There, attention was concentrated on the sanctuary and the law from the moment when Jehoiada had shown himself their strict guardian. The Temple had suffered injury under Athaliah. Not only had the golden covering of the cedar wood been in part destroyed, but entire blocks had been violently pulled out of the walls. It was therefore an important matter for the young king Joash, at the beginning of his reign, to repair these damages, and Jehoiada impressed on him the necessity of this undertaking. The means, however, were wanting. Whatever treasure might have been in the Temple--the accumulated offerings of former kings or of pious donors--had, without doubt, been transferred by Athaliah to the house of Baal. The king therefore commanded the priests to collect money for effecting the necessary repairs, and bade them engage in this work with as much energy as though it were their own affair. Every Aaronite was to obtain contributions from his acquaintances, and out of the sums thus collected the expenses of repairing the Temple were to be defrayed. Whether it was that the moneys received were insufficient, or that the priests used them for their own purposes, the repairs were for a long time not attempted. At length the king ordered the high priest Jehoiada (864) to enlist the interest of the nation in the work on hand. A chest with a slit in it was placed in the courtyard of the Temple, and into that chest all whom piety or generosity influenced might place a free-will offering, each according to his means, or he might give his contribution to the priests, who would deposit it in the chest. The gifts were liberal, and proved sufficient to procure materials, and to pay the masons and carpenters. Jehoiada raised the position of the high priest, which until then, even under the best kings, had been a subordinate one, to an equality with that of royalty. Had not the high priest, through his wisdom and energy, saved the kingdom? Would not the last descendant of the house of David have been destroyed, if Jehoiada had not rescued him from the bloodthirsty Athaliah? He could justly claim that the high priest should henceforth have an important voice in all matters of state. Jehoiada used his influence to secure due respect for the law, and to avoid a recurrence of the deplorable period of apostasy. But strife between the royal power and that of the priests was inevitable, for the former, from its very nature, was dependent on personal disposition, whilst the latter was based on established laws. During the lifetime of Jehoiada, to whom Joash owed everything, the contest did not break out. Joash may have been prompted by gratitude and respect to submit to the orders of the high priest, and when Jehoiada died, he paid him the honour of burial in the royal mausoleum in the city of David.