…(I)n this way he carried out the terms of the law recorded on the scroll that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the Lord’s temple. No king before or after repented before the Lord as he did, with his whole heart, soul, and being in accordance with the whole law of Moses.
II Kings 23:24b-25
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It says in the previous chapter, that when King Josiah heard the words of the Law read aloud, he tore his robes. Then the word of the Lord came and he was told that although destruction would still come to Judah, he would die in peace before it would happen.
It’s his reaction to being off track that struck me the most.
The refrain of the good Kings was that they were like their father David, and did not turn to the right or to the left. I’ve been reading in Psalm 119 Alef and Bet, which have really good reflections on how we are to meditate on the Law as well.
So what makes someone worthy of having that refrain? I think the above verse is the key:
To repent with my whole heart, soul, and being.
But so often when I am made aware of areas in my life where I am off track, I’m not as passionate about turning back to the Lord as King Josiah was.
Chapter 23 contains a long list of all the areas in which the people of Judah were off track, in worshiping different gods, and how zealous Josiah was to destroy everything that was of a false god.
That’s something the Lord has been showing me over the past few days in a variety of circumstances.
That I need to be incredibly serious and passionate about ridding myself of anything that is a hindrance to my walk, anything that turns me to the right or to the left, or causes me to not follow The Lord as my father David had done.
The process of identifying false gods in my life is easy, it’s letting go of them, destroying them, turning away from them that is hard.
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Lord help me to be so zealous for your presence, that I rid myself of anything that is contrary to your perfect character. May I be able to say at the end of my life, II Kings 23:25.
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No king before or after repented before the Lord as he did, with his whole heart, soul, and being in accordance with the whole law of Moses.
Sixty-six books in a year 