“A Responsive
and Humble
Heart”
In the Lord:
“Blessed is the man
who trusts in the LORD,
whose trust is the LORD.
8 He is like a tree planted by
water, that sends out its
roots by the stream, and
does not fear when heat
comes, for its leaves remain
green, and is not anxious in
the year of drought, for it
does not cease to bear fruit.”
- Jeremiah 17:7-8
7
In One’s Self:
The heart is
deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
10 “I the LORD search the
heart and test the mind,
to give every man
according to his ways,
according to the fruit of
his deeds.”
- Jeremiah 17:9-10
9
An Amazing King
• Josiah was 8 yrs. old when he became king.
• He was the 15th of 19 Kings for Judah and
the last to seek and serve God.
• His Grandfather and Father were very bad
kings in Judah’s history.
• At 16, Josiah began “to seek the God of his
ancestor David.” (2 Chronicles 34:4)
• He dedicated himself to purifying the
worship of the people of God.
• At 26, he organized repairs to the Temple.
• While working in the Temple, the priest,
Hilkiah, found the Book of the Law.
Preparing Hearts and Minds
He ordered that the altars of Baal be demolished and
that the incense altars which stood above them be
broken down. He also made sure that the Asherah poles,
the carved idols, and the cast images were smashed and
scattered over the graves of those who had sacrificed to
them. 5 He burned the bones of the pagan priests on
their own altars, and so he purified Judah and
Jerusalem.
6 He did the same thing in the towns of Manasseh,
Ephraim, and Simeon, even as far as Naphtali, and in
the regions all around them. 7 He destroyed the pagan
altars and the Asherah poles, and he crushed the idols
into dust. He cut down all the incense altars throughout
the land of Israel. Finally, he returned to Jerusalem.
- 2 Chronicles 34:4-7
4
The Blessings of a Godly Leader
• After cleansing the land of the pagan,
idolatrous allowances of his forefathers…
Finally, Josiah returned to Jerusalem.
• At 26, he organized repairs to the Temple.
• After a 60 yr. absence, the Book of the Law
was found. (Since Hezekiah)
When the king heard what was written in the Book of
the Law, he tore his clothes in despair. 12 Then he gave
these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of
Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the court
secretary, and Asaiah the king’s personal adviser: 13 “Go
to the Temple and speak to the LORD for me and for the
people and for all Judah. Inquire about the words
11
The Blessings of a Godly Leader
• Josiah’s response was immediate –
grief and desperate inquiry of the Lord.
So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and
Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess,
the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, son of Harhas,
keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in
the Second Quarter), and they talked with her.
- 2 Kings 22:14
14
• Josiah, wanted his whole cabinet to hear the
Lord’s response.
‘This is what the LORD says: …17 my people have
abandoned me and offered sacrifices to pagan gods, and
I am very angry with them for everything they have
16
…BUT,
because your heart was penitent, and you humbled
yourself before the LORD, when you heard how I spoke
against this place and against its inhabitants, that they
should become a desolation and a curse, and you have
torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard
you, declares the LORD. 20 Therefore, behold, I will
gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to
your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the
disaster that I will bring upon this place.’ ” And they
brought back word to the king. - 2 Kings 22:19-20
19
• 1962 – School Prayer removed
• 1963 – Public Bible reading prohibited
• 1973 – Abortion legalized
• Current – We are reaping what we’ve sown.
If my people who are called by my name
humble themselves, and pray and seek my
face and turn from their wicked ways, then
I will hear from heaven and will forgive
their sin and heal their land. - 2 Chronicles 7:14