Josiah the godly grandson of the most wicked Judean king Manasseh takes the throne. Judgement will come to Judah and Jerusalem, but he will not see it. Praise God when there are godly leaders over the nations. Pray for our present Prime Minister that he honours Christ.
2 Kings 22: Josiah Reigns in Judah
1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath.
2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.
Josiah Repairs the Temple
3 In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, the secretary, to the house of the LORD, saying,
4 "Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money that has been brought into the house of the LORD, which the keepers of the threshold have collected from the people.
5 And let it be given into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the LORD, and let them give it to the workmen who are at the house of the LORD, repairing the house
6 (that is, to the carpenters, and to the builders, and to the masons), and let them use it for buying timber and quarried stone to repair the house.
7 But no accounting shall be asked from them for the money that is delivered into their hand, for they deal honestly."
Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law
8 And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, "I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD." And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.
9 And Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king, "Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the LORD."
10 Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read it before the king.
11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes.
12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying,
13 "Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us."
14 So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter), and they talked with her.
15 And she said to them, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'Tell the man who sent you to me,
16 Thus says the LORD, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read.
17 Because they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched.
18 But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard,
19 because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the LORD, when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the LORD.
20 Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place.'" And they brought back word to the king.
2 Kings 23: Josiah's Reforms
1 Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him.
2 And the king went up to the house of the LORD, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD.
3 And 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 perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant.
4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel.
5 And he deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and the moon and the constellations and all the host of the heavens.
6 And 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 beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people.
7 And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah.
8 And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from Geba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one's left at the gate of the city.
9 However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers.
10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech.
11 And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts. And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.
12 And the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, he pulled down and broke in pieces and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.
13 And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of corruption, 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 Ammonites.
14 And he broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with the bones of men.
15 Moreover, the altar at Bethel, the high place erected by Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, that altar with the high place he pulled down and burned, reducing it to dust. He also burned the Asherah.
16 And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mount. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar and defiled it, according to the word of the LORD that the man of God proclaimed, who had predicted these things.
17 Then he said, "What is that monument that I see?" And the men of the city told him, "It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted these things that you have done against the altar at Bethel."
18 And he said, "Let him be; let no man move his bones." So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria.
19 And Josiah removed all the shrines also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which kings of Israel had made, provoking the LORD to anger. He did to them according to all that he had done at Bethel.
20 And he sacrificed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
Josiah Restores the Passover
21 And the king commanded all the people, "Keep the Passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant."
22 For no such Passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, or during all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of Judah.
23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was kept to the LORD in Jerusalem.
24 Moreover, Josiah put away the mediums and the necromancers and the household gods and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.
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 Still the LORD did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him.
27 And the LORD said, "I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city that I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there."
Josiah's Death in Battle
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. King Josiah went to meet him, and Pharaoh Neco killed him at Megiddo, as soon as he saw him.
30 And his servants carried him dead in a chariot from Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father's place.
Jehoahaz's Reign and Captivity
31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.
33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
34 And 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 he came to Egypt and died there.
35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco.
Jehoiakim Reigns in Judah
36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.
37 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.
Things to think about…
1. Josiah had a heart that wanted to serve the Lord. After years of abuse and disrepair of the temple from his father and grand-father, Josiah rebuilds, 2 Kings 22:3-7. Rebuilding means we take care of the physical property where we worship, in Josiah’s case, the temple. But it also involves reforming our lives to his word. After finding and reading God’s law that had been buried for 70 years Josiah tears his clothes because he knew judgment was coming. Where do you see Australian society with respect to God’s hand in judgment? We are told judgement begins with the house of God. What should the church be doing when we see differences between God’s standards and what we practise in church? While we may not agree with everything he does we should praise God for a prime minister that acknowledges Christ as his Saviour. Let’s continue to pray for him and all our leaders.
2. This godly woman, Huldah the prophetess, tells Josiah that he will die in peace and not see the judgement the Lord has for Judah, 2Kings 22:20. This dying in peace involved Josiah getting in a skirmish with the king of Egypt and ultimately dying in battle. Was this the Lord’s doing, or Josiah’s? Both as we know, God was sovereign but Josiah was responsible for his own actions. It would have been better if he had not meddled in a war not his own. As a result the people of the Lord lost a godly king. He was only 39yo when he died. His sons did not have the same Spirit he had and therefore judgement was imminent.
3. In 2 Kings 23:1-20 we see the incredible reforms of Josiah. He removed the Asherah poles, cult prostitutes, Molech and Sun god worshippers as well as the materials, like the horses and chariots, that were involved in their worship. He removed the golden calf at Bethel and destroyed the graves of those who worshipped at this site. Do you think all of the people would have rejoiced at Josiah’s reforms? Certainly not, but righteousness exalts a nation and everyone sees the blessing. Many in the west have the freedom to kick against the rule of law and order in a Westminster system, but they have many freedoms, including the right to protest without the threat of the loss of their lives. This as we know is not the experience of those who are ruled by dictators around the world.
4. It is interesting that Josiah begins with his reforms at the house of the Lord – the temple and then works outward around Jerusalem and then to the high places and eventually destroying the gold calf at Bethel, 2Kings 23:4-20 even destroying the altars in Samaria – likely also the gold calf at Dan. He honours the prophet that prophesied his reforms, 1Kings 13:1-3, by allowing his tomb to remain untouched, 2Kings 23:17,18. This is really what has to happen with the Lord’s people. Judgement begins with the house of God, then effects the community and city radiating out from the church. Pray this is the case with our church and vision.
5. The people can worship freely and with joy when a godly ruler is on the throne, Prov 29:2. They then celebrate with the greatest Passover celebration that they had in years, 2Kings 23:21-23. The church celebrates our Passover Lamb at Easter, the One who delivers from sin and death, even to life eternal with Him.
6. Josiah with all his reforms was still a sinner who needed saving by grace. We see him in his pride go against Neco the Egyptian Pharaoh. Josiah did not listen to Neco’s words. No doubt he thought that because they were said by a pagan pharaoh they could not be from the Lord. At the end of the day Josiah did much good. How much do you think he did in his own strength and did this blur his judgement by not listening clearly to the Lord’s voice in this last chapter of his life? The Spirit of the Lord helps us to discern the difference.
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Sermon title was “and the 6 arrows” - from 2 Kings 13:14-25
1. Elisha had performed many miracles and unlike his mentor Elijah he was not going to leave earth without dying. He would die of disease. Do you think much about growing old and the day of your death? How have you prepared?
2. Elisha asks Joash to strike the ground with arrows. Joash strikes the ground 3 times. Elisha said he should have struck the ground 5 or 6 times to finally deal with Syria as an enemy. Our greatest enemy is sin and has been struck down by the blood of Jesus on the cross. But how do we attempt to save ourselves with our own self-righteous arrows? Andrew used the description of eating 2% dog poo in children’s biscuits. Only a little bit of bad influence in something that is generally good. How can we do the same even as Christians?
3. People often look at attending church and Christianity as being things that are done rather than as a result of a state of grace before God? Discuss how you tell others about grace in Christ.
Prayer Points
1. Growth in our kids and youth ministries
2. Pray for testimonies that people will be giving every second week. Please consider when you would like to do yours when the pastor asks you to share yours.
3. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
4. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Lord’s blessing over Andrew Otte’s message on Sunday.
2. Worship team and technical team. Thankyou Rod, Zac, Molly, Riley, Rin, Tim.
3. More visitors and spirit of joy on Sunday.
Announcements
1. Members meeting 28th Nov after the service.
2. Country Carols, monster trucks, fire works – Sat 18th Dec. Feel free to park at CBC if required.
3. Kids@church back. Please check your rosters
4. Recharge Youth – back on Friday 6:30pm at church all high schoolers.
5. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
