2 Chronicles 34

“Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah, because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath will be poured out on this place, and not be quenched.’ But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Concerning the words which you have heard - because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the Lord. “Surely I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place and its inhabitants.”’ So they brought back word to the king.” 2 Chronicles 34:24-28 (NKJV)

King Josiah had childlike faith. And that makes sense because he was just a child (8 years old) when he assumed the throne. At age sixteen, Josiah began seeking the Lord. By 26 years, he had purged Israel of its idols. It is not enough to simply do away with idols. You must replace idolatry with Biblical worship. So, when the renovation of God’s temple began, the priests found something extraordinary: The Book of The Law of Moses…the Bible! Hilkiah, the priest, was clueless about the book’s value, and Shaphan, the secretary, gave the king a financial report before announcing, “Hilkiah has given me a book….”  But when King Josiah heard the words of the Bible, he knew his nation was on the verge of divine annihilation. His humble response led to salvation. It stands in stark contrast to King Zedekiah’s response many years later.

“So the king sent Jehudi to bring the scroll, and he took it from Elishama the scribe’s chamber. And Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king and in the hearing of all the princes who stood beside the king. Now the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month, with a fire burning on the hearth before him. And it happened, when Jehudi had read three or four columns, that the king cut it with the scribe’s knife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. Yet they were not afraid, nor did they tear their garments, the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words. Nevertheless Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah implored the king not to burn the scroll; but he would not listen to them. And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the Lord hid them. Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words which Baruch had written at the instruction of Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying: ‘Take yet another scroll, and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned.’”  Jeremiah 36:21-28 (NKJV)

Our nation is on the verge of judgment. Will we be a Josiah or Zedekiah generation?