Reading the bible...
Day 45: Hilkiah (2 Chronicles 34:14-33)
- a bit of background on what's going on...Josiah is king over Judah and was one of the good ones. He was leading Judah into an age of reform. During his 18th year of reign, he set out to purify the land and the temple of God.
- Hilkiah was the high priest at the time and he found the book of the Law given to Moses by God in the temple of the Lord. The book was given to Shaphan, the kings secretary.
- Shaphan began to read from the book of the Law and Josiah realized that they had not kept the laws of the Lord. He tore his robes and immediately ordered them to find out what else the book says and what will happen to Israel and Judah.
- Hilkiah and others sought the advice of Huldah, a prophetess. She basically said that God was going to bring disaster upon them because of their sins. However, because of Josiah's response and humbleness, he would pass away in peace and would not witness this great disaster.
- after this, the king gathered all the people from the least to greatest, and read the words in the Book of the Covenant and they renewed their covenant before God...
"...to follow the LORD and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and to obey the words of the covenant written in this book." (verse 31)
- he continued to lead them in the ways of the Lord throughout his reign.
Again, we see the rare occurance of a king faithful to God. The judgment and disaster spoken of was the Babylonian exile of all Israel and Judah. Reading about Josiah reminds me of how important it is for us to constantly be reading the bible. It was only when he actually read the words written in the Book of the Covenant that he realized how badly they've screwed up. I think for Christians, we are blessed with the fellowship of the Holy Spirit and full access to God's word. It would be pretty stupid of us not to consult it on a regular basis to keep ourselves accountable to God. I'm really glad that I've finally found a way to read bible more. All these years I think I've really been missing out on so many truths. I just pray that I can sustain this.
- a bit of background on what's going on...Josiah is king over Judah and was one of the good ones. He was leading Judah into an age of reform. During his 18th year of reign, he set out to purify the land and the temple of God.
- Hilkiah was the high priest at the time and he found the book of the Law given to Moses by God in the temple of the Lord. The book was given to Shaphan, the kings secretary.
- Shaphan began to read from the book of the Law and Josiah realized that they had not kept the laws of the Lord. He tore his robes and immediately ordered them to find out what else the book says and what will happen to Israel and Judah.
- Hilkiah and others sought the advice of Huldah, a prophetess. She basically said that God was going to bring disaster upon them because of their sins. However, because of Josiah's response and humbleness, he would pass away in peace and would not witness this great disaster.
- after this, the king gathered all the people from the least to greatest, and read the words in the Book of the Covenant and they renewed their covenant before God...
"...to follow the LORD and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and to obey the words of the covenant written in this book." (verse 31)
- he continued to lead them in the ways of the Lord throughout his reign.
Again, we see the rare occurance of a king faithful to God. The judgment and disaster spoken of was the Babylonian exile of all Israel and Judah. Reading about Josiah reminds me of how important it is for us to constantly be reading the bible. It was only when he actually read the words written in the Book of the Covenant that he realized how badly they've screwed up. I think for Christians, we are blessed with the fellowship of the Holy Spirit and full access to God's word. It would be pretty stupid of us not to consult it on a regular basis to keep ourselves accountable to God. I'm really glad that I've finally found a way to read bible more. All these years I think I've really been missing out on so many truths. I just pray that I can sustain this.
Labels: Bible Characters
posted by Matt at 3:37 PM
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