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 Chronicles 34:24-25,
"This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people—all the curses written in the book that has been read in the presence of the king of Judah. Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all that their hands have made, my anger will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched."
These are the words given the prophetess Huldah for King Josiah of Judah - a message of the Lord's coming wrath. By this time the northern kingdom of Israel had been destroyed by Assyria at the Lord's hands, and now the same fate awaits the southern kingdom. The words were against the nation and not the king himself. Josiah was a good king, the sixteenth monarch of Judah and her last good one. Four more kings would follow before Judah's destruction, all evil in the eyes of the Lord.
The occasion for the prophecy was the finding of Israel's neglected and lost Bible. At the king's direction, the temple was restored and the book of the law was found. When it was read to Josiah, he tore his robes as he bereaved the rejection and rebellion against the Lord his predecessors led the nation in. He sent officials to the prophetess to inquire about the Lord's great anger that was surely coming to them.
The law was given to Moses following the Exodus from Egypt that took place some time around 1400 BC. The time that Josiah reigned in Judah was 640-608 BC, some 800 years later. It was that law of God given Moses the nation was now going to be judged by. I notice there is no shelf-life to the word of God.
What God has said in our Bibles stands just as authentic, authoritative and "operational" today as the day he gave it to his prophets. I am reminded of Jesus words, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." Matthew 5:17.
"This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people—all the curses written in the book that has been read in the presence of the king of Judah. Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all that their hands have made, my anger will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched."
These are the words given the prophetess Huldah for King Josiah of Judah - a message of the Lord's coming wrath. By this time the northern kingdom of Israel had been destroyed by Assyria at the Lord's hands, and now the same fate awaits the southern kingdom. The words were against the nation and not the king himself. Josiah was a good king, the sixteenth monarch of Judah and her last good one. Four more kings would follow before Judah's destruction, all evil in the eyes of the Lord.
The occasion for the prophecy was the finding of Israel's neglected and lost Bible. At the king's direction, the temple was restored and the book of the law was found. When it was read to Josiah, he tore his robes as he bereaved the rejection and rebellion against the Lord his predecessors led the nation in. He sent officials to the prophetess to inquire about the Lord's great anger that was surely coming to them.
The law was given to Moses following the Exodus from Egypt that took place some time around 1400 BC. The time that Josiah reigned in Judah was 640-608 BC, some 800 years later. It was that law of God given Moses the nation was now going to be judged by. I notice there is no shelf-life to the word of God.
What God has said in our Bibles stands just as authentic, authoritative and "operational" today as the day he gave it to his prophets. I am reminded of Jesus words, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." Matthew 5:17.
If anyone has the outlook that what the Lord had to say was so long ago, it doesn't matter anymore... need to take note. Every bit of it is in full effect and matters just as if it had been given to prophets this morning.
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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