The Great Kings
Today we
meet Josiah. Josiah, Hezekiah, and David
are all known as the greatest kings of the Hebrew people. David, of course, is remembered as the best –
probably because he came first more than anything else. Hezekiah is known for his great repentance,
his recovery from illness, and his dedication to producing copies of the
Law. Josiah is known for his all-around
reformation of the country, reformations which were desperately needed after
Manasseh and especially Amon. Notice
that Josiah (along with Hezekiah) is said to have done righteousness in the
eyes of the Lord as David did.
Josiah
It is in
Josiah that we see this great sense of repentance that we haven’t seen since
David. Yes, Hezekiah repented greatly,
but only after he was told that he was going to die. Josiah repents only after merely hearing the
Word of God. Josiah listens to the Law
of Moses and his heart is cut to the quick.
Josiah listens and immediately dispatches a priest to go and inquire
from the Lord what is to happen to them because of their disobedience. This is what puts Josiah on the same pedestal
as David. Josiah hears, assumes guilt,
and repents. Josiah doesn’t try to argue
it away. Josiah doesn’t try to cover it
up. Josiah doesn’t try to
rationalize. Josiah hears, feels convicted,
and responds without having to be punished or threatened with punishment.
What makes
Josiah great? It isn’t his wisdom. It isn’t his wealth. It isn’t his command over the people. It is his willingness to hear the Word of the
Lord, feel conviction on his own, and humble himself before the Lord. That is what makes a person great – king or layman.
Huldah
Notice
that in those days the priests went to Huldah to inquire from the Lord. Who is Huldah? Well, she is a woman for starters. These men go to a woman to find out what the
Lord really has to say.
Hopefully
I have telegraphed my writing well enough that you know where I am going with
this. God has no problem speaking
through a woman – even unto the leaders of His great reformation! God has no issue with a woman being seen as a
prophetess – and what is a prophetess but a female prophet, or more precisely a
female person who brings the Word of God to their contemporaries! God spoke words of wisdom to Huldah’s
contemporaries through Huldah. This
point is hard to refute. God has no
issue with women in positions of leadership.
But I have
a second reason for commenting on this.
What is this passage saying about where true faith is to be found in the
time of spiritual lacking? Typically,
true faith is found best among the women.
These men – who are supposed to be priests – go to a woman to find true
faith and the true voice of God.
It is
often that way today. In most churches
that you go to, is the congregation predominantly male or female? The youth that are involved, are they
predominantly male or female? The people
who do the work in the church, are they predominantly male or female? It is usually the women of a society who typically
hold fast to faith and the calling of the Lord.
I don’t
mean this to say that men are incapable of doing it. Obviously, we do have prophets as well as
prophetesses! But in general, the women
are far more likely to hold fast.
So what
does this priestess of the Lord say to the men who seek her out? She says that all the things written in the
Law were going to come true. The Lord
will hand them over to foreign nations and let them be driven from the land. Why?
Because they have forsaken Him.
God is a God of His word.
Consequences, Revisited
This
should sound a fair bit like yesterday.
Wouldn’t it have been nice for Josiah’s repentance to have evaporated
the need for judgment upon the Hebrew people?
Wouldn’t it have been nice if that genuine repentance could have erased
the consequences? But alas, this is not
to be. Judgment comes, largely because
God knows that even if this generation embraces Him that it won’t be too long
before we see a generation that does not embrace Him. Just because there is a repentant generation
now does not mean that the sinful nature of humanity is not right around the
corner waiting to rear its ugly head again.
Finally,
let’s do look at the relief that God does give to Josiah. Even though the nation will be judged, it
won’t be during Josiah’s time as king.
Josiah will be gathered to His people in peace. Josiah will be allowed to live out his
faithfulness in the land. The full
judgment may not be avoidable, but because of Josiah’s reaction to the Lord God
grants them a temporary stay of execution.
God is gracious, because Josiah is humble and contrite upon hearing the
Word of God that God has given to the people.
I think
God also realizes that the people will fall away again. So God gives a stay of execution knowing full
well that their righteousness as a nation is merely a temporary state. Isn’t that an interesting thought upon which
to end?
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