2 Kings 22:1 says, Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath. Josiah was another one who started to reign at a very young age, though I am sure for the first few years others probably made most of the decisions for him. If we come to Jesus Christ by faith at a very young age, even though the Holy Spirit will guide us, we still need the advice of those who have been Christians for a longer period of time. Of course, we still need to make sure that what they are teaching us is consistent with God's word, and I believe that the Holy Spirit will guide us in knowing this. Verse two adds, And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left. Josiah did what was right in God's sight, just as David, who was called his father, had done. Of course, we know that he was just a descendant of David, and not his actual son. Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of God's promise to David that his descendant would always be on the throne ruling over Israel. This promise was then expanded to anyone who would put their faith in Him, and not just Jewish people, when Jesus Christ died and rose again. Verse three continues, And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of the Lord, saying, In the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign, he sent Shaphan the scribe to the house of the Lord. Though we were told that Josiah did what was right in God's sight, it took him a few years to address the problems with the Temple. As we grow in faith, we should undertake more and more work for God's Kingdom, as we are led by the Holy Spirit. Verse four states, Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the silver which is brought into the house of the Lord, which the keepers of the door have gathered of the people: He sent Shaphan to Hilkiah the high priest and told him to count the silver brought into God's house. I am not sure what they had been doing with it, but now Josiah was ready to have it used to work on the temple. I don't know what we are doing God's tithes and offerings as churches today, but I believe that we should be using them for God's work under the direction of the Holy Spirit. The same is true of the things God blesses us with materially as individuals I believe. I personally believe that as churches when Christ returns that if the choice is being in debt or sitting on unused resources, that He would prefer us to be in debt. Verse five adds, And let them deliver it into the hand of the doers of the work, that have the oversight of the house of the Lord: and let them give it to the doers of the work which is in the house of the Lord, to repair the breaches of the house, Basically, Josiah told Hilkiah to release the money to the builders so they could repair the breaches in the Temple. As the high priest, Hilkiah should have already been talking to Josiah about doing this. As Christians, we should never have to wait for someone else to tell us to do what needs to be done in the church today. Verse six continues, Unto carpenters, and builders, and masons, and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house. The high priest was to deliver the money to the carpenters, builders, and masons so they could be at work. We as the church, the local fellowship of believers, should always make sure that we pay those who do actual work on church buildings, unless they have been led to do the work without pay. It should be their choice and not our expectation if they donate their time and resources. Verse seven concludes, Howbeit there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand, because they dealt faithfully. The builders were allowed to use the money as they needed to without an accounting, because they had dealt fairly in doing the work. I am not sure that I would say we should always just release God's money to those who are doing work without some accountability, but if those doing the work are followers of Christ themselves, we should be able to do so. Verse eight declares, And Hilkiah the high priest said unto 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. Hilkiah, the high priest, told Shaphan that he had found the book of the law in the house of the Lord, and he gave it to Shaphan, and he read it. We need to pray that God's Book, the Bible, will be found in all churches and that it will be read and obeyed not just by the church leaders but by every Christian. Verse nine adds, And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, Thy servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of them that do the work, that have the oversight of the house of the Lord. Shaphan returned to Josiah and told him the money had been gathered and turned over to the builders. I believe that we as Christians need to return to our King, Jesus Christ, daily and give Him an accounting of how we are using what He blesses us with. Verse ten continues, And Shaphan the scribe shewed the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king. Shaphan then told Josiah that Hilkiah had given him a book that he found in the temple, though he didn't say the last part, and he then read it to the king. It does us no good to have the Bible in our home or in church buildings if we don't read it. Verse eleven concludes, And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes. When Josiah heard the words of the Book, he tore his clothes. Matthew Henry says, that even though Josiah was said to be obedient to God, that hearing what the Book said was new to him, and he tore his clothes in repentance. When we hear God's word, no matter how good we may have been, it should move us to action through the Holy Spirit as we humble ourselves before God.
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