“Josiah was eight years old when he became king. He ruled for thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidiah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath. He lived the way God wanted. He kept straight on the path blazed by his ancestor David, not one step to either left or right. One day in the eighteenth year of his kingship, King Josiah sent the royal secretary Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to The Temple of God with instructions: “Go to Hilkiah the high priest and have him count the money that has been brought to The Temple of God that the doormen have collected from the people. Have them turn it over to the foremen who are managing the work on The Temple of God so they can pay the workers who are repairing God’s Temple, all the carpenters, construction workers, and masons. Also, authorize them to buy the lumber and dressed stone for The Temple repairs. You don’t need to get a receipt for the money you give them—they’re all honest men. The high priest Hilkiah reported to Shaphan the royal secretary, “I’ve just found the Book of God’s Revelation, instructing us in God’s ways. I found it in The Temple!” He gave it to Shaphan and Shaphan read it. Then Shaphan the royal secretary came back to the king and gave him an account of what had gone on: “Your servants have bagged up the money that has been collected for The Temple; they have given it to the foremen to pay The Temple workers.” Then Shaphan the royal secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest gave me a book.” Shaphan proceeded to read it to the king. When the king heard what was written in the book, God’s Revelation, he ripped his robes in dismay. And then he called for Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the royal secretary, and Asaiah the king’s personal aide. He ordered them all: “Go and pray to God for me and for this people—for all Judah! Find out what we must do in response to what is written in this book that has just been found! God’s anger must be burning furiously against us—our ancestors haven’t obeyed a thing written in this book, followed none of the instructions directed to us.” (2 Chronicles 22:1-13 The Message Bible)
There have been many programs implemented to stop the reckless violence in our cities. There have been community initiatives, city official pledges to implement a variety of changes, and innovations to address the recklessness that is growing worse by the day, like an unstoppable plague. Recreational leagues have been introduced in an effort to reverse the trend of growing recklessness. Sermons have been preached about “A Saved City Is A Safe City,” but the sounds coming out of the preacher’s mouths standing in the pulpit are not reaching the young men who need it. It makes you wonder, “Is there a remedy for the recklessness in this real world that we live in?” Can the godliness that has gone wild be alleviated?
If we look at King Josiah, a young man who was exposed to the lost scrolls containing the word of God and his reaction, we can conclude that the answer for young men today in our real world is as follows. (1) Get men, and women, to the word of God. (2) Pray for all of them that they not only embrace the word, but that they also will decide to be an influence among their peers. (3) Hope that these young men, and women, make some changes; influencing other to get rid of that which causes people to fall short of the glory of God, and instead, turn to God for instructions in His word to live by. God is still the answer to our issues. Jesus is still the way. The church is still composed of people that are to be lifeguards, helping to rescue those who are sinking deep in sin. Look at a part of what Josiah did below. Meditate on what we can do as Christians today in our real world. Thank you for your attentiveness, as well as your prayerfulness, and devotedness. Be God conscious this Thursday! Be concerned! Be blessed!
“Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. And the king went up to the Temple of the Lord with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, along with the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. There the king read to them the entire Book of the Covenant that had been found in the Lord’s Temple. The king took his place of authority beside the pillar and renewed the covenant in the Lord’s presence. He pledged to obey the Lord by keeping all his commands, laws, and decrees with all his heart and soul. In this way, he confirmed all the terms of the covenant that were written in the scroll, and all the people pledged themselves to the covenant. Then the king instructed Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second rank and the Temple gatekeepers to remove from the Lord’s Temple all the articles that were used to worship Baal, Asherah, and all the powers of the heavens. The king had all these things burned outside Jerusalem on the terraces of the Kidron Valley, and he carried the ashes away to Bethel. He did away with the idolatrous priests, who had been appointed by the previous kings of Judah, for they had offered sacrifices at the pagan shrines throughout Judah and even in the vicinity of Jerusalem. They had also offered sacrifices to Baal, and to the sun, the moon, the constellations, and to all the powers of the heavens.” (2 Kings 23:1-5 NLT)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King