Phew! Finally a good king came along to eradicate the phrase, “he did evil in the sight of the Lord”

Bible Passage: 2 Kings 23

A God-chosen nation with her kings doing things that are contrary to the commands of God is truly atrocious and unimaginable. But it happened.

The words and the commands of God were given to the prophets to be conveyed to the nation of Israel for their good, but they conveniently ignored and lost it in the Temple (ref. 2 kings 22:8)

The rejection of God’s words and commands resulted in the pouring in of falsehood, i.e. idolatry and immorality.

But God fulfilled the prophesy which was spoken long ago before Josiah was born.

And behold, a man of God went from Judah to Bethel by the word of the Lord,
and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. Then he cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be burned on you.’

1 Kings 13: 1 – 2

Josiah did a very thorough reformation of the falsehoods that were so rampant in the nation. He even brought back the observance of the Passover.

This Passover reminded the people that they belonged to the God of Heaven who brought them out of bondage into the Land of Promise, the land of freedom.

But it is sad that this relieve from falsehood had to end, because Josiah became proud and he challenged Pharaoh Necho who eventually killed him. (ref. 2 Chronicles 35: 20 – 25)

Josiah made the similar mistake made by Amaziah, who became proud which led to his death. Similarly, Josiah’s pride led to his downfall.

Today’s chapter gives us very good warnings about our faith today.

A long lasting faith has to have constant contact with the word of God, self-reflection and repentance.

We know that we have the word of God, but we must not belittle it and treat it as something common that is only optional to our spiritual livelihood.

If we never fill our lives with the word of God, falsehood can easily pour into our hearts to sever our ties with our God! So never let a day passes us by without meditating on the word of God, and to also submit to His will and put His words into action.

Last but not least, not forgetting to repent constantly of our sins, for we know we are far from being perfect.

May our Lord strengthen us through His Spirit, guide us through His Word, so that we can be true children of God, walking a life pleasing in His sight.

Shalom

 

 

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