Word for the Day - July 7

(text and notes from Life Application Study Bible, New Living Translation, Tyndale 1996)

Then the king instructed Hilkiah the high priest and the leading priests and the Temple gatekeepers to remove from the LORD's Temple all the utensils that were used to worship Baal, Asherah, and all the forces of heaven. The king had all these things burned outside Jerusalem on the terraces of the Kidron Valley, and he carried the ashes away to Bethel. He did away with the pagan priests, who had been appointed by the previous kings of Judah, for they had burned incense at the pagan shrines throughout Judah and even in the vicinity of Jerusalem. They had also offered incense to Baal, and to the sun, the moon, the constellations, and to all the forces of heaven. The king removed the Asherah pole from the LORD's Temple and took it outside Jerusalem to the Kidron Valley, where he burned it. Then he ground the pole to dust and threw the dust in the public cemetery. He also tore down the houses of the shrine prostitutes that were inside the Temple of the LORD, where the women wove coverings for the Asherah pole. Josiah brought back to Jerusalem all the priests of the LORD, who were living in other towns of Judah. he also defiled all the pagan shrines, where they had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba. He destroyed the shrines at the entrance to the gate of Joshua, the governor of Jerusalem. This gate was located to the left of the city gate as one enters the city.
(2 Kings 23:4-8)

When Josaih realized the terrible state of Judah's religious life, he did something about it. It is not enough to say that we believe what is right; we must respond with action, doing what faith requires. This is what James was emphasizing when he wrote, "Faith that does not result in good deeds is useless" (James 2:20). This means acting differently at home, school, work, and church. Simply talking about obedience is not enough.

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Never before had there been a king like Josiah, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses. And there has never been a king like him since.
(2 Kings 23:25)

Josiah is remembered as Judah's most obedient king. His obedience followed this pattern:
1. he recognized sin,
2. he eliminated sinful practices,
3. he attacked the causes of sin.
This approach for dealing with sin is still effective today. Not only must we remove sinful actions, we must also eliminate causes for sin - those situations, relationships, routines, and patterns of life that lead us to the door of temptation.

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Judah had three sons through Bathshua, a Canaanite woman. Their names were Er, Onan, and Shelah. But the oldest son, Er, was a wicked man, so the LORD killed him.
(1 Chronicles 2:3)

The long genealogy in 1 Chronicles not only lists names but gives us insights into some of the people. Here, almost as an epitaph, the genealogy that Er "was a wicked man, so the LORD killed him." Now, thousands of years later, this is all we know of the man. Each of us is forging a reputation, developing personal qualities by which we will be remembered. How would God summarize your life up to now? Some defiantly claim that how they live is their own business. But Scripture teaches that the way you live today will determine how you will be remembered by others and how you will be judged by God. What you do now does matter.

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It's harder to make amends with an offended friend than to capture a fortified city. Arguments separate friends like a gate locked with iron bars.
(Proverbs 18:19)