"Before (Josiah), there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him."
(2 Kings 23:25)
I really like Josiah! Crowned at age 8, when he was 26 some workers discovered an ancient manuscript in the Temple (turns out it was the book of Deuteronomy!). Upon reading, he realized they hadn't been living the way God intended them to. So Josiah did two amazing things: 1) Called the whole nation to repent and change their ways... 2) Removed every obstacle that competed with worship of God. It was a powerful turn of events. In fact, the author of 2 Kings said there was never a king like him, before or since (which is saying a lot, remembering the great Kings David & Solomon!).
I know Josiah didn't do those things to be considered "The #1 King of All-Time"; he did them because of his love for God. He turned with "all his heart, soul, & might" (maybe that's where Jesus got this expression when asked years later about the greatest commandment?!). What about me? Can I say that I've given God all my heart, soul, & might? Sometimes, yes. All the time, no. 2 Kings 23 lists specific actions Josiah took to rid the nation of anything that got in the way of worshipping God (check out v.5-20!). Have I been able to do that in my life? I'm not too worried about needing to "cleanse the world" of anything and everything that I think competes with worship of God - just anything & everything in MY LIFE (ie. desire to watch Sunday morning football, being 'too busy' during weekday mornings to spend time in prayer, thoughts that focus more on my desires than on God's, etc.). I've got a long way to go. But then again, it's not about being recognized as "The #1 pastor of all-time." It's about being faithful. Thanks, Josiah, for that insight. AMEN.
1 comment:
Amen!
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