God’s Authority - Josiah

Josiah – Child King
GOD’S AUTHORITY

Considering Josiah helps us learn a special and priceless lesson: the value and authority of the Word of God. It is impossible for human language to state the vast importance of such a lesson; a lesson for every age, for every clime, for every condition – for the individual Christian as well as the whole church of our Lord.¹ The supreme authority of Holy Scripture should be deeply impressed on every heart, especially the young. It is the only safeguard against the many forms of error and evil abounding on every hand. Human writings, though having value as mental reference, have absolutely no worth as supreme authority.

We need to remember that there is a strong tendency in man’s mind to lean on human authority. As a result, millions have deprived themselves of God’s Word, because they live under the delusion that the Bible cannot be understood apart from human authority. In reality, this results in throwing the Word of God overboard. Mark it down, religious “word” that is of no avail without man’s authority, is not God’s Word. It does not matter what the authority is, the effect is the same – God’s Word is declared insufficient unless man provides certainty that God is speaking.

When quoting passages of Scripture, it is often said, “How do you know that it is the Word of God?” The purpose is often based on questioning the authority of God’s Word. Such a question may come from one who does not want to be governed by Holy Scripture. Perhaps behind such a question there is a consciousness that the Word condemns something the heart wants to hold and cherish, thus the effort to set God’s Word aside.

But how are we to know that the book we call the Bible is the Word of God?² For starters, the Bible carries its own credentials; bears its own evidence on every page, in every paragraph, in every line. To Christians, the evidence can be weighed and the credentials appreciated only through the teaching of the Holy Spirit.³ But, requiring man's voice to accredit God’s Word places us on infidel ground. If God cannot speak directly to the heart – if He cannot give the assurance that it is He Himself who speaks, then where are we; where shall we turn? We either believe what the Bible says about God’s Word, or we don’t – there is no middle ground. “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Heb. 4:12-13, NKJV).

If God cannot make Himself heard and understood, can we do it better – can we improve on God? Can the voice of fellow-mortal's give us more certainty? Can the authority of church leaders, tradition of men, decrees of councils, the judgment of professors, the opinion of family, give us more certainty than God Himself? If so, then we are completely at sea – as thoroughly in the dark as though God had not spoken at all. Of course, if God has not spoken, we are completely in the dark; but if He has spoken, and yet we cannot know His voice without man’s authority to accredit it, where lies the difference? Is it not plain that if God in His great mercy has given us a revelation, it must be sufficient in and of itself? On the other hand, any revelation that is not sufficient in and of itself cannot possibly be Divine. And further, is it not equally plain that if we cannot believe what God says because He says it, we certainly have no safe ground when man presumes to affix his accrediting seal?

We believe in the all-sufficiency of Divine revelation apart from and above all human writings – ancient, medieval, or modern. We value human writings; we value sound criticism; we value profound and accurate scholarship; we value the light of true science and philosophy; we value the testimony of pious travelers seeking to throw light on sacred text; we value books that attempt to open up the intensely interesting subject of Biblical antiquities; in short, we value everything that aids in the study of the Holy Scriptures. We value such because we end up with a deeper appreciation of the all-sufficiency and supremacy of the Word of God. That Word must be received on its own Divine authority, without human recommendation. God gives us certainty that the Holy Scriptures are, indeed, His own Word. If He does not give it, no man can; and if He does, no man needs more. Thus the inspired apostle says to his son Timothy, “Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned, and hast been assured of knowing of whom thou hast learned; and that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:14-15).

How did Timothy know that the Holy Scriptures were the Word of God? He knew it by Divine teaching. He knew of whom he had learned. Here is the secret. There was a living link between his soul and God, and he recognized the voice of God in Scripture. Thus it must always be. It will not do merely to be intellect-convinced that the Bible is the Word of God, by human arguments, human evidences, and human apologies. No; we must know its power in the heart and on the conscience by Divine teaching; and when this is the case, we will no longer need human proofs of the divinity of the Bible any more than our forefathers needed a rushlight at noonday to prove the sun was shining. We will believe what God says because He says it, and not because man accredits it, or because we feel it. “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.” He did not go to the Chaldeans, or the Egyptians to find out if what he had heard was the Word of God. No; he knew whom he had believed, and this gave him holy stability. He could say without doubt, “God has established a link between my soul and Himself, by means of His Word, which no power of earth or hell can ever snap.” This is the true ground for every believer – man, woman, or child, in all ages and under all circumstances. This was the ground for Abraham and Josiah, for Luke and Theophilus, for Paul and Timothy; and it must be our ground, too, or else we will never be able to stand against the rising tide of infidelity, attempting to sweep away the foundation of God’s authority.

Can a national profession, a hereditary faith, or an educational creed, sustain the soul in the presence of an audacious skepticism that reasons about everything and believes nothing? No; we must be able to stand before the skeptic, rationalist, and infidel, and in all the calmness and dignity of a divinely wrought faith, say “I know whom I have believed.” Then we will not be moved by popular books that attempt to debase God’s authority. Such literature will have less affect on us than gnats in the sunshine; unable to hide the heavenly beams of our Father’s revelation – God has spoken, and His voice reaches the heart. Through His Word, God makes Himself heard above the din and confusion of this world, and all the strife and controversy of religious systems, giving rest, peace, strength, and fixedness to the believing heart and mind. The opinions of men may perplex and confound. We may not be able to thread our way through the labyrinths of human systems of theology; but God’s voice speaks to the listening heart in Holy Scripture. This is life and peace. Human writings can never compare to the ever-flowing fountain of inspiration – the peerless, precious volume of God – the Bible.

Let us now turn to Josiah, observing that what we have considered thus far is illustrated in him.

“Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign” (2 Chr. 34:1). This speaks of the condition and ways of God’s people. After a brief and evil reign of two years, Josiah’s twenty-four year old father was murdered by his own servants. Such should not have happened. It was the sad fruit of sin and folly – the humiliating proof of Judah’s departure from Jehovah. But God was above all; and though we would not expect to find an eight year old child on the throne of David, yet he found sure and solid resource in the God of his fathers: so that in this case, as in all others, “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” The very fact of Josiah’s youth and inexperience afforded an occasion for the display of God’s grace – setting forth the value and power of the Word of God.

This pious child was placed in a position of peculiar difficulty and temptation. Surrounded by errors in various forms and of long standing, “he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand nor to the left. For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.”

It is always a good beginning, when a young and tender-heart is impressed with the fear of the Lord, preserving it from a host of evils and errors. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”; it taught this pious youth to know what was “right” and to adhere to it with unswerving fixedness of purpose. There is great force and value in the expression, “He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord”, not what was right in his own eyes, or in the eyes of the people, or in the eyes of those who had gone before him; but simply what was right in the sight of the Lord – the solid foundation of all right action. Until the fear of the Lord finds its true place in the heart, nothing is right, nothing is wise, nothing is holy. Why; because fearing God is the beginning of wisdom. We may do some things through the fear of man, some through force of habit, some through surrounding influences; but we do what is right in the sight of the Lord only when our hearts understand the fear of His holy name. This is the grand regulating principle, imparting seriousness, earnestness, and reality – rare and admirable qualities. It is an effectual safeguard against levity and vanity. A child or adult who habitually walks in the fear of God will always be earnest and sincere, free from trifling and affectation, from assumption and bombast – life has a purpose, the heart an object, giving intensity to character.

We also read of Josiah that “he walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand nor to the left.” What a testimony for the Holy Spirit to share concerning a young man. This plain decision is always invaluable – imparting peace of mind in every age; under all circumstances. A vacillating person is always tossed to and fro; never peaceful. “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” Such a person tries to please everybody, and ends up pleasing nobody. On the other hand, the decided man feels he has “to please but One”, providing unity and fixedness to life and character. It is an immense relief to be thoroughly done with men-pleasing and eye-service – fixing the eye on God alone; through evil report and through good report. True, we may still be misunderstood and misrepresented; but that is a small matter; our great business is to walk in the divinely appointed path, “declining neither to the right hand nor to the left.” Plain talk; plain decision is badly needed in our age; because when the devil finds us wavering, he will do everything possible to drive us off the plain and narrow path. May God’s Spirit work more mightily in our souls, giving us increased ability to say, “My heart is fixed, O God; my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.”

We now proceed to the great work that Josiah was raised up to accomplish; but before doing so, let us again consider those particular words already referred to, “In the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father.” Here is the true basis of Josiah’s valuable service – he sought after God. Young Christians should ponder this deeply. Too many are shipwrecked by rushing prematurely into work, becoming occupied and engrossed with world affairs before establishing the heart in the fear and love of God. This is a serious error, and many have fallen because of it. We should always remember and learn from the example of the prophet Elijah⁴, that God uses in public those He has trained in secret. From the child king, Josiah, we learn that the most honored of God’s servants have been those more occupied with their Master than with their work. We are not suggesting that we undervalue work; but those who are able to sustain a long and steady course of service and Christian testimony, began with earnest heart-work in secret with God.

God’s plants are deeply rooted, and are often slow to grow. Josiah “began to seek God” four years before he began public work. In his case, there was a firm ground-work of genuine personal piety, on which to erect the superstructure of active service. This was most needful. He had a great work to do. “High places and groves, carved images and molten images,” abounded on all hands, and called on for extra-ordinary faithfulness and decision. Such strength and power to overcome can be found only in God’s treasury. Josiah was a child; those who had introduced false worship were older and experienced. But he sought the Lord, finding his resource in the God of his father David. He went to the fountain-head of all wisdom and power, and there he found the strength to gird himself for what lay ahead.

This was absolutely indispensable. The accumulated rubbish of ages and generations lay before him. One after another of his predecessors had added to the pile; and notwithstanding the reformation effected in the days of Hezekiah, it seemed as though all had to be done over again. Harken to the following appalling catalogue of evils and errors: “In the twelfth year, Josiah began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images. And they break down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images that were on high above them he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strewed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them. And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. And so did he in the cities of Manasseh and Ephraim and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their mattocks round about. And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.”

In 2 Kings 23, we have a much more detailed list of the abominations with which this devoted servant of God had to grapple. Surely enough has been provided to show the fearful lengths to which even the people of God can go when they turn away from the authority of Holy Scripture. May God help us effectually learn from the history of Josiah – the best of Judah’s kings. It is indeed a grand and all-important lesson. The moment we depart from Scripture, there is no accounting for the monstrous extravagance into which we may rush. Sometimes we marvel that a man like Solomon could be led to “build high places for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon.” But, since Solomon had already disobeyed the Word of God by going to those nations for wives, it is understandable how he fell into the deeper error of adopting their worship.

But, all the mischief, corruption, and confusion; the shame, dishonor, reproach, and blasphemy, had its origin in the neglect of the Word of God. We cannot possibly ponder this fact too deeply. It is solemn, impressive, and admonitory beyond expression. Leading God’s people away from Scripture has always been a special design of Satan. He uses anything and everything to this end – tradition, religious systems, expediency, human reason, popular opinion, reputation and influence, character, position, and usefulness. All this he uses in order to get the heart and conscience away from that one golden sentence – that Divine, eternal motto, “It is written.” All that enormous pile of error that our devoted young monarch was enabled to “grind into dust, and beat into powder” – had its origin in the gross neglect of this most precious sentence. Antiquity and the authority of the fathers of the Jewish nation mattered little to Josiah. Neither was he moved by the thought of men: that the altars and high places nor the groves and images might be regarded as proofs of largeness of heart, breadth of mind, and a liberality of spirit that spurned narrowness, bigotry, and intolerance – embracing all in a circle of charity and brotherhood. Obviously, none of these things would have moved him. For anything not based on “Thus saith the Lord,” Josiah had but one solution: “beat them into powder.”

Footnotes:
¹ For more information on the church of our Lord, see God’s Church in Contents
² For an in-depth study of Holy Scripture, see God’s Word in Contents.
³ For an in-depth study of the Holy Spirit, see God the Spirit in Contents.
⁴ For more information on Elijah, see Elijah – Servant of God in Religion Library section of Contents.