Josiah became king of Judah at age 8; he died at age 39. But in the 31 years that he reigned, he made an indelible impact on the fabric of God’s people because he was transformed by God’s Word, and he courageously pressed Judah to be reformed by the Word.
The discovery that transformed Josiah’s life took place in the Temple. It had fallen into disrepair, and Josiah gave orders for renovation. During this restoration, Hilkiah, the High Priest, discovered the Book of the Law.
Note, the Book of the Law—the Word of God—had been lost in the Temple. It had not been seen, read, or referenced in some time—in the Temple. Even Hilkiah, the High Priest, the person responsible for reading the Word of God and interpreting it for the people, had not known where the Word of God was, for his report to Shaphan was, “Look what we found.” How sad!
We should ask ourselves, “Is the Word of God relevant in this Temple?” Paul says, “Don’t you know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit? The Spirit is in you. You have received Him from God. You do not belong to yourselves (I Corinthians 6:19, 20).” We must be sure that God’s Word is not lost in our temples; that it is relevant in our daily living.
When Josiah read the Word of God, it was transforming. And Josiah decided that his transforming moment would become a reforming moment for his people. II Kings 23 tells us, “[Josiah] went up to the Temple of the Lord with the…people of Jerusalem…from the least to the greatest. He…renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord—to follow the Lord and keep [God’s] commands…with all his heart and all his soul...Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.”
Will we be transformed by our exposure to the Word in our temple? Will we invoke the Word to bring reformation to our circles—family, social, civic, vocation, community?
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