Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / The Word is Found Again - The Books of 2 Chronicles & 2 Kings

Transcript

The Word is Found Again - The Books of 2 Chronicles & 2 Kings · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

0:00
Speaker 1: Let us pray. And Hilkiah the high priest said unto
0:04
Speaker 1: Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the
0:08
Speaker 1: law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave
0:11
Speaker 1: the book to Shaphan, and he read it. 2 Kings
0:16
Speaker 1: 22.8 Dear Father, I will not allow my age or
0:22
Speaker 1: the maturity of my knowledge in my given space to
0:26
Speaker 1: stop me from relying on you and your word. Give
0:31
Speaker 1: me the heart of King Josiah. Give me the passion
0:35
Speaker 1: and dedication to observe your ways, no matter what I
0:39
Speaker 1: face or what I may be going through. Like the
0:44
Speaker 1: reading in 2 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 34, I
0:49
Speaker 1: too am making the decision, I too am making the
0:52
Speaker 1: decision to seek after and to stay in your holy word.
0:58
Speaker 1: I will praise you as I read through the Bible.
1:01
Speaker 1: knowing that between the pages are promises forevermore. Today I
1:08
Speaker 1: will rejoice in what you rejoice in. I will cry
1:12
Speaker 1: over what grieves you, because I now know that the
1:15
Speaker 1: level of my activity is connected to the level of
1:19
Speaker 1: my purity. Therefore realign my sight, fix my focus on you,
1:27
Speaker 1: and give me the strength to tear down any walls
1:30
Speaker 1: that hinder me. from living in your presence. In Jesus' name, amen.
1:40
Speaker 1: Thanks for making prayer a priority in your life. To
1:43
Speaker 1: hear the Bible come to life, stay tuned for the
1:46
Speaker 1: Bible in a Year, brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
2:01
Speaker 2: The word is found again. In our last story, we
2:06
Speaker 2: learned of the wicked kings Manasseh and Ammon. Their evil
2:10
Speaker 2: knew no limits. They openly sacrificed their own children at
2:14
Speaker 2: the altar of false gods and mocked God himself. They
2:19
Speaker 2: provoked him and beckoned him into conflict. Manasseh learned his lesson,
2:23
Speaker 2: but Ammon did not. Now, out of the evil seed
2:27
Speaker 2: of Manasseh, a redeeming force for good emerges. King Josiah
2:32
Speaker 2: is raised up as a pillar to Judah. His devotion
2:36
Speaker 2: to God and dedication to kindness begins to restore Judah's heart.
2:41
Speaker 2: Inspired by the book of 2 Chronicles and 2 Kings.
2:47
Speaker 3: Hello, this is Jack Graham, and I'm so glad that
2:49
Speaker 3: you've joined us once again for today's episode of The
2:52
Speaker 3: Bible in a Year. In our last reading, we heard
2:55
Speaker 3: how Manasseh lived in wickedness and darkness for years, defying, mocking, blaspheming,
3:02
Speaker 3: angering God with his idolatry and murderous ways. And yet,
3:06
Speaker 3: when he turned back to God in genuine repentance, God
3:10
Speaker 3: showed him mercy and restored Manasseh to a relationship with Him.
3:15
Speaker 3: It's a reminder to us that God is not willing
3:18
Speaker 3: that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance,
3:22
Speaker 3: according to the Scripture. He is always ready to forgive
3:26
Speaker 3: when we turn our hearts to Him. Today, we'll hear
3:30
Speaker 3: about King Josiah, the grandson of Manasseh who lived as
3:34
Speaker 3: a righteous man, a God-fearing king. Josiah would usher in
3:38
Speaker 3: a new era of prosperity and faithfulness to God in Judah. So,
3:42
Speaker 3: let's now turn to God's Word.
3:46
Speaker 2: One afternoon, little Josiah was playing in the courtyards of
3:49
Speaker 2: the palace. He chased butterflies and pretended to be a
3:53
Speaker 2: mighty warrior. He was a mere boy of eight, filled
3:57
Speaker 2: with laughter and joy. He had no idea that his
4:00
Speaker 2: father was laying in his bed, assassinated only a few
4:04
Speaker 2: yards away. King Amon's life had ended the night before,
4:08
Speaker 2: along with Josiah's childhood. Later that morning, Josiah was swept
4:13
Speaker 2: away in a flurry of meetings and ceremonies. Before the
4:16
Speaker 2: day had ended, Josiah was crowned king over Judah. Eight-year-old
4:22
Speaker 2: Josiah was now responsible for the entire well-being of God's people.
4:27
Speaker 2: The title of king was daunting for any man, let
4:30
Speaker 2: alone an eight-year-old boy. If Josiah was to lead, he
4:34
Speaker 2: needed aid, not just from counselors and elders, but from
4:38
Speaker 2: God himself. Josiah leaned on the wisdom of the Lord.
4:42
Speaker 2: In many ways, Josiah was able to maintain a childlike
4:46
Speaker 2: faith towards God because he was a child himself. The
4:50
Speaker 2: pride and lust that gripped most kings' hearts had no
4:53
Speaker 2: effect on him. He was a boy in need of love,
4:56
Speaker 2: and the Lord provided it. Josiah pleased God with all
5:01
Speaker 2: he did. He did not turn to the right or
5:03
Speaker 2: to the left. When Josiah was 16, he began to
5:07
Speaker 2: dive deep into the law and worship of God. He
5:10
Speaker 2: filled his mind with useful philosophy and history. He sat
5:14
Speaker 2: in the presence of the priests and learned about the
5:17
Speaker 2: ways of the Lord. At age 20, Josiah began a
5:21
Speaker 2: purge of all the idols erected by his father. He
5:25
Speaker 2: knew that it was not enough to throw away these idols.
5:28
Speaker 2: He had to make a statement. So Josiah chopped down
5:31
Speaker 2: the altars of Baals and ground them into a powder.
5:35
Speaker 2: As a symbol of their demise, he scattered the powder
5:38
Speaker 2: over the graves of dead pagan priests and worshippers. Josiah
5:43
Speaker 2: went from city to city, destroying every idol and false
5:47
Speaker 2: god he could find. He did as his great-grandfather Hezekiah did.
5:52
Speaker 2: He knew that the minds of the people were clouded
5:55
Speaker 2: with those idols. In the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign,
6:00
Speaker 2: he had cleansed the land of all its idols. He
6:03
Speaker 2: sent his governors Shaphan and Maasiah to repair broken parts
6:08
Speaker 2: of the temple. They hired stonemasons and carpenters to repair
6:12
Speaker 2: the shattered altars and broken beams. The plan was to
6:15
Speaker 2: pay all the workers with some of the wealth in
6:17
Speaker 2: the temple. So Hilkiah the priest went deep into the
6:21
Speaker 2: temple to find some of the gold stored down below.
6:24
Speaker 2: This part of the temple was dusty and hidden. Some
6:28
Speaker 2: of the priests had kept it secret while the wicked
6:30
Speaker 2: king Amon was in power. As Hilkiah was collecting some
6:34
Speaker 2: coin to pay the workers, he stumbled upon a large
6:37
Speaker 2: dusty scroll resting on the edge of an altar. Hilkiah's
6:41
Speaker 2: eyes were fixed on it and drawn to it. He
6:44
Speaker 2: walked slowly towards it and loosened the bindings gently. The
6:48
Speaker 2: scroll was old and had collected a large amount of dust.
6:52
Speaker 2: As Hilkiah scanned the scroll's contents, his eyes lit up.
6:57
Speaker 2: Hilkiah rolled up the scroll and ran up to Shaphan.'
6:59
Speaker 2: I have found it!' Hilkiah yelled.' I have found the
7:03
Speaker 2: book of the law written by Moses!' The entire sanctuary
7:07
Speaker 2: erupted in gasps and applause. The scroll had been lost
7:11
Speaker 2: and forgotten for a long time. In it was documentation
7:16
Speaker 2: of the covenant between God and Israel in the wilderness—
7:19
Speaker 2: It was one of the original documents preserved from Moses
7:22
Speaker 2: and a precious reminder of God's love for his chosen people.
7:27
Speaker 2: Chaffin brought the scroll to the king. Together they read
7:30
Speaker 2: it in its entirety. Josiah's eyes glared at the pages
7:34
Speaker 2: with curiosity and amazement. For decades the people had been
7:38
Speaker 2: without this specific document. Josiah could hardly help but cry.
7:44
Speaker 2: Chaffin looked at Josiah as he wept. At first, He
7:48
Speaker 2: thought they were tears of joy, but soon realized they
7:50
Speaker 2: were tears of sorrow. What troubles the king? Shaphan asked.
7:55
Speaker 2: Isn't this a happy thing? Josiah shook his head. He
7:59
Speaker 2: placed his hand on the written word and said, This
8:02
Speaker 2: book speaks of promises unkept. The king looked at the
8:05
Speaker 2: governor intensely. Our fathers made a covenant with God, a
8:09
Speaker 2: covenant that God was faithful to keep. However, our fathers
8:13
Speaker 2: from Jerusalem to Samaria have done nothing but disobey him.
8:17
Speaker 2: Josiah slid his fingers across the words. He was troubled
8:21
Speaker 2: by Judah and Israel's departure from God. We must repent
8:25
Speaker 2: before wrath comes upon us. Lord knows we would deserve it. Quick,
8:31
Speaker 2: go find someone in the land that can hear the
8:33
Speaker 2: voice of God. We must have clarity. So Shaphan left
8:37
Speaker 2: in search of a prophet. Days had passed and Josiah's
8:40
Speaker 2: anxiety had increased. He wrestled in his heart regarding Judah's future.
8:45
Speaker 2: He loved his country, but he also knew that they
8:48
Speaker 2: had strayed from God far too many times to go
8:50
Speaker 2: without consequence. If God would not punish them, certainly he
8:55
Speaker 2: would at least allow for their past sins to catch
8:57
Speaker 2: up to them. As Josiah paced in his chambers, the
9:01
Speaker 2: doors opened. Shaphan entered the room with a woman by
9:05
Speaker 2: the name of Huldah. She was a woman of God,
9:08
Speaker 2: well-respected and a prophetess. Josiah had her sit and the
9:12
Speaker 2: two spoke of what was to come. Josiah poured out
9:15
Speaker 2: his heart before her. He spoke of his fear that
9:18
Speaker 2: the Lord would punish Judah as he did Israel. Huldah
9:22
Speaker 2: looked at her king with admiration and pity. Listen to
9:26
Speaker 2: the word of the Lord, she said softly. Disaster will
9:29
Speaker 2: come upon Judah because they have forsaken me. They continually
9:33
Speaker 2: slip into idolatry and openly provoke me with their wickedness.
9:38
Speaker 2: I will pour out my wrath like molten fire, and
9:41
Speaker 2: it shall not be quenched. A chill shot up Josiah's spine,
9:45
Speaker 2: and his heart began to break. However, she was not finished.
9:49
Speaker 2: Because your heart was humble before God, and you have
9:52
Speaker 2: done your best to reconcile the people to me, destruction
9:56
Speaker 2: shall not come in your lifetime. Josiah raised himself up
10:01
Speaker 2: and beckoned the elders of Israel to the temple. He
10:04
Speaker 2: would not allow this word to quench his devotion to God.
10:07
Speaker 2: He had the priests lay out the scroll before the
10:10
Speaker 2: elders and read from it. The words danced out of
10:13
Speaker 2: the priests' mouth. They filled the air like a sweet aroma.
10:17
Speaker 2: The elders of Israel were enthralled by the word of
10:20
Speaker 2: God pouring into their hearts. Then, Josiah led them in
10:24
Speaker 2: a rededication to keeping the Lord's promises. Although the end
10:28
Speaker 2: of Judah was near, God had a plan to redeem
10:31
Speaker 2: his people. The old way was slowly passing and making
10:35
Speaker 2: way for a new and better covenant. A covenant not
10:38
Speaker 2: dependent on the obedience of man, but by the goodness
10:41
Speaker 2: of God himself. Josiah's new promise to God was a
10:45
Speaker 2: mere image of good things to come. However, this new
10:49
Speaker 2: plan would not come without struggle, and there was still
10:52
Speaker 2: much pain to endure.
10:57
Speaker 3: In today's scripture, we meet another young king, crowned as
11:02
Speaker 3: ruler of Judah at just, amazingly, eight years of age.
11:06
Speaker 3: Though he was very young, Josiah did not exhibit the
11:09
Speaker 3: immaturity of many young people. Josiah sat with priests and
11:14
Speaker 3: absorbed everything that he could. At an early age, he
11:17
Speaker 3: was well-studied in God's law, and his heart was fastened
11:21
Speaker 3: onto the ways of God. There's no better way for
11:25
Speaker 3: a young person to begin their life than this. The
11:27
Speaker 3: Bible says, Remember your Creator in the days of your youth.
11:32
Speaker 3: When he was just 20 years of age, Josiah began
11:35
Speaker 3: the task of undoing so much of what his father
11:38
Speaker 3: Amon had done in defiling God's land and his people.
11:42
Speaker 3: So Josiah tore down the altars of sin and wickedness.
11:46
Speaker 3: But this was just the beginning. He symbolically crushed the
11:50
Speaker 3: idols into dust and burned the bones of the pagan priests.
11:54
Speaker 3: Josiah meant business. He was cleansing the land of evil
11:57
Speaker 3: in God's name, and the Lord blessed him for it.
12:00
Speaker 3: In the 18th year of his reign, Josiah began to
12:03
Speaker 3: repair God's temple. Like his ancestor David, Josiah knew that
12:08
Speaker 3: although no structure could contain the Lord God, The Lord
12:13
Speaker 3: desired and deserved a place of honor and praise and
12:16
Speaker 3: recognition in the great city of Jerusalem. The temple would
12:20
Speaker 3: call people to worship their God and the one who
12:23
Speaker 3: is always faithful to his own. As the temple was
12:27
Speaker 3: being cleansed and repaired, a priest named Hilkiah came upon
12:30
Speaker 3: a treasure. It did not shine like gold or emeralds,
12:35
Speaker 3: but it was a much greater treasure for God's people.
12:39
Speaker 3: Hilkiah found a scroll containing the law of Moses. This
12:44
Speaker 3: may not seem like a big deal to you and me,
12:47
Speaker 3: but to the people of Judah, this was a reminder
12:50
Speaker 3: of the trustworthiness of God and the generational connection they
12:55
Speaker 3: had with their past and the great leader of the nation, Moses,
12:58
Speaker 3: who delighted to deliver God's law and to keep God's law.
13:04
Speaker 3: But as joyous as this discovery was, as the scroll
13:07
Speaker 3: was read aloud, Josiah tore his clothes in a sign
13:10
Speaker 3: of mourning. Hearing all that was in God's law, there
13:14
Speaker 3: was no missing the fact that Judah had failed to
13:17
Speaker 3: keep it, not once, but again and again. When confronted
13:22
Speaker 3: with this fact, Josiah sought guidance from the Lord, saying
13:26
Speaker 3: in 2 Chronicles 34-21, Go, inquire of the Lord for
13:31
Speaker 3: me and for those who are left in Israel and
13:33
Speaker 3: in Judah, concerning the words of the book that has
13:36
Speaker 3: been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord
13:39
Speaker 3: that is poured out on us, because our fathers have
13:42
Speaker 3: not kept the word of God to do according to
13:45
Speaker 3: all that is written in his book. Josiah knew that
13:49
Speaker 3: they must repent of all the wrong that they had done.
13:53
Speaker 3: Repentance means that you're going in one direction the wrong way,
13:56
Speaker 3: but you turn around and meet God and trust him
14:00
Speaker 3: and go in a brand new direction with new convictions.
14:04
Speaker 3: We may try to justify our sin or the way
14:06
Speaker 3: that we're living our life, the direction we're going, but
14:09
Speaker 3: it's always a mistake to run from God, to walk
14:12
Speaker 3: away from God. And it's always the right thing to
14:15
Speaker 3: do to return to him. Josiah sent Shaphan, one of
14:19
Speaker 3: his governors, to find a prophet to inquire of the Lord.
14:23
Speaker 3: Shaphan returned with a prophetess named Huldah. She heard Josiah's
14:27
Speaker 3: words and his convictions and responded with the truth of
14:31
Speaker 3: God's word. Judah had indeed been unfaithful and disobedient. And
14:37
Speaker 3: for this, they would be judged and feel the wrath
14:40
Speaker 3: of God. But because of Josiah's earnest attempts to make
14:44
Speaker 3: things right, disaster would not come in his lifetime. Though
14:48
Speaker 3: this may have brought some comfort, unlike Hezekiah before him,
14:53
Speaker 3: Josiah was grieved at the eventual judgment that would come
14:57
Speaker 3: upon his people. He called the priests and the people
14:59
Speaker 3: to dedicate themselves to the Lord and not turn again
15:03
Speaker 3: from him. Josiah was committed to keeping the Lord's commandments,
15:07
Speaker 3: even though destruction was coming to Judah ultimately. And while
15:11
Speaker 3: Judah would endure punishment and God's wrath, the Lord had
15:15
Speaker 3: not abandoned his people. Rescue would one day come, and
15:19
Speaker 3: God would send the ultimate answer to the problem of
15:22
Speaker 3: sin and judgment in the world. He would send the Messiah,
15:26
Speaker 3: the Savior. The Lord himself would come to be our Savior.
15:31
Speaker 3: Dear God, Thank you for Josiah's example of goodness and faithfulness.
15:37
Speaker 3: Thank you for the lesson that we've heard today on
15:39
Speaker 3: repentance and seeking your face and turning from our evil ways.
15:44
Speaker 3: Help us too to repent and not make excuses when
15:47
Speaker 3: we sin. In Christ's name, amen. Thank you for listening
15:52
Speaker 3: to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Pastor Jack
15:55
Speaker 3: Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com app and make
15:59
Speaker 3: prayer today. a priority along with Bible study in your life.
16:03
Speaker 3: And if you enjoyed this podcast, be sure and share
16:06
Speaker 3: it with someone you know because it can truly make
16:09
Speaker 3: a difference in someone else's life. And if you want
16:13
Speaker 3: more resources on how you can know the Bible and
16:16
Speaker 3: live the Christian life, contact me at jackgraham.org. That's jackgraham.org
16:23
Speaker 3: for many resources that will help you in your walk
16:26
Speaker 3: with God.