It's Not Too Late

Recap

Welcome back to Simple Discipleship. We're now four episodes into this series on finishing well, and I imagine by now you might be feeling a bit heavy.

We've talked about how 75% of biblical leaders didn't finish well. We've seen how success can often lead to pride, and how pride can sometimes disguise itself as religion. We've looked at what happens when we're out of rhythm and out of position or doing things in the wrong way.

And maybe you're sitting there thinking, "Great. So I'm probably going to drift and fail. Thanks for that, Jo."

But that's not where I want to leave you and so today's episode is about hope.

This time, instead of looking at someone who started well and finished poorly, we’re looking at someone who inherited an absolute mess but turned it around. I will caveat this and say his life didn’t end that well, BUT he was faithful. Goodness me, people are complex aren’t they.

This episode we’re looking at Josiah.

What Josiah Inherited

To understand how remarkable Josiah's story is, we need to look at what he inherited.

His grandfather, King Manasseh, was the most evil king in Judah's history. And that's saying something, because there were a lot of bad kings.

2 Kings tells us this about Manasseh:

2 Kings 21:11, 16 (NIV)

Manasseh king of Judah has committed these detestable sins. He has done more evil than the Amorites who preceded him and has led Judah into sin with his idols…Moreover, Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end—besides the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, so that they did evil in the eyes of the Lord.

He filled the city with violence, child sacrifice, idolatry, and witchcraft. He rebuilt the high places that previous kings had torn down. He set up altars to false gods in the temple itself. 

And somewhere along the way, God's word - the Book of the Law - was lost. Just forgotten and left behind somewhere under the rubble. None even noticed - how mad is that?

This is what Josiah was born into. This was normal for him growing up, until at the young age of eight years old, he became king. That’s a lot for any adult to inherit let alone an 8 year old.

Josiah's Journey

But the story starts to change. 

2 Chronicles 34:3 (NIV)

In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David.

He was sixteen years old. And despite everything around him - the idols, the corruption, and the spiritual darkness - he began to seek God.

Notice what he didn’t do. He  didn’t try to be good. He didn’t start going through the religious motions or try to fix himself. He sought God.

I feel like that’s important to pay attention to. So often my default can be to try harder, or to read a book that will help me grow, but this is the simple invitation we have: to start by seeking God.

At sixteen Josiah seeks God, at twenty, he starts to take action. Verse 3 continues:

2 Chronicles 34:3-4 (NIV)

In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles and idols. Under his direction the altars of the Baals were torn down; he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them, and smashed the Asherah poles and the idols. These he broke to pieces and scattered over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 

He didn't just stop worshiping idols, he tore them down, cut them to pieces, ground them to powder and scattered them over the graves of those who worshipped them.

Holy moly. That’s intentional. Can you imagine doing the same with our idols today? All the things that distract us or try to take the throne of God in our lives? Would you be willing to grind your phone into dust? Or burn those tarot cards that you’re still hanging onto from your old life? Or chop up your black Amex card?

These idols were things that people put their security in. They became superstitious and believed that their protection, provision and prosperity came from these man-made things. We can think that’s ridiculous, but we’re human as they were, and the default of our hearts is to worship what we can see. 

I admire Josiah’s heart, he got rid of everything that was getting in the way. And then, six years later, when he was twenty-six, the people were repairing the temple and they found something.

The Book of the Law

2 Chronicles 34:14-15 (NIV)

While they were bringing out the money that had been taken into the temple of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord that had been given through Moses. Hilkiah said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan.

The Book of the Law, God’s Word, had been lost in the temple. The same place idols had been brought into.

Think about that for a moment. They'd been so far from God that they'd literally lost His word. Not just physically, but in their hearts too. Have you ever misplaced your Bible? Can I be honest, I have a few times, and sometimes the worst part is that I get sad at the thought of losing all my notes that are in there. As if my notes are more important than the actual word of God.

It’s pretty easy to mislay your Bible. But it takes an intentional person to so continually dismiss the word of God from their heart that they forget about it altogether. Every person in Judah did that across generations. This was a people who were so completely far from God they’d forgotten His Word even existed.

And then they found it and brought it to Josiah and read it to him, look at his response in verse 19:

When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes.

He didn't justify himself, complaining he’d never been taught of its existence. He didn’t minimise it, saying it didn’t matter because his last 8 years he’d been seeking God. He didn't say, "Well, we were doing our best with what we knew."

He tore his robes in immediate repentance.

And then he gathered all the people - verse 30 - all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, from the least to the greatest, and he read the entire Book of the Law to them publicly.

2 Chronicles 34:31-33 (NIV)

The king stood by his pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord—to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and to obey the words of the covenant written in this book.

Then he had everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin pledge themselves to it; the people of Jerusalem did this in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.

Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the territory belonging to the Israelites, and he had all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. As long as he lived, they did not fail to follow the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

"As long as he lived, they did not fail to follow the Lord." An entire generation turned around because one young king sought God and rediscovered what had been lost.

What We Can Learn

So what do we take from Josiah's story? I see four things.

First, what was lost can be found again.

God's word had been physically lost, buried and forgotten in the temple. But it was still there, waiting to be rediscovered.

Maybe you've lost something along your journey so far. Maybe it's your first love for Jesus, or the joy you used to have in worship. Or maybe in a similar way it’s your love for God’s Word. 

Just because you've lost it, doesn't mean it's gone forever. It can be found again. How? By seeking the Lord.

Second, idols don't just go away. They have to be torn down.

Josiah didn't politely ask the idols to leave. He broke them, smashed them, and ground them to powder. We need to do the same with the idols in our lives.

Now, when I say idols, I don't just mean you've got a little statue in your living room. Although that might be the case, in which case just get rid of it right now. 

No, I'm also talking about the good things that have taken God's place. Success, reputation, money, comfort, even your role at church. These aren't bad things. But when they become the thing we can't live without, when they're what we organise our lives around instead of God - they've become idols.

And idols don't just fade away when we ignore them, they have to be actively torn down.

What would it look like for you to break, smash, and grind to powder the thing that's taken God's place in your life? A few things come to mind. If your bank balance has a grip on you, go on a rampage against it with radical generosity. Show it, and you, that it has no right to have a hold on you. If it’s your reputation, tear it down by getting vulnerable with someone you trust, share your weaknesses, confess your sin and struggles, and experience the truth that your security is not found in your reputation. If it’s success, take a risk. If it’s your role at church, consider taking a step back for a while to disentangle your identity from your title.

Third, it's never too late to turn around.

Josiah inherited the worst possible situation. His grandfather had led the nation into complete spiritual darkness, the temple was in disrepair, and God's word was lost.

But at sixteen, Josiah began to seek God anyway. He didn't wait until everything was perfect, he just started seeking God. Can we just acknowledge that that action alone had to have been orchestrated by God? Why would a young king who'd grown up without God's word, surrounded by idolatry, suddenly start to seek the God of his father David? This had to be God at work.

God saw Josiah’s heart. He’d been looking for a person whose heart was turned toward Him.

And at twenty, he started tearing down idols.

If you're sitting there thinking, "I've drifted too far, I've been out of rhythm for too long, I've let pride take root and I’ve become religious. It's too late for me." then hear this: it’s never too late.

You can start seeking God today. Right now. Wherever you are, whatever you've inherited, whatever mess you're in and however aware of God’s Word you are. 

Fourth, when we rediscover God's word, everything changes.

When Josiah heard the Book of the Law, he tore his robes. He didn't just hear it intellectually, it pierced his heart.

And then he made it public, he gathered everyone and read it to them. He renewed the covenant in front of everybody.

There's something powerful about bringing God's word back to the centre. Not as a checkbox thing - that risks us approaching it like I must read a chapter today, so then we get through it, and don’t think about it again. But as the living, active word of God that has the power to transform us.

I wonder, when was the last time God's word actually moved you? When was the last time it convicted you, or comforted you, or changed the way you were living?

If your answer is longer than you’d like, then there’s no shame in that. Maybe, like Josiah, you need to rediscover it. The invitation is there.

Here’s a prayer I say before I read the Bible that I first heard Beth Moore use and that I’ve slightly adjusted: Lord, would you give me a heart that loves you and that loves your word. Help me to know you as I read your Word now.

Simple. I like it because it acknowledges that I even need God’s help to become a person who is changed by His word.

The Good News

Here's what I love most about Josiah's story. He shows us that one person seeking God can change a generation. He was eight when he became king. Sixteen when he started seeking God. Twenty when he started tearing down idols. Twenty-six when he found the Book of the Law. And because of his faithfulness, God moved and an entire generation followed the Lord.

You might feel like you're just one person. You might look at the mess around you and think, "What difference can I possibly make?" A lot if Josiah’s story is anything to go by. As you seek God, tear down idols and rediscover His word, you invite God to use you to be the turning point in your generation, in your family line, or in your workplace.

God can use your faithfulness in ways you can't even imagine.

Application

So let me ask you - what have you lost that needs to be rediscovered?

Is it joy? Peace? Your first love for Jesus? Time in His word? Your prayer life?

The word of God was lost and replaced by idols.

So I wonder, has an idol taken the place of what you’ve lost? 

If so, God is inviting you to tear it down with Him.

Can I encourage you: don’t just avoid it or try to manage it, let the conviction of God fuel you as you tear it down. Throw those things out of your house, get rid of those things you find too much comfort in, or be radical as you dismantle the area of your life where you’ve placed your security or identity. 

Josiah tore his robes when he heard God's word. He didn't justify or minimise. He repented.

The invitation today is to do the same.

It isn’t too late, it doesn’t matter what you’ve inherited or how far you’ve drifted, take the first step and seek God today.

Question(s)

What have you lost that needs to be rediscovered? And what idols that replaced it need to be torn down?

Prayer

Lord, we want to be like Josiah - seeking You even when everything around us feels like a mess. Would you highlight to us now what it is that we’ve lost, show us the idols we've been carrying as replacements, and give us the courage to tear them down completely. Help us rediscover Your word, not as information but as transformation. Give us hearts that love you and that love your Word as we seek to run our races well to the very end. In your precious name Jesus, amen.