There was one verse in Nahum that jumped out to me. Just one simple little verse that has major implications:
Nahum 1:3 The Lord is slow to get angry, but his power is great,
and he never lets the guilty go unpunished.
The phrase 'and he never lets the guilty go unpunished'. Who are the 'guilty ones'? We are all. So all the guilty will be punished. As I read this, I again thought of Christ and what He has done for us. He is the one who took our punishment so that we could go free. Another reminder of the amazing grace of God.
The Kings and Chronicles accounts are about Josiah, who became King at the age of eight.
Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. 2 He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did not turn away from doing what was right. 3 During the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, Josiah began to seek the God of his ancestor David.
During the eighth year of his reign, when he was 16 he began to see God. And it looks as if he found Him, since it says he did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight.
Someone found "the book of the law" in the temple and King Josiah read it to all the people. He pledged to obey the Lord by keeping all His commands, regulations and laws with all his heart and soul. He made all the people to make a similar pledge. So Josiah removed all the idols from the entire land and throughout his lifetime they did not turn away from the Lord. The phrase "throughout his lifetime" they did not turn away. Was that because they were only doing what he had required them to do? And once he was dead, they turned back to their own ways? That is why obedience has to be a "heart" issue, and not an "authority" issue.
After King Josiah had finished restoring the temple, the King Neco of Egypt led his army to do battle with his enemy at the Euphrates River, but Josiah and his army marched out to fight him. King Neco told Josiah to leave him alone, as he had no quarrel with him, but Josiah would not listen. Long story short, Josiah was killed in battle. What happened to the king who "always did what was pleasing in His sight"? This account makes no reference to Josiah inquiring of God as to what he should do, but King Neco told Josiah that God had told him to fight this battle, and that he should not interfere with him, or God would destroy him. This has to make you stop and think about life and seeking God's will. How often do we really lay our plans before Him and wait for an answer? And without doing further study, I would have to think the Egyptians were not a 'God fearing' nation. So Josiah probably also questioned the King's claim that God had spoken to him.
After Josiah was buried, his son, Jehoahaz, became king. The short account of Jehoahaz is that he was twenty-three when he became king and he reigned for three months. It says "He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord". So sad that his father chose one path, to serve God, and he chose another.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment