Cleaning House

By Matt (I'm putting my name so Ben's youth will know this post isn't his; his are usually more frequent and better so you should be able to tell anyways ;) )

I received a harassing email today. Hooray! Thanks for that :) Now for that PHONE CALL, Sir Harris!

I Read: 2 Kings 19-25

After king after king being very stupid, we finally get one who knows what's up: Josiah. There is a little caveat to Josiah's story that I almost stepped past and never thought about. Why were there so many evil kings doing stupid, stupid things for so long? I'm sure part of it is that they knew what they were doing was wrong but they didn't care: it felt good, it was easier, it's what everyone was doing, etc. All the usual excuses. But, wait just a goldanged second, looky here at what 22:8 says: a priest is doing some cleaning and runs across what else but the Bible? so, incredibly stupid, sinful kings and the Bible being "missing"? Hmm. Connection?

So, Josiah. "When the king heard what was written in the book, God's Revelation, he ripped his robes in dismay" (22:11). Well, that's not all. He cleaned house. All the altars to false gods and graven images? Gone. All the temples to these dimestore deities? Razed to the ground. Interestingly enough, avoiding OT cliches, Josiah didn't really kill any of the priests until he was just about done. Guess he had enough.

But that's the point: once we know, we have an obligation to follow through. The word of God written down was not just a lamp to Josiah's feet, it was the roadmap for the rest of his reign! Clear out any vestige of pagan worship in Israel and restore the chosen people as God's people. This is one terrific example of the power of the Word and the example we should be following when we commit our lives to the speaker of those words.

I'm not advocating the death of false priests and priestesses here, believe me. I am screaming that God doesn't want his Revelation stuck in a back room to be brought out occasionally. He wants the run of the house, of the country, and God is one picky guest. He expects a clean house.

So, now we know what is in God's word for us. What is our response? What cobwebs do we need to be clearing, what walls need washed down and repainted? What is it going to take before God is testing the bed and opening his suitcase as a guest in our house?