Read the Word:
2 Kings 22:11-20
Meditate on the Word:
King Josiah, in the eighteenth year of his reign, had decided that the Temple needed to have some damage repaired. We are not told specifically what damage in this passage, but it seems reasonable that it was neglect. The fact that the book of the law had been misplaced in the Temple, for who knows how long, only to be found during a remodel, seems indicative of how generations of religious leaders had treated the house of the Lord. Then, when having the law read to him, King Josiah realized that the nation was in trouble. They had abandoned God.
Josiah’s predecessors, his father and grandfather, are both described as doing “what was evil in the Lord’s sight.” Their reigns covered seventeen years before Josiah ascended to the throne at eight years old, eighteen years before. So in 35 years, the nation had strayed far away from God and into idolatry. It can seem easy to blame the rulers for the condition of the nation, but the religious leaders had been failing. They had neglected God’s law, God’s house, and God’s people. And when religious leaders neglect their posts, God’s people follow in their neglect of Him.
Pray the Word:
Pray for your pastor and other religious leaders and teachers as well, that they would remain faithful and keep God’s word in front of them.
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