Unused Is Just As Useless As Lost

2 Chronicles 34:19-21 -  When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes.  He gave these orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king's attendant:  "Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for the remnant in Israel and Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the LORD's anger that is poured out on us because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book."

 

Josiah was only 8 when he was anointed king…but his youth did not prevent him from seeking God and allowing his heart to be controlled fully by the Lord.  At 16 his heart had decided that God would be the center of his life and he did all he could to show God and his subjects that he was serious.  He patterned his ways after the goodness of king David…until the cleaning and repairing tasks in the Temple uncovered the lost book of law that Moses had recorded for them on Mount Sinai.

 

The moment he heard the actual law of God…and realized just how far his people had drifted away from the will of God…he tore his robes in deep sorrow.  His sorrow wasn’t just for himself…it was for every person in his kingdom that was subject to the consequences of their sin. He quickly gathered them together and read the book to everyone…and called for them to repent and make a change in the way the worshiped.

 

Josiah called for everyone to take responsibility for their own lack of knowledge in God’s law.  He took that dusty book of the law that had been lost for decades….and he read it out loud to everyone.  Then he firmly called for a permanent change in the way they worshiped God….he called for them to do exactly what the book told them to do.

 

It is a serious reminder to me…to pick up my Bible every day…and read the words seriously…and really ponder what God wants me to do with the words I read each night. It’s a big book….with every direction I will ever need for any situation in life. The words are not just history…they are not just cool stories…they are embedded with the directions for me to live my life…so that the great commission in Matthew 28…will be realized in every life God places close to me.

 

Most of us could boast that we never lost our Bible like the Israelites…but unread is just as useless as lost.  For that matter…read with no purpose might be just as useless. My Bible can’t be left in a car…for Sunday study only….or left on a dusty shelf because I am too busy.  It is not enough to just read a few words each day because I am trying to finish all the pages in a year.  I must truly comprehend each passage…and allow it to speak to my heart…and make permanent changes in the way I live my life.

 

Father…thank you for this story that reminds me how important your Bible is to the plan you have for my life. Help me to take my reading serious…and allow your words of direction to transform me each day into the servant you placed me here to be. Help me to never let the reading of your word be routine or surface….but always allow the time I spend reading it to be a visit with you that changes me into a better person. Amen.