Title: Judah’s Revival under Josiah
Text: 2 Chronicles 34:1-7, 8, 14-21, 23-28
Date: 7/19/2009
Location: Sulphur Spring Baptist Church
Introduction: During the month of July we have been having a series of Revival services on Wednesday nights. I hope you are enjoying these services as much as I am, and I also hope that they are having just as much of an impact on you as they are on me. This past Wednesday night, Alan Witham reminded us that God can and will use a variety of things to “Bring us Back into a right relationship with Him.” Unfortunately many times the things God uses are the mistakes we make, or the difficulties we are experiencing in life.
But God is not limited to using problems or difficulties to get our attention and bring us back to our senses. Sometimes God chooses to speak through other people. He may use your spouse, a close friend, your boss at work, or maybe even a child, to help you to realize that you need to repent of your sins and plead with God for forgiveness.
This was the case in the passage of Scripture I want us to read together this morning. It comes from 2 Chronicles 34:1-7
Okay I want to stop for just a moment and make a couple of quick observations, and then I want to give you some important background information to this passage of Scripture.
(1) First of all, according to the first verse Josiah was only 8 years old when He became King of Judah.
Now I don’t know about you but I’ve never met an 8 year old that I thought was ready to be the President of the United States, and in reality Josiah wasn’t ready to make all of the decisions that a King has to make either. Fortunately for Judah Josiah had some very good men who advised him and helped him make good decisions.
You should never underestimate the importance of surrounding yourself with good friends and people you can trust.
In particular Josiah had two men who we believe were very instrumental in shaping him and the decisions he made during the first few years of his reign. Their names were Shaphan, who was a Levite and the Governor of the city, and Hilkiah, who served as the High Priest at that particular time.
Both men were Highly respected men and leaders in their own right. I believe they made it their mission to help Josiah realize His potential and His purpose in life, and from all indications they succeeded in that task. Listen to the tribute the writer of 2 Kings 23:25 pays to King Josiah. He said, “Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did- with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.”
Remember that phrase “In accordance with all the law of Moses” because that will be important later on.
So Josiah was 8 years Old when He became King, and according to verse 2 of our text he “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.”
Now you would think from that verse that Josiah must have had very godly parents who taught him to love and fear the Lord from a very early age, and perhaps his mother was. But we know for a fact that His Father Amon was one of the most evil Kings that Judah ever had.
Which brings me to the question, of why an 8 year old boy is made King in the first place. According to 2 Chronicles 33, Josiah’s father Amon became King when He was 22 years old. But only 2 years later some of Amon’s own men conspired to overthrow the King and take control of the government. They assassinated the King but before they could seize power, they were captured and brought to Justice. That’s when Josiah was made King.
Now I know I mentioned earlier I had never met an 8 year Old who was ready to be president, and that I doubt very seriously that Josiah was ready to be King either. But having said that, perhaps Josiah wasn’t your normal 8 year old.
Look again at what verse 2 says, “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in the ways of his father David not turning aside to the right or to the left.”
I find that particular verse very interesting. Notice 3 things very quickly about this verse.
(1) He did what was right "in the sight of the Lord".
Not in the sight of man but in the sight of God. He didn’t take a public opinion pole or take a survey before He made a decision. He did what was right in God’s eyes. He didn’t care how people were going to react to his decisions. He was much more concerned about what God thought.
Okay so what were some of the things Josiah did that were right in the eyes of God. According to verses 4 & 5 of our text.
a) He had the altars to Baal torn down.
b) He had all of the idols and images destroyed
c) He even went as far as having the pagan priests killed and burning their bodies on the altars that they had constructed to make sacrifices to their false Gods.
And that’s not all according to the 23rd chapter of 2nd Kings Josiah also
1) Destroyed the houses of the homosexual temple prostitutes
2) He also did away with the detestable practice of child sacrifice
3) He got rid of all of the Psychics, Mediums, witches and those who practiced the occult.
(2) Not only did He do what was right in the sight of the Lord but He also walked in the ways of David his father.
Now what does that mean? After all I mentioned earlier that His father was named Amon and that he was one of the most wicked Kings Judah had ever had.
It simply means that he patterned His life and the way he ruled after King David’s life and way of ruling the people. David was and still is considered the best King to ever rule the nation of Israel or Judah.
The 3rd thing that is mentioned in the 2nd verse is that Josiah
c. didn’t waver from the straight path. He didn’t turn to the right or the left but stayed on the straight and narrow path.
With all of the pressure and all of the people who must have been trying to influence him it’s incredible to me that He was able to do everything that He did. But there is a reason He was able to accomplish so much. I believe the key to his success is found in verse 3 of our text. Look at it again.
“In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David.”
Okay, if he was 8 when He became King, and this verse says that in the 8th year of his reign he began to seek God, how old would that have made him. (16).
So not only did he want to do what was right in God’s eyes, He wanted to know God in a personal way just like King David. At an age where most boys today are more concerned about girls, sports, or cars, this young man began seeking the Lord, and that’s what made the difference.
Now if you still have your bibles open look down at verse 8 with me.
“In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, to purify the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah and Massejiah the ruler of the city, with Joah son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the temple of the Lord His God.”
So at the age of 26 He decides that since he has gotten rid of all of the pagan altars and influences that now it’s time to repair the temple of God. Now skip down with me to verse 14. (Read 14-21)
When his men found the Law of Moses that had been tucked away and all but forgotten in the Temple of God they brought it to the King and read it. And according to this passage of Scripture when King Josiah heard the words of the Lord He tore his robes (which was a sign of remorse or repentance) and told his men to go and inquire of the Lord on his behalf.
The High priest and a few other men went to see a Prophetess of God named Huldah, that lived in Jerusalem, and ask her about Josiah’s fate. Her response is found beginning in 2 Chronicles 34:23. (read 23-28)
So this was one of those cases where there was some good news and some bad news. The Bad news was that God was going to judge the nation of Judah for all of the evil things they had done. But the good news was that because Josiah had humbled himself before God that God was going to wait until after Josiah died to pour out his wrath upon the land.
After hearing this Josiah called a Sacred Assembly inviting all of the elders, and leaders of the people as well as every man, woman and child in Judah and demanded that they meet him at the Temple in Jerusalem. Then according to 2 Chronicles 34:30 He “read the words of the Covenant to the people” so they could hear what He had already heard.
Then according to this passage of Scripture He renewed the Covenant of the Lord and made a vow to follow the Lord and keep his commandments, as well as the decrees and regulations that were found in the Law of Moses.
Not only did Josiah renew his commitment to the Lord but He also called upon the people of Judah to renew their commitment to God as well. Which according to verse 32 they did.
It wasn’t until after Josiah died that they turned their hearts away from God again.
Josiah was only a boy when he became King but he managed to have a successful reign because He (1) Surrounded himself with godly people (2) Sought the Lord’s favor and guidance (3) Got rid of all of the pagan influences in the Land (4) And Led the people of Judah to Renew the Covenant and their commitment to the Lord.
That’s why 2 Kings 23:25 says “Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did- with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.”
Conclusion: It was a bright Sunday morning in 18th century London, but Robert Robinson’s mood was anything but sunny.
Everywhere He looked there were happy people smiling and waving at one another on their way to church. But Robinson wasn’t one of them. In fact he was a very lonely and unhappy man.
The sound of church bells reminded him of the time in his life when his faith was strong and the church meant so much to him. But that seemed like only a distant memory on this particular morning.
It had been years since he had even set foot in a church. He had gotten away from the Lord, and spent the last several years disillusioned, and wandering farther and farther away from the God that He had once loved so much.
His love for God—that was once so hot and passionate—had slowly burned out leaving him dark and cold inside.
Robinson heard the clip-clop, clip-clop of a horse-drawn carriage approaching from behind him. Turning, he lifted his hand to hail the driver. But then he saw that the cab was occupied by a young woman dressed in her Sunday best, who was obviously on the way to church. He waved the driver on, but the woman in the carriage ordered the driver to stop the carriage, which he did.
The woman looked at Robinson and said, "Sir, I’d be happy to share this carriage with you," Are you going to church?"
He was about to decline her offer, but then he paused, and said "Yes, "I am going to church, and I would appreciate the ride." He stepped into the carriage and sat down beside the young woman.
Robert Robinson introduced himself to the young woman and thanked her for her kindness. He noticed that when he told her his name the woman had a strange look on her face. Then she said, "That’s an interesting coincidence.” She then reached into her purse and took out a small book of inspirational writings that she had been reading on the way to church. She opened the book and handed it to him and said "I was just reading a verse by a poet by the name of Robert Robinson…. Are you him?”
He took the book, nodding. "Yes, I wrote these words years ago." "Oh, how wonderful!" she exclaimed. "Imagine! I’m sharing a carriage with the author of these very lines!"
But Robinson barely heard her. He was absorbed in the words he was reading. They were words that would one day be set to music and become a great hymn of faith. These are the words he read…
Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace’
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
His eyes slipped to the bottom of the page where he read:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it—
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
He could barely read the last few lines through the tears that welled up in his eyes. He looked at the young woman and said, "I wrote these words—and I’ve lived these words. ’Prone to wander…prone to leave the God I love.’"
But The young woman responded by saying, "You also wrote, ’Here’s my heart, O take and seal it.’ You can offer your heart again to God, Mr. Robinson. It’s not too late."
And it wasn’t too late for Robert Robinson. In that moment he (Like the people in Josiah’s day turned his heart back to God and walked with him the rest of his days. [Ron Lee Davis, Courage to Begin Again, (Harvest House, Eugene, OR; 1978), pp. 145-147]
Where are you at in your walk with the Lord today? Like the hymn writer have you found yourself drifting away from the Lord’s arms of love? Has your love for the Lord which was once so hot, grown cold?
God’s message for you this morning is that new beginnings are possible. Just like in the time of Josiah, King of Judah, just like in 18th century England God longs to draw wayward children back home, God longs to stoke the flames of Revival in our hearts.
