In 2 Kings, chapters 22 & 23, the Bible records a time in the Kingdom of Judah when everyone was doing just as he pleased with no regard for what was right or wrong. But there was a young king on the throne who had it in his heart to please God rather than his own appetites. Josiah had been just 8 years of age when he had been thrust into leadership. But somehow, the young king felt differently about righteousness than most of his subjects. Scripture says, "He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord". 

In the 18th year of Josiah's reign over Judah, Hilkiah the high priest found the Book of the Law and gave it to Shaphan the secretary who read it to King Josiah. You see, the loss of the Law had led to the time of lawlessness in which Judah and Israel were now embroiled. The rediscovery of God's parameters for worship and behavior and the positive response of the Leadership temporarily forestalled the judgement looming over the Kingdom of Judah. Chapter 23 records a Spiritual housecleaning overseen by the King himself. Anything he found that smacked of the pervasive ungodliness of the past was removed. His administration purged the polluted forms of worship that had become commonplace and widely accepted. He had found out God's requirements and did his best to enforce them. Sadly, it was too late because the hearts of the people were not really in it.

We live in a time that bears some similarities to the end of Judah's freedom: There are no absolutes. Few seem willing to follow the parameters God has given us in His Word. The 10 Commandments have been scrapped as irrelevant, with some even labeling them hateful. The Old Testament is mocked and ridiculed as a collection of myths. The New Testament is rejected as non-applicable in this enlightened age in which we now live.

The days of miracles are over in the minds of many.

But there is still a hunger for God. And amazingly, that hunger is often in the hearts of the young. Oh yes; they are truly sick up to here with the plastic forms of organized religion. They have watched too many times as their role models have played a part in public that proved to be false in the crucible of everyday life. But they have a certainty in their hearts that the God of the Bible is real. They aren't much interested in knowing more about religion. They want to know HIM.

As this next generation hungers for HIM, they will find Him. "Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled!"

Let's join those seeking Jesus!

Lovingly,

Pastor Rich Orrell