A Lesson in Leadership

SCRIPTURE: 2 Kings 23:24-27
Furthermore, Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists, the household gods, the idols and all the other detestable things seen in Judah and Jerusalem. This he did to fulfill the requirements of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the temple of the LORD. Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the LORD as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.

Nevertheless, the LORD did not turn away from the heat of his fierce anger, which burned against Judah because of all that Manasseh had done to arouse his anger. So the LORD said, “I will remove Judah also from my presence as I removed Israel, and I will reject Jerusalem, the city I chose, and this temple, about which I said, ‘My Name shall be there.’”

OBSERVATION: Josiah turned back to the Lord with his whole heart and repented for the sins of his people. The priests found the Book of the Law and read it to him. When he realized the extent of his nation's sin and the terrible warnings of judgment that the Lord had pronounced against his people, he inquired of the Lord to see if the prophecies of judgment could be removed by renewing the covenant with God. When informed that God would not reverse the coming judgments, Josiah did not give up. He became even more zealous in doing all he could to turn back the hearts of the people and to remove all idol worship from the land.

APPLICATION: There are many Christians in the church today who believe with all their heart that the second of coming of Christ is near and will likely happen in their lifetime. Yet for many, this knowledge leads to a fatalistic attitude of not trying to do all they can to turn back the hearts of those on the path to hell. "It's going to happen anyway, so why trouble myself with talking to those who will most likely mock my beliefs anyway". But we should be like Josiah, doing all we can to turn others to God and to serve Him ourselves with nothing held back. Josiah is an inspirational example of great spiritual leadership.

PRAYER: Father in heaven, holy is your Name and righteous are your judgments! You have given me a mission here on earth and I pray I would be fruitful and zealous in fulfilling Your call on my life. Give me the boldness Josiah had to lead Your people into righteous living and to turn the hearts of so many to serving You. May I have a "Josiah anointing" on my life! In Jesus' name, Amen.