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Read 2 Kings 21:17-26, 2 Chronicles 33:20-23
2 Kings 23:25-27 Never before had there been a king like Josiah, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses. And there has never been a king like him since. 26 Even so, the LORD was very angry with Judah because of all the wicked things Manasseh had done to provoke him. 27 For the LORD said, “I will also banish Judah from my presence just as I have banished Israel. And I will reject my chosen city of Jerusalem and the Temple where my name was to be honored.” THE LORD promised judgment on Judah even as the righteous Josiah became king. To this point, God has been willing to forgive the Jews’ sins. He has even in many circumstances protected his disobedient people by destroying powerful armies. His gracious forgiveness is on constant display. But what is different here? Why does Josiah’s righteous rule not turn away God’s condemnation from Judah? The LORD answers our question in Jeremiah 3:7-10 “I thought, ‘After she (Israel) has done all this, she will return to me.’ But she did not return, and her faithless sister Judah saw this. 8 She saw that I divorced faithless Israel because of her adultery. But that treacherous sister Judah had no fear, and now she, too, has left me and given herself to prostitution. 9 Israel treated it all so lightly. She thought nothing of committing adultery by worshiping idols made of wood and stone. So now the land has been polluted. 10 But despite all this, her faithless sister Judah has never sincerely returned to me. She has only pretended to be sorry. I, the LORD, have spoken!” Even as some returned to true worship, some returned with unfaithful hearts. There was a casual attitude toward sin, repentance and forgiveness. God’s people believed repentance was to say, “I’m sorry.” and then return to the sin. Repentance, though, is fully turning from sin, so you can completely turn to God. To escape danger, one must turn around to go far away. That must be our pathway from sin, putting greater and greater distance from danger of destruction. It is an adultery of the soul to say, “I repent. Forgive me, LORD.” And then continue doing the same sin. Jesus said it this way: “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other.” (Luke 16:13a) When a nation’s, a church’s or family’s leader seeks a righteous life, true change will only come to the followers when they leave sins behind. Most of Judah did not follow Josiah. Soon they would follow Babylon into captivity. Comments are closed.
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AuthorBob James Archives
January 2025
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