Josiah, king of Judah, pleases the Lord as Davd had. The kings that follow? Well, not so much. Josiah is presented with the book of laws, discovered by the high priest in the temple. When the book is read to him, Josiah is filled with anguish, because he realizes ho far the Israelites have strayed from their covenant with God. So he undertakes to set things right. It is not enough to rescue the Israelites from the end they have earned, but the Lord does promise to put off that day until after Josiah dies.
Before [Josiah] there had been no king who turned to the Lord as he did, with his whole heart, his whole soul, and his whole strength, in accord with entire law of Moses; nor could any after compare with him. Yet, because of all the provocations that Manasseh had given, the Lord did not desist from his fiercely burning anger against Judah.
In time, Judah is defeated, overrun, and her people scattered--driven into exile. The temple of the Lord is dismantled and destroyed.
What a sad story of unrequited love. Not romantic love, of course, but God's love for His people. I find the ending of this book to be particularly frightening. God is angry and His people suffer. He seems to have abandoned them. Yet He is also clearly willing to acknowledge and reward the man (Josiah) who strives to be righteous and obedient by loving God and observing His commands.
its a good example of God's antecedent and consequent will in action... God is just and God is merciful..God also rewards obedience..that's a great post thanks John
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, John. I know that I fall so far short of what God created me for that I sometimes fear His justice. But I try to take comfort (usually successfully) by considering His mercy. He must have loved me quite a lot to send His Son to die for me, and to keep sending me great people in my life to remind me of His Love. Even when, to be honest, I am trying to hide from Him. He finds me.
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