August 2: Clean House!
2 Kings chapters 22-24, 2 Chron. chapters 34-35
2 Kings 22:8-10
Amplified Bible (AMP)
8 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord! Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.
9 And Shaphan the scribe came to the king and reported to him: Your servants have gathered the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hands of the workmen who have oversight of the house of the Lord.
10 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, Hilkiah the priest has given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.
Amplified Bible (AMP)
8 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord! Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.
9 And Shaphan the scribe came to the king and reported to him: Your servants have gathered the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hands of the workmen who have oversight of the house of the Lord.
10 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, Hilkiah the priest has given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.
11 And when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he rent his clothes.
12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah servant of the king,
13 Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us because our fathers have not listened and obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.
Thank God for Josiah who completely heeded the word of the Lord and turned his nation back to God. I loved reading about his sweeping reforms!
11 And when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he rent his clothes.
12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah servant of the king,
13 Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us because our fathers have not listened and obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.
Thank God for Josiah who completely heeded the word of the Lord and turned his nation back to God. I loved reading about his sweeping reforms!
2 Kings 23:4-14Amplified Bible (AMP)
4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second rank and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for [the goddess] Asherah, and for all the hosts of the heavens; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel [where Israel’s idolatry began].
5 He put away the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in Judah’s cities and round about Jerusalem—also those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations [or twelve signs of the zodiac], and to all the hosts of the heavens.
6 And Josiah brought the Asherah from the house of the Lord to outside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron and burned it there, and beat it to dust and cast its dust upon the graves of the common people [who had sacrificed to it].
7 And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes, which were by the house of the Lord, where the women wove [tent] hangings for the Asherah [shrines].
8 And [Josiah] brought all the [idolatrous] priests out of the city of Judah and defiled the high places, where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba [north to south], and broke down the high places both at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua the governor of the city and that which was on one’s left at the city’s gate.
9 However, the priests of the high places were not allowed to sacrifice upon the Lord’s altar in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brethren.
10 And Josiah defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of Ben-hinnom [son of Hinnom], that no man might ever burn there his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech.
11 And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had devoted to the sun from the entrance of the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the area, and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.
12 And the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, [Josiah] pulled down and beat them in pieces, and he [ran and] cast their dust into the brook Kidron.
13 And the king defiled the high places east of Jerusalem, south of the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abominable [goddess] of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abominable god of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abominable [god] of the Ammonites.
14 He broke in pieces the pillars (images) and cut down the Asherim and replaced them with the bones of men [to defile the places forever].
What are you king over? Are You the leader in your home? If so, you must clean house! A live and let live attitude is totally against the Word of God. Last week I heard an amazing message by Scott Graham. He said he randomly asks his 22 year old son (who lives at home while attending college) to hand over his cell phone. Graham scrolls through his sons texts and reads them. Graham believes that privacy comes with a mortgage. I will have to say I agree wholeheartedly. Parents, if you have had a live and let live policy in your home, there's no time like the present to turn things around. It will be very hard, but you will be sooooo glad you did it. Oh, and Graham hands his own phone to his son as well. Talk about accountability! Imagine what King Josiah must have faced when he destroyed ALL the Asherah poles and male prostitutes. He got rid of Topheth, the place children were sacrificed to the god Molech (can you imagine this? I cant.). He destroyed ALL the high places where sacrifices were made and smashed ALL the altars. Go back and read the scripture passage. He got rid of EVERYTHING. I'm sure MANY people were very angry. I'm sure he was NOT a very popular king.
Do you need to clean house? It's time.
If you aren't the spiritual leader in your home and have no control over what goes on, just start with your own life. Ask God what needs to be cleaned out. Is your heart clean? Is there any bitterness in you? Is there anything among your personal belongings that needs to go? Is there sin that needs to go? Is there a friendship or relationship that needs to go? You must be radical. NOTHING can stay that's even SLIGHTLY against God's word. If you're not sure, pray. Seek Godly counsel. I promise God will show you and give you strength for the hard task ahead. Once it's done, you will experience intense, life giving freedom. And you will wonder why you didn't take care of it sooner.
If there's sin in your home and you have no control over it, pray, pray, pray against it and watch God work!
"Dear Jesus, thank You. Thank You for Your amazing, amazing, incredible, incredible word. Please help us, all of us, clean out our hearts and our homes. We must be that light of truth and holiness. A beacon in the night. Set apart for Your service in a dark world. We are making some hard decisions to remove every little (but it's not really little) thing in our homes, lives, and hearts thats not pleasing to You. Give us the determination just like King Josiah had. He was only 15 years old when He started turning an entire nation back to you. Just a baby. He had all those wicked adults breathing down his neck. If young Josiah did it, certainly, we can do it! With Your help we promise to "clean house". We love You so much. We are so grateful. You are worthy. In Your precious name we pray this, Jesus, AMEN."
4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second rank and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for [the goddess] Asherah, and for all the hosts of the heavens; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel [where Israel’s idolatry began].
5 He put away the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in Judah’s cities and round about Jerusalem—also those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations [or twelve signs of the zodiac], and to all the hosts of the heavens.
6 And Josiah brought the Asherah from the house of the Lord to outside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron and burned it there, and beat it to dust and cast its dust upon the graves of the common people [who had sacrificed to it].
7 And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes, which were by the house of the Lord, where the women wove [tent] hangings for the Asherah [shrines].
8 And [Josiah] brought all the [idolatrous] priests out of the city of Judah and defiled the high places, where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba [north to south], and broke down the high places both at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua the governor of the city and that which was on one’s left at the city’s gate.
9 However, the priests of the high places were not allowed to sacrifice upon the Lord’s altar in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brethren.
10 And Josiah defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of Ben-hinnom [son of Hinnom], that no man might ever burn there his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech.
11 And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had devoted to the sun from the entrance of the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the area, and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.
12 And the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, [Josiah] pulled down and beat them in pieces, and he [ran and] cast their dust into the brook Kidron.
13 And the king defiled the high places east of Jerusalem, south of the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abominable [goddess] of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abominable god of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abominable [god] of the Ammonites.
14 He broke in pieces the pillars (images) and cut down the Asherim and replaced them with the bones of men [to defile the places forever].
What are you king over? Are You the leader in your home? If so, you must clean house! A live and let live attitude is totally against the Word of God. Last week I heard an amazing message by Scott Graham. He said he randomly asks his 22 year old son (who lives at home while attending college) to hand over his cell phone. Graham scrolls through his sons texts and reads them. Graham believes that privacy comes with a mortgage. I will have to say I agree wholeheartedly. Parents, if you have had a live and let live policy in your home, there's no time like the present to turn things around. It will be very hard, but you will be sooooo glad you did it. Oh, and Graham hands his own phone to his son as well. Talk about accountability! Imagine what King Josiah must have faced when he destroyed ALL the Asherah poles and male prostitutes. He got rid of Topheth, the place children were sacrificed to the god Molech (can you imagine this? I cant.). He destroyed ALL the high places where sacrifices were made and smashed ALL the altars. Go back and read the scripture passage. He got rid of EVERYTHING. I'm sure MANY people were very angry. I'm sure he was NOT a very popular king.
Do you need to clean house? It's time.
If you aren't the spiritual leader in your home and have no control over what goes on, just start with your own life. Ask God what needs to be cleaned out. Is your heart clean? Is there any bitterness in you? Is there anything among your personal belongings that needs to go? Is there sin that needs to go? Is there a friendship or relationship that needs to go? You must be radical. NOTHING can stay that's even SLIGHTLY against God's word. If you're not sure, pray. Seek Godly counsel. I promise God will show you and give you strength for the hard task ahead. Once it's done, you will experience intense, life giving freedom. And you will wonder why you didn't take care of it sooner.
If there's sin in your home and you have no control over it, pray, pray, pray against it and watch God work!
"Dear Jesus, thank You. Thank You for Your amazing, amazing, incredible, incredible word. Please help us, all of us, clean out our hearts and our homes. We must be that light of truth and holiness. A beacon in the night. Set apart for Your service in a dark world. We are making some hard decisions to remove every little (but it's not really little) thing in our homes, lives, and hearts thats not pleasing to You. Give us the determination just like King Josiah had. He was only 15 years old when He started turning an entire nation back to you. Just a baby. He had all those wicked adults breathing down his neck. If young Josiah did it, certainly, we can do it! With Your help we promise to "clean house". We love You so much. We are so grateful. You are worthy. In Your precious name we pray this, Jesus, AMEN."
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