2 Kings 22-23 | The Inherent Power of the Word

"Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, "I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord." ... And Shaphan read it in the presence of the king. When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes (2 Kings 22:8, 10-11)

The Word of God is God just as much as your words are you. As such, it carries a might that is beyond explanation. It is living, active, and powerful.

READING THE WORD

One of its great powers is to measure us as we read it prayerfully. We can feel fairly good about ourselves as an athlete until we compete with others. We can feel wonderful about our spiritual life until it is measured against the Word of God.

This measuring property of God's Word is not designed to hurt us, but to help us. Without it, we would wander and turn away like a sheep without a shepherd. Life would get dangerous and harmful. (Just look at the lives of those who pay no attention to the Bible).

When Josiah read the Word (for the first time) he realized how greatly he and his nation had walked away from God. He realized this was the source of all their problems and he decided to fully respond to all God had instructed.

OBEYING THE WORD

Not only did young Josiah read the Word, he faithfully followed everything it said.

2 Kings 23

1 Then the king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.

2 The king went up to the house of the Lord and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord.

3 The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant.

This covenant led him first to REMOVE all the foreign gods that had been erected and then to RESTORE God and His commandments He had given as the one, true God. This restoration brought a reviving of the nation.

This is why we must read the Bible continually and prayerfully and obediently. When Josiah responded in humility, he was heard by the Lord and began a path to restoration that was a blessing to the whole nation. And so must we.

Father, thank You for Your Word! Thank You that it contains everything I need for life and godliness and that it can teach, reprove, correct, and train me in righteousness and thoroughly equip me for every good work. Let me wait daily at the gates of Your Word and then give me the grace to run quickly to obey all that You speak. And, most of all, may I encounter You in every page!