I have to be HOW old to do right?

A little change of pace here, readers. Oh I doubt that my warrior heart and military learning will be absent for long in this story, but, who knows?! I truly hope the title created enough curiosity that you are still reading this. I love the truths contained in the Old Testament stories. I was not much of a reader of the Prophets or the books of the Law..I have to confess. The tales of the Kings and the Judges that God raised up to govern His people have both intrigued and captivated me for years. Incidentally, during a period of being bamboozled…oops, I mean seconded, yeah that’s the word the military brass used, to teach at a military college; I used some of these Old Testament stories to teach battle tactics – believe it or not! The Bible is so packed full of not only eternal truths to help us make the right and everlasting decision; but, also practical helps to cope, to grow in maturity and to have as examples.

Let’s look at one now. I am aware that not all who may read this are well versed in the Old Testament. Sadly, far too many “Christians” are New Testament only. To me, that is like a half baked loaf of bread. I will grant you that some parts of the Old Testament are dry -to say the least. If you have insomnia, try reading all the “begats” that are about lineage! BUT the stories about Israel and Judah’s different kings are better than bestseller thrill novels! You have heard of King David and later his son King Solomon. They are both well known. You may have heard of some of the more notorious evil kings, such as Ahab…no, he didn’t captain a whaling ship!!! Did you know that of the divided kingdoms, EVERY SINGLE king of Israel was declared as “doing evil in the sight of the Lord”? Wow! And when the Assyrians overcame them in 721 BC and led Israel into captivity, the people NEVER returned. Israel would not be a nation again until 1948.That is a long time to have to pay the consequences of doing evil in the sight of Almighty God! The kingdom of Judah in the south, fared a little better. About 50% of their kings did right in God’s eyes.   Alright, on to the story!!  

King Amon was the king in Judah. He was declared by the Bible as an evil king. So was his father, the king before him – King Manassah. King Amon teaches us a very valuable lesson. I will get to that later.

King Amon was an evil king that the Bible says very little about – other than to say he “walked in all the ways of his father, and served the idols that his father served and worshipped them” (2Kings 21:21) Not exactly a ringing legacy! The Talmud adds that he burnt the Torah and allowed, through disuse, the altar to become utterly cobwebbed. Just an aside here. There ARE dire consequences for not obeying God. We can rail and talk of His love and mercy all we want. However, the Bible is VERY clear. When we sin – you go ahead and call it “hurts, habits and hangups” like our sellout pastor Rick Warren coined, but it is sin

King Amon’s sins caught up to him and he was assassinated. He left behind an 8 year old son – Josiah, who became king. The Bible says little about the first few years of his reign. At the age of 18, he began to take an interest in God. He had monies collected to repair the temple. In the construction mess, they found a copy of the Scriptures…long ago left to molder and decay! When the kings’ aide read them to Josiah, he tore his clothes and cried. The fear of the Lord filled him and he knew God was not pleased with Judah. 

A young king, only 18 years old – with the example of both father and grandfather as evildoers – does the RIGHT thing. He has courage.

Courage to go against what his family legacy was; courage to stand against what had slowly but steadily crept into his nation and courage to begin restoring a right standing with God!

Now that takes some doing! 18! Dang! when I was that age, I had no courage! This king, bows to the King of Kings and is imbued with a resolve to clean up not only his act but his nations! He began a tour of the country and smashed every altar to false gods, he tore down every statue of false gods and he commanded the people to give to build up the temple where they would worship Yahweh!  

Remember, earlier that I would get back to Assyria and the lesson contained therein. The chosen people, God’s CHOSEN people had by sin, allowed the kingdom to be split into Judah to the south and Israel to the north. Israel had fallen and for almost 1oo years had been taken into captivity. Judah was beginning to fall from within. How? Josiah’s father and grandfather before him were allowing Assyria more and more influence. They imported their politics, they imported their worship and they imported their influence – to the point that Judah no longer served God nor lived by His ways. Look at the map of what Assyria was:THAT is the kingdom of Assyria at the time of Josiah. Do those countries look familiar to you? Have they been in the news for the past oh say 2o-30 years? Are you just a tad familiar with the “politics” of those nations shown here?…their “worship”?….their “influence” on the nations around them…oh let’s be honest and add the world! I am NOT bringing this up as a bash of Islam! I am using their motivation as a strong reminder of what ANY kind of evil can do. Sin begins slowly, seductively

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First, you give up a little of your goodness – your ability to know the difference between right and wrong. Then a little more…it FEELS good doesn’t it? It’s okay, you say, lots of other people are doing it. Hey! you say, I can stop anytime I want to. Soon, the snares are too strong, the bars of the cage too thick and the sound of the final SLAM of the door is eternal.  Isn’t it time? Isn’t it time for you to be courageous like Josiah and “tour” your life and SMASH every idol – your hopes and dreams; your desires and misplaced allegiance? Isn’t it time to be focused on what HE desires?  The Bible tells us in verse after verse, story after story; what HE wants….US!!! He wants us to receive His love, His forgiveness, His indwelling and His goals! 

If it isn’t time now…then when? Can you guarantee me that you have tomorrow? We ALL can step into eternity in a twinkling of an eye. TODAY make the choice to be King Josiah and CLEAN UP YOUR ACT!  I know I have to do it every single day. Sin can be like a sneaky fox that creeps into the vineyard and steals our fruit!  Don’t let that happen! Start NOW to pull down your idols and your misplaced allegiance. We cannot align with flag or country before our service to the King of Kings!!! You will NOT save a nation or yourself with bullets and Constitutions and resolve. You save a nation by starting with YOU!

May God give each of us the courage to start cleaning house. He IS coming back very soon…in our lifetime I truly believe. He WILL be judge of our deeds. Walk humbly with Him and ACT within His justice.