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 23:1-2,
"Then the king [Josiah] called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the Lord."
"Then the king [Josiah] called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the Lord."
The "Book of the Covenant" was the Bible at a stage in its development, including what we have as the first five books in our Bibles. The people of Judah had become so estranged from the Lord they lost it! Now found, King Josiah read it to everyone!
The Israelites had lost their Bible, just like people lose their Bibles today - lost on their bookshelves, lost on their coffee tables... gathering dust and ignored - awaiting some preconceived point in time when some "religious" impulse may move them to crack it open.
Lets get real here... Josiah did the only sane thing a person of faith would do - when you hold in your hands the very words of your Creator, you avail yourself of them! You read them. You consider what they say. You order your life by what is written within. After all, this life comes and goes and then we all stand before the author of the Scriptures and give an account of ourselves.
Anything less is either insanity to one degree or another or the simple manifestation of a lack of faith - a disbelief that God has spoken to us in the Scriptures. Since Jesus Christ himself taught the Scriptures were the very words of God, our neglect of the Scriptures means we disbelieve what he has to say and reveal our rejection of him.
Real people of faith immerse themselves in the Scriptures. It is what people of real faith do. Don't fool yourself.
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!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
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!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
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