2 Kings 12:9

THE INVENTION OF THE VERY FIRST COLLECTION BOX

"But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side, as one cometh into the house of Jehovah: and the priests that kept the threshold put therein all the money that was brought into the house of Jehovah. And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king's scribe and the high priest came up, and they put in bags and counted the money that was found in the house of Jehovah. And they gave the money that was weighed out into the hands of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of Jehovah: and they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders, that wrought upon the house of Jehovah, and to the masons and the hewers of stone, and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the breaches of the house of Jehovah, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it. But there were not made for the house of Jehovah cups of silver, basins, snuffers, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of Jehovah; for they gave that to them that did the work, and repaired therewith the house of Jehovah. Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they delivered the money to give to them that did the work; for they dealt faithfully. The money for the trespass-offerings, and the money for the sin-offerings, was not brought into the house of the Jehovah: it was the priests'."

"Jehoiada ... took a chest and bored a hole in the lid of it" (2 Kings 12:9). Evidently, this was a new thing, the very first collection box that is mentioned in the Bible. There was something permanent about that innovation, because there was still in use such a collection box when the widow cast in her two mites in the days of Christ (Mark 12:42). So important was Jehoiada in preserving some semblance of authenticity in the worship of God in Judah that God extended his life far beyond the normal expectancy of that period. According to 2 Chronicles 24:14, he lived to be 130 years of age. "He was so highly esteemed that when he died he was given the signal honor of being buried in the royal tombs."[5]

"Buying timber and hewn stone to repair breaches the house of Jehovah" (2 Kings 12:12). This indicates at Athaliah's robbing of materials from Solomon's temple was anything but trivial. Timbers and hewn stone had been take away. Additionally, as Smith stated it, "The sumptuous days of Solomon were long past; and the temple must have fallen into sad decay."[6]

"There were not made for the house of Jehovah cups of silver ... (2 Kings 12:13). Much as the priests might have desired to have such things, a very high priority was given to the cost of repairing the temple itself.

"The men into whose hands they delivered the money ... dealt faithfully" (2 Kings 12:15). This is a refreshing comment regarding the overseers of the reconstruction project, and it contrasts dramatically with what was not said regarding the way those priests handled the money until the 23year of the king's reign. The large monies placed in the collection box shows the popular approval of Joash's move to repair the dilapidated temple. The large amount of money may also be viewed as raising some question about what the priests had been doing with the money prior to the new system. Some scholars have actually suggested dishonesty, but the text does not support such an allegation.