May 18th, Session 3 | Josiah Big Ideas: • Getting back to the basics of God’s ways • Josiah’s reformation and hidden figures • When we choose disobedience, God is still faithful “The great Christian revolutions came not by the discovery of something that was not known before. They happen when someone takes radically something that was always there.” -H. Richard Niebuhr Revival comes when a people humble themselves before a holy God in calling out the sin in their own lives. Repentance/turning away from that sin into vertically driven intimacy with Christ. And then separation from the spirit of the world. Romans 1:16-18 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, Matthew 16:18 (the idol of church) And I also say to you that you are Peter (Petros-small rock), and on this rock (Petra-large solid rock) I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Ekklesia-“Called out ones; an assembly or a congregation.” Some historical definitions of this word go as far as to say this word means “a select civil body called out for a specific purpose.” • The church is not an institution but rather a living breathing organism. • Jesus is the hope of the world and has chosen the church to be His ambassadors to a lost world. • There is only one group that God set in place as his posterity on the earth. The church, ecclesia, assembly. A people called by his name separated and holy for his Kingdom purposes. My story and ditches 1 Peter 2:9, 10 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. Much like in Josiah's day, the ecclesia of God has been hijacked with institutionalism and syncretism with our culture, and Christ is calling His bride back to Himself. He’s a jealous God. The church is flawed but still the way God chooses to diffuse His fragrance. Don't discount what God has created the local church to be by the anemic state you may see. Much like Josiah we need to be catalysts; turning back to the local ecclesia in ecclesiology, koinonia (Spirit empowered fellowship/One another), accountability, discipleship, evangelism, empowering people to make Christ known. There is rarely a “deal with the devil” defining moment for people but more the “frog in the boiling pot” or a slow fade that typically happens and people become someone they no longer recognize. (the slow fade of sin) Josiah’s reformation and hidden figures After Solomon, Israel had 19 kings—all of them ungodly. The line of kings begins with Jeroboam I (around 924 bc) and goes to Hoshea. During Hoshea’s reign, the Assyrians captured the Israelites and brought an end to the nation. The nation of Judah had 20 kings from Rehoboam’s reign (about 924 bc) to the Babylonian captivity in 586 bc. Unlike Israel, Judah had a mixture of good kings and evil kings. • Josiah was the king of Judah from approximately 640 to 609 B.C. His reign in Jerusalem is discussed in 2 Kings 22–23 and 2 Chronicles 34–35. Josiah, known for his piety and devotion to God, became king at a young age of 8 and ruled for 31 years • Josiah was the son of King Amon and the grandson of King Manasseh—both of them wicked kings of Judah. . Josiah was young (no Jr. Holy Spirit) • Second Kings 22:2 introduces Josiah by saying, “And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.” • A highlight of Josiah’s reign was his rediscovery of the Law of the Lord. In the eighteenth year of his reign, he raised money to repair the temple, and during the repairs the high priest Hilkiah found the Book of the Law. When Shapan the secretary read it to Josiah, the king tore his clothes, a sign of mourning and repentance (2 Kings 22:10–11). Hidden Figures: ) (insignificant?) • Shaphan (scribal secretary) • Maaseiah (the ruler–mayor of Jerusalem) • Joah (the recorder to repair and purify the temple) • Ahikam (son of Shaphan) • Hilkiah (priest) • Akbor (or Abdon, son of Micah) • Asaiah (the king’s attendant) • Gemariah (Shaphan’s son) • Elishama • Hulda (Prophetess of Jerusalem) Show Image of Family Lineage Without doubt, one of the most historically and theologically important events in biblical history was the discovery of a sacred scroll in the temple while the structure was undergoing refurbishment after the idolatrous pollution it had suffered under King Manasseh and his son Amon. Shaphan was a Kohathite priest in a scribal lineage that paralleled that of the high priests. He served as the scribal secretary under King Josiah. As part of the reform efforts, King Josiah sent Shaphan, Maaseiah (the ruler–mayor of Jerusalem), and Joah the recorder to repair and purify the temple (2 Chronicles 34:8). After Hilkiah discovered the Book of the Law during renovations of Solomon’s Temple, Shaphan read the scroll to King Josiah who said: “Go and inquire of the LORD for me” (2 Kings 22:13). Shaphan and the other leaders—Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam (son of Shaphan), Akbor (or Abdon, son of Micah), and Asaiah (the king’s attendant)—went to Huldah the prophetess of Jerusalem to evaluate its genuineness (2 Kings 22:8–14; 2 Chronicles 34:14–22). After careful examination Huldah was convinced of the scroll’s authenticity and Hilkiah the high priest and Shaphan the scribe knew that it was the, “Book [scroll] of the Law”. More precisely, it was a copy of the book of Deuteronomy—elsewhere known as the “Book of the Law”. Furthermore, each king was to make a copy of it for himself. Deuteronomy was the distillation of all the covenant requirements revealed to Moses at Sinai and then at the Plains of Moab. Further evidence of its identification was King Josiah’s reaction to its reading—he tore his garments, lamented his nation’s sins, and led the people in the greatest reformation in the history of the nation. Clearly, he took to heart Deuteronomy 17, the “Handbook of Royal Behavior.” Josiah realized that “those who have gone before us have not kept the word of the LORD; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book” and many reforms followed. (2 Chronicles 34:21; cf. 2 Kings 22:13) Shaphan’s son, Ahikam, was a supporter of Jeremiah the prophet and saved his life (Jeremiah 26:24). Two scribes—Gemariah (Shaphan’s son) and Elishama—served as scribal-secretaries during the reign of King Jehoiakim/Eliakim, 609–598 B.C. (cf. Jeremiah 36:1, 10–12, 20–21; 41:1).7 Shaphan’s son Elasah and Hilkiah’s son Gemariah carried a letter from Jeremiah to the captives in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:1–3). Regrettably, Shaphan’s son Jaazaniah acted as a wicked priest to seventy elders of Israel who had turned the priestly chambers that were adjacent to the holy place into a mock holy place for worship of detestable crawling things, unclean animals, and idols (Ezekiel 8:9–12). During Judah’s exile to Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Shaphan’s grandson Gedaliah as governor over the remnant of people in Judah (2 Kings 25:22–25; Jeremiah 40:11).-Dawson, Nancy S.; Merrill, Eugene H.; Kostenberger, Andreas J.. All the Genealogies of the Bible: Visual Charts and Exegetical Commentary • One generation can change the trajectory of a people in pursuit of Christ or away from. • Even during Israel’s historically darkest seasons, God always had a remnant that stayed true to Him. Are we a part of that remnant? Many reforms followed • King Josiah was undone when the law of God was read to him and inquired of the Lord • Acknowledged the wrath of God against them for their disobedience and repented • Gathered all the elders and leaders • Went to the house of the Lord with all the people • King Josiah called for a time of national repentance. The Law was read to the people of the land, and a covenant made between the people and the Lord: “The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant” (2 Kings 23:3). • Commanded the high priest, priests of the second order, and the doorkeepers to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the articles that were made for Baal, Asherah, and for all the host of heaven and he burned them. (How did that go?) • The temple was cleansed from all objects of pagan worship, and the idolatrous high places in the land were demolished. • Josiah restored the observance of the Passover (2 Kings 23:2–23) and removed mediums and witches from the land. • All the people took a stand for the covenant • He removed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places. • Josiah did what was right before God simply because it was right before God. • Second Kings 23:25 records, “Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.” Pause God’s wrath would later come upon Judah due to the evil King Manasseh had done (2 Kings 23:25), but the judgment was delayed because of Josiah’s godly life and leadership (2 Kings 22:20). When we choose disobedience, God is still faithful (to deliver and punish) • Josiah’s obedience to God did not turn away God’s wrath. God’s justice will be fulfilled 2 Kings 23:26 Nevertheless the LORD did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath, with which His anger was aroused against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him. 27 And the LORD said, “I will also remove Judah from My sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, ‘My name shall be there.’ ” • Our posture should not be I’ll obey God as long as I get what I want out of the deal. He is the king of a kingdom and he does not make deals. He rules and reigns and invites us to walk with him in an intimate abiding fellowship with him. We should respect him and his holiness and be honored that he calls us children and saves us from our sin. • Revivalists, revolutionaries, and catalytic people don’t resolve to stand for what it benefits them. They resolve to stand because it’s the right thing to do in the sight of God. • God’s wrath is still punishable, and consequences are lived out. Are we willing to do the right thing even if God does not save what we think He should save? • Josiah died in battle against the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho at Megiddo. King Josiah was buried in Jerusalem in his own tomb, and his son Jehoahaz took the role of king. • People today are asking where is the God of Elijah. Maybe God is asking where are the Elijah’s of God? The one who prayed fervently and stopped the rain. The one who stood up to wicked government and paid a heavy price for it. The one who dealt with his personal struggles of depression and was given tender care from the still small voice of God. Ezekiel 16:49-50 Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit.(modern america?) “Sodom, who had no Bible, no preachers, no tracts, no prayer meetings, no churches, perished. How then will America be spared from the wrath of the Almighty? We have millions of bibles, scores of thousands of churches, endless preachers-and yet what sin!” -Leonard Ravenhill Take Away: • In the record of King Josiah, what character do I relate most with as the current state of my life and ministry for Christ? • Am I willing to do the right thing even if God does not save what I think He should save?