temple within us is more important than the visible temple building. Today, lets think about what we need to do to repair our broken temple in our hearts.
First, we need to repair our willingness to move beyond the lesson.
Joash reigned for as long as David, but his one achievement was to repair the temple. This was the single most important thing he did in his life. Yet, in doing this important work, he gave direct instructions to the priests, not to Jehoiada, the high priest. We could think of this as Joash acting honestly while he was under Jehoiadas instruction, but this is when he began to move away from that instruction. Even though Jehoiada was the savior of his life, the hero of his revolution, and the one who restored him to the throne, it was hard for him to hear what he was being told because he was in the kings seat. As his sense of victimization as a 'orphan' turned to inferiority, envy, and jealousy, he came to the conclusion that he had to get rid of Jehoiada. Eventually, he pretends to obey on the outside, but on the inside was the opposite. This is Joashs shrine: humanly speaking, as the victim and the underdog, it was easy to sympathize with Jehoiadas plight, but pity was not the basis for righteousness we are 100% sinners, one way or another, and this is the starting point for a biblical, evangelical, redemptive understanding of humanity. Joash excluded Jehoiada and commands the priests to accept the silver needed to repair the temple from anyone they knew (v. 5). This command was well-meaning but difficult to carry out, and the temple was not repaired for 23 years. Joash rebuked Jehoiada, the high priest, in front of all the priests. This was to go beyond the lesson he taught, the word of God. This was Joashs heart in crying out for the temple to be repaired. This willingness to put God aside was the temple in disrepair, and it was the temple that really needs to be repaired.
Second, we should recognize that getting your own way is a problem.
After rebuking Jehoiada in front of the priests, Joash tells the priests to get out of the way of the temple repairs. According to the book of Chronicles, Joash spearheads a new plan to repair the temple: he has the people themselves offer silver to the ark. He has the kings scribe lead the effort, and he specially appoints the person who puts the silver on. The high priest is nominally allowed in, diminishing Jehoiadas authority and strengthening the kingship, but the plan goes his way.Jehoiada is forced to recognize his limitations, his inability to teach Joash, whom he has raised like his own child, wholeheartedly, and his inability to teach him any harder. The more he is able to do as he pleases, the more power he gains, and the more people he has following him, the more he departs from Gods instruction. This vicious cycle continued until Jehoiadas death, when Joash departed from Gods precepts. So, having your way is not a blessing.
Third, we need to be principled.
Joash stopped making the worship items that needed to be made and maintained on an ongoing basis and had everyone focus on repairing the temple. He wanted to finish the work quickly and completely, so that he could show off his accomplishments to the world and Jehoiada. Since he Couldnt worship in the temple while its under construction, he had them to worship in the pavilion. In his urgency, he forgot about the important things. For Joash, the temple has become a monument to himself, violating the principle that worship was to be done in the temple, and the temple was for worship. He didnt keep an accounting because he trusted the people who spent the silver because they 'worked diligently,' and he gave the silver from the burnt offering and the sin offering to the priests for their living expenses instead of using it to repair the temple. While these unprincipled repairs were made, the real temple, his own heart, was left in disrepair, eaten up by the values of the world. The first step in repairing our broken hearts is to value and observe the simple principles and order.
The community confession is the testimony of a man who entered the temple as a top student at a prestigious college in Seoul and entered a big company. He was living with an older divorcee with children, but he had been hiding this fact not to hurt his pride. When he was tired of lying to his company and family, he looked at the pastors book and thought that this community was the last refuge for him, so he was about to register, but he saw a sinner who was trying to hide his marriage again even in front of the register. He said, I was disappointed with the sharing I expected from the ranch, but after listening to the sermon on The Justice of the Holy Spirit, I was encouraged to confess my dirty sins because we are all flawed sinners before Gods justice, so I confessed all my sins to my wife, my family, and the community. On the contrary to my worries and concerns, the members welcomed my wife warmly. At the invitation of the ranch, we had a marriage service at the church. And at my wifes workplace, she began to hear the gospel from her sister, who shared with her that she had been struggling with the same situation as her sister. Eventually, I signed up for Sunday school service and a THINK trip. This is what it means to repair a broken temple.
Repairing a broken temple is all about: repairing a heart that wants to go beyond the precepts. And may our hearts to be repaired that there is nothing good in man, and may our hearts to empathy to others and not condemn.
