Joash (Jehoash) Reigns over Judah
12 In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2 Jehoash did right in the sight of the Lord all his days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3 Only the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
The Temple to Be Repaired
4 Then Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money of the sacred things which is brought into the house of the Lord, in current money, both the money of each man’s assessment and all the money [a]which any man’s heart prompts him to bring into the house of the Lord, 5 let the priests take it for themselves, each from his acquaintance; and they shall repair the [b]damages of the house wherever any damage may be found.”
6 But it came about that in the twenty-third year of King Jehoash the priests had not repaired the damages of the house. 7 Then King Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and for the other priests and said to them, “Why do you not repair the damages of the house? Now therefore take no more money from your acquaintances, but pay it for the damages of the house.” 8 So the priests agreed that they would take no more money from the people, nor repair the damages of the house.
It’s a little hard to follow exactly what happened here, as it makes it sound like Jehoash was telling the priests to stop even trying to repair the damage. And I think that’s exactly right… he had instructed the priests to try and repair the house using the money, and the job wasn’t getting done because they were the wrong people for the job. They had a monumental task in front of them, and they needed skilled laborers, and the priests were not the right group to do it.
There are times when we find ourselves trying to a job for which we are ill-equipped, just to save a few bucks. And the job either gets done poorly, or not at all. Instead, we need to make sure the job is being done by those who are best at it, and each of us needs to focus on what areas God has gifted us in. We cannot do all the things, and certainly not do them all well. But there is something God has called each of us to do, maybe even more than one thing, but not all the things. Do it with all your heart, mind and soul, and leave the rest to God, for He will raise up people to do the things that you cannot.