Matthew 1:10-11
10 And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias; 11 And pJosias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:
As we come to the end of this part of the Road to Bethlehem we will look at one final king. Josiah began to reign when he was just 8 years old and comes onto the scene after years of spiritual neglect. Under the previous kings, the people of Judah went back and forth between worshiping the true God of Israel and then falling at the feet of idols. By the time Josiah comes on the scene the temple is in disrepair and the people are confused.
After Josiah had been king for 18 years he orders the restoration of the temple (2 Kings 22). As the High Priest, Hilkiah, is going through his duties he stumbles across a book. When he opens it he is astonished to find that it is the Word of God. Now for you and me, this may not sound like a big deal. Many of us have multiple copies of the Bible in our homes and even on our phones and computers. But we need to remember, the printing press and the internet had not been invented yet. There wasn’t multiple copies of God’s Word so the discovery of it, lost in the Temple no less, was a tremendous and surprising occurance. It is brought to the king who reads it and cries out to God for mercy and then leads the people in a time of repentance.
I’m afraid something similar is happening in our world today. It’s not that we have lost our bibles. The access to God’s Word is unprecedented! But they remain on the shelf, on the night stand, in our cars or sitting in our pews at church. It is not much different than it was in Josiah’s day. God’s word is sitting in some forgotten area, collecting dust and waiting to be discovered again. How do I know this? Biblical ignorance is at an all time high among those who profess Christ. Many are not sure what they believe, much less why they believe it. False teachers are having a field day in the hearts and lives of those who follow Christ, leading them astray and keeping them from fulfilling God’s plan for their lives. We know where our bibles are, but what good does it do us if they remain closed and unread? In effect, many of us have Lost the Word – not physically, but instead through neglect.
Today as we ReFocus our hearts and minds on Christ let us determine to become students of God’s Word. Some of us will have to go and find it, take it off the shelf and wipe the dust off of the cover. But as the Holy Spirit works in our hearts as His word is read and applied we will find our lives transformed in the Grace of God. And then God can use us as He did Josiah to proclaim the truth of His Word to those around us.
