Wednesday, August 11, 2010
2 Kings 23:25 Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the LORD as he did -- with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.
GOD'S FAITHFUL KING
You would expect to find a Bible in a church, wouldn't you? Well, maybe not in the land of Judah in 630 BC. By this time the people of southern Palestine had forsaken their God. They had given up looking for the Messiah who would come to take away their sin. They had turned instead to idols of wood and stone, hoping that the likes of Baal and Asherah would cleanse them spiritually. They sacrificed their children to these gods and did many other things detestable in the eyes of the LORD.
It has been said that children seldom rise above the spiritual level of their parents. That means if parents do not show an interest in God and make Him a priority in their lives, it is far less likely that their children will. This may sometimes be true, but it is not always true. It was not true in the case of King Josiah. Josiah of Judah rose above the spiritual level of his parents. His grandfather King Manassah was evil. His father King Amon was evil. But Josiah, who ascended the throne at the age of eight, loved and worshiped God.
As a young teenager Josiah showed more spiritual maturity and insight than most of the men in his kingdom. He tore down the altars to the false gods. He rebuilt the house of the LORD, and in the course of the rebuilding, a Bible was uncovered! It was brought to Josiah and he read it -- and then he gathered the leaders of his kingdom and he read it to them.
The people learned from the Scriptures that they had been sinning against God. They were brought to repentance (sorrow over their sin), and they were led to rely on God for forgiveness to heal their spiritual evil.
Parents like to see their children rise above them. We count it a blessing when we see our children achieve things that we were not able to achieve. How much more so in spiritual matters! We know so well our own weaknesses that we pray the next generation would be more mature and stronger in their faith than we are. May the Holy Spirit shower our children with spiritual gifts in abundance!
