'When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes. And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, "Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us."
So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter), and they talked with her. And she said to them, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'Tell the man who sent you to me, Thus says the LORD, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read. Because they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched. But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the LORD, when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the LORD. Therefore, behold, 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 disaster that I will bring upon this place.'" And they brought back word to the king.' -2 Kings 22:11-20
The King.
The leader of this nation, rips his royal robes and begins weeping.
Not simply a few tears. But weeping.
This is the man that sets the standard for manhood for this society in this time period.
Now-a-days we look to guys like Rambo, John McClain, the Governator... etc.
We look to our President.
Or king, or prime minister, as what a gentleman should be like.
But in ancient Israel... the king, was the Military stud. The king was the center of attention and infatuation of young women, the king was the role model that every guy wanted to be like.
Every society has it's pop stars, it's celebrities.
There is nothing new under the sun.
Yep. I used that phrase again.
Because other than the entire book of Ecclesiastes stating it's truth...
It's true.
People living in the 600s B.C.
...are just like people in 2011 A.D.
We aren't more sophisticated.
We aren't better.
We aren't smarter.
We are who we are because of people who lived before us.
Our advancements in technology started with their advancements.
Our culture traditions, started with their culture traditions.
We are all living one giant story.
And this story is a journey.
A journey through and for the ages.
This King is crying, uncontrollably.
He's crying for His people.
His people, who under his leadership, under his father's leadership, under his grandfather's leadership... have been living... slaves.
Slaves to sin.
Slaves to sinful habits and traditions.
The very people God chose to free... have turned their backs on Him and ran back into bondage.
And then Josiah does the unthinkable.
The unreasonable.
The one thing men did not ever do in those times...
He told his advisers and priests to go and inquire of the LORD, for him and for the people.
Wait.
Why is that so crazy?
Why is that prohibited?
Because...
They go to a prophetess.
They go to a woman.
Hilkiah, the High priest, the advisers of the King, and other priests of the temple go to a woman for advise over what to do.
And much more... Josiah listens to the advice.
Josiah... the King.
Now... remember the times... in that day and age, women weren't looked at as even equals to men... let alone to be leaders...physically or spiritually.
And maybe the church today could even draw from this. In fact, I think the church needs to understand this big time.
God chose Huldah, a woman, to prophesy regarding the destruction that would come after Josiah's death.
God chose Huldah to speak truth into Josiah's heart.
God chose Huldah to truly bring reformation into the Kingdom of Judah.
The King's officials, chose Huldah, a woman, in order to inquire of the LORD.
Women are of extreme importance, and leaders and other men who try to use the Bible in order to strangle or hold in submission are really just getting in God's way. The Bible is God's song to all people. God uses women as much as men, and we need to start keeping common scripture like 1 Timothy 2 that is used to hold women back, in context and in perspective.
And so we see two key cultural 'issues' in the story of Josiah.
What makes a man... a man?
What makes a woman... a woman?
Because society's answer isn't necessarily what we see in Josiah's story.
I love the Bible. I love it. I am so thankful that God decided to give us a song to memorize and sing of his wonders and His works. I am so glad that this song, this Bible, is a road map for us on this journey.
But sometimes when people quote the Bible... I want to puke.
Yes, I just said that.
Sometimes when people attack the Bible, the way they quote it just makes me want to throw up. Don't these people realize what they are saying?
No they don't.
Jesus said whoever has ears let them hear.
They don't realize the power in the words, thus they can't understand it.
But then there are people who use the Bible to back up their views on life issues. They use it to prove that God is a conservative. Or that God is a liberal. Or that God loves men, but hates women.
God is God. When we throw extra definitions upon Him... we are no longer dealing with God. We have to view Him through the Bible... not use the Bible to prove our points and view God through our beliefs.
The Bible has to open us up...
It has to read us.
Sometimes when I hear people say those things, or back up their beliefs with scripture I just begin to think, 'There is NO WAY that God meant that by that verse... No possible way.'
Several years ago, people used the Bible to defend their right to own slaves. People still defend that 'right' today.
People use the Bible to defend their right to be prejudiced.
People use the Bible to defend their right to live in sin.
When are we going to take the Bible as a whole and view God through His Word... instead of our beliefs?
That's what Josiah did.
He heard the Word of God and became completely devastated.
It messed Him up.
Is God wanting to mess us up?
Maybe devastation is what we need to finally relinquish control of ourselves, to surrender, and let God be God... not our nice, neat, classy version of Him that we have come to believe.
God is a loving Father.
But he is also a consuming fire.
God is a merciful King.
But he is also a Holy Ruler.
God is a humble giver.
But he is also a jealous Lord.
God is a promise keeper.
But he is also a sovereign entity.
His will. His Kingdom. His plan. His power.
His ownership and Lordship over us, is the only way this relationship will fly.
God is love.
And for the person who lives in complete submission to Him... that is all we need to know to live with Him.
For the Christian... this is the complete truth so far as we are concerned. We are walking in the light, and worshiping in Spirit and truth, not by our own might, but by His grace and His power alone.
But it is not the complete truth so far as the Bible is concerned...
For people who aren't Christians, or are 'neo-Christians' or are 'Sunday Christians'...
God is light, and God is Spirit.
And He demands His disciples to walk out of the darkness and into the light, and to remain there worshiping in Spirit and in truth. That should shake them, because...
This changes EVERYTHING.
Large denominations, groups, ministries, and millions of people worldwide come together for conventions and conferences every so often to reaffirm their statement of faith.
A few years ago one of these gatherings 'voted to reaffirm their view of the importance of the verse that says a wife's role is to submit to her husband.
It's a big deal to them.
It's what they are known for.
What about the verse before that verse?
What about the verse after it?
What about the verse that talks about women having authority over their husbands?
What about all of the marriages in which this verse has been used to oppress and mistreat women?
It is possible to make the Bible say whatever we want it to, isn't it?' (Velvet Elvis, 43-44, Pastor Rob Bell)
This mindset begins to shape our culture.
It did in Josiah's day.
However, when life takes a dramatic turn, and believe me, it will. How do we react?
What happens when we let the Word of God change the way we look at the world around us?
Do we worry about what is expected of us from society? Or do we allow God to speak to our hearts, no matter what?
For Josiah, God was telling him that the current way of life was wrong.
And that Josiah as a leader had to set a new standard.
For Huldah, God was telling her that this was her moment, her time to shed His grace upon others... that's how Grace abounds.
And she faithfully obeyed.
Declaring a prophesy that could have gotten her killed.
...yet there is hope. Because God postponed the wrath because of Josiah's reaction. He was penitent and he humbled himself...The King became submissive of a higher power, even though the culture viewed him as the final authority... and God told him he would not see the destruction. He would die in peace.
Josiah's story calls us to a complete radical change of our attitudes, our views of the world and the culture around us. How are we doing?
Is Christ our center? Does our life reflect the humility of Christ?
Why not?
Can we pinpoint what is holding us back?
Our view of other people... our view of ourselves... our view of God... and above all else... Our realization of how God views us... are what defines us.
God defines us as sinners, completely depraved and drowning in our own rebellion.
God redefines us through Christ by what he has done for us.
Because a King is crying for His people... a King died for His people... so he could redefine us.
His clothes were torn.
He humbled Himself to a Roman Crucifixion.
A veil was ripped.
Blood was poured.
Tears were shed.
To postpone a coming judgment... to re-route it onto Himself. Christ became our rebellion, our sinfulness, our idolatry, our absolute craziness.
To redefine his people.
Are we ready to be redefined?
Because God is ready to build His church off of this redefining.
