My Dearest Sister,
Recently, according to my daily Bible reading plan, I have been going through the books of Kings and Chronicles. I didn’t have to read for very long before I started to become disheartened at the rapid falling away of the children of Israel from worshipping the Lord. It seemed that king after king, of this chosen nation of God became more and more corrupt, even splitting at one point into the two separate kingdoms of Israel and Judah. To be honest, it reminded me of the way much of society today has fallen away from serving the Lord, dividing ourselves over an endless array of issues. And seeing as most of these accounts are told twice throughout these four books, it was even doubly depressing. That is, until I came to the story of Josiah in 2 Kings 22-23 and 2 Chronicles 34-35.
Josiah was one of the youngest kings in Israel’s history, taking the throne when he was just eight years old. Unlike his fathers before him, Josiah walked in the ways of the Lord and “did not turn aside to the right hand or the left” (2 Kings 22:2). This unwavering adherence to the commands of God sparked an incredible change in Israel during his reign. In an effort to bring the people back to worshipping the Lord, Josiah began to purge the land of Israel of everything displeasing in God’s eyes: He removed the pagan worship articles from the temple, burned down all the images of other gods, destroyed the pagan altars, defiled their high places of worship (including the ones where they had been sacrificing their children to foreign gods), and put to death all the corrupt priests. He was ruthless in his obedience to God, removing every sinful thing that prevented him from performing the words of the law passed down by Moses (2 Kings 23:24). I was immediately fascinated and inspired by this young King of Judah who showed such heartfelt steadfastness to following the Lord and bringing Him glory.
The story of Josiah got me thinking about what such wholehearted devotion to God actually requires of us in relation to our world today. To be able to follow the Lord in everything we do, we must possess an unwavering determination, even when it means the work will be hard or we will be going against the grain. I’m sure there were times when it would have have been a lot easier for Josiah to give up and just go with the flow of the pagan culture surrounding him, especially considering both the generations before and after him did just that. However, he chose to stand resolute in his faithfulness to the Lord and we are called to do the same. Some might call it stubborn or close-minded, but we know it by its rightful name: steadfastness. We also know from Josiah’s example that it requires us to put away anything and everything in our lives that prevents us from following the Lord. Now, I doubt that you or I will ever have to execute a pagan priest or burn down the statue of a foreign god, but there are times when we will have to remove things in our lives that are sinful in the Lord’s eyes, things that are distracting us and keeping us from following Him wholeheartedly. Sometimes this means we have to make difficult choices, to separate ourselves from people we care about, to change our lifestyles and habits, or give up things things that used to be important to us. Remember, dear friend, Jesus’ words in Matthew chapter five: Better with one eye and one hand in the presence of the Lord than two eyes and two hands stumbling in darkness.
I’m not going to sugar coat it for you, having to remove a hand or eye – even a figurative one – is painful and certainly takes some courage! But God never promised that standing steadfast in His name would be easy. In fact, we know from the many examples in scripture that it is usually the opposite. Even so, sister, I want to reassure you that when we make such a stand it does not come back void. Not only did Josiah receive a blessing for his tender heart and humility before the Lord (2 Kings 22:19-20), he also became a beacon of God’s truth to the entire nation. His own personal covenant before the Lord, to follow Him with all his heart and soul, became an example to the people of Israel. As a result, in all of Josiah’s days “they did not depart from following the Lord God of their fathers” (2 Chronicles 34:33). Now, you and I may not have such a large influence as Josiah did – he was the king, after all – but rest assured, there are people watching how we live our lives. Whether it’s our spouse, our children, our parents or siblings, a neighbor, a friend, a co-worker or even a complete stranger, those around us will be able to tell if we are standing strong in our faith or if we are falling aside to the right and the left with every challenge that rolls our way.
Because of his steadfast devotion to God, the Bible distinguishes Josiah from all the other rulers of his time, saying that “before him there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him” (2 Kings 23:25). Some people today might call his zealousness ‘extreme’ or ‘over the top’, but I believe that Josiah knew exactly how important it was to not let anything stand between him and God. He knew that to be steadfast in following the Lord meant not turning aside to sin or other distractions, and always striving to bring Him the glory. Is that something we can say of ourselves, dear sister? Do we really turn to the Lord with all our heart, soul, and strength? Come, let us put away every sin, distraction, and stumbling block that is standing between us and God. Let us be so bold as to live our lives with an unwavering, passionate steadfastness for the Lord, ready and willing to be used for His purposes and His glory.
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
- 1 Corinthians 15:58
Grace and peace be with you always,
~ Lauren