Living well and doing right require perseverance and spiritual direction.

坚守上帝的教导，就能敬虔度日、行事正直。

Joash did what was right . . . all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 2 Kings 12:2

约阿施在祭司耶何耶大教训他的时候，就行耶和华眼中看为正的事。-列王纪下12章2节

“Cowboy builders” is a term many British homeowners use for tradespeople who do shoddy construction work. The term is bandied about with fear or regret, often because of bad experiences.

在英国，有许多屋主会将收费高又偷工减料的承包商称为「牛仔建筑师」。他们大都是基于过去惨痛的经验，以不安和气恼的心情议论这些恶质承包商。

No doubt there were rogue carpenters, masons, and stonecutters in biblical times, but tucked away in the story of King Joash repairing the temple is a line about the complete honesty of those who oversaw and did the work (2 Kings 12:15).

从古至今，相信圣经时代也不例外，凡承接工程的木匠、泥水匠和石匠都难免会偷工减料，或是中饱私囊。然而，当约阿施王重修圣殿，督工和工匠却完全忠诚可靠（列王纪下12章15节）。

However, King Joash “did what was right in the eyes of the ” (v. 2) only when Jehoiada the priest instructed him. As we see in 2 Chronicles 24:17-27, after Jehoiada died Joash turned from the Lord and was persuaded to worship other gods.

可惜，约阿施王只有在祭司耶何耶大教导他时，「行耶和华眼中看为正的事」（2节）。正如历代志下24章17-27节提到，耶何耶大死后，约阿施悖离上帝，竟听从犹大众首领的建议，去事奉别神。

The mixed legacy of a king who enjoyed a season of fruitfulness only while under the spiritual counsel of a godly priest makes me stop and think. What will our legacies be? Will we continue to grow and develop in our faith throughout our lives, producing good fruit? Or will we become distracted by the things of this world and turn to modern-day idols—such as comfort, materialism, and self-promotion?

这位犹大王在敬畏上帝的祭司教导之下，行上帝眼中看为正的事，后来却悖逆上帝，留下恶名。这让我想到，我们将留下什么？我们的一生是否能持续地成长、持守信心，不断地结果子吗？或是被世俗的事务搅扰而分心，转向现今的偶像，如享受、物质和自我呢？

Go deeper: How does this passage compare with Jesus’ letter to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2? How do these passages apply to your life?

进深思想：看了这篇文章，再阅读启示录第2章，
耶稣对以弗所教会所说的话，对你有什么启发呢？
你如何将这些领受应用在日常生活中呢？

Read:

2 Kings 12:1-15New International Version (NIV)

Joash Repairs the Temple

12 [a]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 Lordall 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 theLord. 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.

列王纪下 12:1-15Chinese Union Version Modern Punctuation (Simplified) (CUVMPS)

约阿施做犹大王

12 耶户第七年，约阿施登基，在耶路撒冷做王四十年。他母亲名叫西比亚，是别是巴人。 2 约阿施在祭司耶何耶大教训他的时候，就行耶和华眼中看为正的事。3 只是丘坛还没有废去，百姓仍在那里献祭烧香。

命修葺圣殿

4 约阿施对众祭司说：“凡奉到耶和华殿分别为圣之物所值通用的银子，或各人当纳的身价，或乐意奉到耶和华殿的银子， 5 你们当从所认识的人收了来，修理殿的一切破坏之处。” 6 无奈到了约阿施王二十三年，祭司仍未修理殿的破坏之处。 7 所以约阿施王召了大祭司耶何耶大和众祭司来，对他们说：“你们怎么不修理殿的破坏之处呢？从今以后，你们不要从所认识的人再收银子，要将所收的交出来，修理殿的破坏之处。” 8 众祭司答应不再收百姓的银子，也不修理殿的破坏之处。

9 祭司耶何耶大取了一个柜子，在柜盖上钻了一个窟窿，放于坛旁，在进耶和华殿的右边。守门的祭司将奉到耶和华殿的一切银子投在柜里。 10 他们见柜里的银子多了，便叫王的书记和大祭司上来，将耶和华殿里的银子数算，包起来。 11 把所平的银子交给督工的，就是耶和华殿里办事的人。他们把银子转交修理耶和华殿的木匠和工人， 12 并瓦匠、石匠，又买木料和凿成的石头修理耶和华殿的破坏之处，以及修理殿的各样使用。 13 但那奉到耶和华殿的银子没有用以做耶和华殿里的银杯、蜡剪、碗、号和别样的金银器皿， 14 乃将那银子交给督工的人修理耶和华的殿。 15 且将银子交给办事的人转交做工的人，不与他们算账，因为他们办事诚实。

整理：于姊妹