In yesterday's study Josiah sent some of his top officials to speak with a prophetess to see what the Lord has to say about these things. The Lord gave him bad news and good news: the bad news is that eventually the nation of Judah will fall just as the northern kingdom of Israel fell; the good news is that this will not happen during Josiah's lifetime. We talked about how Josiah's great-grandfather, Hezekiah, was told that someday the Babylonians would come and take the treasures of Judah and take many of the people captive to foreign lands, and it appears as if Hezekiah merely coasted through the extra fifteen years of life that the Lord granted him. Hezekiah seems to have accepted the bad news with a fatalistic attitude, not doing anything further to help the people change direction. But Josiah, by contrast, doubles down on godly living when he hears the bad news! In our study today Josiah calls the people together to renew the covenant with the Lord.
As we discussed yesterday, it may be that Josiah thinks if the people will get on track and stay on track, the woeful words of the prophecy will not have to come true. There is some precedent for that. We have seen several examples of this on the pages of the Bible when the Lord has pronounced a dire prediction and a person or group of people has repented and He has relented of the disaster. Or it may be that Josiah hopes to delay the fall of Judah for as long as possible. The more generations that remain faithful to the Lord, the more generations that will get to live in the land. Josiah cares about what happens to the generations coming after him, unlike Hezekiah who basically shrugged when he heard the prophecy and said, "At least there will be peace and prosperity in my lifetime."
As soon as Josiah hears the prophecy, he takes action. "Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets---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 the 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, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant." (2 Kings 23:1-3) The author of 2 Chronicles says this: "Then he had everyone in Judah 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 serve the Lord, the God of their ancestors." (2 Chronicles 34:32-33)
Josiah pledges to abide by the words of the covenant. Of course he will not be able to do this perfectly, since no one is perfect, but he lives under the sacrificial system of the Old Testament and if he repents and brings the proper sacrifices when he falls short he will receive forgiveness and therefore can be said to be abiding by the law. The people also, who pledge themselves to the keeping of this covenant, will fall short due to human weakness but the sacrificial system is a part of the Old Testament law and this means they are not without recourse when they sin.
In our day---in the church age---we are not without recourse when we sin either. But we don't have to do as King Josiah and the people of his era did. We don't have to make sacrifices year after year. The sacrificial animals---these "stand ins"---could not make the bringer of them perfect forever. As the author of the book of Hebrews states, the Old Testament law was the forerunner of the more perfect covenant that was coming, for the law "can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." (Hebrews 10:1b-4) The Lord allowed substitutionary animal deaths on behalf of mankind and the people accepted on faith that each sacrifice temporarily saved them from judgment, but the sacrifices for atonement had to be made year after year until that holy and perfect sacrifice came which was capable of making atonement forever for those who would believe on Him. We are living under the New Covenant, made between us and God by the blood of Christ, and that sacrifice is able to save us to the uttermost forever. "We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Hebrews 10:10)
As we continue on this week with our study of King Josiah, we will find him making very extensive religious reforms throughout the territories of Judah and also throughout the territories of the now-fallen northern kingdom. We should feel inspired and encouraged by him. Even though he has been told that the nation will someday fall, he may not know for certain whether the fall is inevitable or if the tide can be turned. Or, even if he knows it is inevitable, he doesn't intend to sit back and let it happen in the very near future. He wants as many people as possible to turn to the Lord. He wants as many generations as possible to enjoy the goodness of God in the promised land. This should inspire us to do all we can to lead our fellow man to the Lord. We don't know whether or not our own nation may fall someday if enough people turn away from the Lord. But the great commission from the Lord Jesus Christ is to share the gospel and if we are busy doing that then, at the very least, we may be able to delay the fall of our nation. And at most---which is most important of all---we will be helping souls to be saved so that as many people as possible can enjoy eternity in the Lord's presence. We ought to want that for everyone, as Josiah did.
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