24 Moreover, Josiah put away the mediums and the necromancers and the household gods and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. 25 Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.
26 Still the Lord did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him. 27 And the Lordsaid, “I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city that I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.” (II Kings 23)
Josiah had done so much to stir up revival in Jerusalem. He had the temple fixed, the Word of God read, the Passover reinstituted, every semblance of idol worship removed from Jerusalem and the high places, cleared out those who promoted demonic practices. Verse 25 summarizes his rule well: Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him. Yet, after it all, the judgment of God would not be averted forever. The consequences of repeated and increased evil had risen too high for Judah to be what she should have been all along: a nation that drew the world to God. Such a truth should not prevent us from going all out for good, as if it was to no end. It was for that day, that people, at that time, what needed to happen. We must not err to either extreme: not doing something today because we do not care about what it means for tomorrow, nor the opposite: that we do not do something today because we do care, but in the long run it will "make no difference." It does make a difference to God, for others, and for ourselves. We must realize that we are not the ones who hold the destiny of the world and nations in our hand. Only One has that job.
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