a child of god
this is the way, run in it
2 Chronicles 34 - one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. Yes, truly. In this chapter, young King Josiah, son of Amon (who only ruled 2 years and you can guess why - he was a baddie), son of Manasseh (who was a baddie but became a goodie) - this young king, Josiah, did right in the sight of the LORD God, and he walked in his ways, from the age of 8. Check that out! Even from the age of 8. The bible says, "And Josiah did right in the sight of the LORD and ... did not turn aside to the right or to the left" (v.2). He was steadfast and he did not waver.
At the age of 16, he began to seek God actively, and when he was 19, he began to clean house - he set about purging/cleaning up Judah and Jerusalem of the pagan sacrificial places and the idols. He totally destroyed them. The bible says he not only tore them down, but ground them up into dust and then burnt that. It took 8 years before he could turn his hand to the next task - and I'm sure these were tasks given to him by God, because the bible says we are all created not only to know God but to do the tasks and fill the roles that He purposed for us before we were born (Ephesians 2:10). When he was 26, he set about repairing the house of the LORD God. He had the priests bring out the money stored for this purpose, he paid the workers up front, and everyone got on with the task of repairing and restoring the house of the LORD God. And here we get to the point, where I want to stand up and shout, Yes! While they are busy restoring the house of God, they find a book. They found the book of the law of the LORD given to the people by Moses. They found the bible (OT/Pentateuch)! They discovered it, dusted it off, and the priest Hilkiah informs Shaphan the scribe that he has found this book and gives it to Shaphan. When Shaphan goes to tell the king how the work is getting on, how the workers are doing, he gives his report, and then he says as an afterthought, oh, by the way, Hilkiah found this book. Shaphan reads it out loud to King Josiah. "And it came about when the king heard the words of the law that he tore his clothes" (v. 19). His instant response was one of repentance! He was aware of the gravity of what the Word had to say, he heard what they, the people of Israel, had fallen away from doing, living, for generations. He was cut to the quick. His heart was convicted. He then sends Hilkiah the priest, Shaphan the scribe and his son Ahikam, Abddon the son of Micah, and Asaiah the king's servant to ask the prophet of the day, a woman, Huldah the prophetess, what God wanted them to do about this. King Josiah wants to know what God has to say and what they should do. He enquired of God via the prophetess. They bring back to the king what Huldah spoke as the word from the LORD God, of judgement that was due on the people of Israel for forsaking God, and how the wrong had to be made right by this, but, to Josiah himself, God said this, "Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God, when you heard His words against this place and its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes (a sign of mourning and grief for the Israelites), and wept before Me, truly, I have heard you," declares the LORD" (v.27). How awesome is that? God sees Josiah, He sees his heart - that it is humble, that he was tender towards God and His ways as evidenced by his concern, as well as the actions of his life, He sees Josiah's tears - God is moved by Josiah's heart response. And God says further that He will not bring the judgement of doom on the people during Josiah's lifetime, instead Josiah will see peace. Josiah's next act speaks volumes! He gathers all the people from the greatest to the least, and he reads the book of the law of God to the people of Israel! Then he made a covenant with the LORD God for himself and for all the people, "to walk after the LORD, to keep His commandments and His testimonies..." (v.31). In Josiah's time, he and the people did not turn from following the LORD God. All of this came from hearing the Word of God read out loud. The power of God through His Word is life changing. A lot of us know the theology of this - that the bible, OT and NT, are inspired - God breathed - by the Spirit of God, written down by men moved by God, we know that Hebrews 4:12 says the bible is "living and active," sharp, able to bring discernment, shine its light on a situation, into hearts, "able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." But look at this - the course of a nation was changed by God's Word being read out loud to the people. And what about the course of our lives, our hearts, our gatherings of people? I love God's Word. It is like treasure, great treasure, that is worth everything. I want my heart to respond like King Josiah's did - instantly quickened, instantly convicted, instantly acted upon to seek God and get back close to Him and His ways. The power of the Word of God will not fade or change until Jesus comes back. The bible says so. Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:21.
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Franci Ballwatching and working for the kingdom of God in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham - UK Archives
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