II Chronicles 35:1a Now Josiah kept a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem

What would you think of a man who was driving to an unfamiliar address in a city many states away he’d never been in who insisted that he could find it with no help? He has a map on the seat next to him but never opens it. His phone is turned off. You might ask, “Are you sure you know where you’re going?” “Oh yes. I have a good sense of direction.” He might make it to the state. He might even make it to the city. But the street address? I think he’d be lost.

Josiah was one of the good kings of Judah. He had become king as a boy and as a young man he began to clean up the idols his father had allowed to pop up everywhere. He did many good things. Then one day as workers were cleaning out the temple, the book of the Law of God (think Bible) was found. Josiah was very interested. He began to read it and he discovered that they needed to observe the Passover. He hadn’t known that he was not doing what God wanted. So they went all out for God in observing the Passover. He’d been trying to do good things, but it wasn’t until they found the book that Josiah knew to do that essential thing.

Many people try to make their own way in life. They attempt and often do good things. They may even say things like, “My faith is very important to me.” But they don’t know that they are not doing what God wants. The Bible is available to us. It is God’s revealed Word. We can’t really be serious about doing good or doing things for God if we aren’t reading His Word. How will we know what He wants?

His directions are clear. But if the Bible is just a book we own but never open, or an app we never refer to, we might well be lost.

 

Blessings,

Pastor Russ