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In Order. Don't Try

August 5, 2017. 2 Kings 22-23, 2 Chronicles 34-35

In Order. Don’t Try

These chapters are very challenging, they tell the story of a young king who when his eyes are opened to the truth, he does what is necessary to make it right in the eyes of the Lord.  These chapters are challenging because what this young king does, is not something we as Christians always want to do.  We stall, make excuses, or say we will try.  When in reality, you either do it or you don’t.

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.

Wow, what a way to be remembered.  So what exactly did Josiah do to gain such high praise? He did what most people have a really hard time doing.  See Josiah became king when he was only 8 years old.  Can you imagine that type of responsibility on such a young child? But he was obviously surrounded by some pretty amazing people and brought up following the Lord.  So when he was about 26 years old, 18 years into his 31 year reign, the Book of the Law was found in the temple.  Now, if you haven’t guessed, that is not a good thing that the book was just now found considering it had the laws that the Lord wanted followed.  So as it is being read to king Josiah, he is overcome by the anger of the Lord towards himself and all his people for not following his commands that he tears his robes and seeks advice. 

The Lord is moved by Josiah’s responsiveness to what he heard, so the Lord tells him that he will spare him from his anger and not let him live through what the Lord has promised to do because of their sin and complete denial of the Lord. 

Harsh yes, but here is the most important thing: Josiah takes immediate action to change things.  As soon as he is made aware of what is right and wrong, he takes immediate action to correct it.

We as Christian have this same responsibility: as soon as we made the decision to follow Christ, everything in our lives should be changed.  We should follow Christ with all our hearts, soul and strength.  There are many times that we are made aware of something that needs to be changed in our own lives, whether it is giving something up, removing something, or changing the way we act; we choose to ignore it, or say we will work on it.  That is not how it should be.  Josiah realized this, and made the necessary changes immediately so that no temptation could be in their way.  He wanted to follow the Lord completely and commited to it 100%.

What in your life has the Lord pointed out that needs to be changed but you are stubbornly holding onto? Take it and cut it out of your life completely just like Josiah did with every god, goddess, and altar that went against the Lord.  Don’t say you are going to try, trust the Lord, and just do it. 

Andrea Fite

Andrea is a wife to an amazing man, mother to a sweet little boy, Christ following, coffee addicted, book-loving woman. She grew up as a missionary and pastor’s kid, and learned at a young age that...more