Read 2 Kings 22:2-7
Josiah, one of the godly and great kings, maintained the temple of God (v2). Another great king, Josiah, also did this (2 Kings 12). He that had a heart for God would pay attention and allocate resources for the maintenance of the temple. This was where the nation would focus on their spiritual life. How the kings maintained the temple of God would reflect on their belief in temple worship.
Maintenance shows preparedness and passion. A facility will become run-down due to the death of love for God and His temple. With this, boredom begins to set in. Lack of maintenance will then lead to the “broken window” concept. When there are too many “broken windows” in the neighbourhood, it will breakdown and subsequently attracts crime. The people need to maintain the temple diligently. Otherwise, the spiritual may reflect and follow after the physical.
Let us reflect and learn some lessons from the way Josiah maintains the Temple
1) Leadership and Administration
Josiah gave instructions and monitored the funds and progress of the repairs (v3-7)
2) Organisational Chart and Structure
A designated group of doorkeepers collected the money. They would deliver it to the High Priest. He would then forward it to the overseers and onward to the workers in the temple (v3-5)
3) Unity of command and Accountability
The movement of funds from verses three to five reflected unity of command and accountability (v3-5)
4) Line authority and Delegation
The overseers gave funds to the workers to repair the damages in the temple (v5)
5) Assessment and Audit
Workers could only repair damages ascertained and approved for work (v5)
6) Human Resources – Selection and Recruitment
Carpenter, builders and masons recruited for the tasks (v6)
7) Purchasing and Inventory
Timber and hewn stones were bought (v6)
8) Retention, Loyalty and Relationships
No accounting made as they were faithful and trustworthy (v7)
What are the lessons we can learn for the marketplace and our dear homes?
Can we spare a thought for the back-room operations? And the support services that sustain all the divisions and departments of the entire corporation? Revenue generating departments and personnel are essential to the business. There is a tendency to focus and put them in the limelight. They get the bulk of the budget allocations and incentives to boot. A lack of concern for the backroom operations may one day come back and bite the company hard.
The joy of living is not in building a house but in keeping it well. The warmth will saturate the home, through the seasons of life and the generations. What are your thoughts on a vibrant and God-honouring family? Where do we invest our efforts, time and funds? Finally, where are our hearts today? What are we doing to maintain that soft and pliable heart for God to mould and use?
2 Kings 22:2-7
2 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
3 The high priest was in charge of the offering. The gatekeepers collected them.
Now it came to pass, in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan the scribe, the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the house of the Lord , saying:
4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money which has been brought into the house of the Lord , which the doorkeepers have gathered from the people.
5 And let them deliver it into the hand of those doing the work, who are the overseers in the house of the Lord ; let them give it to those who are in the house of the Lord doing the work, to repair the damages of the house—
6 to carpenters and builders and masons—and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house.
7 However there need be no accounting made with them of the money delivered into their hand, because they deal faithfully.”
