DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- JOSIAH

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – JOSIAH

"Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jedidah, the daughter of Adiaiah of Bekzkath. And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and waked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left." (II Kings 22:1-2)

Josiah was a godly king, He was like a refreshing breeze to a parched land after enduring the other kings. So what made Josiah so special?

We catch a glimpse of his character in the record of his life. His heart was tender and humble toward the LORD (vs. 19). "There was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him" (23:25).

During his reign he rid Judah of the idol worship that was so prevalent, destroying the high places and cleansing the house of the LORD of all the pagan paraphernalia that pertained to the worship of Baal and other false gods. I'm sure that this was not an easy job. There was probably a lot of pressure to keep them.

Our focus verse for today says that Josiah "did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left" from waking in the ways of his father David. The temptation is to either go too far to the right or to the left – too liberal or too conservative; too Calvinistic or too Arminian. Or we can become so dogmatic in our view of eschatology that we miss the point that Jesus made – to just be ready.

There is no middle ground in some areas. There is only one way to Heaven and that is through faith in the Lord Jesus and His salvation. But in many other areas, we need to walk the middle ground of the balance of Scripture – not going beyond what it says, nor believing less than it says.

Love, Dad