Paper Shredder

A few days ago I talked about a great young king named Josiah (It Ain't Easy). His son, Jehoiakim, didn't grow up to be quite as devoted to God. In fact, he was pretty awful.

In Jeremiah 36 we have the horrifying story of when some men came to read God's Word to Jehoiakim. But instead of listening intently and taking instruction from the Lord, Jehoiakim tore off little pieces of the scroll as the men were reading it and tossed those pieces into the fire. Bit by bit, he eventually burned the entire scroll.

In the story of his father Josiah, we see the righteous person's  response to God's Word: tearing of robes, or sorrow.

"When the king [Josiah] heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes" - 2 Chronicles 34:19

But in the story of the son Jehoiakim, we see the other end of the spectrum; the wicked person's response to God's Word: tearing the Word.

When we think of people burning God's Word, we think of nations that suffer from extreme opposition to Christianity. But what if we, as Christ's followers, did the same thing in our hearts? We may not physically tear a page from the Bible and set it on fire, but what if we tear a message from our hearts, erase God's instruction from our mind and cast it away? Ever have a thought like this:

"I know it's wrong... but..."

"I shouldn't really enjoy this... but..."

It's easy to point a condemning finger at Jehoiakim for tearing pieces out of God's Word, however, I know in my own life there has been times that I've willingly thrown away bits and pieces of God's commands. I'm sure we've all done it—tried to justify something we know is wrong, saying it "could be worse" or "not as bad as what other people are doing".

Join me and let's hold ourselves to a higher standard; to God's standard. Let's be people like Josiah, not Jehoiakim. Let's respond to God's commands with sincerity and devotion. If we catch ourselves ripping out a little bit of God's word, let's confess it and correct it. Otherwise, like Jehoiakim, we eventually could rip out commands bit by bit until the entire Word of God has been thrown out of our heart.

It Ain't Easy

A lot of people don't like reading the Old Testament because they find it sad. There's a lot more people making mistakes and screwing up in the Old Testament and a lot more talk of wrath and punishment. But another characteristic of the Old Testament that isn't talked about enough is that it's caffeinated; it wakes us up and makes us pay attention.

I've been spending a lot of time going through the Old Testament this summer. When going through the two books of Kings and the two books of Chronicles, all the mess-ups in Israel's history are a little overwhelming sometimes. The people seemed like they went out of their way to find ways to anger God. But perhaps one of the causes of those centuries of disobedience is rooted in their neglect of the Old Testament, or, the Book of the Law as it was called at that point. Finally, after a string of failed leaders and horrible kings, a young king by the name of Josiah shows up. He was just eight years old when we took the throne, but his child-like innocence and the humility that comes with youth may have been just the thing Israel needed. He spent his early years devoting himself to God and getting reacquainted with the Lord that his nation had been neglecting for so long. When Josiah reached the age of 28 he decided to do some repairs on the temple, which also had been neglected and was starting to look shabby over the years. During the renovations, the priests uncovered a dusty old book—the Book of the Law. They took the book to King Josiah and read it to him, and his heart shattered.