Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - "A God Who Responds" – Thursday, 30 October 2014 - Scripture: 2 Chronicles 34:14-33

Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - "A God Who Responds" – Thursday, 30 October 2014 - Scripture: 2 Chronicles 34: 14-17 While the money that had been given for The Temple of God was being received and dispersed, Hilkiah the high priest found a copy of The Revelation of Moses. He reported to Shaphan the royal secretary, “I’ve just found the Book of God’s Revelation, instructing us in God’s way—found it in The Temple!” He gave it to Shaphan, who then gave it to the king. And along with the book, he gave this report: “The job is complete—everything you ordered done is done. They took all the money that was collected in The Temple of God and handed it over to the managers and workers.”
18 And then Shaphan told the king, “Hilkiah the priest gave me a book.” Shaphan proceeded to read it out to the king.
19-21 When the king heard what was written in the book, God’s Revelation, he ripped his robes in dismay. And then he called for Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the royal secretary, and Asaiah the king’s personal aide. He ordered them all: “Go and pray to God for me and what’s left of Israel and Judah. Find out what we must do in response to what is written in this book that has just been found! God’s anger must be burning furiously against us—our ancestors haven’t obeyed a thing written in this book of God, followed none of the instructions directed to us.”
22-25 Hilkiah and those picked by the king went straight to Huldah the prophetess. She was the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, who was in charge of the palace wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter. The men consulted with her. In response to them she said, “God’s word, the God of Israel: Tell the man who sent you here, ‘God has spoken, I’m on my way to bring the doom of judgment on this place and this people. Every word written in the book read by the king of Judah will happen. And why? Because they’ve deserted me and taken up with other gods; they’ve made me thoroughly angry by setting up their god-making businesses. My anger is raging white-hot against this place and nobody is going to put it out.’
26-28 “And also tell the king of Judah, since he sent you to ask God for direction, God’s comment on what he read in the book: ‘Because you took seriously the doom of judgment I spoke against this place and people, and because you responded in humble repentance, tearing your robe in dismay and weeping before me, I’m taking you seriously. God’s word. I’ll take care of you; you’ll have a quiet death and be buried in peace. You won’t be around to see the doom that I’m going to bring upon this place and people.’”
The men took her message back to the king.
29-31 The king acted immediately, assembling all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem, and then proceeding to The Temple of God bringing everyone in his train—priests and prophets and people ranging from the least to the greatest. Then he read out publicly everything written in the Book of the Covenant that was found in The Temple of God. The king stood by his pillar and before God solemnly committed himself to the covenant: to follow God believingly and obediently; to follow his instructions, heart and soul, on what to believe and do; to confirm with his life the entire covenant, all that was written in the book.
32 Then he made everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin commit themselves. And they did it. They committed themselves to the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.
33 Josiah did a thorough job of cleaning up the pollution that had spread throughout Israelite territory and got everyone started fresh again, serving and worshiping their God. All through Josiah’s life the people kept to the straight and narrow, obediently following God, the God of their ancestors.
"A God Who Responds" by David Roller
As workers dug through the mess of the ruined temple, they uncovered an ancient book. Any book was extremely rare at this time, but this was the rarest of them all. It was The Book of the Law—the story of God written by Moses.
The book precipitated a storm of activity. It contained the covenant—the blessings and the curses. When the king heard its words recent history suddenly made sense. Now he understood why Israel had been decimated by Assyria. He also understood the doom that hung over Judah.
“Go and inquire of the Lord,” he said to five of his important men. Implicit in this request was another one: “Find out if there’s a solution to the curse.” The answer came through the prophetess Huldah.
The answer they received is amazing: God reacts and changes His plan based on what we do! Because Josiah responded to Him, God delayed the disaster the people had brought upon themselves. This story reveals a God not of implacable edicts, but of relationship and patience. Because of his humility and repentance, God promised Josiah that he would die in peace.

Hymn for Today:

"Christ Is Made The Sure Foundation" by Latin Hymn, 7th century; translated by John M. Neale
1. Christ is made the sure foundation, 
Christ the head and cornerstone, 
chosen of the Lord and precious, 
binding all the church in one,
Holy Zion's help forever, 
and our confidence alone. 
2. To this temple where we call you, 
come, O Lord of hosts, today; 
with all your faithful loving kindness, 
hear your people as they pray, 
and your fullest benediction 
shed within its walls alway.
3. Here bestow on all your servants
what they ask of you to gain,
what they gain from you forever 
with the blessed to retain; 
and hereafter in your glory

evermore with you to reign.
Thought for Today:

“Josiah models for us that when we learn a truth or experience God for ourselves we are to share it with others"(Diane Leclerc).
Prayer Needs:
That many people in Saint Vincent will come to know Jesus the Christ, Yeshua the Messiah, and receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
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