by David Scott Robertson
(2 Kings 23:25 NIV) Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the LORD as he did--with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.
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I never get tired of hearing the story of Josiah, King of Judah. His father was King Amon, who did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. But at the ripe old age of eight, Josiah replaced his father as king and reigned for thirty-one years.
To summarize, when Josiah was twenty-six years old, he ordered that the temple of the Lord be restored. During this process, the Book of the Law was found (2 Kings 22:8). It was brought to King Josiah and read to him. When the young king realized that his nation was in a profoundly backslidden condition and poised for judgment, he tore his clothes in despair. As a result, the word of the Lord was sent to the king through a prophet saying that God had taken note of the king's grieved reaction to his nation's disregard and careless neglect of God's Law. Because Josiah had languished over Judah's negligence in despair, God promised to defer His sure judgment against Judah until Josiah's life span had ended! Josiah then began one of the most thorough idol-busting campaigns in the history of the nation of Judah. And God was pleased.
I so admire the complete turnaround of this ancient king of Judah that if I were to be blessed with a son born into my household, I would name him after Josiah. I am impressed with this young man's remarkable repentance and subsequent resolve to purge pagan idolatry from his kingdom according to all that was written in the Book of the Law.
Now let's fast-forward this fabulous revival to the future--to our present day. What might an idol-busting revival look like these days? What if a young man of twenty-six years of age came to know the Lord Jesus Christ for the very first time in his life? What if he purposed to completely turn to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with the New Testament scriptures?
Perhaps it could look something like this…
He starts to show up for work on time. He no longer calls in sick when he's not. His speech begins to transform from vulgar and vain to courteous and considerate. He stops flirting with his married co-worker.
He cancels his subscription to a raunchy magazine. He even turns his head in the Wal-Mart line from the parade of flesh brazenly printed for all to see on the shameless tabloids.
Interestingly, his taste in movies dramatically changes as he voluntarily sets up a boundary to view no film that blasphemes God or tempts him to re-enter his formerly sinful lifestyle. The buttons on his radio have to be reprogrammed. His internet travels make a huge u-turn and he no longer stays up until 3 a.m. on the net with his door locked and shades drawn.
Television, which used to gobble up 22 hours of his 168-hour week, now has been curbed back to a reasonable amount with plenty of time left over to study his Bible. Not only that, his insatiable quest for the weird, the bizarre, the esoteric, the paranormal, the extreme in human deviance, has now been replaced with a growing love for nature, the arts, and other healthy outlets of recreation and social opportuntities.
His complete set of horror novels is now posted on eBay--as is over $5,000 worth of music he now feels violates his moral conscience.
He gives away his season tickets to his favorite pro ball team because kick-off conflicts with his involvement at church. And he has come to love his pastor. The man used to irritate and offend him regularly; now the young man actually sees him as a mentor and spiritual father in his life!
It seems these days our young idol-buster is reluctant to binge and overeat, because he begins to feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit calling him to present his body as a living sacrifice to God.
He breaks up with the girl he's been dating for three years because she doesn't understand. She tells him she liked him better "before."
One by one, his buddies have dropped him. They want him to stay behind with them in their world and resent him for inviting them forward into what he describes as "a fantastic journey toward God."
This young man is not perfect--far from it. He is definitely under construction. Some say he is too radical, what with all the tattoos, piercings, and hair thing he's got going on. Some say he's not for real because he "doesn't look the part" of what their concept of a Christian ought to be.
But Jesus just smiles knowing that this young idol-buster is in revival!
DSR
8/23/04