R³ Devotional - Day 217

2 Chronicles 34 recounts the reign of King Josiah of Judah, who began ruling at the age of eight and was known for his devotion to God. As he grew older, he sought the Lord and began a religious reform across the land. He purged Judah and Jerusalem of idols, altars to Baal, and other forms of pagan worship.

In the eighteenth year of his reign, Josiah ordered the repair of the temple of the Lord. During the restoration, Hilkiah the high priest found the Book of the Law, which was part of the Torah. When Josiah heard the words of the book, he was deeply moved and tore his clothes in sorrow, realizing how far the people had strayed from God's commands. Josiah sent messengers to consult the prophetess Huldah, who confirmed that judgment would come upon Judah because of its disobedience, but it would not happen in Josiah's lifetime due to his humility and repentance.

The chapter ends with Josiah gathering the people and reading the Book of the Law to them. He renewed the covenant with God, committing himself and the people to follow the Lord and obey His commands.

Real Life Principles:

Spiritual Reform – We see the people of Judah, God's chosen people, have fallen away again. In these passages, we see God using a young King who came to power at the age of 8 years old to bring a spiritual revival to the people. Sometimes we can fall away as well, when we get distracted by the stresses in our lives, the distractions of the world around us, and we can put God on the back burner. We see an example here of how purging the false distractions of the world around us can bring us back to God, giving us a chance to refocus our priorities.

Relevant Life Applications:

Repentance and Humility before God – The important thing to take from the example of Josiah’s humility isn’t that he was sorry but that he was sorrowful. The passage tells us he “tore his robes”. Tearing clothes was a powerful and symbolic act that expresses deep grief, mourning, and repentance. It shows the difference of being sorry we were caught and being truly remorseful of our actions. Because of Josiah’s repentance, God blessed him by not punishing the people of Judah during his lifetime. This serves to remind us that sincere repentance and obedience can lead to positive changes and Devine blessings.

Life Action Steps:

Rediscovery of God's Word – during Josiah’s reform, the Book of the Law was found and Josiah, after reading it, rededicated himself and his people to following God's word. The obedience and submission behind this act sets the example for all of us. We are not missing God's word. It is not lost, we have it at our fingertips anytime we wish. There are tons of apps that give us access to every translation we could want. And yet we do not know God as well as we know our favorite sports team or our favorite actors. We all go through seasons where we fall away, and when we do, we must rededicate ourselves the same was Josiah did. By removing the idols that pull us away from God. While we may not have physical idols today, the distractions of the world around us becomes those idols when we place them before God in our lives. So do you want to be a Josiah and remove the idols from your life, or like his predecessor, who filled his life with them and brought judgment from God instead of redemption?