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.
Like King Jehoash several generations earlier, King Josiah orders Temple repairs. During the repairs, the priests discover the Book of the Law. They gave it to the king’s court secretary, who in turn read it to King Josiah. King Josiah is horrified to learn how far they have fallen short of keeping the Law. Josiah at once sends someone to inquire of the Lord what they should do and to beg forgiveness of God. God sends word that He is indeed angry and that disaster is going to come to Jerusalem because the people had failed to keep His law, but that because Josiah had repented in sorrow and turned to God, it would be delayed until after his death.
King Josiah gathered the elders of Judah and read them the book which had been found in the Temple. He renewed the Covenant between the descendants of Jacob and God. Josiah then began the most thorough cleansing of pagan practices from among the people of Judah that had occurred under any king of Israel or Judah. He thoroughly desecrated all of the pagan shrines throughout the land, including the high places where Yahweh had been worshiped alongside of pagan gods. He extended this cleansing through most of what had been the Northern Kingdom. He brought all of the priests living throughout Judah to Jerusalem. He did not allow the priests who had served at the high places to serve in the Temple, but he allowed them to eat from the same offerings that supported the priests of the Temple. King Josiah then ordered the people to celebrate the Passover. The passage tells us that the Passover had not been completely celebrated under any of the previous kings, including David. Finally the passage tells us that King Josiah was killed when he went to battle to prevent the King of Egypt from marching through his land.
A common opinion among biblical scholars is that the “Book of the Law” this passage says was found in the Temple was actually written at this time and is the starting point for the book we now know as Deuteronomy. I understand why they take this position, but I do not agree. I believe that there are two things that call this conclusion into question. One of the things that they base this on is the fact that evidence suggests that the people of Israel and Judah had practiced a kind of polytheism up until this time, treating Yahweh as the chief god of the pantheon (it is much more complicated than that and I would debate this conclusion, but that is for another time). During the time of Josiah and forward, Judaism was much more militantly monotheistic. Even if one accepts this understanding there is a flaw in the reasoning. Modern Christians consider slavery to be wrong and sinful, yet until the eighteenth century Christians accepted it. No new scripture was needed to make the change, just a different understanding of existing scripture…and of a Christian’s relationship to his fellow man. Another reason that some biblical scholars reject the Mosaic origins of Deuteronomy and place its origins here is that they do not believe in God’s supernatural intervention into history. I believe that it is logically consistent to accept the Bible as an authoritative document and yet reject the idea that God intervenes into history. My experience with those who do that is that they pick and chose what parts of the Bible they will believe and what parts of modern archeology they will believe based on how well either supports their preconceived understanding. I know that when I read the Bible, I tend to understand it based on preconceived notions. However, I try very hard to question those preconceptions when I come across scripture which conflicts with them.
As the Roman commander is taking Paul into the garrison, Paul asks for a word with him. The Roman commander is surprised that Paul speaks Greek because he thought that Paul was an Egyptian rebel (there is no explanation in the passage as to where the commander got that idea). Paul tells the Roman commander that not only is he not, but that he is a citizen of Tarsus (I believe that Paul was telling the commander that he was a Roman citizen from the city of Tarsus, rather than that he was just a citizen of the city of Tarsus). Paul requests permission to address the crowd, which the commander grants. When Paul starts speaking in Aramaic, the crowd quiets down (apparently taken by surprise that Paul can speak that language). Paul begins by telling the crowd his background as a Jew born in Tarsus and raised in Jerusalem. He lays out his credentials as a student of Gamaliel and as a persecutor of the Church. He then tells of his conversion experience. I think that this is an important model for us as Christians when we are testifying to others. We need to lay out our background so that people can understand what a change our conversion represents. God will use us to witness to those to whom our life story connects. We should not be ashamed of either a “goody-two-shoes” background or a “steeped in sin” background, or anything in between. It is the path that God has given us to use to reach those we meet.
The psalmist tells us not to take the advice of the wicked or hang out with sinners or join in with those who mock others. There are three levels here. The first is that you should consider the source when you receive advice, if the person giving the advice does not share your values their advice is not likely to yield results that will please you. The second is that what you find to be acceptable behavior for yourself will be influenced by those you spend time around, make sure that a majority of your free time is spent with those who are trying to live righteous lives. Finally, do not join in with those who mock others for whatever perceived flaws they have, mocking others is hurtful both to them and ourselves. If instead of listening to the advice of the wicked, hanging out with sinners and mocking others we study the scripture and attempt to apply it to our lives we will be rock solid and successful in what we do.
This proverb tells us that the rich think that their wealth will protect them from danger. While this is often true, there are situations where wealth will bring increased danger rather than security. Being puffed up and proud of yourself will often lead you to put yourself onto a path where your skills will be inadequate to get yourself out of trouble. On the other hand, those who are humble and recognize their limits will often be praised for their successes.