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Young King Joash’s Faith

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[2 Kings 12:2]

Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the years Jehoiada

the priest instructed him.

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It is Children's Sunday today.

First of all, I hope that everyone receives abundant grace from God today.

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A long time ago, in 1856, Pastor Renard of an Universalistic Church set aside one Sunday of the year for children to have a special worship service.

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After that, a Korean church named Johap Church decorated the whole church with flowers in 1870.

They considered children very precious just like flowers.

Since then the children's Sunday was also called Flower Sunday.

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I want to introduce Joash who had done things of faith at the same age as you.

Joash was seven years old when he became king.

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In fact, King Joash spent his childhood in secret.

Because his greedy Grandmother, Athaliah, killed all of the other princes, Joash's older brothers, to be ruler herself as soon as Joash's father, King Ahaziah, died.

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The only one who survived was Joash because he was hid in a temple with a nanny without his grandmother knowing.

Jehoiada the high priest raised Joash well by God's words in the temple since childhood

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When Joash was only seven years old, Jehoiada, the high priest summoned all the other priests, soldiers, and guards together. And he anointed Joash with oil and put a crown on his head and proclaimed Joash as king of Judea.

He gave Joash the Bible as a gift and encouraged him to live for God.

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Finally, the evil Queen Athaliah was killed.

A person who acts badly before God will be surely punished.

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Joash became the king when he was seven years old and kept learning God's words from Jehoiada after being king as well. So, Joash made every effort to follow God's words.Joash got rid of the idols in the country and ordered not to do what God hated.

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Joash knew that the temple where he grew up during childhood had been damaged.

The bad kings before had taken away some of the things of the temple and offered them before idols, so the temple of God needed to be restored.

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Joash, clean and upright, decided to repair the temple.

At first, Joash made the priests repair the temple.

But they kept ignoring the task for many years.

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So, Joash made a big offering chest and put it at the right side of the temple entrance.

All the people who came to the temple put money in it.

When the chest was filled the guards would put that money into a bag to save for later.

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They gave the collected money to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple and ordered to repair it. The men appointed to supervise the work on the temple repaired the temple faithfully with the money. The temple of God gradually became recovered to its original form.

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There was enough money which the people offered to repair the temple.

The temple of God was repaired very beautifully.

Even still there was leftover money to refurnish the inside of the temple.

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Though Joash was young, he broke the idols which the adult kings could not do and repaired the temple. The reason why he could do all of that is because he learned God's words by Jehoiada and he practiced as God said.

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If whoever understands God's words and practices what God's words says; God will surely give help to be able to do everything of faith like Joash had done. Let us read Joshua 1:8:

"Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful."

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I hope that you will love God's words like Joash and make God pleased.