Twenty-three years!?!?!

[From 8/26/13]

"By the 23rd year of King Jehoash the priests had not made any repairs on the house (of the LORD)."

(2 Kings 12:6)

Jehoash (aka "Joash") became king at age 7.  Wow.  When I was seven, I was a runny-nosed kid playing with army men, G.I. Joes, and Stretch Armstrong!  I wasn't anywhere near ready to be the ultimate monarch of an entire nation.

In reality, neither was Jehoash.  Of course he had to have people advise, inform, and govern for him.  Remember, the kid was only seven!  But 2 Kings 12 tells us one of the stipulations he made early in his reign was that the temple donations should be used to ACTUALLY REPAIR THE TEMPLE (sounds logical, right!?!).

Then we get to verse 6, which stays that TWENTY-THREE YEARS LATER, no repairs had been made.  Seriously?  Twenty-three years!?!?  Didn't Jehoash notice that the Temple was still as shabby looking as ever? Or maybe it was in pretty good condition to begin with?  But 23 years? That tells me the priests took advantage of the young king.  What did they do with the money?  Or did they just not want to do any repairs?  Either way, 23 years is a LONG time for a command to go unheeded.

It's a reminder to me as a leader - be on top of projects, endeavors, and activities that are under my authority.  Don't assume everything is being done accordingly.