What were you doing seventy five years ago? If you were alive, can you even remember? What did your house look like? Who was president? How much did a loaf of bread cost?

Josiah, a young king, launched a rejuvenation of the temple in Jerusalem. In the mess workers discovered a scroll. Ignored for seventy five years, the priest began to read to the king:

When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes. He ordered his advisors: Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book.

Seventy five years prior, Josiah’s grandfather (Manasseh) became king and rejected the Lord. He led the people to worship all sort of heinous gods, and incurred the wrath of the One True God. Perhaps worst of all, he hid the Word of God out of sight.

After the fall of communism, I watched videos of Russians clamoring for Bibles in the streets, a book banned in Russia for roughly seventy five years. When Bibles became available again, the response was stunning. This book is powerful.

Fortunately, you and I now possess these unparalleled writings in abundance. Don’t let them get buried in the detritus of life. Like Josiah and all those Russians, open up your Bible and discover the wonderful truths found within.

2 Kings 22 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Taylor Flowe