By Scott Rudisill
2 Kings 22:11-13 and 23:1-7
“If you know, you know”, (IYKYK), has become a popular catchphrase in the last couple of years. If you aren’t familiar with this, it simply means: information that select individuals have, or kind of an inside joke.
But what if you don’t know? It’s often been said that ignorance is bliss. Unfortunately, being ignorant, or unknowing, isn’t ideal. For example, if you are driving 55mph in a 35mph zone, you are breaking the law even if you don’t know you’re driving in a 35mph zone. If a cop pulls you over, you’re going to get a ticket because, listen! Ignorance of the law doesn’t excuse you from the penalty of the law.
Today, we’re going to read a story about a king who didn’t know about God or His law. This king was ignorant, or unknowing, because the prior kings didn’t set a good example of following or teaching the law of God. As a result of this, the kingdom of Judah had fallen into idolatry and had stopped worshipping the One True God. They had begun to worship Baal and Asherah. Baal was believed by the pagans to be the god of life and fertility, controlling rainfall and crop production. Asherah was believed to be his female companion. These were the two primary deities among the Canaanites.
In 2 Kings 22, Judah gets a new king. A young man named Josiah assumes the throne at the ripe old age of 8 years old. Josiah was about the 14th generation great grandson of David. In the 18th year of Josiah’s reign, when he was 26 years old, the Book of the Law was found. Shameful indeed that it had been lost. Have y’all ever had to look for your Bible? This Book of the Law was brought to Josiah and read to him.
2 Kings 22:11-13- read: 11Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes. 12Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Achbor the son of Michaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, 13“Go, inquire of the Lord for me, for the people and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”
Now we see from these verses that Josiah is grieved and convicted by God’s Word and that even though Josiah had been unaware of the Law of God, he along with the nation of Judah, were still subject to the penalty of the Law of God.
Let’s read 2 Kings 23:1-7 to see the result of Josiah’s newfound knowledge.
2 Kings 23:1-7- read: 1Now the king sent them to gather all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem to him. 2The king went up to the house of the Lord with all the men of Judah, and with him all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the Lord.
3Then the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow 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 took a stand for the covenant. 4And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the 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, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel.
5Then he removed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem, and those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven. 6And he brought out the wooden image from the house of the Lord, to the Brook Kidron outside Jerusalem, burned it at the Brook Kidron and ground it to ashes, and threw its ashes on the graves of the common people. 7Then he tore down the ritual booths of the perverted persons that were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the wooden image.
Verses 1-2: Josiah called together all the people of Judah and shared with them the knowledge of the Law of God. He knew how important it was for them to know God.
Verse 3: Josiah made his own personal covenant with the Lord. With all of his heart and soul, Josiah committed himself and his kingship of Judah to the Lord. All the people of Judah took a stand for the Lord too.
Verses 4-7: Josiah cleaned house! He got rid of the idolatrous items in the temple, tore down the wooden Asherah image, removed the priests who led the idol worship, tore down the “booths” of the temple prostitutes of Asherah. He burned these idolatrous items, as well. No chance of these idols coming back! Josiah oversaw the complete destruction of idolatry in Judah.
King Josiah didn’t stop there. If we were to continue reading Verses 8-24, we’d see more spiritual housecleaning by King Josiah and how he also reinstated the celebration of Passover.
Verse 25: 25Now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him.
We see that King Josiah was a one-of-a-kind King over Judah. This was all because he had gained the knowledge of God.
What can we, as the modern American Church, take away from this story of King Josiah in 622 BC? What is our application, today, from this 2600 year old story?
APPLICATION:
- We have to make a personal covenant with God. Josiah made his covenant with God after hearing the Law. (2 Kings 23:3) 2 Kings 22:11 tells us that Josiah tore his clothes after hearing the Word of God. King Josiah was grieved and convicted because he believed. Are we grieved and convicted by the Word of God? Do we really believe? If we really believe, then we’ll really respond. Have you made a personal covenant with God?
- We must deal severely with sin and idolatry in our own lives. Josiah identified the idols and he took drastic measures against 70 years of sinful culture when he tore down the idols and restored true worship of God in Judah. (2 Kings 23:4-24) An idol is anything that usurps God’s rule in your life. Anything that hinders you from authentic worship of Him and Him alone. We can even be our own idol if we demand that everything be done our way. Relationships, jobs, hobbies, they can all become idols if we allow them to keep us from drawing closer to God. Jesus taught the principal of taking drastic measures in dealing with sin in Matthew 5:29-30: If your right eye causes you tosin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. While He wasn’t teaching self-mutilation, Jesus was teaching the seriousness of sin if allowed to remain in our lives.
- We must be good leaders and set an example of Godliness. King Josiah shared the Word with all the people and Josiah made a personal covenant with God. (2 Kings 23:1 & 3). Josiah was a great leader. 2 Kings 23:25 tells us that there were no kings before, or after him, that served God as faithfully as he did. What kind of leader are you? What kind of example are you setting? The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthian 11:1 to follow his example as he follows the example of Jesus. Are you setting a Godly example in your area of influence? Parents, are you setting a Godly example for your children? Fathers, you’re the spiritual leader of your home and family. Are you leading by example?
- *Bonus application* Your age doesn’t matter! You can be used by God, regardless of your age. Josiah was 8 years old when he became king of Judah. He was 26 years of age when he led a spiritual revival throughout the Kingdom. Whether you’re 8 or 80, you’re never too old, or too young, to be used by God.
Conclusion
If you know, you know. Now you know. What are you going to do with the knowledge you now have? As we said earlier, “ignorance of the law doesn’t excuse us from the penalty of the law”. We’re no longer under law, thankfully. We’re under grace, through Jesus. Do you know the purpose of the law? The law’s purpose is to reveal to us our own shortcomings and show us our need for a savior.
Once we know that we’re sinners, as revealed to us through knowledge of the law, the ball is in our court. It’s up to us to either accept God’s offer of salvation through faith in Jesus, or to reject God’s offer of salvation. It’s up to us to either accept the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives to do a spiritual housecleaning like Josiah did and live spiritually victorious, or we can reject the Holy Spirit’s power and live spiritually defeated. God gives us all free will and the choice is ours to make. I choose victory and life. My prayer is that you’ll choose the same.
Prayer….
