THE FORGOTTEN BOOK
A very important book was accidentally discovered when Josiah was king over the nation of Judah. Josiah was the last Godly king to rule that nation, and he became king when he was only eight years old. The historical events of his life are recorded in 2 Kings 22:1 through 23:30. God’s viewpoint of the life of Josiah is found in 2 Chronicles 34:1 through 35:27. It is interesting and profitable to read both records of the life of this young man.
Josiah was like his forefather David because he did not worship idols, and when he was sixteen years old he began to be serious about his relationship with the Lord and wanted to learn how to fulfill His will.
One of the first things Josiah accomplished was to remove the idols in the land that had been set up by previous generations, and he personally observed the men who were sent to destroy those false gods. In the eighteenth year of his reign, Josiah decided to repair the temple in Jerusalem that had been neglected for many years. He sent several of his officials to Hilkiah the high priest and instructed him to gather any silver that had been given by the people to the priests in the temple and give it to the carpenters and stone masons to buy materials for the repairs.
While searching for money in the temple, Hilkiah found a book that had been written by Moses … he recognized it as a book of the Law! He gave it to Shapan the scribe who personally read it and then showed it to the king. Josiah asked him to read it aloud, and when he heard the words contained in the book, he tore his robe and exclaimed, “Great is the wrath of God that will come upon us, because our fathers have not obeyed all the commands that were written in this book!”
Josiah sent Hilkiah, Shapan and some other officials to the college in Jerusalem to consult with Huldah, the prophetess, the wife of Tikvah who was the custodian of the priests’ wardrobe. Huldah placed the matter before the Lord and then said to the men: “Take this message from the Lord back to the young man who sent you here: ‘Because the people of Judah have forsaken Me and provoked Me to anger by worshipping gods that their hands have made, I will bring evil upon this nation and its people … even all the curses written in the book that has been read before the king of Judah. However, because Josiah obeyed My voice and humbled himself before Me, he will not see the destruction I will bring upon this place, but he will go to his grave in peace.’ “
When Josiah received the message, he sent for the priests, the Levites and elders of the people and took them into the house of the Lord. Josiah made a covenant with the Lord, promising to obey His Word and walk in His ways. All those who were present agreed to keep the covenant, and as long as Josiah was alive, they did not depart from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.
The forgotten book that was found was probably Leviticus. How can we surmise that it was Leviticus? For one thing, the high priest called it “a book of the Law”. It was the only book written by Moses that presented God’s law to the priests and Levites so that they could teach the people how to obey the Lord in all areas of their lives. Those instructions were not carried out for many years before the discovery of that book. The dictionary definition of the word Leviticus is: “book of the Levites; the third book of the Old Testament, containing the Jewish ceremonial laws administered by the priests and Levites.”
The Lord is very patient and always gives people plenty of time to stop their idolatrous practices and turn back to Him. He sends many warnings before severe discipline is administered just as He did to the Jews. (read Leviticus 26:1-33) The people were warned that they would have crop failure because of a lack of rain and they would have bad weather conditions in the land; there would be an increase of sickness; loss of children through warfare on enemy soil; enemy forces invading their land; and then the final curse of being brutally conquered by their enemies and scattered throughout the world. All of those curses took place in the nation of Israel when those people were conquered and taken to Assyria. Now, in Judah, only one more rightful king would follow Josiah on the throne before that nation would be conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar who would take their people in chains to Babylon.
In Leviticus chapter 26 we find the conditions of blessings and also the curses which would come upon the Children of Israel if they failed to obey the Lord.
In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses summarized the wilderness experiences of the first generation to warn the second generation before they went into the Promised Land, and in chapter 28 of Deuteronomy he repeated the blessings and curses that were first recorded in Leviticus.
We have God’s perfect and complete Word to mankind in writing, and the Lord has given men in various places throughout this land of ours who are prepared to be pastor/teachers for the purpose of helping those who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ to grow up spiritually and find God’s plan and purpose for their lives.
If you have never believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you must make that decision while you are still alive on this earth.
“NEITHER IS THERE SALVATION IN ANY OTHER; FOR THERE IS NO OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN GIVEN AMONG MEN WHEREBY WE MUST BE SAVED.” (Acts 4:12)
Written by Lois Delnay
Fallbrook Ranch Productions
04/14/07
loisdelnay@hotmail.com
Books for sale by L. Delnay
http://www.amazon.com/Bible-Schoolhouse-Studies-Children-Teens/dp/1438212003/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212685141&sr=8-1
link to Lois Delnay's Children Bible Study
http://gettoknowyourbible.org/
http://loisdelnay.bravehost.com/index.html
link to Lois Delnay's writings on Helium
site design by Doris Miller
A very important book was accidentally discovered when Josiah was king over the nation of Judah. Josiah was the last Godly king to rule that nation, and he became king when he was only eight years old. The historical events of his life are recorded in 2 Kings 22:1 through 23:30. God’s viewpoint of the life of Josiah is found in 2 Chronicles 34:1 through 35:27. It is interesting and profitable to read both records of the life of this young man.
Josiah was like his forefather David because he did not worship idols, and when he was sixteen years old he began to be serious about his relationship with the Lord and wanted to learn how to fulfill His will.
One of the first things Josiah accomplished was to remove the idols in the land that had been set up by previous generations, and he personally observed the men who were sent to destroy those false gods. In the eighteenth year of his reign, Josiah decided to repair the temple in Jerusalem that had been neglected for many years. He sent several of his officials to Hilkiah the high priest and instructed him to gather any silver that had been given by the people to the priests in the temple and give it to the carpenters and stone masons to buy materials for the repairs.
While searching for money in the temple, Hilkiah found a book that had been written by Moses … he recognized it as a book of the Law! He gave it to Shapan the scribe who personally read it and then showed it to the king. Josiah asked him to read it aloud, and when he heard the words contained in the book, he tore his robe and exclaimed, “Great is the wrath of God that will come upon us, because our fathers have not obeyed all the commands that were written in this book!”
Josiah sent Hilkiah, Shapan and some other officials to the college in Jerusalem to consult with Huldah, the prophetess, the wife of Tikvah who was the custodian of the priests’ wardrobe. Huldah placed the matter before the Lord and then said to the men: “Take this message from the Lord back to the young man who sent you here: ‘Because the people of Judah have forsaken Me and provoked Me to anger by worshipping gods that their hands have made, I will bring evil upon this nation and its people … even all the curses written in the book that has been read before the king of Judah. However, because Josiah obeyed My voice and humbled himself before Me, he will not see the destruction I will bring upon this place, but he will go to his grave in peace.’ “
When Josiah received the message, he sent for the priests, the Levites and elders of the people and took them into the house of the Lord. Josiah made a covenant with the Lord, promising to obey His Word and walk in His ways. All those who were present agreed to keep the covenant, and as long as Josiah was alive, they did not depart from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.
The forgotten book that was found was probably Leviticus. How can we surmise that it was Leviticus? For one thing, the high priest called it “a book of the Law”. It was the only book written by Moses that presented God’s law to the priests and Levites so that they could teach the people how to obey the Lord in all areas of their lives. Those instructions were not carried out for many years before the discovery of that book. The dictionary definition of the word Leviticus is: “book of the Levites; the third book of the Old Testament, containing the Jewish ceremonial laws administered by the priests and Levites.”
The Lord is very patient and always gives people plenty of time to stop their idolatrous practices and turn back to Him. He sends many warnings before severe discipline is administered just as He did to the Jews. (read Leviticus 26:1-33) The people were warned that they would have crop failure because of a lack of rain and they would have bad weather conditions in the land; there would be an increase of sickness; loss of children through warfare on enemy soil; enemy forces invading their land; and then the final curse of being brutally conquered by their enemies and scattered throughout the world. All of those curses took place in the nation of Israel when those people were conquered and taken to Assyria. Now, in Judah, only one more rightful king would follow Josiah on the throne before that nation would be conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar who would take their people in chains to Babylon.
In Leviticus chapter 26 we find the conditions of blessings and also the curses which would come upon the Children of Israel if they failed to obey the Lord.
In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses summarized the wilderness experiences of the first generation to warn the second generation before they went into the Promised Land, and in chapter 28 of Deuteronomy he repeated the blessings and curses that were first recorded in Leviticus.
We have God’s perfect and complete Word to mankind in writing, and the Lord has given men in various places throughout this land of ours who are prepared to be pastor/teachers for the purpose of helping those who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ to grow up spiritually and find God’s plan and purpose for their lives.
If you have never believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you must make that decision while you are still alive on this earth.
“NEITHER IS THERE SALVATION IN ANY OTHER; FOR THERE IS NO OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN GIVEN AMONG MEN WHEREBY WE MUST BE SAVED.” (Acts 4:12)
Written by Lois Delnay
Fallbrook Ranch Productions
04/14/07
loisdelnay@hotmail.com
Books for sale by L. Delnay
http://www.amazon.com/Bible-Schoolhouse-Studies-Children-Teens/dp/1438212003/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212685141&sr=8-1
link to Lois Delnay's Children Bible Study
http://gettoknowyourbible.org/
http://loisdelnay.bravehost.com/index.html
link to Lois Delnay's writings on Helium
site design by Doris Miller
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