Josiah
Originally scheduled for January 5
Buried in the later histories of the kings of
Judah is the story of King Josiah. At eight years old he came to the
throne by assassination. He grew to power in evil times. Despite
this, and with the aid of the high priest, instituted a reform in
religious affairs in Judah. He threw the Asherah pole out of the
temple, along with the matching prostitutes. He also throughout the
male prostitutes living in the temple. He also threw out the worship
of the Sun God. (Does any of this sound familiar?) In short, he was
a righteous king; the last one in Judah.
One day one of his secretaries brought to him
what was not really well known at the time, a copy of the Scriptures
to date. In a sign of great distress, he tore his robes and inquired
of God what to do. Interestingly, he humbled himself to the point of
asking a female prophet what to do. He stood in the gap for Judah.
God’s reply was not particularly welcome; the punishment for Judah
was to be carried out anyway — but delayed because of the
righteousness of Josiah.
It’s interesting how Josiah reacts to this. He
throws a magnificent Passover feast. Passover, as you know, is the
predecessor of communion. In it Josiah celebrates God’s victories in
the past and also puts the nation on the right track for repentance.
What he does not do is plead with God on the basis that he did not
know about the sins of Judah nor could they possibly be held to be
his fault. He offered no excuses but praised God for the help he
had.
I bring this to your attention because this is
the first communion meditation of a new year. I would ask you to
examine yourself:
·
Is there sin in your life that you
didn’t know about, but was somehow pointed out? Do not fall to the
temptation of saying, “it’s not my fault.” Rather, confess and
repent.
·
Is there sin in your life where you
know that you are not 100% at fault — indeed, you might just be a
minor contributor. Don’t use that as an excuse to ignore what needs
to be done.
Examine yourself this new year. If there is sin
in your life, confess it. Repent of your sin and accept God’s
communion as a sign of his mercy — and your forgiveness.
