DO NOT NEGLECT GOD'S WORD

II Kings 22:1-2  Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years.  His mother was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath.  He did what was pleasing in the LORD’s sight and followed the example of his ancestor David.  He did not turn aside from doing what was right.

     When King Josiah was 26 years old, we discover that things weren’t going very well in Judah.  The people were without the written Word.  The people of Judah had ignored God’s Word for so long that it was deemed to be no longer relevant to their lives.  The Word was stashed away in the Temple.  It was out of sight and out of mind.  Josiah had instructed the Temple servants to restore the house of God back to a functional state.  He wanted people to once again include God in their lives.

         As the Temple was being cleaned up, the Word of God was found amongst all the long forgotten relics of the Temple.  It was brought to Josiah and upon hearing it read, he repented (11).  He repented of his own sins and then the sins of his people.  He then set the example for his people and began obeying the Word (23:3) by leading his people into reform.

      We must be careful that we don’t ever neglect God’s Word.  It is our lifeline to God.  We can never put it on a shelf and forget about it and expect to be right with God.  Our love for God is directly related to the time we spend in the Word.  Daily we need to be reading the Word.  We reap what we sow and if we are not feeding our souls with the Word, it shows up in how we live and think.

       We can see in the public arena what happens when the Word of God is neglected.  It soon leads to it being ignored and scorned.   A public display of sin becomes the norm.  We see it in public and we see it in the Church.  Many churches are leaving the Word out of their lives.  Many who are including it do not treat the Word as God’s authoritative voice.  Many distort it or adapt it to their liking.   Many use it for their own purposes and do not listen to what it says.  God is no longer deemed to be its author and it no longer is deemed to be relative to our living by many.

        We reap what we sow.  When God’s Word loses its hold on us, we are going to live in sin.  Our only hope is to return to the Word, believe what it says, repent of our sins, and change our ways.  God blesses those who cherish highly His Word and live by it.  Certain disaster happens to those who don’t. 

      Let us be very diligent in keeping the Scriptures at the center of our lives.  Read and meditate upon it daily.  Don’t let the busyness or concerns of life crowd them out of your life.  The life of your soul depends on it.