2 Chronicles 34-35 Josiah
We closed Ch.33,
with the short reign of Amon, or Amon.
“He was twenty
two years old when he began to reign. He reigned only for two years. He did
that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as did Manasseh, his father.
Manasseh repented and made reforms – But in two short yrs Amon reversed
most of what Manasseh did
A)Saw that Amon was assassinated his son Josiah is put on the throne at
8yrs old.
RD V.1-8
The life of Josiah is a tremendous argument
AGAINST the mentality that you can NOT expect too much spiritually from young
people, especially teenagers
A)When he was 8 he was
already doing that which was right in the sight of the Lord.
B)When he was 16 he was seeking the Lord with intensity.
1)At 20 he led the nation in
spiritual reform.
C)At 26 he restored and
remodeled the
D)We should expect our young people to accomplish their greatest
exploits in the Lord while they are yet young.
1)How many of you are under 26?
Josiah’s life is
a reminder to us that ONE LIFE MATTERS TO GOD!
A)One person can change the course of a nation.
B) Spurgeon –preaching at 16
C)Whitefield preaching as a young man under 20 preaching to the minors
–
1)100 one day / 200 the next -
20,000 by the end of the week
D) Came to
1)Preached
at Harvard – 93 out of every 100 came to Christ – that was in 1770
E) And many of
those Whitefield led to Christ @ Harvard would be signers of the constitution
1)The nation was impacted by the voice of one man who was 24 yrs old
Did you know that Joan
of Arc accomplished all of her work and was burned at the stake before she was
19. She made her mark when she was still in her teens.
Revival came into
the land, reformation and renewal, BECAUSE he sought the Lord earnestly as a
YOUNG man
A)IF you are young, I
encourage you to GO FOR IT. Make your mark NOW when you are at the PEAK of your
energy.
B) Also note: V.4 Took the idols and ground them to dust.
C)Seen many kings who tore them down – and when that King was dead
1)Then the pp set them back
up.
D)Josiah wants to make sure that doesn’t happen again – grounds them to
power!
RD V.9-13
Here we
see he put in place the workers –
A)V.13 is very interesting to me – the ones
who played instruments were put over the burden bearers
B) Worship is a powerful
tool in lifting burdens – Eyes on the Lord
RD V. 14-21
Here
we see the Beginning of Revival taking place in
3 Characteristics -
1st
Characteristic – is there is a rediscovery of God’s word. V.14
QUOTE: Little Boy - “Daddy, mommy’s Bible must
be a lot more interesting than yours.” “Why do you say that?” “Because mommy
reads hers a lot more than you read yours.”
The Word was uncovered in the day of Revival. There is a new found love
for the Word of God.
NOTE: IF
you are sensing a spiritual lethargy, or a spiritual dryness, it could be due
to the fact that the Word of God has been lost among Christian activities or
service – or worldly distractions
As the Word is
rediscovered, revival is going to begin to break out in
NOTE: Every
great revival of history is built upon a rediscovery and recommitment to the
Word.
2nd Characteristic: There is Brokenness over
sin! V. 19
A)Hearing the law of the
Lord. Hearing the curses that God pronounced upon the nation, if they would
forsake His law.
B)If they would turn and
worship the other gods, God declared the judgments and the curses that would
come upon them.
When Josiah heard this read, he realized, “Hey we are ripe for
judgment.
C)We have done
those things that God pronounced the curse upon us, if we would do them.
1)Our fathers were guilty of
doing these very things, and thus, the judgment of God is hanging over our
heads”.
D)PP sometimes want to argue – is the Bible
really the word of God
1)It cuts – it does surgery
– brings you to tears
2)It comforts / transforms /
E)Josiah is affected by the
reading of the word
3rd
Characteristic Requesting Instruction V.21
A)After Josiah HEARD the
Word, he said that he must APPLY that which he had been taught from the Word.
B)Discipleship is a true
mark of Revival – People wanting to go deeper
“Go therefore and make disciples
of all the nations,”
Greg
Laurie rightfully said: Not every believer is a disciple – but every disciple
is a believer. –
Disciple
= a learner – one who is intent on seeking after the Lord wanting more of the
Lord
A)No longer content to
settle for a mediocre Christian experience – want more want to go deeper
RD V.22-28
So they go to the
Prophetess Huldah – I love the description of her
A)She is the wife of the King’s tailor – but she is a godly woman.
B)She instructs them that Judgment is still coming but because of
Josiah’s tender heart it will be delayed.
Question: IF there is a revival, and people are getting right with the Lord, WHY
would the Lord still send judgment?
“Do not be deceived, God is
not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows
to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit
will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”
C)The nation had sowed to the flesh.... The crop was planted and the
harvest would come in.
1)The sins that were
committed will have their repercussions.
D)Though Josiah was a good
king, all he did by his good reign, was delay the judgment of God that is
impending and imminent.
E)Again,
as we look at the history of the nation of
A)Jeremiah continued to prophecy
through the decline, and the death of the nation of
B)He had the rather
difficult task of being the prophet, to oversee, and to observe the death of
the nation.
1)To watch it plunge at the
death of Josiah, right on down to the bottom, and out.
C)No matter what he said,
the judgment was determined.
1)The people were determined
to go on in their abdurant way, in opposition to God.
I must confess I have great concerns for
our nation A)My great concern for the direction that
our nation has gone. For the abominations of our nation
B)For even as Judah served
Baal, Ashtoreth, Molech, Mammon, and these other gods of the heathen, so our
nation has turned to serving these gods, though we do not call them by that
name.
C)The worship of Molech, was
the worship of pleasure. We see the pleasure mania that has gripped our
country.
D)The worship of Ashtoreth,
was the worship of the sex goddess, that liberated sex.
1)We see the liberated
attitude towards sex today.
The worship of the Ashorem, was the
worship of pornography, and we see that today. Multi Billions
A)The worship of Molech, also involved the sacrifice of children, and
we see that today.
B)43 Million babies aborted in the
C)They were Judged and I believe that we will be judged
1)Only hope – God delays – Revival more soul saved
D) Tender hearts like Josiah to seek the Lord
1)Follow his word
E)Circle – light on fire all that is in the circle.
RD V.29-33
So
the temple was reopened. They began to worship at the temple again.
A)The
king had made a commitment. The king’s commitment was complete, with all of his
heart, with all of his soul.
B)We have seen so many of
these Kings do this – try to mandate spirituality – Just can’t
1)Can’t
make pp walk with God –
C)Disciple my son/ daughter
– only works if they want to be discipled
So
they more or less, made it a law that all the people were gonna have to serve
the Lord.
A)But
with the people it wasn’t a whole hearted commitment.
B)In every congregation that
is meeting in churches today you will find THREE kinds of people.
1.) There are those that are like Row Boats.
They have to be pushed and
pushed to get them to move in any direction.
2.) There are those that are like sail Boats.
Those who change course
depending on whatever way the wind is blowing. { latest thing.
3.) There are those that are like Steam Boats.
Those who make up their mind
and go in that direction regardless of wind or weather because they are
INTERNALLY driven.
Josiah was one of these. He was driven by an inner reality with God and
he would NOT turn to the right or to the left.
QUESTION: Which variety of boat are you?
A row boat - “I’m here
because someone pushed me and dragged me.”
A sail boat - “Hey, God is cool. This week I’m into God.”
A steam boat - “I know the
course I’m on. I know where I’m going no matter which way the wind blows.”
NOTICE ALSO: Josiah
did NOT kick back and say: “I’m saved, you’re lost, and that’s your problem”
A)How many of us really care that without Christ the rest of the world
is going to hell?
B)Or is there a passion in your heart for those who are lost
Now
it seems that during the reign of Manasseh and Amon – the ark had been moved
out of the temple.
A)Not
sure where but it even seems that the Priest where carrying it around to
protect it
B)Josiah
instructs for the ark to be put back into its rightful place.
C)V.4 Introduces us to the Key word in the
Chapter – the word Prepare. Make ready is the idea
D)Preparations is always
important in seeking God
V.4 Prepare themselves { the
Levites
V.6 Prepare the offerings
V.10,16 The service was prepared
V. 14,15 They prepared portions to eat
V.20 The temple was
prepared.
Idea
is to make ready:
A)Heart Preparation: Make
things ready to worship the Lord – come before him
B)Spiritual preparation is
an interesting concept
1)Study Church History – It
seems that every Church Revival was proceeded by a time of prayer
C) A time where pp began to
set themselves aside to pray!
The
question is always is the prayer the thing that moves God to Grant revival
OR
Is the prayer
meeting something that God Sovereignly begins to bring revival
Moving on the hearts of His pp to pray: Is it part of the revival?
Either way I am excited –
because – there are all these little pockets of prayer happening
Starting in January - 2nd and 4th Sunday
nights
Revival is God’s pp being
brought back to life
Not about evangelism –
Evangelism is the by product of revival
God’s pp get set on Fire and
they begin to have an effect on others
So
over and over the Chapter is describing how the whole nation would be drawn to
the sacrifice of the lamb and they were to prepare.
A)I wonder How does that
respond to my life
B)What can I be doing to be
more prepared – for what the Lord may bring into my life –
1)Next season / Next year.
RD
V.4-9
Here we read
that Josiah reinstituted the Passover –
Commeration –
deliverance from
A)We read where Josiah
personally donated – 30,000 lambs
B) Not a family without a
lamb- No worshipper without a lamb – 41,500 offered
up
1) A lamb for every man
C)Great picture of Jesus a
lamb for every man!
RD V.10 -15
Now, you remember that they
would take really just the fat of the lambs and the goats, and they would burn
it on the altar before the Lord.
Then they would roast the
meat, and they would have, it was a time of feast.
They
called it the feast of the Passover, and it was indeed a true feast.
A)Everybody
would feast for seven days, on the meat that was roasted. Then part of the meat
they boiled.
B)But
it was all to be partaken in their worship of God. 1)The idea is that, “We are
offering this to the Lord, the sacrifice.
C)The fat of it rises unto
God, as a sweet savor. Then they would sit down, to feast
1)Idea
being feasting with God.
RD V. 16-19
This celebration of Passover
was so significant that one had to go back before
the time of David and Solomon to find a keeping of Passover that was so well
organized and joyfully conducted.
1. It was remarkable in the magnitude of its celebration,
including even the remnant of the north came to celebrate it in
RD V.20-27
Josiah
was a zealous guy – Tear down altars / burn pagan priest – Zeal was strength –
also a weakness
A)Here is what happened
Pharaoh Necho aligns himself with the King of
B)
C) No record that God led him to do this at all.
1) he ends up being killed
D) Lesson for us: Watch out
what battles you get into
1) I personally don’t need
to look for conflicts – it is all around me – a lot of drama
E) Careful – Lord help me –
what do I need to be involved in – Pick your
battles
1) I am learning – there is
a lot more things I have said I wished I hadn’t said
Josiah
in his Zeal ends up in a battle he had no business being in – and it cost him
his life.
Mortally
wounded
I have been hurt and wounded
in my own life because I have been involved in battles where I did NOT belong.
I tried
to take sides when I didn’t even know the mind of God.