Many Christians, in spite of confessing their sins to the Lord, feel constantly condemned. But, says John, even “if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart” (1 Jn 3:20). In fact, adds Paul, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). How can this be? […]
Strange how the people must be taken far away to discover what He had given them back at home. “Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king” (2 Ki 23:36), and was dead by age 36. During that time, he was enthroned and renamed by Pharaoh Necho of Egypt, becoming his chief fund-raiser in […]
The world wants you to be sophisticated; God wants you to keep it simple. This story explains what He means. […]
We’re now beginning to see the dominos fall in Judah. But this isn’t random. It’s God’s hand of judgment. With Josiah “buried…in his own tomb…the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king” (2 Ki 23:30). At age 23, Jehoahaz should have known better, but “he did […]
Beware the mid-life crisis, thinking you can handle yourself by now. That’s when the devil gets you! Young Josiah was relentless in seeking to obey the Book found in the house of the Lord. Thankfully, it wasn’t all negative, dealing with past sins. The nation celebrated with him in keeping the Passover. But following that, […]
Josiah’s purging went all the way back to Solomon; his Passover the best since before the judges! There was nothing superficial about Josiah’s work. He had destroyed Solomon’s shrines to his wives’ pagan gods. Now he turned his attention to the counterfeit worship set up by Jeroboam at Bethel (ironically meaning “the house of God”). […]
Ruskin said that God graciously bears with many things in our hearts, but not second place. Hearing the two-pronged news, Josiah was not the least dissuaded from clearing the land of idolatry. Judgment may come, but he would do his part in driving back the spiritual darkness across the land. So first, “The king went […]
A waitress observes a Christian in the restaurant as having the “face of an angel”. Of course, it was Someone else she saw… […]
Imagine if astronauts had found a manuscript on the moon, or on Mars. But a book from heaven? It had been 250 years since the temple had been repaired—in the days of Jehoash (2 Ki 12:4-5). Horrible desecration had been committed on the Lord’s house, much of it by Josiah’s father and grandfather. At age […]