Acting On The Lessons Of History

Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of the Lord given by Moses. . . . When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes.
–2 Chronicles 34:14, 19

King Josiah was a man who learned from history to shape the future. He did not follow the influence of his evil father and grandfather, but chose to follow God instead. That decision led him to take action. According to 2 Chronicles 34:3, “in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, the carved images and the molten images.” Josiah had grown in his faith. He was now twenty years of age, and he looked around and said, “What is happening in our nation is not consistent with what I know of the one true God, the God who said, ‘You shall have no other gods before Me.’” So he started a crusade to remove all of the false gods from the land of Judah.

There is no doubt that our own country, the United States, was founded on the principle of religious freedom, that everybody is free to worship any god or no god. Because of that great freedom, there is a diversity of belief in our country. But do not confuse diversity with pluralism. Diversity says there are many faiths. That is irrefutable. Pluralism says all faiths are equally valid, and that is a lie from the pit of hell. All faiths are not equally valid. All gods are not true gods. There is one God, His name is Jehovah, and the only way to Him is through His Son, Jesus Christ. We need to remember that principle. What we sometimes call “diversity” in this country God called “idolatry” in the Old Testament. Do not mistake the idolatry of pluralism for diversity.

After Josiah tore down all the false gods, he started to repair the temple of God that had fallen into disrepair. As the workers and priests were repairing the temple, they made a discovery. Look at verse 14: “When they were bringing out the money which had been brought into the house of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of the Lord given by Moses.” The Word of God had not been read in the country for decades. “When the king heard the words of the law,” verse 19 says, “he tore his clothes.” That was a sign of grief and repentance. When Josiah listened to the Word of God, it did something to him. It caused him to turn from his ways that had been displeasing to the Lord and recommit to serving God even more faithfully. That is what the Word of God does to people.

Is there a Bible in your house that has been gathering dust on a shelf somewhere? Take it down, dust if off, open it up, and let God’s Word do its work in your life. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Somebody has said, “God’s Word is alive; it speaks to me. It has feet; it runs after me. It has hands; it lays hold of me.” Let God’s Word do its work in your life, just as it did in Josiah’s life.

Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Survival Tip #8: Learn From The Past” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2019.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.