Day 188: The Book of the Law

2 Kings 22:1-20 The reign of King Josiah, son of Amon, marked a return of righteousness to the throne of Judah. He had the Temple repaired, and it was during his reign that the ancient book of the covenant was found. After the book was read to him, he realized how far the people had strayed from the covenant and inaugurated a reform of Law and worship.

2 Chronicles 33:1-20 Manasseh, Hezekiah’s son, was unfaithful in the first part of his reign, turning to idols, witchcraft, and even sacrificing his own son; soon, Judah became corrupt with idolatry once again. After the Assyrians invaded, Manasseh was placed in chains and taken to Babylon. There, he repented of his sin and petitioned the Lord for assistance. Returning to his kingdom, he reversed much of the damage he had done and restored proper worship to the land. 

Proverbs 7:1-27 This book associates adultery with false religion since both involve egregious disloyalty and infidelity. The prophets Jeremiah and Hosea preached strongly against the sin of adultery and considered it an image of idolatry; it follows that fidelity to God carries a similar obligation as fidelity in marriage. Therefore, violations of the First Commandment against idolatry are viewed metaphorically as adultery. Hosea was called by God to marry the harlot Gomer, and her infidelity became a metaphor for the infidelity of Israel through idolatrous practices. (CCC 2380-2381)

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)

• We are back in Proverbs Ch 7

• We have left the Psalms for just a little bit for the next 100 days or so 😉

• As we journey through Proverbs a couple of things

• The author of Proverbs often uses IMAGERY

• Here, the imagery is of the ADULTERESS or HARLOT

• So we have the imagery of SEXUAL SIN

• While that is a REAL SIN

• It can also be an image of ALL OTHER SINS

• It’s kind of obvious that when it comes to CERTAIN TYPES OF SINS, we don’t necessarily all know what it is to be tempted to GAMBLE or to be tempted towards ANGER or to be tempted towards VENGEANCE or to be tempted towards GOSSIP

• But it is pretty common to the human race to know what it is to be tempted by SEXUAL SIN

• So while they are specifically talking about that particular kind of sin in Proverbs 7, it is also a METAPHOR for ALL SIN that is SEDUCTIVE

• ALL SIN that calls to our heart

• In particular in The Bible, ADULTERY is often the image for IDOLATRY

• When we read the Book of Hosea, that was the same kind of idea as well

• Here is Hosea with his wife Gomer who was UNFAITHFUL to him

• That was an IMAGE of the People of Israel being UNFAITHFUL to the love of GOD

• When we read through these things, we can definitely see the foolishness and allure, the attraction of certain kinds of sin that are pulled out of here in Proverbs

• BUT…

• We can also see them as an EXAMPLE of how ALL SINS draw our heart AWAY from what we know is TRUE

• You can even see that in Proverbs 7 the young man looking out his window

• Here is this young man right now

• He is out in the street

• There she is

• I’ve seen this happen night after night after night

• He is going out into the darkness

• WHEN NO ONE ELSE CAN SEE HIM

• He is doing this

• This is what we ALL DO when it comes to SIN

• There are so many sins we would AVOID if people were around

• BUT…

• It is the ANONYMITY of the sin that often gets us into trouble

• That is one of the reasons why ACCOUNTABILITY can be SO SO INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT

• If much of our lives are spent HIDDEN

• Even these DARK parts of our lives

• Even these BROKEN parts of our lives

• Then we can’t help but also in some ways HIDE THEM FROM OURSELVES

• So our call is NOT to ANONYMITY

• Our call is to ACCOUNTABILITY

• That is one of the ways we can WALK IN THE LIGHT and NOT walk in darkness

• 2 Chronicles Ch 33 tells us about Manasseh

• Hezekiah was a GREAT KING until the last 15 years of his life

• He did not use those extra years in the best possible ways

• He did have a SON who was NOT A GREAT KING

• Manasseh tore down the TRUE ALTARS in the Temple

• Manasseh set up HIS OWN ALTARS in the Temple

• Manasseh set up HIS OWN HIGH PLACES around Judah

• AND YET…

• At some point, he had some sort of REPENTANCE

• When he was brought off to Babylon, he became a VASSAL OF ASSYRIA

• Because of that, HE WAS HUMBLED

• Because of that, HE CAME BACK TO THE LORD

• The Lord HEARD HIS PRAYER

• THIS IS REMARKABLE

• Here was HORRIBLE Manasseh who led so many people INTO SIN

• AND YET…

• When Manasseh REPENTED, the Lord HEARD HIS PRAYER

• THIS IS SUCH SUCH GOOD NEWS FOR US!!

• When we went from Hezekiah, this GREAT KING, to Manasseh, this EVIL KING, who also had an opportunity to REPENT

• When Manasseh CRIED TO THE LORD, the Lord HEARD HIS VOICE

• That is SO SO IMPORTANT FOR US

• Josiah was made King when he was 8 years old

• In his 18th year, what happened?

• Hilkiah, the High Priest, found the Book of the Law in the Temple

• They must have lost it, which is REMARKABLE and REMARKABLY IRRESPONSIBLE

• Not only should the ENTIRE PEOPLE have known the Book of the Law

• Go back to Deuteronomy 17 which says, “Each King was to have a personal copy of the Law and he was to read it every single day.”

• Deuteronomy 31 says that the ENTIRE LAW was to be read to an assembly of the nations ONCE EVERY SEVEN YEARS at the Feast of Tabernacles to keep the Law before the people

• This was supposed to have been going on EVERY SINGLE DAY

• Josiah, and every king before him, was supposed to have been reading The Law EVERY SINGLE DAY

• The people should have HEARD the Law REGULARLY

• THEY LOST IT

• They had this INCREDIBLE GIFT

• Remember, the Book of the Law is their WHOLE STORY

• The Book of the Law is the REMINDER of the COVENANT

• The Book of the Law is the REMINDER of WHO GOD IS

• AND THEY LOST IT!!

• It’s worth reflecting on today

• How many times has God given so much of Himself?

• How many times has God revealed SO MUCH OF HIMSELF and we just PUT IT ASIDE?

• WE JUST LOST IT?

• It’s part of the reason we are here on Day 188

• SO MANY OF US

• This isn’t our first trip through The Bible

• But for MANY OF US, this IS our first trip through The Bible

• We get to be like Josiah today

• We get to say, “Oh my goodness, Lord. This has been at my fingertips for my entire life. And now here you are. And now I am finally listening. I am finally getting it. I am finally being FAITHFUL TO YOU.”

• WHAT A GRACE!!

• How much GOD LOVES YOU!!

• You are right now Josiah, having found the Book of the Word of the Lord!!

• OH MY GOODNESS!

• Having found the Word of God and here you are on Day 188

• Saying today, like you have been saying for 187 days before this, “God thank you for your Word. I lost it. I didn’t know I had it. I didn’t know how to read it. I didn't know how to listen to it. But here you are, faithful.”

• If you are a SON or DAUGHTER of God, you are a KING or a QUEEN

• FAITHFUL KING JOSIAH

• FAITHFUL QUEEN YOU

• GOSH, WHAT A GIFT!!

• Fr. Mike is praying for YOU

• Please pray for Fr. Mike

• PRAY FOR EACH OTHER because we don’t ever again want to lose the Book of the Law

• We don’t want to allow our pride to turn us away from the Lord

• We just want to be close to Him, not to walk in the DARK, but to LIVE IN THE LIGHT

• PRAY FOR EACH OTHER

• PRAY FOR FR. MIKE

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven we thank you and we give you praise. Thank you for being such a good Dad to us, for loving us in our weakness. For loving us not only when we don’t love you back, when we don’t love each other. When we don’t love the people that you have placed in our lives. Lord God, you still are love and you still have made us for love and you still call us to love, even when we have wandered away from you, Lord, you continue to call us back to you. Reveal your heart to us. Continue to reveal your Word to us this day and every day. Continue to allow us to hear your voice, to not just hear your voice, but to truly listen to the depths of your heart. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”