Small and Great

O.T. #872  "Small and Great"
Nov. 21, 2016
2 Kings 2


LET IT GLOW

Josiah was a godly king of Judah. He sent 5 men to inquire of a prophetess what was in store for him and his nation. The message was one of them being conquered, but not during Josiah's lifetime. (Babylon did later.) When the king received the word, he called together the elders of Jerusalem and Judah and they went into the Temple, the house of the LORD.

Who gathered with Josiah?
All the elders and men of Judah, all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and prophets, and all the people both great and small met with the king in the Temple.

Who is going to be in the New Jerusalem, of which Revelation 20-21 speaks?
The dead, small and great, those whose name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, those who were overcomers, nations of the saved, kings, the bride of Christ, saints who kept the faith, and worshipers of Jesus Christ will be  upon the new heaven and new earth forever and ever.

Dear one, will you be there, too? I do so much want to meet you and hear your life story. Are we sure that our loved ones will be there, too?

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, the Life; no one comes unto the Father but by Him. (John 14:6)


LET IT GROW

What did King Josiah do in the House of God?

• He read all the words of the book of the covenant which had been found there. (verse 2)
• He stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD:
• to walk after the LORD, to keep His commandments, testimonies, and statutes with all their heart and all their soul; to perform the words of the covenant written in the book.
• The people stood in conformation and agreement of the new covenant.
• The king ordered the high priest and the second ranking priests to take all the vessels made for Baal worship, the groves of Asherah, and idols for heavenly objects worship removed from the Temple and burned in the Kidron fields, with ashes taken to Bethel.
• He did away with the idolatrous priests who burned incense to Baal and deities, the Sodomites that were Baal-cult prostitutes, the pole used in luid worship.
• Josiah did away with the altar at Bethel where Jeroboam caused Israel to sin in idolatry; the bones of the ungodly priests of Jeroboam were burnt on the altar there. (It as prophesied some 300 years earlier in 1 Kings 13.)The bones of the prophet of Samaria who foretold this was spared.
• Josiah's reform was spread to the cities of Samaria, also.
• He put away the mediums and wizards, and household gods.

There was no king like Josiah, not even Hezekiah, that was more dedicated to the Lord and the Law than Josiah. (Falwell)

Josiah was 8 years old when he became king of Judah, and reigned 31 years in Jerusalem.
Some say this valley is where Josiah was killed by the Pharoah Necho, the valley of Jezereel, the valley of Jehoshaphat, and where Armagaddon will take place-the place of judgment.

LET IT GO

Worship only God.

Remove any idols or gods in my household.

Share that Jesus is the only way, truth, and life.