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Wednesday, July 4, 2007

2 Chronicles 34:1-7

34:1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, and the carved and the metal images. And they chopped down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and he cut down the incense altars that stood above them. And he broke in pieces the Asherim and the carved and the metal images, and he made dust of them and scattered it over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. And in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their ruins all around, he broke down the altars and beat the Asherim and the images into powder and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem. (ESV)

by Paula Davis

Josiah became king when he was eight years old. He didn’t know the Lord personally at that time, but followed in the footsteps and “walked in the ways of his father David, never turning aside to the right or to the left” (verse 2). When he was sixteen, Josiah began to seek the Lord for himself and made some radical changes in the land he ruled. It is sobering to me when I think that some child may be following in my footsteps. Am I following God so closely that through my example the child will know enough about following the Lord to seek him in ways that allow radical things to be done for God? This thought makes me pause for prayer and self-examination. What about you?



Copyright Information

Daily Bible Meditations are taken from The Helping Hand,a Sabbath School student quarterly for youth and adults. Copyright © 2008, Seventh Day Baptist Board of Christian Education, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked "ESV" are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Text provided by the Crossway Bibles Web Service .