The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 23:24-25,
"Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists, the household gods, the idols and all the other detestable things seen in Judah and Jerusalem. This he did to fulfill the requirements of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the temple of the Lord. 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."
Not all the kings in Judah were bad. All were bad in the northern ten tribes following the division of the nation after Solomon's rule, but King Josiah of Judah had a heart for the Lord.
As king, Josiah set himself to follow the Lord and to provide leadership in moving the nation to follow the Lord as well. All he did, we are told, he did to fulfill the requirements of the Scriptures. Following the Scriptures was Josiah's key in following the Lord.
We are told in 2 Peter 1:20-21 that the Scriptures come from God himself. "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 we read, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
When the Scriptures were found in the temple when Josiah was king, Josiah read them. Understanding the truths that would later be taught us in 2 Peter and 2 Timothy, it was the Scriptures Josiah followed to steer the nation back to the Lord.
Unfortunately for Judah, their sinful preoccupation with the various religions of the day brought the Lord's judgment of them, and in spite of Josiah's efforts, Judah would suffer the same fate as the northern ten tribes a century earlier.
Not to be missed, however, was King Josiah's leadership for the rest of all mankind to observe: find the Scriptures, read the Scriptures, and then act on the Scriptures. This is how we are to please our God. This is how we are to serve our God. This is precisely why the Lord has provided us the Scriptures.
We don't need popes and priests. We don't need temples, basilicas, cathedrals and church buildings. We don't need liturgy and vestments. We simply don't need the trappings of the various conflicting and self-serving churches and "movements" that all claim to enjoy God's singular approval.
All we need are the Scriptures to inform us as to how to please and serve our living God - the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Scriptures that point to Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice for our sins. The Scriptures that tells us of the faith and trust with which we are to embrace him with.
Find the Scriptures, read the Scriptures and order our lives by the Scriptures.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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Trevor Fisk
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