II Kings 22.1-13
Things had gotten so bad under Mannasseh that the Book of the Law was no longer in the hands of the priests and therefore far from the people.
The spiritual situation in Judah that Josiah inherited was horrible.
We are told of his father Mannasseh:
2 Kings 21:2-9 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he also erected altars to Baal and made an Asherah pole, as Ahab king of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. He built altars in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem I will put my Name.” In the two courts of the temple of the Lord, he built altars to all the starry hosts. He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced divination, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger. He took the carved Asherah pole he had made and put it in the temple, of which the Lord had said to David and to his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name forever. I will not again make the feet of the Israelites wander from the land I gave their ancestors, if only they will be careful to do everything I commanded them and will keep the whole Law that my servant Moses gave them.” But the people did not listen. Manasseh led them astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.
When Josiah became King of Judah he went to work on tearing down the evil his father had erected, destroying the places of worship set up.
1. There was Ignorance Concerning What Was in The Book of the Law.
It was not even around. It probably had been buried in the temple under idols and things. Cleaning out the temple it was discovered. Cleaning out an attic or basement, treasures are recovered!
Since it was not read people did not know what was in it.
I am convinced that the reason the behavior of Christians is often as bad as unbelievers is due to their lack of knowing what the Bible says. I hear of people who claim to be believers who are not reading the Word of God and it boggles my mind and troubles my heart.
Imagine losing the Word of God Within the House of God!
We really don't have to imagine much- that has happened in so many churches. Those churches that say the worship was amazing have lost their first love and
are worshipping worship rather than the LORD.
Too much emphasis on experience can precipitate a loss of God's Word.
Churches who are going against God's Word when it comes to things clearly stated within God's Word have lost the Word of God within.
My friend Pastor Steve Willoughby, of first Baptist in Patchogue this week:
The Apostles never took any surveys or test-marketed anything.
They got on their knees to ask what God was saying and then stood up to declare: "Thus Says the LORD..."
Their Power was not in their technology or presentation but in the Holy Spirit.
The Western Church would do well to remember that we don't "market" Jesus or try to put our stamp on Christianity as some kind of Name-brand:
-Jesus overturned the tables of the money-changers
-Peter told Simon Magnus to perish with his money
-The Holy Spirit struck Ananias and Sapphira dead.
Josiah became king in a time of ignorance concerning the Law and the Prophets (21.8, 10) and therefore a breaking of it.
Micah was one of the prophets during the time of Mannaseh and Jeremiah during Josiah's reign. Interesting we think of Jeremiah's ministry as bitter yet it appears he had great influence on Josiah.
2. Josiah understood the enormity of the Nation's Sin. vs. 11-13
Like David his father, "Against Thee and Thee only have I sinned and done this great wickedness."
Psalm 51:4 Against You and You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight; so You are right in Your verdict and justified when You judge.
Often how bad things really are is not made known until it is seen in light of God's Word.
He saw it as against God.
Throughout the history of the God's people, when the word of God is recovered and spread, then spiritual revival follows. It can begin as simply as it did in the days of Josiah, with one man find and reading and believing and spreading the Book.
*He was grief stricken and heart broken over the national sin of the loss of God's Word. We need more awareness of this today. Great creature comforts cause many to rest when they ought to be alert. Jesus spoke of this often. The current threat of ISSIS. We are being warned eerily as we were prior to 9-11.
*He asked for prayer in regards to God's honor.
We ask for prayer for ourselves or loved ones. When we begin to pray for God' Honor and the loss of it in a nation, we are moving closer to God's heart. It is a mature prayer, a servant's prayer, a heart for God, like David.
1 Samuel 17:26 David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
3. God Honors a Humble Heart. vs. 18-20
When a nation has gone too far, become too wicked, the LORD hears the prayers of His people and brings them special blessings but the nation still is going to be judged.
Judah had gone too far. There had to be an accounting of the innocent bloodshed. Apostasy and idolatry had been ingrained in their national character.
Josiah was blessed by the LORD for his faithfulness.
II Chronicles 34.3 In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David. How wonderful when teenagers seek Him, when they truly thirst for God in their lives.
Reformation alone will not change people, there must be repentance and renewal within the heart. There was outward reform but not much inward change of heart. The changes under Josiah were superficial.
Isaiah's cry reflected the reception of his prophecy in that day: Isaiah 53:1 Who has believed our messageand to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
Jeremiah began his ministry in the 13th year of Josiah. His prophecy reflects the spiritual life of the nation. A nation that treats these prophecies with contempt is ripe for judgement.
Jeremiah 3:10 In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the LORD.
Even if Reformation does not ward off God's Judgement it is still right.
We want to escape judgement but our primary concern like Josiah's ought to be for the glory of God. Heartbroken over His Name being dishonored.
He did what was right knowing in the end Judah would be destroyed, Jerusalem turned upside down and the people carried into exile in Babylon.
Josiah heard the Word of God and humbled himself before the LORD. Before this he had he example of David his father. He followed his example as a man after God's own heart. Let's thank God for godly examples but make Christ the One Whom we will seek to be like.
Become more like Him.
Have His Mind...
Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.
The Word of God when read is self humbling, self stripping and life changing for those who believe it. To those who do not believe: Luke 16:31 But He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though One rises from the dead.’”
Josiah sought to bring his life and the nation into conformity with the Word of God. Jeremiah must have had a positive influence on Josiah, one for the LORD, a source of encouragement, like Brother Hazard.
God's call today is for us to humble ourselves. Fall on our faces before Him Who sit on the throne. As we read and hear the Word of God today and each day let it renew your heart, show you where you need to grow and change, all for His Glory, All For Jesus.
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