READING: 2 Kings 23
“. . . there was no king like him who turned to the Lord.”
2 Kings 23:25
There was no one like him in his walk with God.
That’s quite a statement to make, but that’s exactly the biblical summary of Josiah’s life: “Before him there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength according to all the law of Moses, and no one like him arose after him” (2 Kgs. 23:25). Josiah was not a perfect man, yet not even David himself fulfilled the role of godly king like he did.
He called his people back to the Word and led them in obedience to that Word. He commanded them to observe the Passover again like they had not done “from the time of the judges who judged Israel through the entire time of the kings of Israel and Judah” (2 Kgs. 23:22). He confronted evil and took dramatic steps to eradicate it from the land. His obedience did not stay God’s ultimate judgment on the people, but he himself is still remembered as a significant light in that darkness.
We, too, live amid darkness, and we can assume that God’s judgment will ultimately fall on nations that have rejected Him. God’s call to us, however, remains: we are to follow Him completely—even if we stand as one of the first to follow Him.
ACTION STEPS:
- Evaluate whether your life exhibits commitment to God in spite of how others live.
- Serve God with all your heart and soul and strength.
PRAYER: “God, help me to stand faithfully for You no matter how dark the world becomes.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Habakkuk 1-3