2 Kings 22: 11When the king heard the words of the
Book of the Law, he tore his robes.
This was
King Josiah who was the king of Judah and for a long time the people have
turned away from God and had run after other gods and idols. The scriptures had
not been read for a long time and the priests had even kept the word of God out
of sight and in fact had been lost for a long time.
Now that
renovation work was being done, the book of the law was rediscovered and it was
brought to the king who commanded that the book be read. Upon hearing the word,
King Josiah was convicted of the sins of the nation and he tore his clothes as
a sign of grief and remorse.
This is the
power of the word of God, the hearers will be convicted of their sins and
repent or they may be hardened in their hearts. In the case of King Josiah, he
was convicted and he asked for the prophet to interpret what was read. The
answer that the prophet gave was that because the people had turned from their
God to other gods, they would be punished and be removed from the land.
The punishment
in those days was severe and in fact God had on many occasions caused the
nation of Israel to suffer great losses and captivity. The people of Israel
were given over to slavery and were exiled for many long years. In fact the
nation of Israel had suffered thousands of years of dispersion and only in this
generation had God finally started to gather His people back to Israel which
was re-established 70 years ago.
God is
looking for a people who would be obedient to Him and be able to draw close to
Him. God delights in the worship of His people and would bless all who would
draw close to Him.
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