Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Colossians 3:5
Throughout scripture there are numerous Kings that were just horrendous individuals. But, few would be considered worse than King Manasseh. When we read about him in 2 Kings 21 we see that he was an awful King and a deplorable human being. But, because toward the end of his reign King Manasseh repented and began to live for the Lord, he is not considered quite as bad as his own son Amon. Amon is one of the few Kings who would actually have been considered worse. King Amon’s reign, however, was cut short. He served a mere 2-3 years, when his own servants killed him.
Amon’s son, Josiah then became king at the ripe old age of 8 years old. Now, being the descendant of the likes of these two kings, one might not have much hope for this young man. But with God, there is always hope.
King Josiah, the scriptures tell us, “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” and in the eight year of his reign, while he was still young he began to seek God. In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles and idols. Under his direction the altars of the Baals were torn down; he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them, and smashed the Asherah poles and the idols. These he broke to pieces and scattered over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. He burned the bones of the priests on their altars, and so he purged Judah and Jerusalem. In the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them, he tore down the altars and the Asherah poles and crushed the idols to powder and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem. (2 Chronicles 34:3-7).
He continued to cleanse the land and in the eighteenth year of his reign he began to have the temple of “the Lord his God” repaired. During those repairs, the Book of the Law of the Lord that had been given through Moses, was found. When he read the Book of the Law he became distraught and sent Hilkiah the High Priest to inquire of God, he said, ” Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the remnant in Israel and Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that is poured out on us because those who have gone before us have not kept the word of the Lord; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book.” 2 Chronicles 34:21. God replied that he was going to bring destruction on the people for their part in rejecting Him, but for the King He said “Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before God when you heard what he spoke against this place and its people, and because you humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the Lord. Now I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place and on those who live here.’” 2 Chronicles 34:27-18.
God just told him that his wrath will be poured out on the people for what they have done, but I am going to spare you from it because of your repentance. Now, how many of us would have said “whew, I dodged that bullet”, and gone on our way?
That is not what King Josiah does though. “He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites—all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the Lord. The king stood by his pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord—to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and to obey the words of the covenant written in this book. Then he had everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin pledge themselves to it; the people of Jerusalem did this in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors. Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the territory belonging to the Israelites, and he had all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. As long as he lived, they did not fail to follow the Lord, the God of their ancestors.” 2 Chronicles 34:30-33
King Josiah, in a number of ways, a great example to us:
Despite the way that he had been raised, despite the short comings of his father and grandfather, made a decision to follow the Lord his/our God. How many of us could have prevented a lot of heartache in our lives, if we had made that decision a lot sooner?
Once he realized the depth of the abomination of those altars and asherah poles, tore them down. We all had/have sins, idols and altars to them set up in our lives that needed, or need to, be torn down, burnt and sprinkled outside our city walls?
Once he was in the clear, King Josiah did not think only of himself, but instead the salvation of those around him became his focus. Once we repent and tear down those idols and altars, the redemption of those around us should become our focus.
I pray that we would tear down those altars that still exist in our lives. We may have gotten rid of the idols, but still burn an offering every once in a while on the altar. TEAR IT DOWN, BURN IT AND SCATTER THE ASHES OUTSIDE YOUR WALLS. Once we have, let us love those around us the way that King Josiah loved his people and make their salvation our focus.
If you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, I pray that you would go to our Life Preserver page (https://forgiven-n-loved.com/life-preserver/) and pray the prayer that is outlined there. God is a God of redemption and salvation and He desires to forgive you and have a loving and personal relationship with you. Please pray, and once you do please reach out to me at admin@Forgiven-N-Loved.com and let me know. I’d love to be in prayer for you.
Luv Ya,
