INTRODUCTION
• In the sporting world, a dark horse is used for teams, and athletes would unexpectedly outperform expectations.
• Some people feel that they are too young or too old, or they let their past get in the way of doing something significant with their life for Jesus.
• I hope that our Dark Horses series can be an encouragement to us to help us see that God can and will use any of us for His glory.
• Big Idea of the Series: God uses all kinds of people to accomplish His purposes.
• Each of us has different gifts, strengths, and weaknesses, and if we surrender our lives to God, we will see Him do amazing things with flawed people like us.
• In this second week of our 6-week series, we will examine the second of six lesser-known individuals in the Bible, looking at what we can learn from these "dark horses."
• Today's dark horse is King Josiah.
• The historical context of 2 Chronicles 34 can be understood by examining the broader historical background of the Kingdom of Judah during the time of King Josiah.
• King Josiah ruled the Kingdom of Judah from approximately 640 to 609 BC.
• He ascended to the throne at the age of eight after the assassination of his father, King Amon.
• At this time, the Kingdom of Judah was experiencing significant political and religious turmoil.
• The preceding kings of Judah, particularly Josiah's Grandfather Manasseh (the worst King of the Southern Kingdom of Judah) and Amon, Josiah's father, had led the nation into idolatry and the worship of foreign gods.
• They introduced various practices contrary to the religious laws and traditions of the Israelites, including the worship of Baal, Asherah, and other Canaanite deities.
• The religious corruption had permeated the society, and the Temple in Jerusalem had fallen into disrepair.
• This is the world Josiah inherited.
• From our message today, we will see how God can use someone, despite their heritage or youth, to accomplish great things!
• Josiah gives us a great example of what God can do through our lives and why we should not look down on someone's youth or background when it comes to serving the Lord.
Big Idea: God's Word is powerful when we apply it to our lives, and God can use anyone—even youth—to display the strength of His Word.
• We will not read the entire 34th chapter today, so I encourage you to do so when you get home.
• Let's begin in verses 1-3.
2 Chronicles 34:1–3 (NET 2nd ed.)
1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned for thirty-one years in Jerusalem.
2 He did what the LORD approved and followed in his ancestor David’s footsteps; he did not deviate to the right or the left.
3 In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his ancestor David. In his twelfth year he began ridding Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, Asherah poles, idols, and images.
SERMON
I. Moving Forward, not backward.
• From the first three verses, let's examine the concept of moving forward, not backward.
• The first three verses set the stage for the life of Josiah and his pursuit of God.
• The nation of Israel was a mess.
• As I conveyed to you in the introduction.
• When the kingdom was divided after the death of King Solomon around 931 BC, the Northern Kingdom of Israel had 19 kings until they were conquered by the Assyrians in 722 BC.
• All 19 kings were evil.
• The Southern Kingdom of Judah, which our text covers, had 19 Kings and lasted until 586 BC when the Babylonians ended their kingdom.
• In the Southern Kingdom, you had a mix of good and evil kings.
• The evil kings would lead the people into idol worship, child sacrifices, and all kinds of pagan debauchery.
• As the time of Josiah approached, he would come in on the heels of two of the worst kings in Southern kingdom history.
• Imagine your eight-year-old becoming King of the country and stepping into that mess.
• I wonder what Josiah's expectations were.
• Would people think he would be a chip off the old block, or the apple does not fall far from the tree?
• Based on age and heritage, on the outside, it would not appear that Josiah would bring much hope of change.
• I am sure that for the segment of society that enjoyed all the state-sponsored sin, that would be okay.
• If God were looking for someone to get the nation back on track, an eight-year-old with a horrible family legacy would hardly seem to be the right person for the job.
• Despite Josiah's age and background, in the eighth year of his reign (age 16 ), Josiah began to seek the Lord of his ancestor, King David.
• Josiah was a direct descendant of David.
• We do not know what sparked Josiah's interest in following in the footsteps of his ancestor, David, but verse two tells us he did not deviate from that path.
• Moving forward and not backward implies that we do not allow the past to stop us from being used by God.
• It also means not allowing a bad past or heritage to get in the way of moving forward with God.
• At age 16, something within Josiah changed.
• This journey with God led him to begin cleansing Jerusalem of the past 55 years of idolatry and pagan worship when he was only 20 years old!
• How often have we held back because of allowing our past to come back and haunt our future?
• Our past can form us to conform to the past actions we saw.
• Abusers usually come from abusive families.
• Or our past can become a catalyst for growth and change.
• I do not think much was expected from Josiah.
• Josiah proved to be a dark horse.
• Let's look at verses 14-21
2 Chronicles 34:14–21 (NET 2nd ed.)
14 When they took out the silver that had been brought to the LORD’s temple, Hilkiah (HILL KIAH) the priest found the law scroll the LORD had given to Moses.
15 Hilkiah (HILL KIAH) informed Shaphan (SHAY FAN) the scribe, “I found the law scroll in the LORD’s temple.” Hilkiah (HILL KIAH) gave the scroll to Shaphan (SHAY FAN).
16 Shaphan (SHAY FAN) brought the scroll to the king and reported, “Your servants are doing everything assigned to them.
17 They melted down the silver in the LORD’s temple and handed it over to the supervisors and the construction foremen.”
18 Then Shaphan (SHAY FAN) the scribe told the king, “Hilkiah (HILL KIAH) the priest has given me a scroll.” Shaphan (SHAY FAN) read it out loud before the king.
19 When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes.
20 The king ordered Hilkiah (HILL KIAH), Ahikam (Ah HIGH CAM) son of Shaphan (SHAY FAN), Abdon (AB DON)son of Micah, Shaphan (SHAY FAN)the scribe, and Asaiah (A SA RHY AH) the king’s servant,
21 “Go, ask the LORD for me and for those who remain in Israel and Judah about the words of this scroll that has been discovered. For the LORD’s great fury has been ignited against us, because our ancestors did not obey the word of the LORD by living according to all that is written in this scroll.”
II. Moving forward with rewards.
• As Josiah's reign progressed, when he was 20, he commanded that the Temple be repaired.
• 2 Chronicles 34 describes Josiah's efforts to restore the Temple in Jerusalem.
• After about six years into the renovations (622 BC), the high priest Hilkiah discovered the Book of the Law (likely referring to the Torah or the Pentateuch) in the Temple.
• This discovery had a profound impact on Josiah at the young age of 26.
• HILL KIAH gave the scroll to the Scribe, SHAY FAN, and the scribe read the scroll to Josiah.
• Josiah tore his clothes as a sign of repentance upon hearing the words of the Law.
• The scroll was a further conviction for Josiah that the nation was a mess.
• Josiah asked a group of people in verse 20 to inquire of the Lord as to what was going to happen to the nation as a result of their disobedience.
• In verses 22-ff, this group sought the counsel of Huldah, the prophetess.
• Here is what she said.
2 Chronicles 34:23–28 (NET 2nd ed.)
23 and she said to them: “This is what the LORD God of Israel says: ‘Say this to the man who sent you to me:
24 “This is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to bring disaster on this place and its residents, all the curses that are recorded in the scroll which they read before the king of Judah.
25 This will happen because they have abandoned me and offered sacrifices to other gods, angering me with all the idols they have made. My anger will ignite against this place and will not be extinguished!’ ”
26 Say this to the king of Judah, who sent you to seek an oracle from the LORD: “This is what the LORD God of Israel says concerning the words you have heard:
27 ‘You displayed a sensitive spirit and humbled yourself before God when you heard his words concerning this place and its residents. You humbled yourself before me, tore your clothes and wept before me, and I have heard you,’ says the LORD.
28 ‘Therefore I will allow you to die and be buried in peace. You will not have to witness all the disaster I will bring on this place and its residents.’ ” ’ ” Then they reported back to the king.
• The nation would pay for their disobedience, but not during the lifetime of Josiah.
• Because of his humility and drive to get things back on track, God would reward Josiah because he did not allow his past or his youth to stop him from seeking the Lord and doing what was right by the Lord!
• Josiah would live to be 39 years old when, in 609 BC, he made an ill-advised attempt to interfere with a military campaign against Pharoah Neco of Egypt (that is a whole other story), and Josiah was mortally wounded on the battlefield at Megiddo.
• God kept his promise to Josiah.
• Despite Josiah's efforts, the decline of Judah continued after his death, leading ultimately to the Babylonian conquest and exile in 586 BC.
• When we move forward with God, we will do so with God's blessings!
• Let's look at a final thought from verses 31-33.
2 Chronicles 34:31–33 (NET 2nd ed.)
31 The king stood by his pillar and renewed the covenant before the LORD, agreeing to follow the LORD and to obey his commandments, laws, and rules with all his heart and being, by carrying out the terms of this covenant recorded on this scroll.
32 He made all who were in Jerusalem and Benjamin agree to it. The residents of Jerusalem acted in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.
33 Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the areas belonging to the Israelites and encouraged all who were in Israel to worship the LORD their God. Throughout the rest of his reign they did not turn aside from following the LORD God of their ancestors.
III. Moving forward with courage.
• Josiah was so moved by the scroll in 621 BC when he was about 27.
• He renewed the covenant before the Lord, agreeing to follow the Lord and obey His commandments, laws, and rules WITH ALL HIS HEART.
• This change was a change of heart.
• 2 Chronicles 34:29-33 specifically describes Josiah's actions after hearing the words of the Law.
• He gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem, read the Book of the Law to them, and made a covenant with God to follow His commandments.
• Josiah then removed all the idols and objects associated with foreign worship from the Temple and throughout the land.
• Josiah was not looking to be religious; his heart was with the Lord God!
• Josiah's conviction led him to get all Jerusalem and Benjamin to do the same.
• Verse 32 says the residents of Jerusalem acted in accordance with the covenant of God.
• This young man, who took the throne at the tender age of 8 after his father was assassinated after a short two-year reign, changed a nation.
• Look at verse 33 again.
2 Chronicles 34:33 (NET 2nd ed.)
33 Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the areas belonging to the Israelites and encouraged all who were in Israel to worship the LORD their God. Throughout the rest of his reign they did not turn aside from following the LORD God of their ancestors.
• This dark horse far exceeded any expectations of him.
• What Josiah did took a great deal of courage.
• I am sure some loved the debauchery that came along with most of the pagan worship practices.
• It takes courage to move forward with God.
CONCLUSION
• Josiah's remarkable life teaches us that good examples are not essential to living a righteous and impactful life.
• The historical context of 2 Chronicles 34 reflects a critical turning point in the religious and political landscape of Judah.
• Josiah's reforms were a sincere attempt to restore the nation's faithfulness to God and to reverse the consequences of idolatry and wickedness that had plagued the kingdom for years.
• One person can make a difference, regardless of their background or age, young or old.
• Will that person be you?
