猶大王約阿施
（代下24‧1－16）
1 耶戶第七年，約阿施登基，在耶路撒冷作王四十年。他母親名叫西比亞，是別是巴人。 2約阿施在祭司耶何耶大教訓他的時候，就行耶和華眼中看為正的事； 3只是邱壇還沒有廢去，百姓仍在那裏獻祭燒香。
4 約阿施對眾祭司說：「凡奉到耶和華殿分別為聖之物所值通用的銀子，或各人當納的身價，或樂意奉到耶和華殿的銀子， 5你們當從所認識的人收了來，修理殿的一切破壞之處。」 6無奈到了約阿施王二十三年，祭司仍未修理殿的破壞之處。 7所以約阿施王召了大祭司耶何耶大和眾祭司來，對他們說：「你們怎麼不修理殿的破壞之處呢？從今以後，你們不要從所認識的人再收銀子，要將所收的交出來，修理殿的破壞之處。」 8眾祭司答應不再收百姓的銀子，也不修理殿的破壞之處。
9祭司耶何耶大取了一個櫃子，在櫃蓋上鑽了一個窟窿，放於壇旁，在進耶和華殿的右邊；守門的祭司將奉到耶和華殿的一切銀子投在櫃裏。 10他們見櫃裏的銀子多了，便叫王的書記和大祭司上來，將耶和華殿裏的銀子數算包起來。 11把所平的銀子交給督工的，就是耶和華殿裏辦事的人；他們把銀子轉交修理耶和華殿的木匠和工人， 12並瓦匠、石匠，又買木料和鑿成的石頭，修理耶和華殿的破壞之處，以及修理殿的各樣使用。 13但那奉到耶和華殿的銀子，沒有用以做耶和華殿裏的銀杯、蠟剪、碗、號，和別樣的金銀器皿， 14乃將那銀子交給督工的人修理耶和華的殿； 15且將銀子交給辦事的人轉交做工的人，不與他們算賬，因為他們辦事誠實。 16惟有贖愆祭、贖罪祭的銀子沒有奉到耶和華的殿，都歸祭司。
17那時，亞蘭王哈薛上來攻打迦特，攻取了，就定意上來攻打耶路撒冷。 18猶大王約阿施將他列祖猶大王約沙法、約蘭、亞哈謝所分別為聖的物和自己所分別為聖的物，並耶和華殿與王宮府庫裏所有的金子都送給亞蘭王哈薛；哈薛就不上耶路撒冷來了。
19 約阿施其餘的事，凡他所行的都寫在猶大列王記上。
20 約阿施的臣僕起來背叛，在下悉拉的米羅宮那裏將他殺了。 21殺他的那臣僕就是示米押的兒子約撒甲和朔默的兒子約薩拔。眾人將他葬在大衛城他列祖的墳地裏。他兒子亞瑪謝接續他作王。
各位平安！
今天我們讀到的經文記載了接下來約阿施所做的一些事情。我們看到，在耶何耶大輔佐的這段時間裡，猶大國似乎經歷了一場小規模的復興。巴力的偶像被打碎，偶像崇拜被終止，人們重新回到上帝的殿中，恢復了對上帝的敬拜。
在耶何耶大在世的時候，約阿施看起來像是一位不錯的王，忠心於上帝，並帶領人民回到正道。但是，當我們將《列王記》和《歷代志》的記載一起對照時，就會發現，約阿施真的很像我們常說的“扶不起的阿斗”。就像諸葛亮去世後，劉禪終究無法獨立支撐大局一樣，約阿施在耶何耶大過世後，馬上又墮落成了一個拜偶像的君王。
最終，約阿施不僅遠離了上帝，還被自己信任的臣僕背叛，結局是淒慘的死亡。
在這段記載中，我們看到，雖然約阿施曾命令祭司們修繕聖殿，但直到他在位的第23年，整整二十多年後，聖殿還是沒有修好。這件事情暴露了背後隱藏的問題——體系的怠惰或腐敗。
這麼多年過去了，早該做好的事卻遲遲沒有完成，說明當中一定有人在謀取私利，或者根本沒有真正用心辦事。這也顯示出，他們並沒有真正把聖殿視為一個重要的地方，更沒有真心將上帝當作值得敬拜的對象，因此一直在偷懶拖延，沒有完成修繕的工作。
這裡也傳達出一個深層的背景：即便有耶何耶大這樣的忠臣輔佐，甚至國王本身也想要把事情做好，但當整體的風氣是怠惰、偷懶、不用心的時候，事情終究無法順利推進。無論嘴巴上說得多好聽，真正決定一個人或一個國家結局的，還是行動。
最終，我們看到亞蘭王哈薛打進了迦特，甚至威脅到耶路撒冷。這時，猶大國明顯沒有力量抵禦外敵，國家也並沒有因為虔誠而變得強盛。面對敵軍壓境，約阿施無計可施，只能緊急將大量的財寶，甚至包括上帝殿中的金子都送給哈薛，以此來換取暫時的和平。
這裡也提到，約阿施最終被臣僕背叛並在米羅被殺害。我們可以了解到，耶何耶大的兒子撒迦利亞曾經忠誠地責備約阿施，警告他關於遠離上帝的事情。然而，約阿施卻藉著眾人的手殺害了這位忠心的祭司。
最終，約阿施為他的背叛付出了生命的代價，應驗了他殺害忠誠僕人所帶來的報應。這段記載在《歷代志下》第24章中，強調了約阿施的墮落和悲劇性的結局。
所以，《列王記下》10章、11章和12章可以被看作是一個「宮鬥劇三部曲」。在這三章裡，我們看到的是一連串充滿戲劇性的王朝鬥爭。
在第10章，耶戶本應是上帝所使用的僕人，為以色列國報仇，但他卻復仇過度，最終自己也成為了一個殘暴的君主，猶如當時中國歷史上的曹操一樣。
第11章則是一個邪惡的太后——亞他利雅奪取王位的故事。最終，她被推翻，並由耶和耶大和約阿施上演了一場「王子復仇記」。
到了第12章，我們看到一位原本應該成為英明君主的約阿施，雖然有虔誠的輔佐者耶和耶大幫助他，但在耶何耶大去世後，他卻最終成為了“扶不起的阿斗”。這樣一個宮廷鬥爭的故事充滿了教訓，值得我們深思與反省。
從這段歷史中，我們可以清楚地看到許多人性的缺陷，無論是貪婪、權力的濫用，還是背離上帝的教導。這些故事不僅是對過去的記錄，更是對我們現今生活的警醒與提醒。
接下來，以色列和猶大會發生什麼事情呢？我們將繼續在《列王記下》第13章中探索。
感謝各位的聆聽！
Joash Repairs the Temple
In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba. Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him. The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.
Joash said to the priests, “Collect all the money that is brought as sacred offerings to the temple of the Lord—the money collected in the census, the money received from personal vows, and the money brought voluntarily to the temple. Let every priest receive the money from one of the treasurers, then use it to repair whatever damage is found in the temple.”
But by the twenty-third year of King Joash, the priests still had not repaired the temple. Therefore, King Joash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and asked them, “Why aren’t you repairing the damage done to the temple? Take no more money from your treasurers, but hand it over for repairing the temple.” The priests agreed that they would not collect any more money from the people and that they would not repair the temple themselves.
Jehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in its lid. He placed it beside the altar, on the right side as one enters the temple of the Lord. The priests who guarded the entrance put into the chest all the money that was brought to the temple of the Lord. Whenever they saw that there was a large amount of money in the chest, the royal secretary and the high priest came, counted the money that had been brought into the temple of the Lord, and put it into bags. When the amount had been determined, they gave the money to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. With it, they paid those who worked on the temple of the Lord—the carpenters and builders, the masons and stonecutters. They purchased timber and blocks of dressed stone for the repair of the temple of the Lord and met all the other expenses of restoring the temple.
The money brought into the temple was not spent for making silver basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets, or any other articles of gold or silver for the temple of the Lord; it was paid to the workers, who used it to repair the temple. They did not require an accounting from those to whom they gave the money to pay the workers because they acted with complete honesty. The money from the guilt offerings and sin offerings was not brought into the temple of the Lord; it belonged to the priests.
About this time, Hazael king of Aram went up and attacked Gath and captured it. Then he turned to attack Jerusalem. But Joash king of Judah took all the sacred objects dedicated by his predecessors—Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah—and the gifts he himself had dedicated and all the gold found in the treasuries of the temple of the Lord and of the royal palace, and he sent them to Hazael king of Aram, who then withdrew from Jerusalem.
As for the other events of the reign of Joash and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? His officials conspired against him and assassinated him at Beth Millo, on the road down to Silla. The officials who murdered him were Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer. He died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. And Amaziah his son succeeded him as king.
Peace to you all!
Today’s scripture recounts the actions of Joash. During the time when Jehoiada was his advisor, the kingdom of Judah seemed to experience a small revival. The idols of Baal were destroyed, idol worship was halted, and people returned to the temple of the LORD to restore the worship of God.
While Jehoiada was alive, Joash appeared to be a good king, faithful to God and leading the people back to the right path. However, when we compare the accounts in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles, we see that Joash is much like what we describe as a “puppet king.” Just like Liu Shan, who was unable to uphold his kingdom after Zhuge Liang’s death, Joash, after the death of Jehoiada, quickly fell into idolatry and became an unfaithful king.
In the end, Joash not only strayed from God but was also betrayed by his trusted servants, leading to his tragic death.
We also learn from this passage that, although Joash commanded the priests to repair the temple, even by his 23rd year as king—over two decades later—the temple still hadn’t been restored. This reveals a deeper issue: a system of laziness or corruption.
For so many years, the work remained undone, indicating that some were likely seeking personal gain or simply not taking their responsibilities seriously. This shows that they didn’t truly regard the temple as important, nor did they genuinely consider God as a significant object of worship. Hence, they kept procrastinating and delaying the work.
This also reflects a broader background: even when a kingdom has a faithful advisor like Jehoiada and a king who initially desires to do right, if the overall culture is one of laziness, inaction, and lack of sincerity, progress will ultimately stall. No matter how good the words may sound, it is actions that truly reflect what a person or a nation values.
In the end, we see that King Hazael of Aram attacked Gath and even threatened Jerusalem. At this point, the kingdom of Judah clearly lacked the strength to resist external enemies, and the nation had not become stronger through faithfulness. Faced with the enemy at the gates, Joash was left with no choice but to send a large amount of treasure, including gold from the temple of the LORD, to Hazael in exchange for temporary peace.
It is also noted that Joash was ultimately betrayed by his servants and killed in Millo. We understand that Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, had faithfully rebuked Joash for straying from God, but Joash had Zechariah killed by the hands of others.
In the end, Joash paid for his betrayal with his life, fulfilling the judgment for his actions. This account is found in 2 Chronicles 24, emphasizing Joash's downfall and tragic end.
Thus, 2 Kings chapters 10, 11, and 12 can be viewed as a “palace drama trilogy.” In these three chapters, we witness a series of dramatic power struggles.
In chapter 10, Jehu was originally chosen by God to bring vengeance upon the house of Ahab, but his excessive revenge led him to become a cruel ruler, much like the historical figure Cao Cao from Chinese history.
Chapter 11 tells the story of a wicked queen mother, Athaliah, who usurped the throne. Eventually, she was overthrown, and a “prince’s revenge” was carried out by Jehoiada and Joash.
By chapter 12, we see Joash, who should have been a wise king, benefiting from Jehoiada’s devout counsel. However, after Jehoiada’s death, Joash ultimately becomes the very picture of a “puppet king,” unable to lead without his mentor. This palace drama is full of lessons and offers much for us to reflect on.
From this history, we clearly see many human failings, whether it’s greed, the abuse of power, or the abandonment of God’s teachings. These stories are not just historical records but serve as warnings and reminders for us in our own lives today.
What will happen next with Israel and Judah? We will continue to explore in 2 Kings chapter 13.
Thank you all for listening!
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