Taxes. A necessary requirement or burden upon society for the upholding of civil government. Every citizen realizes the necessity, but much disagreement abounds as to how much a person should be taxed. It is a hot issue. One which resulted in the Revolutionary War because there was “taxation without representation!”
It is not often that one finds taxing and rejoicing in the same context, but that is exactly what happened in Joash’s day! Joash, king of Judah, set out to repair the Temple. The Temple had been neglected, vandalized, and broken into to. Joash commanded the Levites to go throughout the land and gather money from the people to repair the temple. They were slow to act! So Joash proclaimed throughout the land that the people should bring the tax Moses commanded in the wilderness, that is, the offering for the tent of meeting.
Joash commanded a chest to made and set outside the house of the Lord. “And all the princes and all the people rejoiced and brought their tax and dropped it into the chest until they had finished” (24:10). When the chest was full, they would empty it and the people would fill it again. This continued until the repairs were complete and all utensils were made!
How can joy and tax be found together? The key is the purpose. The purpose of repairing the Temple and restoring worship was greater than the desire for material possessions. Worship exceeded pocketbooks! The people of God rejoice to give when the end result is the worship of God. The purpose in repairing the Temple was to restore worship for the people, and that makes for a good tax!
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