NOTES for Ki2 12:1-21
Joash tries to rule in a godly way; his decision to restore the temple to its former splendor is not only noble but also entirely natural. Yet the damage inflicted by the pagans on the whole kingdom is too great; too many visible and invisible wounds have been inflicted on God's people, from without and from within. These wounds could not distort the foundation of the outlook of those who remained faithful to the Lord, as shown, if by nothing else, by the honesty of the workers who could be entrusted with great valuables without being required to give an account.
But the consequences of old sins are so severe that Joash's good intentions could not be fully realized. Both the donations for the temple and the temple gold had to be used for something other than their intended purpose: to buy off the Syrian invasion. This forced payment was also a reckoning for the many sins of previous kings, but it was neither the only nor the most important one. Far more important is the fact that the very failure of the attempt to repair the temple, as we may suppose with a great degree of probability, indicated that the Lord did not favor the restoration of a temple defiled by the sins of apostates. Unless the Lord builds the house, the builder labors in vain.