列王紀下12:1-21

 

12:1 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。
12:2 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；
12:3 只是邱壇還沒有廢去，百姓仍在那裡獻祭燒香。
12:4 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，
12:5 你們當從所認識的人收了來，修理殿的一切破壞之處。」
12:6 無奈到了約阿施王二十三年，祭司仍未修理殿的破壞之處。
12:7 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。」
12:8 眾祭司答應不再收百姓的銀子，也不修理殿的破壞之處。
12:9 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裡。
12:10 他們見櫃裡的銀子多了，便叫王的書記和大祭司上來，將耶和華殿裡的銀子數算包起來。
12:11 把所平的銀子交給督工的，就是耶和華殿裡辦事的人；他們把銀子轉交修理耶和華殿的木匠和工人，
12:12 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。
12:13 但那奉到耶和華殿的銀子，沒有用以做耶和華殿裡的銀杯、蠟剪、碗、號，和別樣的金銀器皿，
12:14 乃將那銀子交給督工的人修理耶和華的殿；
12:15 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。
12:16 惟有贖愆祭、贖罪祭的銀子沒有奉到耶和華的殿，都歸祭司。
12:17 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。
12:18 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裡所有的金子都送給亞蘭王哈薛；哈薛就不上耶路撒冷來了。
12:19 約阿施其餘的事，凡他所行的都寫在猶大列王記上。
12:20 約阿施的臣僕起來背叛，在下悉拉的米羅宮那裡將他殺了。
12:21 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裡。他兒子亞瑪謝接續他作王。

 

In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash^[b] became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba. ² Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him. ³ The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.

⁴ 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. ⁵ Let every priest receive the money from one of the treasurers, then use it to repair whatever damage is found in the temple.”

⁶ But by the twenty-third year of King Joash the priests still had not repaired the temple. ⁷ 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.” ⁸ The priests agreed that they would not collect any more money from the people and that they would not repair the temple themselves.

⁹ 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. ¹⁰ 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. ¹¹ 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, ¹² 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.

¹³ 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; ¹⁴ it was paid to the workers, who used it to repair the temple. ¹⁵ They did not require an accounting from those to whom they gave the money to pay the workers, because they acted with complete honesty. ¹⁶ The money from the guilt offerings and sin offerings^[c] was not brought into the temple of the Lord; it belonged to the priests.

¹⁷ About this time Hazael king of Aram went up and attacked Gath and captured it. Then he turned to attack Jerusalem. ¹⁸ 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.

¹⁹ 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? ²⁰ His officials conspired against him and assassinated him at Beth Millo, on the road down to Silla. ²¹ 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.

 

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    我們可以從經文中看見：約阿施的信仰是因著祭司耶何耶大的教訓，行耶和華眼中看為正的事。

 

    從這樣的記載我們肯定祭司耶何耶大是一位盡責的祭司，才能使約阿施王的信仰端正。同樣，教會需要有好的牧者，才能導正教會的信仰，使教會能夠照上帝的話語來治理和施行聖禮，使教會真正成為耶穌基督的身體，為主耶穌來做美好的見證！

 

    然而怎樣的牧者才是教會好的牧者呢？保羅勸勉提摩太：「你當竭力在上帝面前得蒙喜悅，作無愧的工人，按著正意分解真理的道。」(提摩太後書2:15)

 

    所以一位好牧者在上帝命令的宣導上要清楚，要讓信徒可以明白真道，進而有能力來遵行上帝的道。因為基督徒不只要聽道，更是要行道。當然要行道之前要信道，而信道要來自聽道。

 

    也因為這樣，更凸顯傳道者必須如保羅所說的：「按著正意分解真理的道。」正如耶何耶大可以引導約阿施一樣！當然要成為一位好牧者，要常常親近主、讓主的話與浸潤我們的心，心裡所充滿的，嘴巴就說出來！