REDISCOVERING THE BOOK FROM GOD
2 Kings 22:1-13
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: THE THOUGHTFUL HUSBAND
1. On the morning of her birthday, a woman told her husband, "I just dreamed that you gave me a diamond necklace. What do you think it means?"
2. "Maybe you'll find out tonight," he said. That evening the man came home with a small package and gave it to his wife.
3. She ripped off the wrapping paper and found a book entitled, "The Meaning of Dreams." (RD June 2013)
4. We’re going to look at another, better Book.
B. TEXT
Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left. 3 In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the Lord. He said: 4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. 5 Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the Lord— 6 the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple. 7 But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are honest in their dealings.” 8 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it. 9 Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: “Your officials have paid out the money that was in the temple of the Lord and have entrusted it to the workers and supervisors at the temple.” 10 Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king. 11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes. 12 He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Akbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant: 13 “Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.”
2. HILKIAH had found a BOOK, and it was a more important find than if he had discovered a mine of diamonds, or, like Columbus, a new world.
3. How reverently did he lift it from its hiding-place, remove its dust, and commence to read its title and contents! This particular Book of the Law was probably the first five Books of Moses, commonly called the Pentateuch.
4. What is the Bible? It’s a Book which has God for its Author. Peter said, “holy men of old spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” Paul said it’s divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit, Who breathes it into the hearts of believing readers.
5. This book is of inestimably value for three reasons; a). God is its author; b). it’s God’s thoughts, and c). because it’s directed to us.
6. It’s not a letter written from God to angels, but for us. He directs his teaching not to that part of us that will die, but to that part that will live forever.
7. If ever a man ought to concentrate all his faculties, and pray to be in the best mental order, it should be when he comes to study the Word of God.
C. THESIS
1. I speak to you tonight on, "Rediscovering The Book From God."
2. Notice first, The Strange Episode; secondly, The Commendable Sharing Of God’s Word, and thirdly, The Influence of God’s Word.
I. THE STRANGE EPISODE
A. LOST IN THE HOUSE OF GOD!
1. Now here is a strange episode, about as strange as The Twilight Zone; that the Book of the Law should be lost in the House of God!
2. It had been lost, for what length of time, we don’t know, but the impression you get, is that Josiah had never heard of it before, nor had Hilkiah or Shaphan the scribe. It was something totally new.
3. How strange it is, that it’s not until reformation begins in our lives that we rediscover the Word of God!
a. Josiah was reforming Judah w/o the Word of God.
b. He was repairing the Temple at Jerusalem that had fallen into disrepair;
c. He was still offering sacrifices and trying to keep the feasts without the Word of God.
d. They kept the Sabbath but they didn't know what it was all about.
e. They gave money to the church, but didn’t really realize, Because without the Word, you don't know what it is about.
4. This is very much like many Christians in the United States. They have a form of godliness but deny the power of it.
5. They have their religious traditions; they’re doing the things Christians are supposed to do. Is it possible we could be doing the right things but not really be walking with God? YES!
6. When the Book was found, the priest and the secretary seem as if they are embarrassed. Why? Because the Word was lost and nobody noticed it!
7. How could Shaphan be a scribe or Hilkiah the High Priest of God’s church, but not know the Word of God was missing?
8. That’s like the preacher and deacons being ignorant of the Word of God!
B. LOST BY GOD’S OWN PEOPLE!
1. Now if I lived back then and were looking for the Word of God, where would I look? NOT Babylon, nor Nineveh.
2. I would look in Judah, at the Temple, for the Jews were God’s chosen people. But how frightening that the only people who should have known the Word had lost track of it!
3. But such a situation is a common occurrence today. In many churches today, the Word has been set aside and God’s people are completely oblivious to it.
4. Many churches that were once orthodox, have become "shorn Samsons" – they’ve lost their strength and their glory has departed!
5. Now they are falling into all kinds of unscriptural practices because they’ve lost the Word. God help us to always hold fast to the God’s Word!
II. THE COMMENDABLE SHARING OF GOD’S WORD
A. NOTICE THE PROGRESSION
1. Notice the progression took place when they found the Bible; Hilkiah found it and he went to the royal secretary, Shaphan. Shaphan read some of it and then immediately went with it to the king.
2. When the king has read the Sacred scroll himself, he summons all the people, and reads the Book to them.
3. The point is this: if we have found the Word of God, we should make it known to others. We shouldn’t keep this treasure to ourselves. One took it to another until all the nation had heard of what was written in the Book.
4. The handlers of the Volume don’t appear to have delayed very long before sharing it with someone else.
5. Whatever light we’ve been given, we should share that light. The Bible is ALIVE! It will bring life to everyone who comes in contact with it.
B. BECOME A BIBLE DISTRIBUTOR
1. It’s the duty of every Christian not only to tell others about the Word, but to pass on the Book itself. Let the Spirit of God himself explain it to the reader.
2. Money should be spent by each one of us in
scattering Bibles. With Bibles so cheap, who would not think it a good investment frequently to give to the young, to relatives, and to your friends, a copy of the Bible? What better marriage gift?
3. Sadly millions who own Bibles don’t read them. I’ve been to people’s houses and said, “Do you have a Bible?” They had to hunt high and low, and couldn’t find it because it had been so long since they’d read it!
4. If millions were dying of disease and you had the cure, wouldn’t you try to get it to them? Yes! If so, we see millions going down to hell, shall we hesitate to share the only remedy with them?
III. THE INFLUENCE OF GOD’S WORD
4 THINGS JOSIAH DID:
A. HE READ IT. Louis L’Amour, the great Western writer, wrote a short story about a man who liked books.
1. The man acted suspiciously as he examined the books on the shelves of a library. He took down one book and then another until he finally found one. It was a leather-bound copy of Shakespeare’s King Lear.
2. He ran his fingers gently over the cover, then opened the book and sniffed it’s pages. Suddenly, he tucked the treasured book under his coat and bolted out the door.
3. Someone who’d been watching ran after the man and after a long chase finally caught him. The man surrendered the book without a struggle.
4. Then he explained. All of his life he had loved books but he could not read. He came to the library anyway because he loved how books smelled and the way they felt in his hands. That is why he had taken the copy of King Lear.
5. So many people today are exactly like that with their Bibles. They enjoy the feel of the leather-bound cover and love the smell of the pages. Their Bible is a treasured object—but it’s something to be looked at but not read.
(Adapted from Back to the Bible by Woodrow Kroll)
6. The Book of Revelation 1:3 says, “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” You’re only blessed if you read and
contemplate it, not just if you have one.
B. HE TORE HIS CLOTHES
1. The first result of this Book upon the king was, that he tore his clothes -- a sign of grief and often repentance.
2. I wonder, if all who are present here were to read the Word as they need to, I believe that many of us would have to rip our hearts in mourning, if not our garments!
3. If any of you are not born again, and knew from God’s Word the danger you are in, I believe you would also mourn and weep.
C. HE ENQUIRED OF THE LORD
1. After the king had read the Law and torn his clothes, he then began to enquire after the God who had sent this Book.
2. I challenge you to read – not just the sweet, nice parts – but the more terrible parts of it as well.
3. What good is it to be familiar with the Scriptures if you are not acquainted with God. The leaders knew where Jesus would be born but didn’t bother to go see Him!
D. HE BEGAN A REFORMATION
After this happened, and Josiah began to understand the Book, he entered upon a reformation.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. One winter morning in San Diego, after Paul had wandered many miles along the waterfront, in a daze, he turned wearily toward his hotel room.
2. He had been drinking heavily for weeks. His mind was tortured by the thoughts of the wife and four children whom he had deserted.
3. Only the day before, it seemed, he had been a radio executive, in charge of two radio stations in Los Angeles--KFVD and KFAC.
4. Now, the home in Beverly Hills, the cars, the
servants--were just a memory. He had dragged his family down until they were living in a one-room apartment, and then, deserted them.
5. Paul was so twisted emotionally that he suffered a complete nervous breakdown and, if that wasn’t bad enough, completely lost his voice. For a year and a half, he was unable to speak above a whisper. The future held no promise.
6. Walking towards his hotel room along the waterfront he began to contemplate ending his life. He was in such utter despair he felt as though his legs would give way, so he sat down on a park bench.
7. Within a couple moments, a young man sat down next to him and politely said, “Hi! How are you doing today?” It was all Paul could take.
8. He buried his head in his hands and wept. The young man apologized, then handed Paul a New Testament and encouraged him to read it. “Begin in the book of John,” he said as he stood up. He was gone in a few moments.
9. Paul returned to his hotel room and tossed the New Testament on the top of the dresser and collapsed into the chair.
10. His gaze fell upon that Bible. At last he picked it up and started to read. Old familiar words of life, quick and powerful, leaped out of those pages and found their way into his heart.
11. Tears began to run down his cheeks. How he longed for forgiveness! Hours flew by like moments of time and in that hotel room that night; Paul found his way to Calvary’s Cross and met the Savior, Jesus Christ.
12. Within a few months, God miraculously straightened things out with his wife and family and gave him a job working at a Christian radio station.
13. Paul often says, “There is no doubt in my mind I would have ended my life that day had it not been for the young man and the power of God’s Word—the Bible!
B. INVITATION
1. Consider the one thing this world which you and I can touch that has "eternity" written into its fabric. It’s the Word of God.
2. Every time you take a Bible in hand, you hold
eternity, because the life-force inherent in that Word exceeds all time and space: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Word shall not pass away."
3. How much is your Bible worth? I’ve paid as little as $4 for one. Leather bound Bibles costs $100. A Gutenberg Bible is worth $100,000. An original manuscript would be worth millions.
4. But actually, your Bible is priceless, worth far more than you paid for it. READ IT!
