Obedience of Josiah

“Then Saphan the scribe told the king saying: ‘Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.’ And Shaphan read it before the king.  Thus it happened, when the king heard the words of the Law, that he tore his clothes.” (2 Chronicles 34:18-19)

  Josiah was eight years old when he became king. His grandfather had been Hezekiah and had been a great king in Judah "And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all his father David had done." (2 Chron. 29:2) But Josiah’s father was Manasseh "But he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel." (2 Chron. 33:2)

    Josiah had become king only one generation after the rule of a righteous king and now everything had changed because of the evil deeds of his own father. He and his people had no knowledge of what God had instructed the people of Israel through Moses when they had been led out of Egypt and entered the Promised Land they now occupied.  Now he was suddenly able to hear the Word of God as it had been written down and he knew that his nation was in sin and was not worshiping the God who was responsible for their very existence as a nation and as a called out people for God.

   He understood after hearing the Word of God that he and his people needed to change. So he commanded the high priest, Hilkiah: “Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the book that is found; for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do according to all that is written in the book.” (2 Chron. 34:21) And then Hilkiah went and sought out a prophetess named Huldah (yes there are women prophetess’s in the Bible!) and asked her to find out what God would say. She said that the Lord told her that there would be great calamity on the people because they had forsaken God and burned incense to false gods and that His wrath would not be quenched. 

  Then she related the following: “But as for the king of Judah….thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,’ says the LORD. (2 Chron. 34:26-27)

   God  promised to allow him to die before all of the dire prophecies concerning Judah and Israel would be accomplished. Then the king gathered the elders of Judah and Israel and they all went together to the house of the Lord. “And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant (First five books of the Bible) which had been found in the house of the LORD. Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the LORD, to follow the LORD, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statues with all his heart and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book.” (2 Chron. 34:30b-31)

What about you? Are you a faithful reader of God’s Holy Word, the Bible? And more importantly are you obeying those things that the Holy Spirit reveals to you when you do read or hear it preached in God’s house? Are you struck in the heart when God’s word convicts you of sin? Unlike Josiah, we have never been without God’s Word unless we grew up in another faith that did not allow us to read it or in a part of the world where it was banned. But that should not be a problem now! We all have God’s word available in hundreds of languages and dozens of different translations in English.

  Take time today to read something from the New Testament, something from the Old Testament, and something from the Psalms and Proverbs. See if God doesn’t speak to your heart and draw you closer to Him! (Then repeat the process daily for the rest of you life!)

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105)

“Thy word I have hid in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” (Psalm 119:11)

 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (James 4:8a)

PRAY

1.    Lord help me to be faithful to read your Word everyday. Open the eyes of my heart to understand and to have a desire to obey whatever Your Word tells me.

2.    Thank You that there are so many ways I can gain access to Your words that have been written down for me and all who would be your disciples.

3.    We praise You for You  are always with us through good times and hard times and You always want what is best for us.