Stephen Palmer – Living on Appreciation for the Scriptures – Class 2 – Personal Discovery of the Word – Example of Josiah

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Our second class is subtitle
Personal Discovery of the Word,

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The Example of Josiah.
Brother Stephen has asked us to

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read Second Chronicles chapter
34, verses 29 through 33 to

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introduce this second class.
Brother Graham Warsnup of the

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Kerry Kerry Ecclesia in New
Zealand will lead us in our

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reading of Second Chronicles
chapter 34, verse 29 through 33.

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The second book of Chronicles,
chapter 34 and starting at verse

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29.
Then the king sent and gathered

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together.
All the elders.

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Of Judah and Jerusalem.
And the king went up into the

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House of the Lord, and all the
men of Judah, and the

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inhabitants of Jerusalem, and
the priests, and the Levites,

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and all the people both great
and small, And he read in their

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ears.
All the words.

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Of the book of the covenant that
was found in the House of the

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Lord.
And the king stood in his place

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and made a covenant before the
Lord, to walk after the Lord,

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and to keep his commandments and
his testimonies and his statutes

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with all his heart, with all his
soul, to perform the words of a

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covenant that are written in
this book.

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And he?
Caused all that were present.

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In Jerusalem and Benjamin to
stand to it, and the inhabitants

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of Jerusalem.
Did.

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According to the covenant of
God, the God of their fathers.

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And Josiah took away all the
abominations out of all the

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countries that pertained to the
children of Israel, and made all

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that were present in Israel to
serve, even to serve the Lord

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their God.
And all his days they departed,

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not from following the Lord, the
God of their fathers.

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Thank you, Brother Graham.
Class 2.

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Personal discovery of the word.
The example of Josiah.

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Brother Stephen.
What we’ve seen it together in

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our first class, friends,
sister, young people, is this

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need for character development.
Notice the focus isn’t on works.

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It’s not about what we are
doing.

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We must do this.
We mustn’t do that.

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And low, of course, there are
things we must do and things we

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mustn’t do.
What the scriptures are teaching

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us, we believe, is that in order
to do the right thing and not to

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do the wrong thing, what we have
to address is the character

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which leads us in a certain way.
The character that we have can

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change, It can be changed.
And we have to focus our minds

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on this.
We have to change to be the

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people we ought to be.
It’s a process.

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It’s a slow process, but it is a
process of change.

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I don’t know if you’ve ever said
or heard anyone say, well, look,

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that’s just the way I am.
You’ve just got to take me as I

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am because that’s me.
That’s unacceptable.

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That is not acceptable.
Rather than system, did Christ

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die for nothing?
God is changing us through His

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Word, through the living example
of the Lord Jesus Christ,

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through the circumstances that
come upon us, through the

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angelic ministry working in our
lives.

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He is trying to change us so
that we’re not just the way we

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are, but that we’ve become more
and more, by God’s grace, like

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the one who has died for us.
And it’s our personal

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involvement in this process
which we are addressing our

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personal involvement with.
The power to change that is the

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Word of God.
And so this is for everyone,

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especially for those who think
they are small in the truth.

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The work of Josiah was a
tremendous example, and we can

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look at him as a personal
example, manifesting the things

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that God requires of us.
We’ll look at the King’s record

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together, Second Kings chapters
22 onward, and sometimes go to

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the Chronicles record.
But we’d just like to point out

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one or two things about this
man, particularly in

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relationship to the qualities
that he showed in respect of the

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Word of God.
In Second Kings 22, verse 8,

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we’re told that Josiah was just
8 years old when he began to

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reign.
We’re told in the Chronicles

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record that when he was 16 he
began to seek the God of David,

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his father, and when he was 20
he began to cleanse the land.

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He was a remarkable young man.
He must have had perhaps one of

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the worst fathers, and certainly
one of the worst grandfathers

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it’s possible to conceive of a
child ever having.

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His spirituality at the age of
16 had nothing to do with his

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father, nothing whatsoever.
It might just have had something

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to do with his grandfather.
But what Manasseh was the in the

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record of the kings was just
about the worst king who

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introduced such a reign of
corruption, such grotesque

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idolatry, that the nation of
Judah became unfit to survive.

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It was because of the sins of
Manasseh that Judah was to be

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removed.
Nevertheless, Manasseh repented.

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It’s hard to believe this, not
hard to believe he repented so

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much.
It’s hard to believe that God

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accepted his repentance, Hard to
believe that God is so full of

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compassion that even Manasseh
could find grace.

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It’s just quite startling when
you read about the sins of

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Manasseh.
But he did find grace, and it

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may well have been that in his
later years, the last part of

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his reign, that he made
provision for his grandson was

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going to be king, to be
instructed in the things of God.

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Possibly.
But what you saw I couldn’t have

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been instructed in was the word
of God.

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There was a man who must have
been brought up knowing only

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second-half the stories of the
Bible.

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It seems there’s an indication
in the fact that he walked in

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all the way of David his father,
that he had had a good education

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in the history of his forebears,
and that the man David had been

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an inspiration to him.
It may be that there were still

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Psalms in existence, but what he
didn’t have was the law, which

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Moses recorded because that had
been lost and it wasn’t until

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his 26th year, six years
interest reformation that the

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Bible of Moses was rediscovered.
So the first part of his life

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and the first efforts that he
made to cleanse the ways of his

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people didn’t really have the
same power that the second

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cleansing had.
The second cleansing is

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described in Second Kings 23,
the first cleansing in the

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Chronicles record.
You put those two together, you

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can see there were two actual
cleansings of the temple, just

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as the Lord Jesus Christ cleanse
the temple at the beginning and

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the end of his ministry.
There’s a pattern which is

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repeated.
When he went into the temple and

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they said by what authority do
these things?

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They also must have recognised
the echoes of Josiah’s time.

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It was the authority of the king
by which he did these things.

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But having understanding of God
second hand is a poor substitute

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for what God intends for us.
Just learning what brethren

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teach us is a poor substitute
for listening directly to the

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Word of God.
Now we hope often times the two

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things are the same, that what
brethren teaches is the Word of

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God pure and simple.
But it can’t be that we are free

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from the weakness of our own
nature in our understanding and

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the way in which we put over the
Word of God.

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What brethren can do is to
direct us perhaps to that Word

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so that we can pick it up for
ourselves and think for

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ourselves.
What it’s saying is personal

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discovery of the Word of God
that Josiah is teaching us

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about.
We just read about it.

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The book had been lost.
Look at the King’s record,

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Second Kings 22 and verse 8.
And Hilkiah the high priest said

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unto Shaphan the scribe, I have
found the book of the law in the

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House of the Lord.
And Hilkiah gave the book to

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Shaphan and he read it.
How could the book have been

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lost?
Well, you could well imagine.

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Do you remember your history
from the days of the Protestant

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Reformation?
How the Bishop of London bought

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of every copy of the English
translation of William Tyndale

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and burns it outside Saint
Paul’s Cathedral?

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There was an eradication attempt
on the word of God and in

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Manassas reign perhaps that had
been successfully accomplished.

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But surely if there had been a
copy of the law anywhere in the

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land, then wouldn’t you have
thought Josiah would have got

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hold of it?
He’d been up and down that land

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for six years trying to
institute a reformation.

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And in the sixth year a book is
found and he hears it being read

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for the very first time.
He is stunned by what he hears.

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He he tore his clothes.
He sent a message to hold on the

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protest.
What?

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What am I supposed to do?
We’ve just found the book and it

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did mentions all these curses
which are going to he’d never

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heard of that before.
It was all new to him.

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So the book had been lost.
Notice in verse 8 it says I have

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found the book of the law.
And if we compare that with what

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we read in Second Chronicles,
it’s very interesting.

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Second Chronicles 3414, let me
just read you say it says

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Hilkiah, the priest found a book
of the law of the Lord, says in

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the AV given by Moses.
But in the margin it says the

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Hebrew is the law of the Lord by
the hand of Moses.

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What they found was the very
copy that Moses had written.

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Do you remember in Deuteronomy
it said what Moses wants to do.

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He used to write a copy of this
law, and he was to put it in the

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side of the ark, that it may be
there for a witness.

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And now the witness is being
made because they’ve just

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rediscovered the very book that
Moses had written with his own

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hand.
You can’t believe they would

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have lost it.
Where was it they’d lost it?

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In the House of the Lord, that’s
where they’d lost it.

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What were they doing then?
In the House of the Lord, week

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after week, without the Bible,
we are the House of God.

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Brethren and sisters, the House
of the living God of the Bible

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can be just as much lost in us
and our houses, our homes and

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our ecclesias as it was in those
days when the television goes on

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instead of doing the Bible
readings, isn’t the Word of God

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lost?
When we pick up the magazine or

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the newspaper instead of doing
our readings, where is the word

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of God to be found?
So some heart searching is

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required for us in relation to
this.

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This isn’t just a historical
incident, it’s a lesson of

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rediscovery.
When the book was lost, it can

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be refound.
It was difficult to read.

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Hilkiah gives it to Schaeffer
and he read it, which is

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interesting, isn’t it?
We’re told that the Hebrew that

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Moses would have written in
would have been quite a

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different sort of Hebrew.
At least, you know, the the

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alphabet and storm would have
been written quite differently

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from the Hebrew in the time of
Josiah.

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No wonder Hilkiah had to give it
to Shayfan the expert to read.

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It does seem to have been the
very original copy.

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And it’s just as well they found
it, brother.

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It’s just as well because there
were all sorts of versions of

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the Bible that were going
around.

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It’s a bit like, you know, the
Good News Bible.

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You’ve ever seen that which
teaches that we go to heaven

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when we die.
You know, you can find versions

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of the Bible in English which
teach false doctrine.

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And if people read it, well,
it’s the Bible.

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It’s not the Bible.
It’s a counterfeit.

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And that is the worst thing men
can do.

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Have a look what was happening
in Jeremiah chapter 8.

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I would have to have the AV
margin to help us here.

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No translation is perfect.
Is it Jeremiah chapter 8 and

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verse 8?
How do we say we are wise and

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the law of the Lord is with us?
Though certainly in vain made,

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yet the pen of the scribes is in
vain.

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Here was a boast of men in the
times of Josiah who were the

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scribes, who were the experts in
religious teaching, and they

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made their boast that the law of
God was with them.

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And Jeremiah is challenging
that.

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And in the margin you may see in
the AV Oxford margin, it says

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the false pen of the scribes
worketh for falsehood, the false

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pen of the scribes worketh for
falsehood.

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What was happening is there was
a counterfeit scripture being

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written like the Good News
Bible, the Living Bible,

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elements that we can recognise
as true, but there were key

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points that had been turned and
corrupted to suit themselves.

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00:16:45,120 –> 00:16:48,520
You remember the message of the
false prophets was peace.

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Peace when there is no peace.
The message of the false

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00:16:55,200 –> 00:16:57,440
prophets was for brothers.
Sisters, we don’t need to

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00:16:57,440 –> 00:17:00,080
change.
You’re fine as you are.

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00:17:00,400 –> 00:17:02,320
God will take you just as you
are.

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There’s an evangelical song I’ve
heard, Sir, just as I am.

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00:17:06,680 –> 00:17:11,599
You’ve got a lovely tune to it,
just as I am.

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Well, that’s the starting point.
It’s not the finishing point.

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00:17:20,599 –> 00:17:25,599
There isn’t peace for the
wicked, so we have to change.

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00:17:26,599 –> 00:17:29,880
And it’s that process of change
which the Lord Jesus Christ will

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00:17:29,880 –> 00:17:35,640
recognise when he comes.
He recognises it now, but He

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00:17:35,640 –> 00:17:38,960
will give us an account of it
when He comes.

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00:17:39,440 –> 00:17:42,360
The false pen of the scribes
worketh for falsehood.

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You know, it’s like the
discovery of the Dead Sea

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00:17:44,960 –> 00:17:48,320
Scrolls.
This was it meant that the Bible

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00:17:48,320 –> 00:17:51,920
was back on course because left
to men the corruption of

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00:17:51,920 –> 00:17:57,680
translation and correction of
the text and think they can

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00:17:57,680 –> 00:18:03,000
actually correct the received
text, that they can detect

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00:18:03,000 –> 00:18:06,640
errors in it and put them right.
As that goes on through history,

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00:18:06,640 –> 00:18:10,160
you can imagine that the word of
God as translated in our

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00:18:10,160 –> 00:18:12,160
language would divert from the
truthful.

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00:18:12,160 –> 00:18:17,640
Imagine the Hebrew changing over
generations till the time of

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00:18:18,000 –> 00:18:22,840
Second Kings 22.
It had been lost so they

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00:18:22,840 –> 00:18:27,840
discovered their Dead Sea
Scrolls and they could see what

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00:18:27,840 –> 00:18:29,840
the truth was.
Of course the Dead Sea Scrolls

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00:18:29,840 –> 00:18:33,080
has shown us that our received
text is pretty good.

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00:18:34,960 –> 00:18:39,280
There really are no material
differences in the the

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00:18:39,400 –> 00:18:43,160
scriptures that we have that
have come down to us over the

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00:18:43,160 –> 00:18:45,920
centuries.
Now that’s the providential work

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00:18:45,920 –> 00:18:48,760
of God.
But it’s just as well, wasn’t it

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00:18:48,760 –> 00:18:51,080
that they found that scroll 1
they did.

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Clearly it was providential for
God wanted to help Josiah

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00:18:54,600 –> 00:18:59,000
accomplish the burning desire of
his heart, which was to

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00:18:59,000 –> 00:19:03,320
transform that nation at that
time into a people for God.

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00:19:05,640 –> 00:19:08,600
So what was this reaction when
they found the word of God?

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00:19:08,600 –> 00:19:14,360
Second Kings 22 Chaffin comes in
with this great scroll on his

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00:19:14,360 –> 00:19:17,880
shoulder, talking about money
and the building of the

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00:19:17,880 –> 00:19:22,840
ecclesial hall.
That’s what he had on his mind.

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00:19:24,360 –> 00:19:25,800
You know, we’ve fixed the
temple.

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00:19:25,800 –> 00:19:28,160
It’s already.
And you know, oh, by the way,

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00:19:28,160 –> 00:19:30,080
it’s almost, it’s almost like
that.

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00:19:30,720 –> 00:19:36,200
Oh, by the way, Hilki found a
book, but she asked me to think

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00:19:36,200 –> 00:19:38,120
to you.
He didn’t realise the

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00:19:38,120 –> 00:19:43,160
significance of it.
In verse 10, Chaffin the scribe

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00:19:43,160 –> 00:19:46,360
showed the king said how Kaya,
the priesthood delivered me a

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00:19:46,360 –> 00:19:50,200
book back in verse eight.
It was the book.

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00:19:52,000 –> 00:19:56,120
There was a scribe unfamiliar
with his responsibilities of

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00:19:56,120 –> 00:20:03,160
expounding the word of God, but
he read it and the king rent his

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00:20:03,160 –> 00:20:09,200
clothes.
He showed a contrition which you

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00:20:09,200 –> 00:20:14,360
might say, well, why?
He wasn’t the one committing all

267
00:20:14,360 –> 00:20:16,200
these sins.
He was a godly man.

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00:20:17,360 –> 00:20:20,080
It was all these other people
that were doing all these

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00:20:20,080 –> 00:20:26,520
things.
But Josiah was identifying with

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00:20:26,520 –> 00:20:30,440
his nation.
It was his people and he was one

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00:20:30,440 –> 00:20:33,000
with them.
So what does he do?

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00:20:33,120 –> 00:20:40,880
He sends his men to enquire of
the Lord in verse 13, the choir

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00:20:40,880 –> 00:20:43,640
of Yahweh for me and for the
people and for all Judah

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00:20:43,640 –> 00:20:47,400
concerning the words of this
book that is found.

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He sought to understand what he
should do.

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00:20:53,080 –> 00:20:57,600
He showed an awareness and a
willingness to change, didn’t

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00:20:57,600 –> 00:21:00,200
he?
You know, if the Bible has not

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00:21:00,200 –> 00:21:02,920
been in our lives and then
someone tells us that it should

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00:21:02,920 –> 00:21:06,200
be, we can say, well, it’s all
very well for him to tell me

280
00:21:06,200 –> 00:21:08,760
that.
What does he know about my life?

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00:21:09,480 –> 00:21:13,360
I’m fine as I am, we can say to
ourselves.

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00:21:14,360 –> 00:21:21,720
The cheek, the nerve.
How dare that sort of thought

283
00:21:21,720 –> 00:21:23,280
has ever crossed anybody’s
minds?

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00:21:25,080 –> 00:21:28,960
Now let him sort himself out.
Of course that’s true, isn’t it?

285
00:21:30,880 –> 00:21:34,240
But if the Word of God is saying
that to us, then we better

286
00:21:34,240 –> 00:21:41,280
listen.
Josiah was contract when he

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00:21:41,280 –> 00:21:46,600
heard those words, he believed
them and he acted on them.

288
00:21:46,960 –> 00:21:48,760
Go and find out what I’m going
to do.

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00:21:49,360 –> 00:21:54,240
Ask the prophetess to tell me
what does God require of me?

290
00:21:54,240 –> 00:21:55,880
He was the greatest man in the
land.

291
00:21:56,400 –> 00:21:59,520
He was the king showing the
humility of a child.

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00:22:06,020 –> 00:22:09,100
That’s the attitude we have to
adopt ourselves.

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00:22:11,680 –> 00:22:16,400
We can, brethren, be so proud
that we have refused to change,

294
00:22:16,400 –> 00:22:21,880
to give anybody the satisfaction
of seeing that change.

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00:22:23,840 –> 00:22:29,000
So proud that we will be
unwilling to climb down from

296
00:22:29,000 –> 00:22:31,640
that height that we have set
ourselves up on.

297
00:22:32,920 –> 00:22:36,680
Always unwilling to admit we
ever made one mistake.

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00:22:38,560 –> 00:22:44,880
Never prepare to admit we were
wrong, or to say sorry.

299
00:22:46,880 –> 00:22:48,240
Can’t be like that at home,
can’t it?

300
00:22:50,800 –> 00:22:54,520
Where a husband or a wife never,
ever prepared to say I was

301
00:22:54,520 –> 00:22:58,080
wrong.
Only ever prepared to point out

302
00:22:58,440 –> 00:23:02,000
the contribution that the other
made to the problem.

303
00:23:03,080 –> 00:23:05,680
Or if not that problem, some
other problem from years gone

304
00:23:05,680 –> 00:23:09,880
by.
You’re not so perfect yourself

305
00:23:09,880 –> 00:23:14,480
are you?
Now these are human reactions to

306
00:23:14,960 –> 00:23:16,600
being told that we are in the
wrong.

307
00:23:18,680 –> 00:23:25,040
Josiah was told he was in the
wrong and he sought and enquired

308
00:23:25,160 –> 00:23:35,990
of the Lord.
There is another clue in the

309
00:23:35,990 –> 00:23:37,990
record as to what he did about
it.

310
00:23:40,950 –> 00:23:46,120
If you look at Second Kings 22
and verse 2, you find an

311
00:23:46,120 –> 00:23:51,280
interesting statement.
He did that which was right in

312
00:23:51,280 –> 00:23:53,960
the sight of the Lord and walked
all the way of David his father,

313
00:23:54,280 –> 00:24:01,400
and turned not aside to the
right hand or to the left.

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00:24:02,960 –> 00:24:06,800
That’s the verse.
Then he turned not aside to the

315
00:24:06,800 –> 00:24:10,480
right hand nor to the left.
He just went straight down the

316
00:24:10,480 –> 00:24:15,760
narrow way, but that’s a
reference to Deuteronomy chapter

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00:24:15,760 –> 00:24:20,520
17.
You can find that by looking up

318
00:24:20,520 –> 00:24:22,960
a concordance.
Sometimes your margin will have

319
00:24:23,240 –> 00:24:26,440
these sort of cross references,
but just follow up these

320
00:24:26,440 –> 00:24:31,000
phrases.
You know, I the way of David,

321
00:24:31,000 –> 00:24:34,320
where does that occur?
It’s a very rare expression and

322
00:24:34,320 –> 00:24:36,320
so on.
But what about this expression

323
00:24:36,520 –> 00:24:40,040
eternal aside to the right hand
or to the left?

324
00:24:40,520 –> 00:24:47,800
You find it in Deuteronomy
chapter 17 and verse 20 where it

325
00:24:47,800 –> 00:24:52,200
says that his heart be not
lifted up above his brethren,

326
00:24:52,800 –> 00:24:58,720
that he turn not aside from the
commandment to the right hand or

327
00:24:59,000 –> 00:25:04,360
to the left.
So that’s the reference that

328
00:25:04,480 –> 00:25:07,840
Second Kings 22, it’s drawing
our attention to.

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00:25:08,280 –> 00:25:14,320
Josiah did, but Deuteronomy 17
says he should have done because

330
00:25:14,320 –> 00:25:19,640
Deuteronomy chapter 17 is the
chapter in the law which had to

331
00:25:19,640 –> 00:25:24,320
do with the king.
Now they’ve lost this.

332
00:25:24,800 –> 00:25:29,320
They didn’t have this book when
Josiah came to the throne, but

333
00:25:30,440 –> 00:25:33,280
once he discovered it, he was
not too proud.

334
00:25:33,280 –> 00:25:37,600
You can imagine him saying,
Chiffon, read that again.

335
00:25:38,680 –> 00:25:41,720
What?
What the passage you just read?

336
00:25:41,720 –> 00:25:46,480
Deuteronomy 17 Read it again.
Why?

337
00:25:46,880 –> 00:25:53,840
Because it’s about me.
Read it Deuteronomy 17, verse 14

338
00:25:55,200 –> 00:25:58,040
Whether I come unto the land
which the Lord thy God giveth

339
00:25:58,080 –> 00:26:01,600
thee, and shall possess it, and
shall dwell therein, and shall

340
00:26:01,600 –> 00:26:06,320
say, I will set a king over me,
like as all the nations that are

341
00:26:06,320 –> 00:26:10,560
about me, thou shalt in any way
set in king over thee, whom the

342
00:26:10,560 –> 00:26:14,120
Lord thy God shall choose one
from among thy brethren shalt

343
00:26:14,120 –> 00:26:17,440
thou set king over thee.
Thou mayest not set a stranger

344
00:26:17,440 –> 00:26:20,760
over thee which is not thy
brother, that he shall not

345
00:26:20,760 –> 00:26:24,040
multiply horses to himself.
And so it goes on verse 17.

346
00:26:24,680 –> 00:26:29,520
Neither shall he multiply wives
to his himself, neither shall he

347
00:26:29,520 –> 00:26:32,120
greatly multiply to himself
silver and gold.

348
00:26:32,520 –> 00:26:35,240
We know that you don’t go to
Egypt for horses.

349
00:26:35,520 –> 00:26:39,920
You don’t multiply wives, you
don’t multiply silver and gold.

350
00:26:39,920 –> 00:26:43,560
The three things, of course,
that Solomon contravene, which

351
00:26:43,560 –> 00:26:48,320
took him away from the truth,
the three things that kings

352
00:26:48,320 –> 00:26:51,240
would delight to have.
You know, if you were told you

353
00:26:51,240 –> 00:26:57,280
could have whatever you wanted,
whatever it is, you can have it,

354
00:26:57,800 –> 00:26:59,800
but that’s what most men would
go for.

355
00:27:03,920 –> 00:27:07,640
Then it goes on to say in verse
18, And it shall be when he

356
00:27:07,640 –> 00:27:11,800
sitteth upon the throne of his
Kingdom, that he shall write him

357
00:27:11,880 –> 00:27:16,760
a copy of this law in a book,
out of that which is before the

358
00:27:16,760 –> 00:27:23,240
priests and the Levites.
And it shall be with him, and he

359
00:27:23,240 –> 00:27:27,240
shall read therein all the days
of his life, that he may learn

360
00:27:27,240 –> 00:27:31,120
to fear the Lord his God, to
keep all the words of this law

361
00:27:31,280 –> 00:27:35,440
and the statutes to do them.
That his heart be not lifted up

362
00:27:35,440 –> 00:27:38,520
above his brethren, and that he
turned not aside from the

363
00:27:38,520 –> 00:27:41,600
commandment to the right hand or
to the left, to the end that he

364
00:27:41,600 –> 00:27:44,320
may prolong his days in his
Kingdom, he and his children in

365
00:27:44,320 –> 00:27:48,480
the midst of Israel.
So now Josiah knows exactly what

366
00:27:48,480 –> 00:27:50,360
he’s got to do.
He’s got to sit down.

367
00:27:50,640 –> 00:27:55,680
He may be the king, but he’s got
to sit down at his desk and he’s

368
00:27:55,680 –> 00:27:59,000
going to get his scroll and his
pen and he’s going to write his

369
00:27:59,000 –> 00:28:04,160
own personal copy of that law.
So now he’s got his own copy in

370
00:28:04,160 –> 00:28:08,600
his home, and now he’s going to
read in it every day of his life

371
00:28:08,600 –> 00:28:14,480
to keep him in his rightful
position, which is straight down

372
00:28:14,480 –> 00:28:18,080
the line, turning neither to the
left nor to the right.

373
00:28:18,080 –> 00:28:21,280
The king said he did it, he did
it.

374
00:28:23,200 –> 00:28:27,560
He muster made a copy of that
law, and he must have read in it

375
00:28:27,600 –> 00:28:31,320
all the days of his life.
That was the secret of Josiah,

376
00:28:31,760 –> 00:28:35,040
that when the Bible was
rediscovered, he made his own

377
00:28:35,160 –> 00:28:39,240
personal copy of the law and he
translated it into his life.

378
00:28:40,920 –> 00:28:43,720
And that’s brethren, sisters,
what we have to do, every one of

379
00:28:43,720 –> 00:28:48,000
us.
And if we haven’t been doing it,

380
00:28:48,000 –> 00:28:50,640
brethren, how can we teach our
brethren and sisters?

381
00:28:52,120 –> 00:28:56,480
How can we exalt?
How can we build up the faith of

382
00:28:56,480 –> 00:28:59,960
the young ones in the truth?
How can we instruct our children

383
00:29:00,160 –> 00:29:03,560
if we haven’t made our own copy
of the law written on our own

384
00:29:03,560 –> 00:29:08,040
hearts?
How can we speak the Word of

385
00:29:08,040 –> 00:29:10,600
God, neither diverting to the
left nor to the right?

386
00:29:12,640 –> 00:29:16,640
How can the ecclesia be strong
if we don’t get diligence to the

387
00:29:16,640 –> 00:29:19,080
things that God has laid before
us?

388
00:29:21,400 –> 00:29:24,080
We can’t substitute the
philosophy of the world.

389
00:29:24,640 –> 00:29:27,200
We can’t substitute the
religious writings of those

390
00:29:27,200 –> 00:29:31,440
around us, or or business theory
or management theory.

391
00:29:33,560 –> 00:29:36,760
This is the Word of God which
makes us go down that far.

392
00:29:38,280 –> 00:29:40,480
Otherwise, we’re off to the
left, we’re off to the right.

393
00:29:40,560 –> 00:29:43,160
The children have gone some
other direction where we don’t

394
00:29:43,160 –> 00:29:46,320
know where they are.
Why?

395
00:29:46,600 –> 00:29:49,280
Because we haven’t made our own
copy of the Word of God.

396
00:29:53,360 –> 00:29:56,920
That’s what you cited, that he
was one of the nation.

397
00:29:56,920 –> 00:30:03,960
It says you will take a king,
you shall take a king.

398
00:30:03,960 –> 00:30:09,720
He says not a stranger from
among thy brethren.

399
00:30:10,320 –> 00:30:12,960
And this is the way he was going
to keep himself in his true

400
00:30:12,960 –> 00:30:16,160
understanding that his heart be
not lifted up.

401
00:30:16,960 –> 00:30:20,600
So there was the real danger
that pride would take him a

402
00:30:20,600 –> 00:30:22,400
different way and the people
would follow.

403
00:30:24,480 –> 00:30:27,200
Now, if that was true then, it’s
true now.

404
00:30:29,160 –> 00:30:33,800
We mustn’t let pride determine
how our ecclesias are run and

405
00:30:33,800 –> 00:30:39,480
how we speak to one another.
We must let the Word of God,

406
00:30:39,560 –> 00:30:43,480
rightly divided, be the rule by
which we live our lives.

407
00:30:48,440 –> 00:30:52,280
Now have a look at Jeremiah 22
to see what this meant.

408
00:30:52,280 –> 00:30:55,360
You see, it’s not a matter of
mechanics that.

409
00:30:55,360 –> 00:30:58,520
I mean, there may be some great
virtue in US writing out their

410
00:30:58,520 –> 00:31:01,960
own copy of the Bible, but that
wouldn’t wouldn’t actually make

411
00:31:02,200 –> 00:31:08,240
the transformation.
I’m told you can buy a computer

412
00:31:08,240 –> 00:31:13,480
program now that you can read
into the computer and the

413
00:31:13,480 –> 00:31:18,320
computer will type it out.
Just take your voice, then it

414
00:31:18,320 –> 00:31:22,560
will type it out.
That doesn’t make the computer

415
00:31:22,560 –> 00:31:27,240
spiritual.
That computer has no mind of its

416
00:31:27,240 –> 00:31:31,120
own at all.
So it’s not the mechanics of it,

417
00:31:31,120 –> 00:31:36,760
and it wasn’t mechanical.
But Josiah, because we have this

418
00:31:36,760 –> 00:31:40,000
wonderful insight into his
character and Jeremiah 22,

419
00:31:42,560 –> 00:31:49,800
Jeremiah 22, verse 16, this is
the chapter where Josiah’s sons,

420
00:31:49,800 –> 00:31:53,080
who sadly everyone was, was
thoroughly rotten.

421
00:31:55,080 –> 00:31:57,680
That doesn’t mean to say that
Josiah hadn’t instructed them

422
00:31:57,680 –> 00:32:01,040
properly because the law says
that he should instruct his

423
00:32:01,040 –> 00:32:03,880
children in the ways of God.
And there was nothing in that

424
00:32:03,880 –> 00:32:07,600
law that He didn’t do with his
whole heart and soul and might.

425
00:32:08,000 –> 00:32:10,920
He had a unique distinction.
There was no man like him before

426
00:32:10,920 –> 00:32:13,920
or since amongst the kings of
Israel that turned to Yahweh

427
00:32:13,920 –> 00:32:15,440
with all his heart, soul and
might.

428
00:32:16,600 –> 00:32:18,400
He put into practice everything
it says.

429
00:32:18,400 –> 00:32:21,400
Deuteronomy 6 and sauna, but
instructing his trouble, I am

430
00:32:21,400 –> 00:32:28,520
sure nevertheless, Nevertheless,
they turned to the ways of the

431
00:32:28,520 –> 00:32:33,280
world, that the reason lay in
themselves.

432
00:32:35,560 –> 00:32:43,840
The verse 21 Jehoiakim Jeremiah
says, I speak unto thee, and thy

433
00:32:43,840 –> 00:32:46,200
prosperity.
But thou saidst thy will not

434
00:32:46,200 –> 00:32:49,280
hear.
This has been thy manner from

435
00:32:49,280 –> 00:32:52,720
thy youth, that thou obeyst not
my voice.

436
00:32:55,800 –> 00:32:58,800
So they had chosen not to follow
the example of their father.

437
00:32:59,480 –> 00:33:04,600
They had rejected the word of
God in their youth, and

438
00:33:04,600 –> 00:33:07,080
therefore they would not
prosper.

439
00:33:07,320 –> 00:33:11,360
Contrast the father himself,
Josiah in verse 16.

440
00:33:12,080 –> 00:33:15,320
He judged the cause of the poor
and needy.

441
00:33:16,040 –> 00:33:22,440
Then it was well with him.
Was not this to know me, Saith

442
00:33:22,440 –> 00:33:25,640
the Lord.
See the link with our first

443
00:33:25,640 –> 00:33:30,040
study.
There was not this to know me.

444
00:33:30,160 –> 00:33:34,560
That’s what Moses asked God,
show me thy way that I may know

445
00:33:34,560 –> 00:33:37,160
thee.
And therefore was revealed the

446
00:33:37,160 –> 00:33:40,440
loving kindness of God in his
name manifest.

447
00:33:41,280 –> 00:33:44,160
I just saw it taking hold of
what had been revealed, and he

448
00:33:44,160 –> 00:33:48,240
had translated it into his life.
So he judged the cause of the

449
00:33:48,240 –> 00:33:52,120
poor and the needy.
He manifested those qualities of

450
00:33:52,120 –> 00:33:57,320
mercy and grace for those who
needed assistance and help.

451
00:33:59,080 –> 00:34:02,960
There’s a lovely little point in
the Second Chronicles 35 record

452
00:34:02,960 –> 00:34:07,120
I just draw your attention to
when Jeremiah lamented for

453
00:34:07,200 –> 00:34:17,040
Josiah must have been a sad day.
It says in verse 26.

454
00:34:17,040 –> 00:34:22,760
Now the rest of the acts of
Josiah and his goodness,

455
00:34:23,560 –> 00:34:26,639
according to that which was
written in the law of the Lord

456
00:34:27,360 –> 00:34:31,199
and his deeds first and last,
behold there written the book of

457
00:34:31,199 –> 00:34:37,320
the kings of Israel and Judah in
verse 26, when it says His

458
00:34:37,320 –> 00:34:40,440
goodness.
That is the word Chess said.

459
00:34:40,440 –> 00:34:42,360
That is the word loving
kindness.

460
00:34:42,360 –> 00:34:47,880
It is the one word, the only
word that is used twice in the

461
00:34:47,880 –> 00:34:53,560
record of the divine character.
In Exodus chapter 34, there’s

462
00:34:53,560 –> 00:34:58,040
one word which is used twice.
It’s the word chess said, the

463
00:34:58,040 –> 00:35:02,720
goodness, the mercy of God, or
the loving kindness.

464
00:35:03,000 –> 00:35:06,720
That is the word that Jeremiah
uses of this man.

465
00:35:06,720 –> 00:35:12,920
Do you see what’s happened?
He has become what he’s read.

466
00:35:14,480 –> 00:35:18,400
He has become like the God he
has.

467
00:35:19,120 –> 00:35:24,800
He has been changed by the word
of God in his heart, soul and

468
00:35:24,800 –> 00:35:28,880
mind.
But how can that happen to us?

469
00:35:29,840 –> 00:35:34,880
How can we change, perhaps a a
bitter character into a sweet

470
00:35:35,240 –> 00:35:42,880
character, a selfish person into
a selfless person, a proud

471
00:35:42,880 –> 00:35:47,280
person into a humble person?
What are we?

472
00:35:47,760 –> 00:35:50,520
What are our failings?
Brethren and sisters?

473
00:35:52,600 –> 00:35:58,200
We know them and from time to
time we want to change to.

474
00:35:59,400 –> 00:36:02,000
We say to yourself, or if only I
wasn’t like that.

475
00:36:02,960 –> 00:36:04,680
I wish I could have bitten my
tongue.

476
00:36:05,120 –> 00:36:09,600
Why can’t I control?
Why can’t I feel differently

477
00:36:09,600 –> 00:36:15,680
towards brother X or sister Y?
Why can’t I rise above the

478
00:36:15,680 –> 00:36:20,080
problem, try to see it as God
would have me deal with it?

479
00:36:22,560 –> 00:36:26,680
Why do I always fall into the
same sin that I asked

480
00:36:26,680 –> 00:36:33,520
forgiveness for yesterday?
How are we going to change in

481
00:36:33,520 –> 00:36:39,880
this way?
Faith comes by hearing, hearing

482
00:36:40,360 –> 00:36:43,040
by the word of God.
And if we’re not prepared to put

483
00:36:43,040 –> 00:36:47,440
the television off and to open
our Bibles, we’re not going to

484
00:36:47,440 –> 00:36:51,400
change.
We have to make a sacrifice.

485
00:36:51,400 –> 00:36:58,080
It’s not a huge sacrifice, but
we have to start somewhere,

486
00:36:58,080 –> 00:37:01,600
don’t we?
If our eye offends, let’s pluck

487
00:37:01,600 –> 00:37:04,160
it out.
If our hand offends us, cut it

488
00:37:04,160 –> 00:37:06,320
off.
That’s what the Lord is

489
00:37:06,320 –> 00:37:09,640
expecting, You know.
He’s not going to say, well,

490
00:37:09,640 –> 00:37:12,000
there was a real secret to the
way in which you could have

491
00:37:12,000 –> 00:37:13,960
changed your life and you didn’t
find it, did you?

492
00:37:13,960 –> 00:37:15,680
He’s not going to say that to
us.

493
00:37:18,080 –> 00:37:20,160
We agonise over it, don’t we?
Why?

494
00:37:21,360 –> 00:37:25,680
Why don’t we just do it?
Remember, Brother Bob’s talk in

495
00:37:25,800 –> 00:37:30,560
newborn, I think was just do it.
That’s the answer, brethren and

496
00:37:30,560 –> 00:37:34,560
sisters.
Just do it Tonight.

497
00:37:34,560 –> 00:37:36,160
Let’s start tonight.
When we go home.

498
00:37:37,080 –> 00:37:39,880
Don’t switch it on.
Just don’t do it.

499
00:37:43,400 –> 00:37:46,520
Yeah.
I just wonder how many of us are

500
00:37:46,520 –> 00:37:50,080
making notes of of expositional
points that we haven’t heard

501
00:37:50,080 –> 00:37:51,280
before.
I don’t know.

502
00:37:51,520 –> 00:37:53,200
Perhaps everybody’s heard it all
before.

503
00:37:55,520 –> 00:37:58,400
Yeah.
So we’ll never remember, will

504
00:37:58,400 –> 00:38:00,480
we?
Well, we, we will.

505
00:38:00,480 –> 00:38:02,160
Of course we will.
We say to ourselves now.

506
00:38:02,160 –> 00:38:06,080
Of course I’ll remember.
And then tomorrow somebody asks

507
00:38:06,080 –> 00:38:07,280
us, what did they say?
I don’t know.

508
00:38:11,800 –> 00:38:17,240
So it’s worth, you know, having
a pen and paper, making a note,

509
00:38:17,800 –> 00:38:19,120
following it up.
What’s he right?

510
00:38:19,600 –> 00:38:22,880
I says crazy brother who comes
over for two days from Cardiff

511
00:38:22,880 –> 00:38:26,600
telling you the truth.
Or did he make it all up?

512
00:38:29,480 –> 00:38:33,080
Is this some peculiar Welsh
theory that he was expounding?

513
00:38:37,280 –> 00:38:42,080
Well, what’s our personal
involvement in these things?

514
00:38:44,480 –> 00:38:47,200
How should we study?
Well, everyone has their own

515
00:38:47,200 –> 00:38:50,920
idea, I suppose, but just look
at Second Kings 22 and see the

516
00:38:50,920 –> 00:38:57,080
emphasis that’s given in the
reaction of Josiah and the way

517
00:38:57,080 –> 00:39:00,840
in which the record through
repetition makes the point.

518
00:39:01,200 –> 00:39:04,480
If we see something repeated,
then we really ought to take

519
00:39:04,480 –> 00:39:09,920
note of it.
In fact, you know, I have a

520
00:39:09,920 –> 00:39:11,560
childlike approached these
things.

521
00:39:11,560 –> 00:39:15,000
I colour them in with coloured
pencils because it stands out.

522
00:39:15,000 –> 00:39:18,400
And just doing the readings
with, with the children.

523
00:39:18,400 –> 00:39:21,960
You know, Ben, who’s 10 now, he
always comes up with the keyword

524
00:39:21,960 –> 00:39:24,240
in the chapter.
Sometimes it’s, and sometimes

525
00:39:24,560 –> 00:39:27,160
it’s his third.
Sometimes he’s right.

526
00:39:27,960 –> 00:39:34,120
But you see, because they’re
looking for repetition and, and

527
00:39:34,120 –> 00:39:38,720
key ideas, even a little child,
they can pick these things up.

528
00:39:39,080 –> 00:39:42,560
And, you know, surprising how
often Ben is the first one to

529
00:39:42,640 –> 00:39:46,640
see the point.
He’s he’s at least as good as

530
00:39:46,640 –> 00:39:49,080
any of the others at picking up
the point.

531
00:39:51,080 –> 00:39:54,360
Because a child’s mind is not
plattered with all sorts of

532
00:39:54,360 –> 00:39:57,600
clever thoughts.
What we’re looking for is the

533
00:39:57,600 –> 00:40:01,360
simple truth.
And when it’s this pointed out,

534
00:40:01,600 –> 00:40:05,800
now we say it’s obvious.
Now you mentioned it, but I

535
00:40:05,800 –> 00:40:08,960
never saw it.
And these obvious things are

536
00:40:08,960 –> 00:40:13,520
simply looking at the words.
Which are there nothing more

537
00:40:13,520 –> 00:40:15,520
than that and this is what comes
up.

538
00:40:15,520 –> 00:40:18,240
Just stop talking and look
that’s to me.

539
00:40:18,440 –> 00:40:24,000
Verse 11 came to pass when the
king had heard the words of the

540
00:40:24,000 –> 00:40:26,000
book of the law that he rent his
clothes.

541
00:40:26,440 –> 00:40:29,960
Verse 13.
The second Kings 22 concerning

542
00:40:29,960 –> 00:40:34,360
the words of this book that is
found the great is the wrath of

543
00:40:34,360 –> 00:40:36,640
the Lord that is kind against us
because our fathers have not

544
00:40:36,640 –> 00:40:39,720
talked to the words of this
book.

545
00:40:40,080 –> 00:40:44,880
Verse 16, Therefore even all the
words of the book.

546
00:40:45,160 –> 00:40:48,800
Verse 18, that’s touching the
words which thou hast heard.

547
00:40:49,160 –> 00:40:52,280
Chapter 23.
Verse 2 And he read in the ears

548
00:40:52,560 –> 00:40:55,560
all the words of the book of the
covenant.

549
00:40:55,920 –> 00:40:59,640
Verse 3 to perform the words of
this covenant that is written in

550
00:40:59,640 –> 00:41:02,440
the book.
Now he could have just said the

551
00:41:02,440 –> 00:41:06,200
book, He could have said the
law, but it gives us this

552
00:41:06,200 –> 00:41:10,640
extensive phrase, the words of
the book of the Law.

553
00:41:13,840 –> 00:41:18,960
That’s the way to study, to
listen to the words of the book.

554
00:41:19,560 –> 00:41:24,400
There is an exactness required
of us in our appreciation of the

555
00:41:24,400 –> 00:41:27,000
Word of God.
It is not sufficient to have the

556
00:41:27,000 –> 00:41:32,040
gist of it, the broad idea, the
main theme that I got the

557
00:41:32,040 –> 00:41:36,800
general sense of the passage.
Read it quickly and go, yeah, I

558
00:41:36,800 –> 00:41:39,360
got the idea.
Now, No, brethren, sisters, that

559
00:41:39,360 –> 00:41:46,480
is not Bible study.
That is human pride replacing

560
00:41:46,640 –> 00:41:49,400
the exact attention to the
detail of the Word.

561
00:41:49,480 –> 00:41:53,080
That’s why translation matters.
That’s why it does matter what

562
00:41:53,080 –> 00:41:56,640
version we’re using.
Not that there is one right

563
00:41:56,640 –> 00:41:59,760
version, but it does matter.
If we were using the Good News

564
00:41:59,760 –> 00:42:03,600
Bible or whatever, that wouldn’t
be good for us.

565
00:42:04,720 –> 00:42:07,840
It would so dilute the power of
God’s Word as to remove the

566
00:42:07,840 –> 00:42:12,400
exactness, the precision.
Would you like to go into an

567
00:42:12,400 –> 00:42:15,040
operating theatre, you know, to
go under the knife of the

568
00:42:15,040 –> 00:42:19,080
surgeon and know that the
surgeon had taken the scalp, you

569
00:42:19,080 –> 00:42:24,280
know, and he’d been knocking it
around so the edge wasn’t clean,

570
00:42:24,320 –> 00:42:28,440
but all jagged, blunt.
And then he tried to do his

571
00:42:28,440 –> 00:42:30,920
operation.
Oh, no.

572
00:42:31,000 –> 00:42:36,280
You want the surgeon’s knife to
be sharper than A2 edged sword.

573
00:42:38,840 –> 00:42:42,440
That is what the Word of God is.
That’s what we have to get back

574
00:42:42,440 –> 00:42:46,200
to an exact understanding.
I was very impressed with the

575
00:42:46,200 –> 00:42:48,760
sister I met at the Bible
school.

576
00:42:49,680 –> 00:42:57,320
She was, I think she was 91 and
sitting talking to the sister

577
00:42:57,320 –> 00:43:01,240
and she was blind in one eye and
almost blind in the other.

578
00:43:02,720 –> 00:43:08,960
And she had a Bible like this.
And she said, ever since I lost

579
00:43:08,960 –> 00:43:12,120
the sight of my eye, I’ve been
very interested in words.

580
00:43:15,080 –> 00:43:16,560
She could only see one at a
time.

581
00:43:18,240 –> 00:43:22,000
I mean, I was so impressed now
because she could say, you see

582
00:43:22,000 –> 00:43:25,880
that word there, but if you look
it up in Strong’s Concordance,

583
00:43:26,760 –> 00:43:30,160
it is such and such.
And she was looking at her

584
00:43:30,160 –> 00:43:33,320
concordance, Strong’s
Concordance in the lexicon,

585
00:43:33,480 –> 00:43:38,280
following the numbers and going
through the passage word by

586
00:43:38,280 –> 00:43:39,880
words.
That’s an interesting word.

587
00:43:40,440 –> 00:43:47,400
She was 91.
Oh, come on, brethren, who can

588
00:43:47,400 –> 00:43:48,840
say that?
We can’t do it.

589
00:43:51,520 –> 00:43:54,400
It takes time.
It takes a lot longer than than

590
00:43:54,400 –> 00:43:57,600
getting our ideas from somewhere
else.

591
00:43:59,560 –> 00:44:01,360
And it’s not for brethren only,
is it?

592
00:44:01,360 –> 00:44:04,560
It’s not a matter of, well, I’ve
got to speak next week, so I

593
00:44:04,560 –> 00:44:06,680
better do some study.
Surely not.

594
00:44:07,160 –> 00:44:11,840
Surely Bible study isn’t
relegated to that unimportant

595
00:44:11,840 –> 00:44:15,840
level.
It’s the power to change your

596
00:44:15,840 –> 00:44:18,320
life systems as well as our
husbands.

597
00:44:19,320 –> 00:44:22,200
It’s the power to instruct our
children in the right way.

598
00:44:23,720 –> 00:44:25,720
But have a look at Second Kings
23.

599
00:44:25,720 –> 00:44:31,040
What does God expect?
Here is Josiah trying to

600
00:44:31,240 –> 00:44:33,920
implement what he’s read, that
he’s brought all the people

601
00:44:33,920 –> 00:44:35,680
together and he’s going to make
a covenant.

602
00:44:35,680 –> 00:44:39,360
He’s going to say, right?
Are you going to sign up now?

603
00:44:39,360 –> 00:44:42,480
Are you going to change with me?
We know what we’ve got to do.

604
00:44:42,480 –> 00:44:45,400
Are you with me?
Yeah, we’re with you.

605
00:44:45,920 –> 00:44:48,200
Yeah, We’re going to change just
like you, Josiah.

606
00:44:50,280 –> 00:44:52,480
And so look at who he gathers
together.

607
00:44:53,040 –> 00:44:56,480
Verse 2.
And the king went up into the

608
00:44:56,480 –> 00:45:01,280
House of the Lord, and all the
men of Judah and all the

609
00:45:01,280 –> 00:45:05,240
inhabitants of Jerusalem with
him, the priests, the prophets,

610
00:45:05,520 –> 00:45:09,280
and all the people, both small
and great.

611
00:45:10,400 –> 00:45:13,320
And he read in their years all
the words of the book.

612
00:45:13,440 –> 00:45:16,520
Now that’s repetition.
Everyone was expected to be

613
00:45:16,520 –> 00:45:25,720
there, both small and great.
So it was for everybody and

614
00:45:25,840 –> 00:45:28,520
understanding the word of God is
not a competition.

615
00:45:30,000 –> 00:45:35,600
It’s not so that we can shine in
in our discussion group or by

616
00:45:35,600 –> 00:45:38,120
the class sisters class or in
youth.

617
00:45:38,400 –> 00:45:44,320
That’s not what it’s about.
The measure isn’t whether I know

618
00:45:44,320 –> 00:45:48,800
more than you and you know more
than me, but whether we are

619
00:45:48,800 –> 00:45:53,160
coming to know God.
Let’s have an example of that.

620
00:45:53,440 –> 00:45:58,680
If you look in Second Kings 23
and verse 25, you notice there

621
00:45:58,680 –> 00:46:02,360
it says about Josiah that he
turned into the Lord with all

622
00:46:02,360 –> 00:46:04,520
his heart, all his soul, and all
his might.

623
00:46:05,880 –> 00:46:10,000
The people didn’t know all those
people that had gathered and

624
00:46:10,000 –> 00:46:11,480
said, yes, we’re with your
Josiah.

625
00:46:11,760 –> 00:46:14,560
They were just trying to keep
him happy, keep him quiet, keep

626
00:46:14,560 –> 00:46:18,920
them, keep him off their backs.
They weren’t with him really,

627
00:46:18,920 –> 00:46:24,640
not in their hearts.
Jeremiah 3 verse 10 says this.

628
00:46:24,640 –> 00:46:28,280
People have turned unto me
faintedly.

629
00:46:30,360 –> 00:46:34,600
Faintedly.
It was almost on his own.

630
00:46:36,280 –> 00:46:40,440
He couldn’t take the people with
it because their hearts weren’t

631
00:46:40,440 –> 00:46:42,800
in it.
But there was a woman who

632
00:46:42,960 –> 00:46:46,200
exemplified the spirit of
Josiah.

633
00:46:46,480 –> 00:46:49,320
She’s recorded for us in Mark
chapter 12.

634
00:46:59,480 –> 00:47:02,480
I mentioned the parallels
between Josiah’s time and the

635
00:47:02,480 –> 00:47:04,920
Lord Jesus.
And when the Lord went in to

636
00:47:04,920 –> 00:47:07,520
cleanse the temple.
He was doing what Josiah had

637
00:47:07,520 –> 00:47:10,240
done before.
When he goes into the temple, he

638
00:47:10,240 –> 00:47:14,000
quotes Jeremiah Chapter 7.
You’ve made the House of God a

639
00:47:14,000 –> 00:47:17,240
den of thieves.
He’s quoting a passage of

640
00:47:17,240 –> 00:47:21,280
Josiah’s ray when he offers them
the parables.

641
00:47:21,440 –> 00:47:25,280
He is taking hold of words from
Chronicles about the way in

642
00:47:25,280 –> 00:47:27,640
which Israel had dealt with the
prophets over the years.

643
00:47:27,640 –> 00:47:32,000
He’s drawn a parallel with
Josiah’s reign and many

644
00:47:32,240 –> 00:47:36,200
connections can be found.
So when a a lawyer comes up to

645
00:47:36,200 –> 00:47:40,000
the Lord and and challenges him
to say which is the first

646
00:47:40,000 –> 00:47:43,800
commandment in chapter 12 and
verse 30, the Lord answers.

647
00:47:44,000 –> 00:47:47,120
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, with all thy

648
00:47:47,120 –> 00:47:50,280
soul, with all thy might, and
with all thy strength.

649
00:47:51,440 –> 00:47:54,800
And as we say, there is only one
man in Scripture who is recorded

650
00:47:54,800 –> 00:47:57,520
as fulfilling that.
Of course the Lord Jesus did,

651
00:47:57,520 –> 00:48:00,160
but only one other man, and
that’s Josiah.

652
00:48:03,040 –> 00:48:11,840
So Josiah must have been in the
mind of the Lord, Ravin

653
00:48:11,840 –> 00:48:14,480
explained.
This was the first command to

654
00:48:15,520 –> 00:48:21,680
love the Lord with all, and that
was greater than all whole burnt

655
00:48:21,680 –> 00:48:25,800
offerings.
The Lord says to his disciples,

656
00:48:26,040 –> 00:48:27,760
come over here and have a look
at this.

657
00:48:28,520 –> 00:48:31,800
He’s there in the great court of
the temple where the the chests

658
00:48:31,800 –> 00:48:33,960
were, where the people brought
their offerings.

659
00:48:36,480 –> 00:48:39,600
In the verse 41 it says, Jesus
sat over against the treasury,

660
00:48:40,040 –> 00:48:43,920
and beheld how the people cast
in money into the treasury, and

661
00:48:43,920 –> 00:48:46,560
many that were rich cast in
much.

662
00:48:48,200 –> 00:48:50,800
And there came a certain poor
widow, and she threw in two

663
00:48:50,800 –> 00:48:54,880
months, which make a Farthing.
And he called unto him.

664
00:48:54,880 –> 00:48:59,160
His disciples said unto them,
Verily I say unto you, that this

665
00:48:59,160 –> 00:49:04,040
poor widow have cast more in
than all they which have cast

666
00:49:04,040 –> 00:49:07,640
into the treasury.
For all they did cast in of

667
00:49:07,640 –> 00:49:11,880
their abundance.
But she of her want did cast in

668
00:49:12,160 –> 00:49:17,280
all that she had even all her
living.

669
00:49:18,720 –> 00:49:22,400
You notice there by repetition
again Now what the Lord says

670
00:49:22,400 –> 00:49:28,720
about that woman is she cast in
all that she had and it’s

671
00:49:28,720 –> 00:49:33,160
obviously LinkedIn the chapter
cure O Israel, thou shalt love

672
00:49:33,160 –> 00:49:39,920
the Lord thy God with all and
the example the scriptures give

673
00:49:39,920 –> 00:49:46,160
is a woman who had nothing.
So the Lord wasn’t talking about

674
00:49:46,160 –> 00:49:50,560
the great kings of the earth.
He was talking about a woman who

675
00:49:50,560 –> 00:49:52,440
was a widow.
She had nothing.

676
00:49:52,440 –> 00:49:56,960
She was nothing and she cast in
more than they all.

677
00:49:57,040 –> 00:50:00,520
What does that tell us about God
and how he judges our

678
00:50:00,520 –> 00:50:02,960
contribution.
Is there anybody who is too

679
00:50:02,960 –> 00:50:08,520
small, who feels so
insignificant that they can’t

680
00:50:08,520 –> 00:50:15,280
give to God all this, this
lovely woman had a choice,

681
00:50:15,280 –> 00:50:19,160
didn’t she?
You know, she had two coins.

682
00:50:21,320 –> 00:50:27,400
She could have cast in half of
all she had, but she cast in all

683
00:50:27,400 –> 00:50:31,320
she had.
She made a conscious decision to

684
00:50:31,320 –> 00:50:35,400
give everything to God, to cast
herself upon the mercy of God,

685
00:50:37,680 –> 00:50:41,440
and she excelled all the rich
men of the earth in the faith

686
00:50:41,440 –> 00:50:48,440
that she showed.
How did she come to such a

687
00:50:48,440 –> 00:50:54,480
commitment to the truth?
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God

688
00:50:55,760 –> 00:50:57,920
with all.
She was a woman who loved the

689
00:50:57,920 –> 00:51:03,040
Lord.
That’s where the motivation was.

690
00:51:03,040 –> 00:51:10,600
That’s where the power was.
And so Josiah went out and the

691
00:51:10,600 –> 00:51:13,920
second time he cleansed the
land, it was more thorough and

692
00:51:13,920 –> 00:51:18,080
more complete than before.
It’s very interesting.

693
00:51:18,080 –> 00:51:21,160
You may have this in your home.
The Biblical Archaeological

694
00:51:21,160 –> 00:51:24,120
Review just came to my house
last week, the July, August

695
00:51:24,120 –> 00:51:27,760
edition.
It’s got on the cover a picture

696
00:51:28,160 –> 00:51:35,400
of a a pot in the shape of a
person, and it’s an idol from

697
00:51:35,720 –> 00:51:38,240
Israel.
And the article is called

698
00:51:38,480 –> 00:51:42,360
Smashing the Idols.
And they found from the Times of

699
00:51:42,400 –> 00:51:48,320
Josiah, a shrine in southern
Israel in which every idol is

700
00:51:48,320 –> 00:51:53,920
smashed to pieces deliberately.
And they’re wondering whether

701
00:51:53,920 –> 00:52:03,190
this was Josiah’s work himself.
But I think not.

702
00:52:03,670 –> 00:52:05,990
It may have been one of his
followers, but I don’t think it

703
00:52:05,990 –> 00:52:08,110
was his work because you won’t
see it.

704
00:52:08,110 –> 00:52:11,400
But there’s a picture here of a
woman piercing together the

705
00:52:11,400 –> 00:52:14,680
idol.
She’s taken all the fragments

706
00:52:15,160 –> 00:52:18,440
and she stuck them together, and
there she’s got the idol again.

707
00:52:19,080 –> 00:52:21,440
That’s exactly what Josiah was
worried about.

708
00:52:23,240 –> 00:52:32,680
If you look at Second Kings 23,
this is a feature of what he did

709
00:52:32,960 –> 00:52:37,400
with idols that he found Second
Kings 23.

710
00:52:37,400 –> 00:52:39,960
Just take verse 15 as an
example.

711
00:52:40,760 –> 00:52:44,440
Moreover, the altar that was at
Bethel and the High Place, which

712
00:52:44,440 –> 00:52:48,240
Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who
made Israel to sin, had made

713
00:52:48,520 –> 00:52:51,080
both that altar and the high
place.

714
00:52:51,240 –> 00:52:56,680
He breakdown and burned the high
place and stamped it small to

715
00:52:56,680 –> 00:52:58,680
powder.
If you follow that through,

716
00:52:58,680 –> 00:53:01,000
you’ll see that that’s a feature
which is repeated.

717
00:53:01,480 –> 00:53:06,080
He literally pulverised these
images.

718
00:53:06,960 –> 00:53:09,640
Why?
So that they couldn’t do what

719
00:53:09,640 –> 00:53:14,680
this lady is doing.
They couldn’t repair the idols

720
00:53:14,880 –> 00:53:22,000
and be drawn back into idolatry.
And that’s what we have to do if

721
00:53:22,000 –> 00:53:26,120
we are serious about the truth.
We have to take those things

722
00:53:26,120 –> 00:53:30,640
which we know are stumbling
blocks to us and we have to

723
00:53:30,640 –> 00:53:35,760
pulverise them so that we can’t
the next day replace them in our

724
00:53:35,760 –> 00:53:38,800
minds, in our thoughts, in our
homes.

725
00:53:40,640 –> 00:53:47,520
Just one last point.
The second things 23, verse 24,

726
00:53:48,800 –> 00:53:53,280
it says, moreover, the workers
with familiar spirits and the

727
00:53:53,280 –> 00:53:59,440
Wizards and the images and the
idols and all the abominations

728
00:53:59,440 –> 00:54:03,160
that were spied in the land of
Judah, Jerusalem, did Josiah put

729
00:54:03,160 –> 00:54:06,640
away that he might perform the
words of the Lord.

730
00:54:07,920 –> 00:54:12,760
The word images is the word
terraphim, and the terraphim

731
00:54:12,760 –> 00:54:17,120
were household gods.
These were the little gods that

732
00:54:17,120 –> 00:54:20,880
you could keep on the
mantelpiece in your own home.

733
00:54:22,920 –> 00:54:27,040
It’s not mentioned in the first
cleansing, but it’s part of the

734
00:54:27,040 –> 00:54:32,000
second cleansing where he was
more thorough because he was

735
00:54:32,000 –> 00:54:35,080
more exact according to the Word
of God.

736
00:54:36,120 –> 00:54:38,480
So not only did they go through
the land, they went into every

737
00:54:38,480 –> 00:54:42,920
home in the country and they
cleaned out everything which

738
00:54:42,920 –> 00:54:48,480
caused defence and they smashed
it to powder so that no one

739
00:54:48,480 –> 00:54:51,560
could ever replace in their
lives anything which would

740
00:54:51,560 –> 00:54:54,360
compete with the Word of God for
supremacy.

741
00:54:54,880 –> 00:54:58,280
May, brethren, sisters, that be
the spirit in which we implement

742
00:54:58,400 –> 00:55:00,680
what we know of the Word of God.