One Man Can Change Everything

One Year Bible

Old Testament passage for Wednesday, July 3, 2013:  II Kings 22:3-23:30

⁸ Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. …  ¹⁰ Then Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.  II Kings 22:8,10 (NKJV)

It is downright shocking how quickly things can deteriorate when left unattended.  Fail to watch a garden for one week and the weeds take over.  Let down your guard on household maintenance, and the place begins to look shabby overnight.  I have a work room where I keep tools, garden supplies, and all sorts of household items.  If I fail to ride herd on the clutter, that little room descends into chaos before I know it.

Your relationships are the same way.  This includes family relationships, friends, and even your relationship with God.  If we fail to take care of things, they can quickly fall into bad shape.

That’s what happened with respect to the Temple in the Old Testament.  Under Solomon, the Temple was built as a model to the world of the beauty of true worship.  It was opulent.  But later kings failed to take care of this treasure.  In fact, they brought foreign practices into this holy place and allowed it to fall apart.

God raised up ONE MAN to begin setting things right.  One man doing the right thing changed everything.  His name was Josiah.  When he ascended to the throne, he ordered the repair of the house of the Lord.  King Josiah called for RESTORATION.  Israel was called to be a light to the Gentiles (Isaiah 42:6; 49:6) and Josiah wanted to reclaim the good plan of God.

As the repairmen went about their task of cleaning up the mess, they came across a dusty, un-used book.  This forgotten, discarded book was none other than the Law of God -- the decalogue -- the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

The clutter had covered the Word of God.  In similar fashion, the busy-ness and crowdedness of our lives can rob us of the grandeur and beauty for which God created us.  It is time to reclaim God’s original plan.  We do this by opening our Bibles and finding out what God says to us.  All God’s plans for us are tied to our relationship to His Word. 

As Josiah read the words of the Law, his initial response was deep distress.  It shocked him how far Israel had fallen.  But then, as needed changes were enacted, the process of RESTORATION unfolded step by step. 

This is what God wants for each of us.  As we read the Bible, we learn of the great things God has in store.  It may also cause us to realize how far we may have wandered off course.  God raised up ONE MAN to turn the tide for Israel.  You are the ONE PERSON God is now raising up to change your world.  With the Bible as our guide, it is never too late to reclaim God’s best plans.