God’s Word Brings Change

MEMORY SELECTION: “With my whole heart have I sought Thee: O let me not wander from Thy commandments.” —Psalm 119:10

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: II Kings 21:1, 2; 22:1, 2, 8-13

JOSIAH assumed the throne of Judah at the tender age of eight. His mother was probably dedicated to God, as indicated by her name, Jedidah, which means “the beloved of Jehovah.” His grandmother’s name was Adaiah, which means “the honored of Jehovah.” With this kind of maternal background the young king had the atmosphere for developing a good character. In the eighteenth year of his reign, Josiah began to manifest his love for God by ordering that the Temple, which had been so long neglected, be repaired. As the carpenters and builders began their work, they found secreted in the wall a book that had been hidden to preserve it from the idolatrous priests and kings of Judah.

The book was the Book of the Law, and it was read to the king by the scribe Shaphan. When Josiah heard what the Lord expected of the nation, he rent his clothes. He realized, of course, how gross were the nation’s transgressions. The king immediately dispatched a messenger to the Prophetess Huldah, and the Lord sent this message: “Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read: because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched.”—II Kings 22:16,17

But because young King Josiah, when he first became aware of the Lord’s requirements, humbled himself and repented from the heart, Jehovah was pleased with him. The Lord, through the prophetess, said to him: “Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord. Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place.”—II Kings 22:19,20

It is an interesting sidelight to note the reward that Jehovah gave Josiah because of his faithfulness. He was to be gathered to his fathers in the grave. The promise was that he would sleep in peace and not be required to witness the terrible destruction and distress that was to be visited upon the nation. This reward, however, would have been meaningless were it not for the promise of a resurrection. We are reminded of a request by another of the Lord’s faithful servants, Job. “O that Thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that Thou wouldest keep me secret, until Thy wrath be past, that Thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer Thee: Thou wilt have a desire to the work of Thine hands.”—Job 14:13-15

As the king rent his garments and manifested contrition of heart after some service, so it is usually with the Christian after a time in the Lord’s service. Then he really begins to discern with his heart the meaning of the great law of love. Then it is that he begins to feel his shortcomings more than at first. While the brethren, and even some in the world, may be considering him as a saint, he has come to view the divine law of love as with a telescope, and his own imperfections (even seeming perfection) as with a microscope. Then it is that he also seeks the Word of the Lord for guidance, instruction, and help.

All will find that the Lord’s promise is comforting to those who mourn in Zion, because they are out of harmony with evil and unrighteousness. To those who are fully consecrated to the Lord comes the assurance: “They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.”—Mal. 3:17

| Home Page | Table of Contents |