Through the Bible – Day 158

₁Earlier, when the Arabs led a raid against Judah, they killed all of Jehoram's sons, except Ahaziah, the youngest one. So the people of Jerusalem crowned him their king. ₂He was twenty-two years old at the time, and he ruled only one year from Jerusalem.

Ahaziah's mother was Athaliah, a granddaughter of King Omri of Israel, ₃and she encouraged her son to sin against the LORD. He followed the evil example of King Ahab and his descendants. ₄In fact, after his father's death, Ahaziah sinned against the LORD by appointing some of Ahab's relatives to be his advisers.

Their advice led to his downfall. ₅He listened to them and went with King Joram of Israel to attack King Hazael and the Syrian troops at Ramoth in Gilead. Joram was wounded in that battle, ₆and he went to the town of Jezreel to recover. And Ahaziah later went there to visit him. ₇It was during that visit that God had Ahaziah put to death.

When Ahaziah arrived at Jezreel, he and Joram went to meet with Jehu, grandson of Nimshi. The LORD had already told Jehu to kill every male in Ahab's family, ₈and while Jehu was doing that, he saw some of Judah's leaders and Ahaziah's nephews who had come with Ahaziah. Jehu killed them on the spot, ₉then gave orders to find Ahaziah. Jehu's officers found him hiding in Samaria. They brought Ahaziah to Jehu, who immediately put him to death. They buried Ahaziah only because they respected Jehoshaphat his grandfather, who had done his best to obey the LORD.

There was no one from Ahaziah's family left to become king of Judah.

₁₀As soon as Athaliah heard that her son King Ahaziah was dead, she decided to kill any relative who could possibly become king. She would have done just that, ₁₁but Jehosheba rescued Joash son of Ahaziah just as the others were about to be murdered. Jehosheba, who was Jehoram's daughter and Ahaziah's half-sister, was married to Jehoiada the priest. So she was able to hide her nephew Joash and his personal servant in a bedroom in the LORD's temple where he was safe from Athaliah. ₁₂Joash hid in the temple with them for six years while Athaliah ruled as queen of Judah.

₁After Ahaziah's son Joash had hidden in the temple for six years, Jehoiada the priest knew that something had to be done. So he made sure he had the support of several army officers. They were Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zichri. ₂These five men went to the towns in Judah and called together the Levites and the clan leaders. They all came to Jerusalem ₃and gathered at the temple, where they agreed to help Joash.

Jehoiada said to them:

₈The Levites and the people of Judah followed Jehoiada's orders. The guards going off duty were not allowed to go home, and so each commander had all his guards available—those going off duty as well as those coming on duty. ₉Jehoiada went into the temple and brought out the swords and shields that had belonged to King David, and he gave them to the commanders. ₁₀They gave the weapons to the guards, and Jehoiada then made sure that the guards took their positions around the temple and the altar to protect the king on every side.

₁₁Jehoiada and his sons brought Joash outside, where they placed the crown on his head and gave him a copy of the instructions for ruling the nation. Olive oil was poured on his head to show that he was now king, and the crowd cheered and shouted, “Long live the king!”

₁₂As soon as Queen Athaliah heard the crowd cheering for Joash, she went to the temple. ₁₃There she saw Joash standing by one of the columns near the entrance, which was the usual place for the king. The commanders and the trumpet players were standing next to him, and the musicians were playing instruments and leading the people as they celebrated and blew trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes in anger and shouted, “You betrayed me, you traitors!”

₁₄Straight away, Jehoiada said to the army commanders, “Don't kill her near the LORD's temple. Take her out in front of the troops, and be sure to kill all her followers!” ₁₅She tried to escape, but the commanders caught and killed her near the gate where horses are led into the palace.

₁₆Jehoiada asked King Joash and the people to join with him in being faithful to the LORD. They agreed, ₁₇then rushed to the temple of the god Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and the idols and killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars.

₁₈Jehoiada assigned the priests and Levites their duties at the temple, just as David had done. They were in charge of offering sacrifices to the LORD according to the Law of Moses, and they were responsible for leading the celebrations with singing. ₁₉Jehoiada ordered the guards at the temple gates to keep out anyone who was unclean.

₂₀Finally, Jehoiada called together the army commanders, the most important citizens of Judah, and the government officials. The crowd of people followed them as they led Joash from the temple, through the Upper Gate, and into the palace, where he took his place as king of Judah. ₂₁Everyone celebrated because Athaliah had been killed and Jerusalem was peaceful again.

₁Joash was only seven years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled forty years from Jerusalem. His mother Zibiah was from the town of Beersheba.

₂While Jehoiada the priest was alive, Joash obeyed the LORD by doing right. ₃Jehoiada even chose two women for Joash to marry so he could have a family.

₄Some time later, Joash decided it was time to repair the temple. ₅He called together the priests and Levites and said, “Go everywhere in Judah and collect the annual tax from the people. I want this done straight away—we need that money to repair the temple.”

But the Levites were in no hurry to follow the king's orders. ₆So he sent for Jehoiada the high priest and asked, “Why didn't you send the Levites to collect the taxes? The LORD's servant Moses and the people agreed long ago that this tax would be collected and used to pay for the upkeep of the sacred tent. ₇And now we need it to repair the temple because the sons of that evil woman Athaliah came in and wrecked it. They even used some of the sacred objects to worship the god Baal.”

₈Joash gave orders for a wooden box to be made and had it placed outside, near the gate of the temple. ₉He then sent letters everywhere in Judah and Jerusalem, asking everyone to bring their taxes to the temple, just as Moses had required their ancestors to do.

₁₀The people and their leaders agreed, and they brought their money to Jerusalem and placed it in the box. ₁₁Each day, after the Levites took the box into the temple, the king's secretary and the high priest's assistant would take out the money and count it. Then the empty box would be taken back outside.

This happened day after day, and soon a large amount of money was collected. ₁₂Joash and Jehoiada turned the money over to the men who were supervising the repairs to the temple. They used the money to hire stonecutters, carpenters, and experts in working with iron and bronze.

₁₃These workers went straight to work repairing the temple, and when they had finished, it looked as good as new. ₁₄They did not use all the tax money for the repairs, so the rest of it was handed over to Joash and Jehoiada, who then used it to make dishes and other gold and silver objects for the temple.

Sacrifices to please the LORD were offered regularly in the temple for as long as Jehoiada lived. ₁₅He died at the ripe old age of one hundred and thirty years, ₁₆and he was buried in the royal tombs in Jerusalem, because he had done so much good for the people of Israel, for God, and for the temple.

₁₇After the death of Jehoiada the priest, the leaders of Judah went to Joash and talked him into doing what they wanted. ₁₈Straight away, the people of Judah stopped worshipping in the temple of the LORD God, and they started worshipping idols and the symbols of the goddess Asherah. These sinful things made the LORD God angry with the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ₁₉but he still sent prophets who warned them to turn back to him. The people refused to listen.

₂₀God's Spirit spoke to Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest, and Zechariah told everyone that God was saying: “Why are you disobeying me and my laws? This will only bring punishment! You have deserted me, so now I will desert you.”

_21-22King Joash forgot that Zechariah's father had always been a loyal friend. So when the people of Judah plotted to kill Zechariah, Joash joined them and gave orders for them to stone him to death in the courtyard of the temple. As Zechariah was dying, he said, “I pray that the LORD will see this and punish all of you.”

₂₃In the spring of the following year, the Syrian army invaded Judah and Jerusalem, killing all the nation's leaders. They collected everything of value that belonged to the people and took it back to their king in Damascus. ₂₄The Syrian army was very small, but the LORD let them defeat Judah's large army, because he was punishing Joash and the people of Judah for turning away from him.

_25-26Joash was severely wounded during the battle, and as soon as the Syrians left Judah, two of his officials, Zabad and Jehozabad, decided to avenge the death of Zechariah. They plotted and killed Joash while he was in bed, recovering from his wounds. Joash was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the royal tombs. ₂₇The History of the Kings also tells more about the sons of Joash, what the prophets said about him, and how he repaired the temple. Amaziah son of Joash became king after his father's death.

₁When Jesus had finished praying, he and his disciples crossed the Kidron Valley and went into a garden. ₂Jesus had often met there with his disciples, and Judas knew where the place was.

_3-5Judas had promised to betray Jesus. So he went to the garden with some Roman soldiers and temple police, who had been sent by the chief priests and the Pharisees. They carried torches, lanterns, and weapons. Jesus already knew everything that was going to happen, but he asked, “Who are you looking for?”

They answered, “We are looking for Jesus from Nazareth!”

Jesus told them, “I am Jesus!” ₆At once they all backed away and fell to the ground.

₇Jesus again asked, “Who are you looking for?”

“We are looking for Jesus from Nazareth,” they answered.

₈This time Jesus replied, “I have already told you that I am Jesus. If I am the one you are looking for, let these others go. ₉Then everything will happen, just as I said, ‘I did not lose anyone you gave me.’ ”

₁₀Simon Peter had brought along a sword. He now pulled it out and struck at the servant of the high priest. The servant's name was Malchus, and Peter cut off his right ear. ₁₁Jesus told Peter, “Put your sword away. I must drink from the cup that the Father has given me.”

₁₂The Roman officer and his men, together with the temple police, arrested Jesus and tied him up. ₁₃They took him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. ₁₄This was the same Caiaphas who had told the Jewish leaders, “It is better if one person dies for the people.”

₁₅Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. That disciple knew the high priest, and he followed Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest's house. ₁₆Peter stayed outside near the gate. But the other disciple came back out and spoke to the girl at the gate. She let Peter go in, ₁₇but asked him, “Aren't you one of that man's followers?”

“No, I am not!” Peter answered.

₁₈It was cold, and the servants and temple police had made a charcoal fire. They were warming themselves around it, when Peter went over and stood near the fire to warm himself.