Friends, it was amid all of the
disobedience and wailing that there rose up a young king of Judah who did some
pretty incredible things. II Chronicles 34-35 is where we find
his story. This young king had come from an evil family line. II Chron. 33:10 “The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people but they paid no attention.”
Manasseh, Josiah’s
grandfather, was a extremely wicked king of Judah…he so disregarded the ways of
God, he put pagan gods into Solomon’s temple for worship. It says, “Manasseh led Judah and the
people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations of LORD
had destroyed before the Israelites” II Chronicles 33:9. Manasseh died and his son Amon,
Josiah’s father, became king. We
read in vs22, “He did evil in the eyes of the
LORD, as his father Manasseh had done.” Like father like son…Judah was in a bad way. They were pompous, arrogant, loved
their idols and their lifestyle…when God spoke, they did NOT listen. (Sound
familiar?) Amon was assassinated after only 2 years of reigning but God’s
everlasting love was shown in the next verses:
II Chron. 34:1-2 “Now, Josiah was
eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem 31 years. He did what was right in the eyes of
the LORD and walked in the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the
right or to the left.”
What??? Here was a young boy, whose father and grandfather were evil
idol worshipers, and yet he decides to follow the LORD (YAHWEH.) Yes, God had heard the prayers of His
prophets and the wails of the women and answered by providing a young king who
followed the ways of David.
Wait though, before you think Jerusalem
was saved, history shows it did not escape the destruction predicted by Jeremiah
and Habakkuk…things for Jerusalem did NOT
get better so you might wonder, “Why Josiah?” God had pronounced judgment on
Judah. Jerusalem WAS destroyed
because the people had strayed too far from the ways of God. BUT
those who turned back because of what Josiah did, were protected….we call
them “the remnant”…those who individually
followed and kept the statutes of the LORD… God provides a “way out” in every
generation in order to provide for a remnant of believers…and He is calling His
church to revival today! I don’t know where we are going as a nation but I
believe we as a church need to begin to stand on God’s principles and return to
Him. We all are in a battle but this
is not a battle of nations, political
parties, or religions…it is an internal battle. We must quit blaming others for our situation…WE are
responsible for where we stand with God…Are you ready to face your battle? How
can Josiah’s life help us? This is what he did:
·
Vs. 3 In the eighth year of his reign (he was
16!) he began to seek the God of his
father David. We must begin to
seek the God of the Bible…not the gods of this world. We must not be deceived…this world has
so many conflicting words about who God is and what He requires and we are
falling for it!! He is a God of love but also of judgment. We have forgotten that! When I hear
Christians say, “A loving God wouldn’t do that.” I wonder how they know. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “My ways are not your ways, my thoughts are
not your thoughts!” His Word
is evidence of what He can and will do and Jesus did not
negate God’s judgment…Jesus gave us a way of escape. Josiah
began to seek out this God that neither his father nor grandfather showed him
and God was found! Jeremiah says,
“You will find me when you seek me with your whole heart!” Jeremiah 29:13
·
VS 7
He tore down (with his own hands)
the idols. He knew that idols
kept him for worshiping the true God.
Folks, idols are not always carved images but they can be good things in
our lives…family, jobs, even our church…but if God isn’t first in our lives
these things become idols. God
must be first…He will not share His glory with anything or anyone. Not even your family!! GOD/FAMILY/CHURCH
·
Began to
rebuild the temple…the place of worship. We don’t have temples today to rebuild but Paul said, “We are the temple of God.” We must
begin to worship again…in spirit and in truth. In our hearts and in our minds. The word worship in the
Hebrew (Shahach) and Greek (Proskuneo) mean in reality, to put yourself under
the authority of God. We mistakenly
have limited it to music and satan has used music styles to change our focus
away from worship….satan knows how important worship is and has done what he
can to destroy it in our lives.
·
In rebuilding the temple, vs.14, Josiah found the book of the law…the Torah…the
Bible…God’s plan for living. We
must know what is in the Word of God! It is truth and our guide for this
life. I enjoy reading commentaries
and books by preachers etc. but they are NOT a substitute for God’s word. It is time we quit reading ABOUT the
Bible and begin reading the Bible! It is time we quit listening to teachers who
tell us how they think we should live and listen to God’s Word, which KNOWS how
we should live.
· Vs19
After reading God’s word, Josiah tore
his robes…he repented…he wept over how far his people had gone away. Read vs. 21 “Great is the LORD’s anger that
is poured out on us because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD;
they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book.”
He was broken and grieved over
what was happening both in his life and in the lives of his country...no
excuses. Are you grieving over what you
have done, or are you only afraid that your lifestyle might change? There is a difference!! It is time we truly repent in our lives and become
broken before God. When was the last time you cried over your rebellion against
God?? I love this quote: "There are only two kinds
of men: the righteous who believe themselves sinners, and the rest, sinners who
believe themselves righteous." -- Blaise Pascal
·
Josiah lead
Judah back to God Where are you leading people?? You are leading them somewhere! Very soon we will be asked to stand for
God’s truth. It will not be easy but it is necessary.
Part 3 will cover what the New Testament says we are to do to stand for righteousness in our world...I look forward to sharing it with you!!
