Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / Josiah's Reforms - The Book of 2 Kings

Transcript

Josiah's Reforms - The Book of 2 Kings · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Let us pray. Moreover, the workers with familiar spirits, and
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and all
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away. 2 Kings 23-24
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: My Lord, I want to take time to thank you
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: for guiding me and protecting me in my youth. so
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: that I could get to the place where I am now.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: As I rest and meditate on your goodness in times past,
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: I will remember that you are the reason for the
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: celebration and the gratefulness in my life. Through my intentional devotion,
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: I tear down any false idols and ungodly ways of
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: being that may have crept into my life. Anything that
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: I've erected over your word, work, money, relationships, or comfortability
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: that serve as an idol, I tear down right now.
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: Let your will and your ways be the focus of
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: my attention. Let your heart be the focus of my affection,
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: for in your presence is everything I'll ever need. May
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: my legacy be a mirror of King Josiah's in today's reading,
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: a legacy known for putting your presence before my pleasures.
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: In Jesus' name, amen.
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: Josiah's Reforms In our last story, Josiah became king over Judah.
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: He was only eight years old when he took office. However,
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: he clung to the wisdom of God and became beloved
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: as the righteous king of Jerusalem. He restored the temple
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: and repented on behalf of the people. In this story,
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: we see Josiah bringing Judah out of the depths of
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: darkness and slavery to sin. He goes throughout the city
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: and wilderness to rid Judah of all its shrines to
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: past gods Inspired by the book of 2 Kings.
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: Hello, Pastor Jack Graham here with today's episode of the
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year. We're always glad to open God's
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: Word together. In our previous episode, we were introduced to
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: King Josiah. He began to rule Judah at a very
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: early age, but his constant search for wisdom and godly
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: instruction led him to rule with honor, faith, and integrity.
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: He tore down the altars of the false gods and
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: restored the temple, and during the restoration, the scroll of
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: the law of Moses was discovered— God' s Word. When faced with
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: the reality of Judah and Israel's unfaithfulness, Josiah sought a
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: prophet of God for insight on how to make things right.
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: And even though the prophecy he received foretold judgment and captivity,
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: Josiah committed himself and his people to live in obedience
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: before God. Today, We'll hear about all the reforms that
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: Josiah enacted in Judah, cleansing the land and God's people,
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: cleansing them from sin and idolatry that had kept them
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: in slavery. So once again, let's listen to the Word
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: of God.
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: Midday was beginning to turn into dusk. The sun was
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: grazing the top of the holy temple. The gold adorned
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: on the pillars spread the light into a hundred different directions.
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: Josiah climbed the smooth steps into the house of the Lord.
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: Behind him were all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. All people,
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: young and old, followed their king as their ancestors followed
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: Moses to the tent of meeting. There Josiah knelt before
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: the Lord. He beat his chest and lamented the sins
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: of his forefathers. The people watched their king weep over sin.
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: It was a new feeling for them. They had spent
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: several decades with kings hell-bent on destroying all forms of holiness.
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: To see a king bow before God was an odd sight.
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: They wondered if this is what David looked like all
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: those years ago. Josiah read before them the law of
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: Moses and exhorted them on the love and justice of God.
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: The sea of faces were somber and contemplative as they
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: listened to their king. When Josiah finished, he closed the
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: scroll and sighed. He raised his hands high into the
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: air in front of his people and cried out to
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: the Lord on their behalf. King Josiah made a covenant
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: with God that he and the rest of his people
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: would seek him alone for their worship, that they would
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: hold fast to him and his statues with their whole
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: hearts and souls. Josiah fell to his knees and prayed
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: to God. His hands still lifted in praise. A hush
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: fell over the vast crowd. Then, one by one, they
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: all began to bow as well. For the first time
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: in nearly 400 years, God's people bowed to him in
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: reverence and worship. After a while, the people returned to
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: their homes. The torches were snuffed out and the city
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: became silent. Yet Josiah remained. The echoes of his slow
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: breaths filled the empty sanctuary. Josiah remembered how close the
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: Lord had been to him as a child. Josiah would
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: not have been able to survive being king as a
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: boy if it weren't for the comfort of love and God.
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: Josiah rose to his feet and called for a few
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: of his men to be gathered. Although it was late,
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: there was still much work to be done before Judah
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: was truly free. Josiah stood outside the temple with his
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: most trusted men in front of him. The sun had
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: set completely, and they all stood with torches lit in
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: a circle. Josiah looked to the high priest Hilkiah and
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: ordered him to take his servants back into the temple.
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: There were still some old idols and shrines in Baal
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: and Asherah dwelling there. He wanted them removed and burned
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: outside the city. He looked to some of the city
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: guards and ordered them to scour the city for the
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: priests of Baal. Once they were all found, they were
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: deported out of the city. Lastly, he had his generals
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: break down the homes of the male cult prostitutes who
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: lured men and women into the temple to fornicate on
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: the altar of Asherah. Once all of the men departed,
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: Josiah took a few of his guards to the hills.
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: That is where his grandfather and other worshippers would kill
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: and burn their children. The woods were silent. The trees
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: swayed slightly to the breeze as Josiah and his men walked.
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: Josiah looked around. He could see fire pits and altars
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: in different parts of the woods. Charred infant bones were
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: illuminated in the moonlight. Josiah remembered his father coming here often.
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: He had lost brothers and sisters to these wretched rituals.
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: Looming over the charred ground were large twenty-foot wood altars
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: to Molech. A righteous anger filled Josiah as he peered
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: up at it. How many innocent lives were given for
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: this false god? How many children burned in these forests,
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: all for the vain pleasure of wicked men? Josiah could
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: hardly stand it. Some of the altars were much older
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: than others. It was Solomon himself who first erected altars
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: in the high places. Josiah gestured to his men, and
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: they tore down the pillars. They crushed them and burned them.
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: Then they went into the small shrines and filled them
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: with dead men's bones to defile it. Josiah wanted to
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: make sure that no man or woman would come to
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: this place for worship again. So he could not simply
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: destroy these shrines. He had to make the ground itself unclean.
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: Josiah descended down from the high place back into the city.
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: There he lay in his bed, praying for the Lord
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: to spare him and his people. Dawn's light was covered
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: from the lingering smoke of burning Asherah poles and ceremonial brothels.
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: Yet Jerusalem seemed cleaner than it had ever been before.
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: Priests were making sacrifices in the temples, and people were
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: freely entering into the temple's gates to worship. Men who
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: had made a living corrupting the minds of young people
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: were gone. Families were restored to one another, broken marriages
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: were beginning to mend, and a selfless culture was beginning
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: to blossom. It was then when Josiah restored the Passover
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: feast as a national tradition. It had been forgotten with
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: the age of wicked kings, yet Josiah brought it back
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: as a reminder that God is the source of true freedom.
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: After Josiah's period of reform, he marched into battle against
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: Egypt to protect Judah from further harm. The two armies
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: raged against one another, and Josiah leapt into battle with
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: his men. Josiah was not a mighty man of war
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: like his ancestor David, He was a gentleman, but noble
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: and filled with courage. Necho, the king of Egypt, spotted
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: Josiah from the other end of the battlefield. Necho rode
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: through the enemy lines, toppling Judeans in his wake. Necho
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: held his spear high and sent it whistling through the air.
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: Before Josiah had a chance to even see it, the
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: spear impaled him. Josiah's heart stopped beating before he could
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: even hit the floor. Thus ended the rule of Josiah.
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: Never had there been a more righteous king before him.
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: He pursued righteousness and loved his people. Yet all men
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: must face their end. So Josiah was buried with his ancestors.
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: Today's Scripture passage is a fantastic scripture when King Josiah
• 10:04
  Speaker 3: gathers the people for a tremendous, momentous occasion. The book
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: of the law of Moses, God's perfect word of instruction
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: and guidance to his people has been discovered. But this
• 10:16
  Speaker 3: was no museum relic. This was the living Word of God,
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: the Word of God without error, inspired by God Himself,
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: which is the key to living right before the Lord
• 10:28
  Speaker 3: and others. Josiah knew that people needed to hear the
• 10:32
  Speaker 3: Word of God. Like David the psalmist and the king,
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: his delight was in the law of the Lord. And
• 10:38
  Speaker 3: if the people would only hear it and read it
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: and open their hearts, healing could begin in Judah. God's
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: law expresses God's love, his incredible love for his people
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: to protect them and to provide for them. It was
• 10:53
  Speaker 3: how Israel and Judah were set apart from all the
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: nations of the world. The word of God is how
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: the Jewish people became the people of God. After reading
• 11:03
  Speaker 3: the book of the covenant, Josiah renewed his promises with
• 11:07
  Speaker 3: God as we read in 2 Kings 23 and verse 3.
• 11:11
  Speaker 3: And the king stood by the pillar, and made a
• 11:14
  Speaker 3: covenant before the Lord to walk after the Lord and
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes
• 11:20
  Speaker 3: with all his heart and all his soul to perform
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: the words of this covenant that were written in this book.
• 11:27
  Speaker 3: And all the people joined in the covenant. Don't miss this.
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: Just as an evil king turns his people away from God,
• 11:37
  Speaker 3: a righteous king who seeks the Lord shepherds God's people
• 11:40
  Speaker 3: back to the Lord. It's a spiritual principle for all
• 11:44
  Speaker 3: of us. As parents, we are to live godly lives
• 11:47
  Speaker 3: and serve as an example to our faith for our family.
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: As pastors and church leaders, as national leaders and governmental leaders,
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: we are to turn from our sins. We are to
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: renew our hearts always before the Lord and call people
• 12:05
  Speaker 3: to follow the Lord obediently. But Josiah knew that this
• 12:09
  Speaker 3: was just one part of the process. evil needed to
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: be rooted out, and the land rid of the idolatry
• 12:15
  Speaker 3: that had plagued the people for so long. He had
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: already torn down these evil altars in the city and
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: destroyed symbols of pagan gods. But the country was large,
• 12:25
  Speaker 3: and in the shadows of the forest were altars and
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: idols hiding, waiting to seduce people away from the one
• 12:31
  Speaker 3: true God again. These were demonic altars that needed to
• 12:34
  Speaker 3: be destroyed. He sent his men through the woods, taking
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: down the places where These horrible, evil things happened. Places
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: where women and children were offered to bloodthirsty gods. Shrines
• 12:46
  Speaker 3: that trapped men and women with empty promises and powerless deities.
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: What a lesson is this for us to learn. Though
• 12:55
  Speaker 3: you may not have an altar or an idol in
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: your life, there are often dark and hidden places where
• 13:02
  Speaker 3: temptations lurks that demand our attention, that we need to destroy.
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: If we are wise, as Josiah was, we will pray
• 13:11
  Speaker 3: for the cleansing fire of God's Spirit to burn through
• 13:14
  Speaker 3: any of these dark places in our lives that threaten
• 13:17
  Speaker 3: to rob us of the joy of the Lord. Josiah
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: was truly committed to cleansing the land, and when the
• 13:23
  Speaker 3: work was done, he called the people to a celebration
• 13:27
  Speaker 3: that reminded them of how God is all about releasing
• 13:30
  Speaker 3: the captives and freeing his people from slavery. They observed
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: the Passover, glorifying God for their newfound freedom. Our reading
• 13:40
  Speaker 3: ends with the end of a life very well lived. Josiah,
• 13:44
  Speaker 3: the most righteous king in Judah, ultimately died in battle.
• 13:48
  Speaker 3: Never in all of his years did he stray from
• 13:51
  Speaker 3: seeking the Lord. This does not mean that he was
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: a perfect man, but he was God's man, and God
• 13:57
  Speaker 3: had his heart to his last day. Dear God, we
• 14:01
  Speaker 3: thank you for good King Josiah, for his life and
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: his legacy. We also pray, that we will live for
• 14:09
  Speaker 3: you to our last day, till our very last breath,
• 14:12
  Speaker 3: that we will live in obedience to you and follow
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: you all the days of our lives until you take
• 14:18
  Speaker 3: us home to be with you forever. Thank you for
• 14:21
  Speaker 3: the strength of your spirit to do this. In Jesus' name, amen.
• 14:27
  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
• 14:30
  Speaker 3: I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Let me encourage
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: you to download the Pray.com app And always make Bible
• 14:38
  Speaker 3: reading and Bible study a priority in your life, along
• 14:41
  Speaker 3: with prayer. If you enjoyed this podcast, share it with
• 14:44
  Speaker 3: someone you love. Let someone know. Because by sharing this podcast,
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: you can truly make a difference in someone's life. And
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: if you want more resources from me, Jack Graham, as
• 14:55
  Speaker 3: to how you can grow in your Christian life, then
• 14:58
  Speaker 3: go to jackgraham.org. That's jackgraham.org. God bless you.