Good King Josiah (2 Kings 22 and Following) | Adult Sunday School

Kootenai Church

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:00

Father, thank you that we can gather here this morning and what a beautiful day you've granted us to drive here and to see the beauty of your creation all around us.

05:00

We're reminded once again that you are a good God who lavishes upon his children such beauty, such wonder.

05:14

And Father, as we open the text this morning of scripture, we pray that your spirit would help us to be learners, help us to apply the text this morning, and Lord, to leave from this time together as a people who are committed to the scriptures, humbling our hearts before them, that through them your spirit might continue his work of conforming us into the image of his beloved son, in whose name we pray, amen.

05:46

All right, well, here we are in the third week of January or so, and many of us recently completed an annual through the

05:57

Bible kind of reading. I know a number of you that that's kind of a pattern of your lives and it's really a commendable thing, and I know that the

06:05

Lord blesses that and brings great profit from that kind of continual and faithful time spent in his word.

06:12

And so just thinking about all of that, I thought this morning we would do something a little bit different, and that is I would like to spend some time looking at an

06:19

Old Testament narrative with you, and in the process of doing that, kind of demonstrate and look at how to principalize that text.

06:30

In other words, from an Old Testament narrative, how do we draw lessons that are applicable to us living 3 ,000 years removed from the events that are narrated there for us?

06:44

And so we're going to be looking at the life of the good King Josiah this morning, good

06:50

King Josiah. And, you know, a leader can have a positive or negative impact upon his people, and certainly a reading through the book of Kings makes that very plain, very plain.

07:03

And here we are, like tomorrow is the inauguration, and we don't have kings, but there is an inauguration.

07:10

It's a consequential inauguration, a consequential change of leadership in our nation.

07:16

And certainly it's true for us as a people too. A good leader is a blessing to God's people, and a wicked leader is a curse upon them.

07:27

Well, thinking about the good King Josiah, just a little bit of background to get us thinking that way.

07:34

And you can find your way, by the way, to 2 Kings chapter 22, 2

07:40

Kings chapter 22. But upon the death of Solomon in 922

07:46

B .C., the kingdom of Israel, which was a fragile kingdom, it really only existed a little over 100 years, was essentially forged by David, handed off to Solomon, and Solomon's stewardship of that kingdom wasn't as good as it could have been or should have been.

08:06

And by the time it was handed to his son, it was on the verge of breakup, and that's indeed what happened.

08:13

The nation divided. The ten kingdoms became known as Israel, the ten kingdoms of the north, and in the south, the kingdom of Judah, Benjamin, was the southern kingdom.

08:24

And so we have this division within the nation. Israel herself, the ten northern tribes, over the next 209 years, had a series of 19 kings, all of whom were wicked, bad.

08:42

Judah, lasting longer, for 345 years, had 20 kings, of which 8 of them are, we are told by the

08:51

Scriptures, were a good king. So that's really not very good odds, actually, when you think about that.

08:57

But among the good kings of Judah, none can compare with Josiah. None can compare with the good king

09:04

Josiah. He was the greatest king since his ancestor David, who lived three centuries before him.

09:13

Now, Josiah was prophesied by name, interestingly, about 300 years before his birth.

09:20

You'd find that in 1 Kings 13. And he ascended to the throne of Judah at the age of eight, at eight years of age.

09:33

He died an untimely death at 39 years old. Thus he reigned for 31 years as the king of the southern kingdom of Judah.

09:43

His reign stretching from 640 to 609 BC. So 31 years he reigned.

09:50

Now, Josiah, like all Bible characters, like you and I, were men of their time, men and women of their times.

09:58

They were influenced by the events that were occurring around them. They're not two -dimensional flannel graph figures.

10:05

They're real people, flesh and blood, subject to the events of the world in which they live.

10:12

And that was very much true of Josiah. Josiah found himself and his kingdom, and it's a small kingdom by this point.

10:20

It has significantly been retracted from the great glories of David's kingdom. He found himself caught between two empires that were in locked -in mortal combat, as it were.

10:35

There was the kingdom to the north of Assyria and the rising kingdom of the east,

10:41

Babylon. Egypt also was a world power by that point. Having previously been in decline during the ascendancy of David, Egypt was now rising as well and had allied itself with Assyria against the rising

10:58

Babylon. Now, according to the scriptures, we're told that Josiah rather rashly and ill -advisedly allied himself with the rising

11:08

Babylonian empire in opposition to the prevailing world empire of Assyria at that time.

11:16

And he entered, along with the armies of Judah, into the war on the side of Babylon in an attempt to block

11:26

Egypt, who was bringing her armies north through Palestine to join forces with the

11:32

Assyrians in opposition to the Babylonian incursion. He attempted to intercept them there in the valley of Megiddo, and indeed they did.

11:44

They engaged in combat, and Josiah himself was killed. He was killed.

11:54

His death marked the final beginning of the end, or maybe we should say the final end, of the kingdoms.

12:03

Both the kingdom of the north had 100 years before been taken away by the

12:09

Assyrians, and now the kingdom of the south rapidly collapsed. Josiah as a king was so loved, and this is really kind of amazing, he was so loved by his people that their mourning over his death became an illustration of the depth of the mourning that someday will overtake the nation of Israel when she comes to terms with her own unbelief and rejection of her

12:34

Messiah. And it is spoken of, and I will turn you there just so you can be reminded, in Zechariah 12, the prophet

12:42

Zechariah, in Zechariah 12 and beginning in verse 10, writing about Israel's repentance and mourning when she finally comes to terms with the reality of what she's done at the end of the tribulation, where he says in verse 10,

13:01

I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on me whom they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.

13:19

In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadrad mid -Rome in the plain of Megiddo.

13:28

That is a reference, and we won't track it down here, but you can just mark it in 2 Chronicles 35, 24 -25, that is a reference to the mourning of the nation at the death of their good king

13:40

Josiah. And it becomes paradigmatic for what Israel herself someday will do as they mourn the reality that they killed their own

13:49

Messiah. Now, we're back in 2 Kings 22, and this is what

13:56

I'd like to do. I'd like to read it. I'd like to read the account for you of Josiah and then make some rather quick observations and from it draw out nine lessons from the life of the good king

14:11

Josiah. These are going to come at you kind of quickly, but each and every one of them would be a tremendous study in and of itself and worthy of further contemplation.

14:24

So I'm doing this in a way to just sort of suggest some things for you for your own study.

14:30

But let's pick up the text. In 2 Kings 22, Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned 31 years in Jerusalem, and his mother's name was

14:45

Jediah and the daughter of Adaiah of Bosca. He did right in the sight of the

14:51

Lord and walked in all the way of his father David, nor did he turn aside to the right or to the left.

14:58

Now, in the 18th year of king Josiah, the king sent Shephan, the son of Azaliah, the son of Mashulam, the scribe, to the house of the

15:08

Lord, saying, Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money brought into the house of the

15:14

Lord which the doorkeepers have gathered from the people. Let them deliver it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the

15:23

Lord, and let them give it to the workmen who are in the house of the Lord to repair the damages of the house.

15:30

So the carpenters and the builders and the masons and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the house.

15:37

Only no accounting shall be made with them for the money delivered into their hands for they deal faithfully.

15:45

Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shephan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the

15:52

Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shephan who read it.

15:58

Shephan the scribe came to the king and brought back word to the king and said, Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the

16:10

Lord. Moreover Shephan the scribe told the king saying, Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.

16:17

And Shephan read it in the presence of the king. When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes.

16:25

Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahakim the son of Shephan, Achbor the son of Melchiah, Shephan the scribe and Isaiah the king's servant saying,

16:36

Go inquire of the Lord for me and the people and all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found.

16:43

For great is the wrath of the Lord that burns against us because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book to do according to all that is written concerning us.

16:54

So Hilkiah the priest, Ahakim, Achbor, Shephan, Isaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shalom, the son of Tikva, the son of Haras, keeper of the wardrobe.

17:09

Now she lived in Jerusalem in the second quarter and they spoke to her. And she said to them,

17:16

Thus says the Lord God of Israel, Tell the man who sent you to me,

17:22

Thus says the Lord, Behold, I bring evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read.

17:31

Because they have forsaken me and have burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger for all the work of their hands.

17:38

Therefore my wrath burns against this place. It shall not be quenched. But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the

17:45

Lord, thus you shall say to him, Thus says the Lord God of Israel, Regarding the words which you have heard, because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the

17:56

Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me,

18:07

I truly have heard you, declares the Lord. Therefore, behold,

18:13

I will gather you to your fathers and you will be gathered to your grave in peace and your eyes will not see all the evil which

18:20

I will bring on this place. So they brought back word to the king. Then the king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.

18:30

The king went up to the house of the Lord and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great, and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the

18:45

Lord. The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord to walk after the

18:51

Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book.

19:02

And all the people entered into the covenant. Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the doorkeepers to bring out of the temple of the

19:14

Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven, and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the

19:22

Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. He did away with the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense in the high places pardon me, in the cities of Judah and in the surrounding area of Jerusalem also those who burned incense to Baal to the sun and to the moon and to the constellations and to all the host of heaven.

19:45

He brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord outside Jerusalem to the Kidron and burned it at the

19:52

Kidron and ground it to dust and threw its dust on the graves of the common people. He also broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes which were in the house of the

20:07

Lord where the women were weaving hangings for the Asherah. Then he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense from Geba to Beersheba and he broke down the high places of the gates which were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city which were on one's left at the city gate.

20:29

Nevertheless, the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers.

20:37

He also defiled Topheth which is in the valley of the sons of Hinnom that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire for Molech.

20:49

He did away with the horses which the kings of Judah had given to the sun at the entrance of the house of the

20:55

Lord by the chamber of Nathan -Melech the official which was in the precincts and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.

21:04

The altars which were on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz which the kings of Judah had made and the altars which

21:11

Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord the king broke down and he smashed them there and threw their dust into the brook

21:19

Kidron. The high places which were before Jerusalem which were on the right of the mount of destruction which

21:26

Solomon the king of Israel had built for the Asherah the abomination of the

21:33

Sidonians and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Milcon the abomination of the sons of Ammon the king defiled.

21:42

He broke in pieces the sacred pillars cut down the Asherah and filled their places with human bones.

21:49

Furthermore the altar that was at Bethel and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat who made

21:54

Israel sin had made even that altar and the high place he broke down.

22:00

Then he demolished its stones ground them to dust and burned the Asherah. Now when

22:07

Josiah turned he saw the graves that were there on the mountain and he sent and took the bones from the graves and burned them on the altar and defiled it according to the word of the

22:18

Lord which the man of God proclaimed who proclaimed these things. Then he said what is this monument that I see?

22:26

The men of the city told him it is the grave of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel.

22:34

Now that occurred 300 years earlier by the way. He said let him alone let no one disturb his bones so they left his bones undisturbed from the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.

22:46

Josiah also removed all the houses of the high places which were in the cities of Samaria which the kings of Israel had made provoking the

22:54

Lord and he did to them just as he had done in Bethel. All the priests of the high places who were there he slaughtered on the altars and burned human bones on them and then returned to Jerusalem.

23:10

Then the king commanded all the people saying celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God as it is written in the book of the covenant.

23:17

Surely such a Passover had not been celebrated from the days of the judges who judged

23:22

Israel nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and of the kings of Judah. But in the 18th year of King Josiah this

23:31

Passover was observed to the Lord in Jerusalem. Moreover, Josiah removed the mediums and the spiritists and the teraphim and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem that he might confirm the words of the law which were written in the book which

23:49

Hekiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. Before him there was no king like him who turned to the

23:56

Lord with all his heart with all his soul, with all his might according to all the law of Moses nor did any like him arise after him.

24:06

However, the Lord did not turn from the fierceness of his great wrath with which his anger burned against Judah because of all the provocations with which

24:16

Manasseh had provoked him. The Lord said I will remove Judah also from my sight as I have removed

24:23

Israel and I will cast off Jerusalem this city which I have chosen and the temple of which I said my name shall be there.

24:31

Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and all that he did are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

24:39

In his days Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates and king

24:45

Josiah went to meet him. When Pharaoh Necho saw him he killed him at Megiddo. His servants drove his body in a chariot from Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb.

24:57

Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in the place of his father.

25:06

Thus says the word of the Lord. Okay, so now what do we make of all of this other than it's a fascinating story.

25:18

It occupies a considerable amount of pen and ink on the pages of the

25:24

Old Testament there's a lot of press given to this king I mean we didn't go to at least not yet to 2

25:31

Chronicles and the Chronicler's accounts which also occupies almost two chapters for this king.

25:38

He is a significant figure. So it seems to me that we ought to be able to make something of this.

25:44

So let me suggest some things for you, okay? So here we are. These are nine lessons that I told you.

25:49

They are very quick, just kind of quick ideas. But nine lessons from the life of the good king Josiah and the first one is this.

25:56

Parenting is not destiny. That's the first observation I have for you. Is that parenting is not destiny.

26:05

What do I mean by that? Well what I mean by that is that the grandfather of the good king

26:10

Josiah was Manasseh. Manasseh was his grandfather.

26:16

Manasseh reigned as the king of Judah for 55 years. Let that sink in for a minute.

26:23

He reigned in wickedness for 55 years. And notice if you'll flip back to 1

26:30

Kings 21 verses 16 -18 is good. It says,

26:37

Moreover Manasseh shed very much innocent blood until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another besides his sin with which he made

26:45

Judah sin and doing evil in the sight of the Lord. Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did and his sin which he committed are they not written in the book of the

26:53

Chronicles of the kings of Judah? Yes they are. And Manasseh slept with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his own house in the garden of Uzzah and Ammon his son became king in his place.

27:02

So his grandfather was an exceedingly wicked king lasting 55 years on the throne.

27:09

He was followed by Ammon who is the direct father of Josiah. Ammon only served for two years.

27:18

He spent two years on the throne. He also, I guess we'll stay there in 21 you see in verse 19,

27:27

Ammon was 22 years old when he became king. He reigned two years in Jerusalem and his mother's name was

27:32

Meshulameth the daughter of Haruz of Jatba. If you say it fast nobody will question you.

27:39

He did evil in the sight of the Lord as Manasseh his father had done like father like son.

27:46

For he walked in all the way that his father had walked and he served the idols which his father had served and worshipped them.

27:51

So he forsook Yahweh the God of his fathers and did not walk in the way of the Lord. And the servants of Ammon conspired against him and killed the king in his own house.

28:01

So his father was murdered in his bed as it were by his own servants likely because he had allied himself with the anti -Assyrian party.

28:15

In other words he was favorably disposed towards rising Babylon we speculate that that was the reason they killed him.

28:24

But being whatever it is the true reason nevertheless a wicked king last two years murdered and then comes

28:32

Josiah and then comes Josiah. Wicked grandfather, wicked father righteous king one of the most righteous kings arguably after David to serve on the throne of Judah.

28:49

What do I draw from that? What I draw from that is parentage is not destiny. In other words that the stock we have come from the sins of our fathers our grandfathers do not pass down automatically to us.

29:06

We stand before the Lord as an individual. Ezekiel 18 right?

29:12

So there you go you can think on that on your own develop that idea further particularly if you come from a situation that has got some really dark stuff in your heritage.

29:25

So parenting is not destiny or parentage is not destiny.

29:31

Second idea spiritual formation can and should begin early spiritual formation can and should begin early.

29:45

So back to chapter 22 2 Kings look at verses 1 and 2. He was 8 years old when he became king.

29:53

He reigned 31 years. His mother's name was Jededah the daughter of Adeah of Bosca and he did right in the sight of the

30:00

Lord and walked in all the way of his father David nor did he turn aside to the right or to the left. We keep that idea in mind and flipping over to 1st

30:11

Timothy excuse me 2nd Timothy chapter 1 where Paul not 2nd

30:24

Timothy sorry it is 1st Timothy oh

30:34

I hate it when that happens help me out it's 1 5 oh there we go thank you for I am mindful of the sincere faith within you which first dwelt in your grandmother

30:46

Lois and your mother Eustace and I am sure or Eunice rather and I am sure that is in you as well and then in chapter 3 where he says you've learned from childhood the sacred writings which are able to give you wisdom.

31:06

Where did the spiritual formation of Josiah come from? The text doesn't tell us it tells us who his mother was

31:15

I think we can make an inference that perhaps she was the spiritual voice of reason in his home considering the heritage on the father's side of the family but whatever it was it began at a young age for him and I think that is the idea of it all is that an 8 year old can be on the path of righteousness that will lead them their entire life and therefore spending time in the scriptures with our children and our grandchildren from a young age can and will pay dividends spiritual formation begins early don't wait don't wait 3rd deep piety doesn't come by accident deep piety doesn't come by accident look at chapter 23 verse 25 where it says before him there was no king like him who turned to the

32:22

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 and in the author of chronicles 2nd chronicles 34 well it says in the 8th year of his reign verse 3 so he's at 16 years old while he was still a youth he began to seek the

32:59

God of his father David and in the 12th year began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places the ashram the carved images and the molten images now

33:09

I want you to just kind of reflect for a minute on back on 2nd kings 23 -25 no king like him who turned to the

33:18

Lord with all his heart with all his soul and with all his might and think about that for a moment where have I heard that before where have

33:26

I ever heard or read that expression before and you would think to yourself oh

33:33

I know it's in Deuteronomy and indeed it is it's actually

33:39

Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 5 Deuteronomy 6 -5 beginning in verse 4 the

33:52

Lord is our God the Lord is one you shall love the

33:58

Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your might here is one who did that here is one who did that and it didn't come about by accident and in fact the opening of the book of Proverbs in chapter 1 verse 8 you hear hear my son is the lead in to that whole book in other words the piety of a young person is not some accident the

34:29

Lord grants salvation yes it is by grace through faith alone yes but the religious training and upbringing if I can say it that way makes a difference it makes a difference and here was a child who was intimately acquainted with the requirement of the law the very summation of the law was to love

34:55

God with your entire being and he did and he did so parentage is not destiny spiritual formation can and should begin early deep piety doesn't come by accident fourth opinions talk convictions act opinion talks convictions act what do

35:25

I mean by that what I mean by that is Josiah was a man of active faith

35:35

Joshua said at the end of his years

35:40

Joshua 24 15 you remember that where he says as for me and my house we're going to serve the

35:47

Lord so Josiah a child really but still a child of deep religious conviction deep piety deep love for Yahweh begins to act it begins to manifest itself in terms of conviction and so we read for example that he oversees the entire rebuilding of the temple after years of neglect years of neglect 2nd

36:22

Chronicles again 34 11 talking about the workmen here and it says they in turn gave it to the carpenters and to the builders to buy quarried stone and timber for couplings and to make beans for the houses which the kings of Judah had let go to ruin in other words the kings his ancestors his father his grandfather and those before him had allowed the temple of God to fall into ruin and here is

37:02

Josiah as a young man as a young man now acting upon his faith upon his conviction and arranging for the rebuilding of this temple the refurbishment of it beyond that we read that he began a purge by the time he was 20 years old there is a purge beginning in the same chapter lets just pick it up in verse 1 he purges the leaven from centuries of apostasy and idolatry from the nation verse 34

37:37

Josiah was 8 years old when he became king and he reigned 31 years in Jerusalem he did right in the sight of the

37:43

Lord and walked in the ways of his father David and did not turn aside to the right or to the left for in the 8th year of his reign so he is 16 right while he was still a youth he began to seek the

37:55

God of his father David and in the 12th year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places the ashram the carved images and the molten images they tore down the altars of the

38:04

Baals in his presence and the incense altars that were high above them were chopped down also the ashram the carved images and the molten images he broke in pieces and ground to powder and scattered it on the graves of those who would sacrifice to him then he burned the bones of the priests on their altars and purged

38:20

Judah and Jerusalem in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon even as far as Naphtali and in their surrounding ruins he also tore down the altars and beat the ashram and the carved images into powder and chopped down all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel then he returned to Jerusalem now think with me for a minute how hard is it to go against the bureaucracy

38:46

I'll just call it a bureaucracy, okay? you can call it a deep state if you like, I'll call it a bureaucracy entrenched interests priests, politicians, wealthy people who for centuries have been gradually and then first secretly and then openly and then in a very bold sense turned away from Yahweh to the pagan idols that had surrounded them how easy is it for a young king to go out and confront it all and to have the fortitude, the conviction the gravitas to cut it all down to grind it all up, to pulverize it this is a man of conviction this is deep conviction, this is not just opinion this is not just saying yeah there's a lot of evil stuff out there and it really ought to stop this is a man of conviction by the time he's 26 years old he gathers the elders of Israel and he renews the covenant okay 2

40:04

Chronicles 35 let's pick it up there, 2 Chronicles 35 verses 18 and 19 it says there had not been celebrated listen to this, there had not been celebrated a

40:20

Passover like it in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet nor had any of the kings of Israel celebrated such a

40:30

Passover as Josiah did with the priests the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present and the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the 18th year of Josiah's reign this

40:40

Passover was celebrated, he's 26 years old he renews the covenant with Israel after the discovery of the book the rebuilding of the temple leads to the rediscovery of the book of the law which had previously been either just lost or more likely hidden from his grandfather

40:59

Manasseh he's recovered, it's red he humbles his heart before it and he begins to institute the reforms required from it and then renews the covenant with the nation in a way that had not been accomplished since Samuel Samuel the last of the judges that had completely preceded the kingdom opinions talk, convictions act fifth, submission to scripture scripture draws the favorable gaze of God what was the source of his power?

41:43

what was the source of his strength? where did his conviction come from that would enable him to stand as really a young man, one might even say a mere youth in the face of all of this opposition, it was his submission to the word of God one of my favorite verses

42:10

Isaiah 66 and verse 2 it's actually the second half of verse 2 but to this one

42:23

I will look to him who is humble and contrite of spirit and trembles at my word you want to draw the favorable gaze of God to be humble to be contrite of spirit, to tremble before the word of God that draws his favorable gaze and that was this amazing king again notice in 2

42:51

Chronicles 34 27 because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and against its inhabitants and because you humbled yourself before me tore your clothes and wept before me

43:16

I truly have heard you declare Yahweh it was a young man, again think about young men what characterizes young men it is not the word humility it is not the word humility and yet it characterizes this young man this discovered scripture likely the book of Deuteronomy perhaps the entire

43:49

Pentateuch as I said found during the remodeling of the temple perhaps hidden by a few faithful priests from the ravages of his grandfather

44:05

Manasseh I mean we read about there are idols in the temple itself but whatever it was when it was found, when it was read to him he tore his clothes, he humbled his heart and he drew the favorable gaze of God that's a lesson that's a lesson for us 6.

44:39

External reforms do not equal repentance this is probably one of the sad lessons from this whole thing external reforms do not equal repentance again in 2

44:56

Chronicles chapter 34 beginning in verse 31 then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the

45:09

Lord to walk after Yahweh and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and with all his soul to perform the works of the covenant written in this book moreover he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand with him so the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the

45:30

God of their fathers Josiah removed all the abominations from all the lands belonging to the sons of Israel and made all who were present in Israel to serve the

45:40

Lord their God throughout his lifetime they did not turn from following the

45:45

Lord God of their fathers now that sounds good doesn't it and then we go over to chapter 36 beginning in verse 15

46:06

Yahweh the God of their fathers sent word to them again and again by his messengers because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place but they continually mocked the messengers of God despised his words scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of Yahweh arose against his people and there was no remedy when

46:31

Josiah died there was great mourning and then the reality that amongst the nation itself there had been reforms incredible reforms profound reforms but it was external there were external reforms it was an external righteousness a coerced righteousness one might even say and it didn't stick it wasn't repentance because reform is only skin deep but repentance flows from the heart repentance flows from the heart and upon his death rapidly the nation went right back like a dog returning to his vomit back to the idolatry that had so characterized him again

47:23

I'm just reminded of children reform is not repentance don't settle for reform drive all the way to repentance drive all the way to repentance what does repentance look like well

47:45

I think one of the clearest illustrations is found in Ephesians chapter 4 actually

47:50

I'll just remind you of that the entire chapter really but we're going to in particular just look at verse 28 because I think it does such a good job of summarizing it he who steals must steal no longer but rather he must labor performing with his own hands what is good so that he will have something to share with one who has need when is a thief no longer a thief when he stops stealing no when he stops stealing he is merely a thief waiting for an opportunity that is reform repentance for a thief is when he stops stealing begins producing and shares the fruit of his own labor with others that is what repentance looks like and that didn't happen in Israel and beloved all too often as parents we settled for the for the external for the reform without going all the way to repentance you can think on that for a while three more here we go seven reform may delay but does not eliminate consequences reforms may delay but they do not eliminate consequences what is our nation need this message huh well let's see what have

49:37

I got I've got second Kings 22 back there 19 and 20 and Hezekiah that's

49:55

I'm in 20 that's why it's Hezekiah he's already dead what am I doing reading about him second

50:00

Kings 22 here we go 22 19 because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the

50:09

Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place against its inhabitants that they should become a desolation and a curse and you have torn your clothes and wept before me

50:17

I truly heard you declares the Lord therefore behold I will gather you to your fathers and you will be gathered to your grave in peace and your eyes will not see all the evil which

50:26

I will bring on this place chapter 23 verses 26 and 27 however the

50:34

Lord did not turn from the fierceness of his great wrath with with which his anger burned against Judah because of all the provocations with which

50:41

Manasseh had provoked him Yahweh said I will remove Judah also from my sight as I have removed

50:48

Israel and I will cast off Jerusalem the city which I have chosen and the temple of which I said my name shall be there just size reforms incredible as they were merely delayed the judgment of God upon the nation it did not lift it and I can't help but think about our own predicament the judgment of God still resides on this nation our wickedness rises as a stench in the nostrils of God I pray for our incoming president as I'm sure you do too that there would be some return of righteousness but we have so far to go so far to go we would be foolish to think that some external reforms good as they might be might somehow lift the ultimate judgment of God upon a nation that has done nothing but raise their fist in his face we may not burn our children to Molech but we certainly sacrifice them, don't we?

52:12

8. Godliness is not inherited so evangelize your children.

52:23

Godliness is not inherited so evangelize your children what do

52:28

I mean? Well let's just be reminded of the sad state of affairs of his own descendants 2331

52:42

Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king, this is his son and he reigned three months in Jerusalem and his mother's name was

52:50

Hamotal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Lipna he did evil in the sight of Yahweh according to all that his fathers had done.

52:58

Pharaoh Necho imprisoned him at Ribla in the land of Hemat that he might not reign in Jerusalem and he imposed on the land a fine of 100 talents of silver and a talent of gold what about his next son verse 34,

53:13

Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father and changed his name to Jehoiakim but he took

53:21

Jehoahaz away and brought him to Egypt and he died there, verse 37, and he that is

53:27

Jehoiakim did evil in the sight of the Lord according to all that his fathers had done, that's two sons in a row 246, so Jehoiakim slept with his fathers and Jehoiachin also known as Konaniah, his son became king in his place, verse 9, he did evil in the sight of the

53:47

Lord according to all that his father had done, that's a grandson 2417, then the king of Babylon made his uncle

54:00

Mataniah king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah, verse 19, and he did evil in the sight of the

54:07

Lord according to all that Jehoiakim had done he also is a son of Josiah in other words three of his sons and one of his grandsons sat on the throne in succession following him and each one sought to outdo the other in wickedness until the nation was swept away godliness is not inherited it's not inherited we must evangelize our own children if we do not evangelize our own children if we do not make disciples of our own children, what in the world are we doing 9,

54:53

God is sovereignly working to fulfill his plans praise

54:59

God in all of this God is sovereignly working to fulfill his plans, go to 2

55:05

Chronicles 35 and verse 20 after all this when

55:22

Josiah had set the temple in order, Necho king of Egypt came up to make war at Carchemish on the

55:28

Euphrates and Josiah went out to engage him but Necho sent messengers to him saying what have we to do with each other oh king of Judah I am not coming against you today but against the house with which

55:41

I am at war and God has ordered me to hurry, stop for your own sake from interfering with God who is with me so that he will not destroy you, however

55:52

Josiah would not turn away from him but disguised himself in order to make war with him nor did he listen to the words of Necho from the mouth of God but came to make war on the plain of Megiddo the archers shot king

56:07

Josiah and the king said to his servant take me away for I am badly wounded, so his servants took him out of the chariot and carried him in a second chariot which he had and brought him to Jerusalem where he died and was buried in the tombs of his fathers while Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah, it's really astounding isn't it

56:34

God in his sovereignty is working and through the mouth of a pagan king

56:42

Josiah refused to heed, refused to turn back gave his own life and with it the devastation that God had long promised on his nation and this is one of those conundrums of the scriptures

57:03

Jim referred to it a week or two ago I don't remember if it was last week or the week before but Habakkuk is dealing with this very same thing in chapter 1 how can it be that you will bring upon your people who deserve it judgment by a nation far more wicked than they

57:27

God in his sovereignty works in very mysterious ways beloved and he is working even now in us and in our nation to fulfill his purposes and they will not be thwarted well those are some ideas for you some things to think about let's pray

57:50

Father may you add your blessing to the reading and speaking of your word and to the extent what was said is true and faithful to your word may it lodge in our hearts and to the extent it was not may it quickly pass from our ears we want to retain only that which is good that which is valuable that which is profitable and that which is your word may you help us even now to unite our hearing with faith for Jesus' sake,