Rev. Don Campbell
2 Kings 22-23; 2 Chronicles 34-35
THOUGHT FOR TODAY, August 5, 2019
“LIP SERVICE”
Josiah has this testimony: “Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left (2 Kings 22:1-2).
This is especially noteworthy, for his grandfather Manasseh and his father Amon were two of the most wicked of all the kings. Josiah’s efforts brought a full-scale restoration of the ancient order: the temple was repaired (2 Chronicles 34:8-13), the Book of Law was discovered (2 Chronicles 34:14-21), the covenant was restored (2 Chronicles 34:29-33), and the Passover was once again observed (2 Chronicles 35:1-18). Unfortunately, the reforms were superficial insofar as the people were concerned. Jeremiah began prophesying in the 13th year of Josiah. God spoke through him: “But despite all this, her faithless sister Judah has never sincerely returned to me. She has only pretended to be sorry. I, the Lord, have spoken!” (Jeremiah 3:10, NLT). Jeremiah also charged them with lip service: “Lord, you always give me justice when I bring a case before you. So let me bring you this complaint: Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why are evil people so happy? You have planted them, and they have taken root and prospered. Your name is on their lips, but you are far from their hearts” (Jeremiah 2:1-2, NLT).
Josiah’s mother is mentioned but once, with the writer simply saying that she was his mother. Could it have been her influence, like that which Timothy’s mother and grandmother exerted, that resulted in Josiah being so dramatically different from his father and grandfather? Jeremiah began prophesying in the 13th year of Josiah’s reign, so Josiah may have acted on those prophecies. Whatever or whoever influenced him, the bottom line is that Josiah made a choice; and, as Adam Clarke wrote, “He began well, continued, well, and ended well. Perhaps he had read the words of Solomon (Ecclesiastes 12:1-14).
Jehoahaz, Josiah’s son, succeeded him, but the record says that he returned to the ways of his grandfather and great grandfather. The people were more than willing to follow. No matter how good the life of a leader is, if the people he leads are not following with their whole heart when the leader is gone, the people will revert to their old ways, just as a neglected home site will revert to briars and bushes.
Godly parents will certainly be troubled by the lives of their adult children who reject their upbringing. However, parents must avoid the guilt trip that is often placed on them by a misapplication of Proverbs 22:6. Each generation makes its own choices. The prophet Ezekiel was a contemporary of Josiah; he wrote, “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself” (Ezekial 18:20). If God’s children can and do rebel against him (Isaiah 1:2), ours can rebel against us. If we have bought them up in the way of the Lord, they are rebelling against him, not against us.
1. Jesus quoted Isaiah who had also condemned lip service (Matthew 15:8-9). Sometimes people excuse their sins by charging, “You can’t judge my heart.” This is true, of course, but what can we evaluate? (Matthew 15:18-20)
2. One generation should be concerned about the welfare and faithfulness of the next generation, but each generation will ultimately make its own choice. Born in January 1943, I am chronologically considered a Baby Boomer. In my thinking, I’m of the Silent Generation: “Too young to see action in World War II and too old to participate in the fun of the Summer of Love. This label describes their conformist tendencies and belief that following the rules was a sure ticket to success.” [“The Summer of Love was a social phenomenon that occurred during the summer of 1967, when as many as 100,000 people, mostly young people sporting hippie fashions of dress and behavior, converged in San Francisco’s neighborhood of Haight-Ashbury.”] Such labels as Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, etc. create stereotypes. What stereotype did Nathanael apply to Jesus (John 1:46), and what should this teach us about the dangers of stereotyping?
