Spiritual Life Of King Josiah

Thus it happened, when the king heard the words of the Law, that he tore his clothes. 20 Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, 21 “Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found; for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do according to all that is written in this book.” 2 Chronicles 34:19-21

A priest did not weep, nor did a Levite weep, nor did a scribe weep, nor did the king's servant weep, but a tender-hearted king tore his clothing and wept when he heard the words of the law. People whose are supposed to weep did not weep, but a king wept. People who minister before God in His temple did not weep but a king wept. King Josiah wept because he realised that the people's and their fathers' sins had already brought God's wrath on the land, and that God's judgement would come soon. The king was well trained by God to respond to God’s word.

Josiah’s example serves as a wake-up call for people who minister before God in His temple to be more sensitive to God's word. God is raising so many Josiah’s in this land, whose spiritual eyes are awakened by God's word to perceive the present wretched condition of the land, intercede for the land, and proclaim God's plans.

Seeking God for 10 years made Josiah’s heart soft and tender to respond to God’s word immediately. We claim to seek God, but are our hearts soft, tender and quick to respond to God's word? Is our seeking of God, making us more responsive to God's word? We say we respond to God's word, but our actions don’t display it. Josiah's heart and body quickly responded to God's word. Consider how much God has trained and prepared this young king.

The king was not in a Holy place or the temple like a priest or a Levite, but he learned more about God in the place(King’s palace) where God had placed him. It is your heart, not your physical place of worship or profession, where God trains and instructs you. Is your heart a place where God comes and trains you? Josiah’s profession did not stop him from pursuing God. Josiah was trained by God himself. Unless God trains a person, that person cannot respond to God’s word. God's greatest blessing is - God Himself training you to respond to, trust in, and obey His word. Our profession or place of worship should not be a shortcoming to know God and His ways.

So many times, we think that in order to know more about God, we must be in His physical courts, such as a temple or a place of worship. We can learn more about God in our prayer closets as well. In our prayer closets, we can commune with Father God. After hearing God’s word, Josiah's spiritual eyes were opened and he could see the below things.

1) That they and their fathers did not keep God's word

2) That they were already under God's great wrath

3) That God's judgement is about to come

4) What needs to be done to prevent God's judgement

Did we have an experience like Josiah, when on hearing God's word, did it open our spiritual eyes to recognise sinfulness of our land and God's approaching wrath on the land? After hearing God’s word, Josiah began to have a burden for people. Only when God's word opens and we get a glimpse of sinfulness of the land and coming wrath of God can we get a burden for people and recognise the need for a Saviour. Josiah had to inquire from Huldah what needed to be done to prevent God's judgement, but we don't need to go to any prophet or preacher, but we can go to Jesus and intercede along with him. We recognise the need for a Saviour only when we understand how evil sin is and how far it has separated us from God.

How evil sin is - how vile and crooked it is, and how it has made us enter into a deep bottomless pit that leads to hell. We are unaware that sin has caused us to live near the gates of hell and that we can be pulled into hell at any time. Sin has exposed us to the direct wrath of God’s anger. The Cross of Jesus Christ shields us from direct wrath. God's direct wrath, for example is similar to Sun giving 5000 degrees of heat to Earth. How can we survive such extremely high temperatures of God’s wrath? The cross of Jesus Christ serves as a shield from this wrath. When we try to see God without approaching through the Cross of Jesus Christ, we see an angry God.