2 Kings 22:8-11 – And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. And Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord.” Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king. When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes.
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Early on in the reign of King Josiah, those working in the temple of God made a very interesting discovery. They found a book. Now, they did not even know what that book was, until they read it. And, to their shock and dismay, they discovered that the book was the book of the law of God.
This nation, which is supposed to be the people of God, had gotten so far away from the commands of God that the priests, the very men who were supposed to be teaching the word of God, did not even recognize the book. No wonder Judah had managed to fall so deeply into idolatry. No wonder they were doing all sorts of abominable things before God. They had lost his holy word, and they fell deeply into sin because they had no inspired word of God to guide them.
Thankfully, when the priests took the book of the law to the young King Josiah and read it to him, he recognized the significance of what he heard. The king tore his robes, a sign of his great distress over the sin of his people. He then began a campaign of reformation in Judah and Israel the likes of which had never been seen under the rule of any other king. He tore down pagan altars, defiled the places of cult sacrifices, and put an end to the worship of idols among his people.
While we could learn a great deal from this section of scripture (including the fact that government sponsored religious reforms do not tend to stick), the main thing that I think we need to grasp is the significance of the book. What prompted the reforms of Josiah? They were prompted by the inspired and holy word of God. You and I will never do what pleases God without doing so in direct relationship to the word of God. We will never know how to do what is right, regardless of what we feel in our hearts, without doing so in response to the commands and teachings of holy scripture. We have no greater treasure to help us to live the Christian life, to live to honor God, than the Bible, God’s word.
Today is a great day for you and me to renew our commitment to the book. If we love God and want to serve him, we must love his revealed word. The only sure way we have of knowing his revealed will and word is the Bible. Since the Bible is his communication of himself to us, we must treasure it above all other things we have. Let us meditate on the Bible, memorize it, study it, believe it, and live it. Let us remember that the Bible is our perfect standard for all that is right. Let us remember that the holy scriptures are useful to make us adequate and equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Let us become people of the book.
Dear Lord, I pray for myself and for all who will read this that we will become people of your word. Let us treasure your holy word as you want us to. Let us be like Josiah, hearing your word, learning your commands, and enacting immediate life changes because of what you have revealed. Let us hear your communication to us in the Bible, and let us never again live by the whims and feelings of our hearts.
Pastor Travis Peterson 