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| Tubing on the Toe - this week on the South Toe River near Mt. Celo Church |
My Lessons, Applications and Meditations - Today's Readings
A Tender Heart / A Humbled Soul and Spirit Before the LORD - 2 Chronicles 34, 35, 36 - An 8-year-old child prince is crowned king after his evil father and predecessor is murdered. King Josiah does "what is right in the sight of the LORD...walked in the ways of his father David...and did not turn aside to the right or to the left." At 16 he begins to seek the LORD, at 20 he begins to purge all of Judah and Israel of pagan idols and worship, at age 26 he has the priests and Levites repair and restore the temple which has been used for idol worship. During this repair, Hilkiah, the priest, finds the Book of the Law of the LORD given by Moses. A scribe takes it and reads it to the king who understands the imminent curses that will be brought on the land. King Josiah tears his clothes...seeks and receives a word from the LORD from the prophetess Huldah that all Israel will be destroyed for the idolatry but that peace will rule during Josiah's reign. God honors Josiah "because your heart was tender...you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and its inhabitants...you humbled yourself before ME...and tore your clothes...and wept before Me." King Josiah "gathers the elders, priests and leaders...goes up to the house of the LORD with all the people of the land...reads the Book of the Covenant to them...makes a covenant with the people before the LORD to keep and perform His commandments, statutes, and testimonies with all his heart and soul. All the people are asked to take a stand likewise...to remove all abominations in the land...to diligently serve the LORD their God." Preparation and celebration of the Passover begins - "and none like it had been kept in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet." When Egypt comes against the Assyrians, Josiah intervenes (despite warnings from the prophet Jeremiah and the King of Egypt) and is killed in battle. A succession of evil kings follows, one is deposed by Egypt, another taken in bonds to Babylon. The last one in this reading, King Zedikiah, "refuses to humble himself before the prophet Jeremiah and his words from God, rebels against King Nebuchadnezzar to whom he had sworn an oath before God; then all the priests and people transgress more and more in abominations and idol worship, refuse the warnings given by God out of His compassion, mock and scoff at the messengers of God...until the wrath of the LORD rises against His people, till there was no remedy. They are killed and carried away to Babylon according to prophecy and will only return when God commands another pagan king, Cyrus, to send Jews back to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.
My Lessons and Applications - I have read several commentaries that claim the final act of good Josiah was a misstep in an otherwise godly reign. I am not sure, but it seems to me it was God moving in His time and in His Way - in His declared Sovereignty and Providence - to bring about the prophesied annihilation (the curse) against His chosen people for the long years of forsaking God and turning to idol worship. Several things were impressed upon my heart in this reading: the need to humble myself before God continually; to have a tender heart toward His Word, His people, His ordinances - not humility and a tender heart toward all people necessarily; the need for consecration and a rededication of my life to God when I see myself or those within my sphere of influence moving away from God; to remember that the mocking and scoffing of those following God's commandments have been the responses of unbelievers down through the centuries, not just in this day and age; that I must choose carefully whose pattern of living I follow - to step out of negative patterns of a spouse or parent if they are contrary to God's law; that there is a need to take a stand for God and for His Word - not just chosen passages that match my proclivities or political leanings, but I must stand on the whole counsel of God's Word; that the Servant-Leader (serving God and His people) is the godly prototype of the Bible and what we so sorely need today.
Ready to be Bound or to Die for Christ / Shadows of Elijah - Acts 21: 1- 17 - Paul is staying with Philip, the evangelist, in Caesarea for a few days and being warned about going to Jerusalem - that he will be bound. The object lesson - much like Elijah did to illustrate prophesy against Israel - is given to Paul and the disciples by the prophet Agabus. He takes Paul's belt and binds his hands and feet and says, 'Thus says the Holy Spirit, "So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles."' The believers beg Paul not to go, but Paul exclaims, "What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. So when he would not be persuaded, they ceased, saying, "The will of the Lord be done."
My Lessons and Applications - This is a scene reminiscent of our Lord as He "set His face toward Jerusalem"...also knowing the prophecy of His death...also knowing that it was for this He had come...also refusing to be persuaded away from it by those around Him...because He also chose to do His Father's Will...to fulfill the Mission given to Him. Is my heart and mind set on the work the Lord has given me? Do I allow the opinion of others to dissuade me from this? Am I willing to suffer loss of material possessions, earthly relationships, or even my life to take a stand for the Lord Jesus Christ? Who or what has dominant control of my life?
O my Lord, I desire to come with You, but I am tangled among the thorns and cannot escape them as I would like. I desire, if it were possible, to have neither eyes, nor ears, nor a heart for sin. You call me to Yourself by saying, "Come with Me", and it is a melodious call indeed. To come to You is to come home from exile, to come to land after a raging storm, to come to rest after tremendous toil, to come to the goal of my desires and the summit of my wishes. But, Lord, how can a stone arise? How can lump of clay come with You from deep within a horrible pit? Raise me! Draw me! Your grace can do it. Send forth Your Holy Spirit to kindle the flames of love in my heart, and I will continue to rise until I leave life and time behind and indeed come to You. Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening
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