Preparing for Departure

Scripture: There was no other king who so completely turned to the Lord and followed all the laws of Moses; and no king since the time of Josiah has approached his record of obedience. But the Lord still did not hold back his great anger against Judah, caused by the evils of King Manasseh. 2 Kings 23:25-26

Observation: Josiah has heard the prophets declare that God will destroy Judah due to their sins, then he discovered the book of the law, and he went on a major cleansing of Judah. Josiah addressed ... everything. He eliminated every abomination to false gods, he eliminated the hilltop alters, he destroyed personal shrines. He did this this throughout the temple, throughout Jerusalem, throughout Judah, and then even went and did it through Samaria even though the Israelites has already been utterly destroyed and were no longer even there. Josiah literally took care of everything throughout the entire promised land.

But ... it wasn't going to change the outcome. Josiah would die, and within three years Babylon would attack and the course was set for the total destruction of Judah and the exile of all Israelites.

Application: So I ask myself, if Judah's destruction by God was a done-deal, what was the point - from God's perspective - of Josiah even trying to correct the situation? I think the answer is this ... there would come a time of restoration in the future, and the land needed to be put in order for that future purpose.

This seems like a person who cleans their house before going on vacation. The goal isn't to have a clean house while gone, nor is the goal to do futile busy work before departing. Rather, the goal is so that, upon returning, the house is in proper order. Nothing is rotting in the fridge, or attracting pests on a counter, or in need of immediate attention. This is good for the person returning so they feel comfortable, but it is also good for the house so that it will not experience issues while not being lived in and cared for.

When the exiles return - 70 years after being taken captive, and ~8 years after the cleansing of Josiah - all they will want to do is restore the ONLY element of their faith that existed, which is the temple. They high alters, shrines, and idols to other gods won't be considered because they didn't exist. The Jews that go into exile have their hearts and memories now prepared so that, when restoration comes, they can engage the Lord properly. Meanwhile, the land will go into its Sabbath rest without places that are cursed by God due to the horrors of foreign idols, alters of child sacrifice, and remnants of selfish acts.

Josiah was a king like no other king of Israel or Jerusalem. His legacy was to prepare both the land and the people for the exile, likely knowing that it wouldn't change the fact they would be destroyed. He did so faithfully, and no other king every approached his obedience.

Prayer: Lord, I sometimes think that our nation may not be recoverable. While I know you can do all things, I also know you may choose not to bring a revival to the U.S. If this be the case, may we still act as Josiah, remaining completely obedient and faithful, so that perhaps sometime in the future there would be hope for a future generation. Amen.