I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
When Manasseh returned from captivity, he destroyed the idols and altars to pagan gods that he had built. He offered sacrifices to God and encouraged the people of Judah to abandon the worship of foreign gods. The account tells us that his son, Amon, returned to worshiping idols and did not repent, instead doing even more evil than his father had. Amon was killed by a conspiracy of his own officials. The people killed the conspirators and made Amon’s son, Josiah, king.
Josiah was crowned king when he was eight years old. When he was sixteen, he began to seek God. When he turned twenty he began a program of religious reform. He had the pagan idols and their altars destroyed throughout Judah and even into the territory that had been controlled by the Northern Tribes. He had all of the pagan priests throughout the territory killed. When he finished this, he took the money that people had been donating at the gates of the Temple and began repairing the Temple.
While they are repairing the Temple the workmen discover a copy of the Book of the Law. The Book of the Law was taken to King Josiah and read to him. When Josiah hears what is in the Law, he is distraught because the children of Israel have not been keeping the Law. Josiah sends his aides to inquire of God and request His forgiveness. They went to speak with a prophetess named Huldah. Huldah sent word back to Josiah that God had declared that He was indeed going to bring disaster upon Judah and Jerusalem. But because Josiah had humbled himself, repented of the sins of his ancestors and turned to God, God was not going to do so during Josiah’s lifetime. Josiah called an assembly of all the people before which he pledged to keep the whole Law of God, not just the word but also the spirit. He then called on the people to make a similar commitment. We are told that the people of Israel did not turn away from God through the rest of his lifetime.
The story of Josiah shows us the impact that one person can have on the culture around them. Josiah was sixteen when he began to seek the Lord. He was twenty when he began his religious reform. But by his example the entire people of Israel became faithful followers of God, abandoning idol worship for his lifetime. Yes, he was king and that allowed him to force others to his will. Nevertheless, if we live our lives as examples of faithfulness and with fervor for worshiping the Lord, we can have an impact on the people around us.
Paul continues sending greetings to specific people that he knows in Rome. We tend to think of the book of Romans as being written to a single church, which in some ways is true. However, in his acknowledgements of people here at the end of the letter, Paul greets three groups that meet with people he is acknowledging. In addition, he extends his greetings of specific individuals to their entire household. All together this suggests that the Church of Rome was composed of multiple congregations, just as the Church of any modern city is so composed.
Paul goes on to appeal to the Church at Rome to avoid people who teach divisive things contrary to what has already been taught. He tells us that they use smooth talk and glowing words to convince the innocent. I do not know what teachings Paul had in mind here, if he was indeed thinking of specific teachings. However, we can see the sort of thing he was talking about in the Church today. There are people who teach that behaviors that Paul condemned are OK and then try to tell those supporting clearly worded teachings from the Bible that they are being divisive. A classic example of this is the fuss over remarks by the COO of Chik-Fil-A. In an interview, he talked about how the company is supportive of traditional marriage. As he continued that he even gave an idea of what he meant by a traditional marriage when he said in the very next sentence, “…we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.” He was called bigoted for attacking “gay marriage”, yet nowhere does he mention “gay marriage.” As a matter of fact, he seems to be putting more emphasis on opposing divorce in his comments than on opposing “gay marriage.”
The psalmist declares:
or go along with hypocrites.
I hate the gatherings of those who do evil,
and I refuse to join in with the wicked.
Do we do the same, not just declare it, but actually do what he declares that he does? Do we live lives of integrity, singing songs of thanksgiving and telling all who will listen of God’s wonders? Do we publicly praise the Lord? I strive to do so, but know that I fail more often than I should.
Today’s proverb tells us that those who gossip will betray things told to them in confidence. That if you spend time with someone who talks too much, sooner or later you will tell them something in confidence that they will tell to others.