They Lost Their Wealth and Their Leading People (2 Ki. 24:8-17; 25:27-39; 2 Chron. 36:9-10)

6/30/2011 8:07:26 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                              Focus:  They lost their wealth and their leading people

 

Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:  2Ki. 24:8-17; 25:27-30; 2Chron. 36:9-10

 

            Message of the verses:  “8 ¶  Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. 9  He did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done. 10  At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon went up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. 11  And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it. 12  Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants and his captains and his officials. So the king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign. 13  He carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, just as the LORD had said. 14  Then he led away into exile all Jerusalem and all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land. 15  So he led Jehoiachin away into exile to Babylon; also the king’s mother and the king’s wives and his officials and the leading men of the land, he led away into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16  All the men of valor, seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, one thousand, all strong and fit for war, and these the king of Babylon brought into exile to Babylon. 17  Then the king of Babylon made his uncle Mattaniah king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.”

            “27  Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison; 28  and he spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29  Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes and had his meals in the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life; 30  and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life.”

 

            “9  Jehoiachin was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem, and he did evil in the sight of the LORD. 10  At the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon with the valuable articles of the house of the LORD, and he made his kinsman Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.”

 

            I believe that I had mentioned that Ezekiel was taken captive in 605BC along with Daniel, however I was mistaken for Ezekiel was taken captive in 597BC along with the king of Judah, Jehoiachin.  There were many more taken captive during this deportation to Babylon.  Jehoiachin would never have a son sit on the throne of Judah for after he was taken captive Nebuchadnezzar appointed his uncle king.  Zedekiah was the third son of Josiah and his birth name was Mattaniah but it was changed by Nebuchadnezzar to a Babylonian name. 

            Nebuchadnezzar’s son Evil-Merodach would let Jehoiachin out of prison in Babylon after he had been there for 37 years so he would have been 55 years old.  Evil-Merodach liked Jehoiachin above all of the other kings that Babylon had taken captive and he took care of him.  When the remnant would return seventy years later Jehoiachin’s son Zerubbable would be one of the leaders, but he would never continue the dynasty of David on the throne of Judah, for they would be under the control of other nations until they were again dispersed all over the known world as prophesied in the 28^th chapter of Deuteronomy.  They would return as a nation under another David in May of 1948, but as Ezekiel prophesied it would not be a spiritual people until sometime during the tribulation period. 

            All of the things that happened to Judah were prophesied in different OT books like Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Jeremiah and also some of the minor prophets, but none of the leaders would believe the prophets and had some of them put to death.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The message of Pastor Ed last Sunday was to obey the Words of the Lord and if the children of Israel would have done this then this portion of Scripture would never have been written.  I want to learn from what they did not do and obey the Word of the Lord.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.      Obedience is better than sacrifice.

2.      Romans 12:1-2

3.      Philippians 4:11-13

4.      Proverbs 3:5-6

5.      Psalm 139:23-24

6.      Ephesians 6:10-18

 

6/30/2011 8:49:41 AM    

Judah Lost Their Land (2Ki. 23:34-24:7; 2 Chron. 36:5-8)

6/29/2011 8:58:37 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  The lost their land

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  2Ki. 23:34-24:7; 2Chron. 36:5-8

 

                                                                                                                       

            Message of the verses:  “34  Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away and brought him to Egypt, and he died there. 35  So Jehoiakim gave the silver and gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land in order to give the money at the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land, each according to his valuation, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36  Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. 37  He did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.

    “1 ¶  In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and rebelled against him. 2  The LORD sent against him bands of Chaldeans, bands of Arameans, bands of Moabites, and bands of Ammonites. So He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD which He had spoken through His servants the prophets. 3  Surely at the command of the LORD it came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, 4  and also for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and the LORD would not forgive. 5  Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 6  So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son became king in his place. 7  The king of Egypt did not come out of his land again, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.”

 

            “5  Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God. 6  Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him and bound him with bronze chains to take him to Babylon. 7  Nebuchadnezzar also brought some of the articles of the house of the LORD to Babylon and put them in his temple at Babylon. 8  Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and the abominations which he did, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son became king in his place.”

 

            The things that happened during the end of the kingdom of Judah are kind of sketchy especially the death of King Jehoiakim.  Jehoiakim was an evil king not like his father Josiah and he was made king after his brother reigned for only three months.  Jehoiakim reigned for eleven years and when he died, although the details of his burial are not written about the prophet Jeremiah prophesied that he would be buried like a donkey and not like a king so it must be assumed that this was how he was buried. “18  Therefore thus says the LORD in regard to Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, "They will not lament for him: ’Alas, my brother!’ or, ’Alas, sister!’ They will not lament for him: ’Alas for the master!’ or, ’Alas for his splendor!’ 19  "He will be buried with a donkey’s burial, Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 22:18-19).”

            The history that took place over these eleven years of Jehoiakim’s reign were that Egypt would be engaged in a war with Babylon and this would end without a victory for either nation.  Egypt would not have the influence over Judah, but Babylon would gain influence over Judah so while this war was going on Jehoiakim would stop paying tribute to Nebuchadnezzar and then Nebuchadnezzar would send some of his puppet nations against Judah and this was of the Lord because of the cruelty of this king.  Jehoiakim would die in December of 598 and Nebuchadnezzar arrived in Jerusalem in March of 597BC.  Jerusalem would fall in 586BC, but there were people that were taken from Jerusalem as early as 605BC.  Daniel and Ezekiel were among those taken by Nebuchadnezzar in 605BC.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  God’s providence is seen in these verses, along with God’s judgment.  His love and mercy can be seen in this to for they are a part of His Attributes.  Even though Jerusalem and Judah would fall God’s covenant with David would not, for the line of David would remain until Messiah was born in Bethlehem some 500 + years later.  Even though my life is very difficult at this point in time God is still in control and will work out the things He desire for me.

 

6/29/2011 9:38:00 AM

They Lost their Independence (2 Ki. 23:29-33; 2 Chron. 35:20-36:4)

6/28/2011 8:33:38 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  They lost their independence

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                    Reference:  2Ki. 23:29-33; 2Chron. 35:20-36:4

 

            Message of the verses:  “29  In his days Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. And King Josiah went to meet him, and when Pharaoh Neco saw him he killed him at Megiddo. 30  His servants drove his body in a chariot from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in place of his father.

   “ 31 ¶  Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32  He did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done. 33  Pharaoh Neco imprisoned him at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a fine of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.”

 

            “20 ¶  After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Neco king of Egypt came up to make war at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to engage him. 21  But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, "What have we to do with each other, O King of Judah? I am not coming against you today but against the house with which I am at war, and God has ordered me to hurry. Stop for your own sake from interfering with God who is with me, so that He will not destroy you." 22  However, Josiah would not turn away from him, but disguised himself in order to make war with him; nor did he listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to make war on the plain of Megiddo. 23  The archers shot King Josiah, and the king said to his servants, "Take me away, for I am badly wounded." 24  So his servants took him out of the chariot and carried him in the second chariot which he had, and brought him to Jerusalem where he died and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. 25  Then Jeremiah chanted a lament for Josiah. And all the male and female singers speak about Josiah in their lamentations to this day. And they made them an ordinance in Israel; behold, they are also written in the Lamentations. 26  Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his deeds of devotion as written in the law of the LORD, 27  and his acts, first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

    “1 ¶  Then the people of the land took Joahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in place of his father in Jerusalem. 2  Joahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 3  Then the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem, and imposed on the land a fine of one hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold. 4  The king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Joahaz his brother and brought him to Egypt.”

 

            I have to admit that these last chapters of 2Kings and 2Chronicles with all of their difficult names to pronounce and name changes leaves me pretty much confused, but it is part of Scripture and therefore I must launch into it.  This SD begins the last chapter in “Be Distinct,” the commentary that I have been reading to help me to understand 2Kings and 2Chronicles that was written by Warren Wiersbe.  I am thankful for the ministry of Warren Wiersbe especially all of his “Be” books that he has written as commentary on the different books of the Bible.  He entitles this last chapter in “Be Distinct” “The End has Come,” and of course the end he is referring to is the nation of Judah.  He begins this chapter by quoting a British political leader by the name of Richard Cobden:  “Every great nation fell by suicide.”  This was certainly true of Judah and it certainly looks like it is going to be true of the USA, for how all of the other great nations committed suicide was that they decayed from the inside through morally and spiritually falling.  God began the nation of Israel to be a light to the lost world yet when Solomon became king he began to bring the world into the nation of Israel by most of the 700 wives that he had married for this was done for a political reason and this was wrong for it led the nation of Israel into idolatry through these many wives for they all had their own idolatrous religions.  Dr. Wiersbe writes in this section that the church throughout its history has done the same thing, making itself like the world around it and not making itself distinct like the Scriptures teach it should.  I wish to quote from some different places in the Scriptures of the New Testament showing that the Church is to be in the world but not part of the world.  2Timothy 2:4 “No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.”  James 1:27 “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”  1John 2:15-17 “15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17  And the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of God stays forever.”

 

            In order to help understand the names of Josiah’s sons, for they were changed, I wish to quote from Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary.  “According to 1Chronicles 3:15-16, Josiah had four sons:  Johanan; Eliakim, who was renamed Jehoiakim; Mattaniah, who was renamed Zedekiah; and Shallum, also known as Jehoahaz.  We know nothing about Johanan and assume he died in childhood.  When Josiah died, the people put Josiah’s youngest son Jehoahaz on the throne and bypassed the other two brothers.  His given name was Shallum (Jer. 22:11) and Jehoahaz was the name he was given when he took the throne.  Jehoahaz and Zedekiah were full brothers (2Ki. 23:31; 24:18).  It’s obvious that the Jeremiah mentioned in 23:31 isn’t the Prophet Jeremiah since he was unmarried (Jer.16:1-2).”

 

            After the death of Josiah his son Joahaz was set upon the throne, but he would be a puppet king for only three months for as the title of this section indicates Judah would lose her independence to the nation of Egypt, for Egypt would take over Judah during this time and not much later Babylon would take over Judah for they would conquer Judah fully in 586, but begin in 605.  It was not his best move for Josiah to tackle Egypt but as I stated yesterday I believe this was in the plan of God for this to happen so that He would fulfill the covenant that He made with Israel.  The covenant that I refer to is found in Deuteronomy 28 and some have called this the “Palestinian Covenant,” and it was an unconditional covenant that God made with Israel.  If Israel would walk in the way of the Lord then they would be blessed but if they did not then the curses of the covenant would come upon them.  That is what is happening at this point in Judah’s history as they lose their independence and soon their land and would not fully get it back until May 5, 1948.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  This one is very personal for it brings back the memories of almost a year ago when I felt it necessary to leave GBC and the reason was that I believe and still do that Greg Whiting is making GBC into a “seekers church.”  As I have been reminded in this SD the church is to be distinct, for there is to be now compromise with the world, and yet that is what many churches are doing in today’s culture for they are trying to be a part of the world in order to attract the world and that totally goes against the Scriptures as seen from the quotations above.

            I don’t want to compromise my faith and look like the world and perhaps I did when I read a book recently, for although there were subtle things in this book that showed it was of the world a few years ago it would have been a book that would have been looked at differently than today as the morals in this country are going down the drain and someday soon we may be getting what Judah got in these chapters that I am studying now.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.      Psalm 139:23-24

2.      Ephesians 6:10-18

3.      Romans 12:1-2

4.      Philippians 4:11-13

5.      Proverbs 3:5-6

 

6/28/2011 9:24:03 AM   

Josiah Sacrifices his Life (2 Ki. 23:25-30; 2 Chron. 35:20-27)

6/27/2011 7:22:03 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                                                                    Focus: Sacrificing his life

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                       Reference:  2Ki. 23:25-30; 2Chron. 35:20-27

 

            Message of the verses:  “25 Before him there was no king like him who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him. 26 However, the LORD did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath with which His anger burned against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him. 27 The LORD said, "I will remove Judah also from My sight, as I have removed Israel. And I will cast off Jerusalem, this city which I have chosen, and the temple of which I said, ’My name shall be there.’" 28 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 29  In his days Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. And King Josiah went to meet him, and when Pharaoh Neco saw him he killed him at Megiddo. 30  His servants drove his body in a chariot from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in place of his father.”

 

            “20 ¶  After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Neco king of Egypt came up to make war at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to engage him. 21  But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, "What have we to do with each other, O King of Judah? I am not coming against you today but against the house with which I am at war, and God has ordered me to hurry. Stop for your own sake from interfering with God who is with me, so that He will not destroy you." 22  However, Josiah would not turn away from him, but disguised himself in order to make war with him; nor did he listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to make war on the plain of Megiddo. 23  The archers shot King Josiah, and the king said to his servants, "Take me away, for I am badly wounded." 24  So his servants took him out of the chariot and carried him in the second chariot which he had, and brought him to Jerusalem where he died and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. 25  Then Jeremiah chanted a lament for Josiah. And all the male and female singers speak about Josiah in their lamentations to this day. And they made them an ordinance in Israel; behold, they are also written in the Lamentations. 26  Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his deeds of devotion as written in the law of the LORD, 27  and his acts, first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.”

 

            This is the last sub-point under the forth main point from the 12^th chapter of “Be Distinctive” and it tells the end of the life of Josiah.  Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary for some reason does not cover verses 25-27 of 2Kings 23 so I want to include these verses in today’s SD.

            As I read these three verses of 2Kings I could not help but marvel at the life of Josiah, for after looking at his life from the pages of Scripture and what he had done as king there is no doubt that the things written about Josiah were never done by any other king in the history of Israel.  Whenever he got hold of the book of the Law he did all that he learned from it as far as what a king should do and not do.  I have a great deal of respect for Josiah as I read about his life and what he did and by reading about his life I can take from it some things that I need to put into practice in my life as a believer in 21^st century America, for I am not living in too different of a culture that Josiah faced when he was king of Judah, for this nation that I love has a great deal of moral problems that have led to a great deal of other problems like financial problems, but most of all problems in the church as the Church in America is very weak compared to what it was even 35 years ago when I first became a believer.

 

            Josiah was pro-Babylon and went up against the nation of Egypt who was going to aid the Assyrians in their battle against Babylon.  There is no directive from the Lord telling him to be involved in this battle, and yet the king of Egypt tells Josiah that the Lord had told him to go up against the Babylonians, in fact Neco the king of Egypt says that he was aiding Assyria because the orders came from the mouth of God.  This is difficult to understand as to whether or not God had spoken to Neco, but at any rate there is no evidence that Josiah had any leading of the Lord to fight in this battle. 

            The things that Josiah did as king were great in the eyes of the Lord as seen in verses 25-27, but the damage had already been done by his grand-father Manasseh, and the wrath of the Lord was going to come against Judah just as it did against Israel and a short 22 years after the death of Josiah Jerusalem will be destroyed and a remnant will be shipped off to Babylon to continue the line of David until Messiah would come.  I believe that this was all in the plan of God and that the death of Josiah, although humanly speaking was early, in God’s timing it was perfect for God had to destroy Judah on account of His attributes and also on account of his covenant that was made with them that they had broken many times.  After the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC Israel would not be a nation again under their rule until May 5, 1948 when the dry bones would begin to come together as Ezekiel would prophesy about in chapter 37.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Humanly speaking it was a waste to see Josiah die at such an early age, but God’s plans are perfect because His wisdom is perfect and for that great attribute of God I can rest assured that even though life gets tough at times, and it is now, that God’s wisdom is something that I can trust in my life to make it what He wants it to be.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.      Give myself to the Lord for worship and for service this day.

2.      Continue to learn contentment through this difficult time in my life.

3.      Put on the spiritual armor for the battle is fierce.

 

6/27/2011 8:06:13 AM

Josiah-Humbled by God's Word PT-5 (2 Ki. 23:1-23; 2 Chron. 35:1-19)

6/26/2011 7:27:32 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  Josiah—humbled by God’s Word Part-5

                                                                                                (Celebrating the Passover)

 

Bible Reading & Meditation               Reference:  2Kings 23:1-23; 2Chron. 35:1-19

 

            Message of the verses:  “21  Then the king commanded all the people saying, "Celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God as it is written in this book of the covenant." 22  Surely such a Passover had not been celebrated from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and of the kings of Judah. 23  But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was observed to the LORD in Jerusalem. 24  Moreover, Josiah removed the mediums and the spiritists and the teraphim and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might confirm the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.”

 

            “1 ¶  Then Josiah celebrated the Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Passover animals on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2  He set the priests in their offices and encouraged them in the service of the house of the LORD. 3  He also said to the Levites who taught all Israel and who were holy to the LORD, "Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel built; it will be a burden on your shoulders no longer. Now serve the LORD your God and His people Israel. 4  "Prepare yourselves by your fathers’ households in your divisions, according to the writing of David king of Israel and according to the writing of his son Solomon. 5  "Moreover, stand in the holy place according to the sections of the fathers’ households of your brethren the lay people, and according to the Levites, by division of a father’s household. 6  "Now slaughter the Passover animals, sanctify yourselves and prepare for your brethren to do according to the word of the LORD by Moses." 7  Josiah contributed to the lay people, to all who were present, flocks of lambs and young goats, all for the Passover offerings, numbering 30,000 plus 3,000 bulls; these were from the king’s possessions. 8  His officers also contributed a freewill offering to the people, the priests and the Levites. Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, the officials of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings 2,600 from the flocks and 300 bulls. 9  Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, the officers of the Levites, contributed to the Levites for the Passover offerings 5,000 from the flocks and 500 bulls. 10  So the service was prepared, and the priests stood at their stations and the Levites by their divisions according to the king’s command. 11  They slaughtered the Passover animals, and while the priests sprinkled the blood received from their hand, the Levites skinned them. 12  Then they removed the burnt offerings that they might give them to the sections of the fathers’ households of the lay people to present to the LORD, as it is written in the book of Moses. They did this also with the bulls. 13  So they roasted the Passover animals on the fire according to the ordinance, and they boiled the holy things in pots, in kettles, in pans, and carried them speedily to all the lay people. 14  Afterwards they prepared for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were offering the burnt offerings and the fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron. 15  The singers, the sons of Asaph, were also at their stations according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer; and the gatekeepers at each gate did not have to depart from their service, because the Levites their brethren prepared for them. 16  So all the service of the LORD was prepared on that day to celebrate the Passover, and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD according to the command of King Josiah. 17  Thus the sons of Israel who were present celebrated the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days. 18  There had not been celebrated a Passover like it in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet; nor had any of the kings of Israel celebrated such a Passover as Josiah did with the priests, the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 19  In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign this Passover was celebrated.”

 

            It is said of the celebration of the Passover that it was the best since the days of Samuel the prophet, and it must be remembered that there was no temple in those days.  This was greater than the one that Hezekiah had celebrated, for this one was done on the first day of the first month while the celebration in the time of Hezekiah was done on the first day of the 2^nd month.  All of the priests and Levites were ready to do their part in this celebration and there were twice as many animals sacrificed during this Passover.

            The Passover celebration is a celebration of when the Lord led the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt after He destroyed Egypt in order to allow His people to leave.  The Passover shows the grace and the power of the Lord which are two of His attributes.  In about 640 years there would be another Passover celebrated and this time it would be the Lamb of God who would be sacrificed and this time all of the attributes of God would be on display at the Cross where Jesus died to take my place as punishment for my sins along with the sins of all of God’s chosen people.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There is a difference of opinion as to what it was mean by the statement about not having the Ark of the Covenant as a burden to those who were to carry it.  It may have meant that it had been hidden when Manasseh was king in order to protect it, or it may have simply meant that the Ark of the Covenant did not have to be carried like it was in the days of Moses when the children of Israel traveled through the wilderness.  At any rate I see it as meaning that the Lord took my burden on Himself in His own body on the cross so that there is no burden for me to carry in order to have my sins taken away because Jesus paid it all, and all to Him I owe.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.      Psalm 51:12

2.      Romans 12:1-2

3.      Proverbs 3:5-6

4.      Philippians 4:11-13

5.      Ephesians 6:10-18

6.      Psalm 139:23-24

 

6/26/2011 8:06:21 AM

Josiah-Humbled by God's Word PT-3 (2 Ki. 23:1-3; 2 Chron. 34:29-33)

6/25/2011 10:28:38 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                          Josiah—humbled by God’s Word Part –3

                                                                                      (Covenanting with the Lord)

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  2Kings 23:1-3; 2Chronicles 34:29-33

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 ¶  Then the king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. 2  The king went up to the house of the LORD and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the LORD. 3  The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant.”

 

            “29 ¶  Then the king sent and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30  The king went up to the house of the LORD and all the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites and all the people, from the greatest to the least; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the LORD. 31  Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the LORD to walk after the LORD, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant written in this book. 32  Moreover, he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand with him. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. 33  Josiah removed all the abominations from all the lands belonging to the sons of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel to serve the LORD their God. Throughout his lifetime they did not turn from following the LORD God of their fathers.”

 

            I would suppose that one could call this a revival of the people of Judah, Benjamin, and those in Jerusalem, a revival that began in the heart of Josiah, and then it spread to those who attended this meeting in Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord.  This was not some sort of “civil religion,” but something that sprang from the reading of the covenant that the Lord had made with Israel.  Hebrews 4:12 will help explain how this happened: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  Dr. Wiersbe points out that this sort of thing “renewing of the covenant” happened several times in the history of the nation of Israel.  Moses did this before the children of Israel crossed the Jordan River the first time to enter the Promised Land, and this is recorded in the book of Deuteronomy.  Deuteronomy means the “renewing of the Law.”  It happened again with Joshua (Joshua 8:34 and following), and again it is recorded in 1Samuel (7:2ff; 12:1ff).  When the remnant returned from Babylon Nehemiah records this happening in Nehemiah chapters eight through ten.

 

            Reforming the land (2Kings 23:4-20; 2Chronicles 34:33):  4 ¶  Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the doorkeepers, to bring out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5  He did away with the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah and in the surrounding area of Jerusalem, also those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the constellations and to all the host of heaven. 6  He brought out the Asherah from the house of the LORD outside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and ground it to dust, and threw its dust on the graves of the common people. 7  He also broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes which were in the house of the LORD, where the women were weaving hangings for the Asherah. 8  Then he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba; and he broke down the high places of the gates which were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one’s left at the city gate. 9  Nevertheless the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. 10  He also defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire for Molech. 11  He did away with the horses which the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the official, which was in the precincts; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12  The altars which were on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, the king broke down; and he smashed them there and threw their dust into the brook Kidron. 13  The high places which were before Jerusalem, which were on the right of the mount of destruction which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the sons of Ammon, the king defiled. 14  He broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with human bones. 15  Furthermore, the altar that was at Bethel and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he broke down. Then he demolished its stones, ground them to dust, and burned the Asherah. 16  Now when Josiah turned, he saw the graves that were there on the mountain, and he sent and took the bones from the graves and burned them on the altar and defiled it according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things. 17  Then he said, "What is this monument that I see?" And the men of the city told him, "It is the grave of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel." 18  He said, "Let him alone; let no one disturb his bones." So they left his bones undisturbed with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria. 19  Josiah also removed all the houses of the high places which were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made provoking the LORD; and he did to them just as he had done in Bethel. 20  All the priests of the high places who were there he slaughtered on the altars and burned human bones on them; then he returned to Jerusalem.”

           

            “33  Josiah removed all the abominations from all the lands belonging to the sons of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel to serve the LORD their God. Throughout his lifetime they did not turn from following the LORD God of their fathers.”

 

            This is a very sad commentary of what the children of Israel had done since the time of Solomon many years before Josiah.  As I read through this section of Scripture and then the commentary by Dr. Wiersbe there were some things that Dr. Wiersbe had made more clear to me.  For instance the Levitical priest that served at the high places he allowed to come to Jerusalem and eat the food of the sacrifices, but not serve in the temple.  One of the other things that were made clearer to me was about the horses that were spoken of and these horses were to serve the sun god.  Josiah actually took his campaign of making sure that the covenant with the Lord was being followed all the way up to Samaria and fulfilled a prophecy that was made some 300 years earlier concerning the priest of Bethel that was recorded in 1Kings 13:31-33  “31  After he had buried him, he spoke to his sons, saying, "When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. 32  "For the thing shall surely come to pass which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria." 33  After this event Jeroboam did not return from his evil way, but again he made priests of the high places from among all the people; any who would, he ordained, to be priests of the high places.” 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Here is what I see for my life that I learned from this section of Scriptures.  My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and from time to time I sin and pollute this temple and so I need to renew myself to the Lord as Josiah did when he had the covenant of the Lord read to him and also after that conviction I need to tear down any idols that I have built up, for it will do little good to just confess my sin without doing something about it, and replace it with the things in the Word of God.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.      Psalm 139:23-24.

2.      Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit.  (Ps. 51:12)

3.      Philippians 4:11-13

4.      Romans 12:1-2

5.      Ephesians 6:10-18

6.      Proverbs 3:5-6

 

 

6/25/2011 11:35:18 AM