2 Kings 22:8 And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.
There is a growing movement today among professing Believers aimed at producing what has been termed multi-generational faithfulness. This movement is popular among the Dominionists who believe they will, by gaining control of world, politics and the like, prepare the world for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is however becoming popular in many other Christian groups as the alarming numbers come in showing our youth departing from the beliefs of biblical Christianity to embrace the tenants of Secular Humanism and its religious counter parts. Measures taken to correct this jumping ship have included a return to daily times of family worship (Devotions), catechizing, a greater push for homeschooling, shunning of youth related activities in the church, the absolution of age segregated learning, and even the drawing away from NT churches in favor of the unbiblical pattern of each family unit being erroneously considered equal to a NT church. Though these are not all bad changes and some are quite needful, they do not address the real cause or causes for this mad exodus.
In the narrative we find Hezekiah, a good king who begets a wicked son, Manasseh, and Amon, a wicked king who begets a good son, Josiah. We see here a departure from the true faith in Manasseh who forsook the God of Israel that his father had served faithfully to worship Baal and engage in occultic practices. Josiah, on the other hand, was raised in a home where the worship of Baal and occultic practices were normal, yet he chose to serve the God of heaven. What made the difference? The Word of God!
According to chapter twenty-two and verse eight, it seems the word of God had been lost to the household of the king. The return of the word of God prompted two responses that we must see in young people today. These responses are presented in verse nineteen-Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the LORD. Josiah believed God's word and Josiah wept and repented of their disobedience to God's word. Let us remember that salvation is not a learned or hereditary matter. It is not the result of allegiances to creeds and catechisms. Salvation is the work of God in response to the proclamation of the Gospel. Let us return to a firm reliance on God's word and God's Spirit for the salvation of the souls of our young people and a steady diet of God's word to promote biblical thinking. The Word of God will make a difference.
Daily Devotional - Luke 8:22-25; Mark 6:45-56 Jesus calms the storm and walks on water
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