I appreciate your patience as I try to figure out procedures for this study that will be beneficial and not burdensome for those of us deciding to participate online. If you only knew what a technologically challenged person I am - you would say, "you need more than our patience, dearie!" I want you to not only be reading with us but also responding with lessons that you are learning from the Lord. That way we will be able to encourage each other through our study. Beginning with our next lesson, I will plan to post a few comments after each day's study. Feel free to respond with your own lessons learned.
A few of my own "lessons learned" as I studied this week:
1. Day 1 ... I am impressed by Josiah's dedication to purge Judah and Jerusalem of all forms of idolatry. And I am reminded how diligent I must be to continually purge my own heart! What are the idols that keep raising their ugly heads in my life? What about yours? Is it time for a fresh purge? I wonder if there is an "ipecac" for the spirit?
2. Day 2 ... from verse 8 we see how important it was to Josiah to purify and repair the temple of the Lord his God. It had fallen into such profound neglect. We are walking into a new year ... with resolutions aplenty. Do some of those resolutions revolve around how your keep your "temple"? Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3: 16 - 17, "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? ... God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple." Such astounding thoughts! Do I (you) need to work on any purifying and repairing? Think in both physical and spiritual arenas. Are there bad habits that need to be broken? 2009 is the year! Spiritually are you tired of being lazy and dull, covered with dust and unable to hear God speak to you? Let's blow away the cobwebs and commit ourselves to careful reading of the Word of God ... praying for the cleansing that comes through Jesus and for hearts to hear. 2009 is the year!
I will add some thoughts from Days 3 & 4 on Monday. And I would love to hear what you have found in these few verses about the boy king, Josiah.
Grace and peace to you as you begin a new week ...
Such a young king, such a staggering responsibility! I am impressed with the influence he begins to wield at so early an age, and his single-mindedness and steadfast adherence to purpose. There's more to the story, I'm sure -- there always is! -- but in the verses describing the beginning years of his reign, advisers are conspicuous by their absence. It was customary for a king (even as a grown man) to consult a panel of experts... thinking of King Xerxes in the book of Esther, or Rehoboam's youthful and elderly panels in 1 Kings 12... where were Josiah's counselors? What were they telling him?
ReplyDeletePerhaps, as in the case of Prince Caspian, a nurse or tutor, one who had not forgotten "the old ways," had secretly and carefully imparted to the growing lad the ancient teachings so highly treasured by King David. Isaiah tells us that God's word always accomplishes His purpose (Isaiah 55:11)... I wonder where Josiah heard it first? :)
Here are some of my "lessons learned" from days 1 & 2:
ReplyDeleteDAY 1, verse 2 & 3 -- Josiah did not turn aside to the right or the left. Lesson: Although the shortest route between 2 points is a straight line, we sometimes take the circuitous (scenic) route to God. I ask myself "what roadside attractions... what 'scenic overlooks'... what detours do I allow to distract me from pursuing the most direct path to God?" Verse 3 -- Josiah had inherited more than his share of "road construction"... and I have to ask myself "when my kids look for God, how much of my junk will they need to clear out of the way?"
DAY 2, verse 14 -- Hilkiah found the Book of the Law while they were bringing money out of the temple. Lesson: Sometimes the real treasure isn't what we discover first! What (and how many!) real treasures do I miss or ignore in my pursuit of other religious "assignments"?