Context: Manasseh’s evil reign had brought Israel to its knees. Though money was everywhere it only flowed in the hands of the rich, the privileged, and the powerful. The poor were considered a necessary evil; the nation’s leaders, self-serving. [Sound familiar?]

Young King Josiah, the grandson of Manasseh, began a project to restore the run-down, cluttered Temple that had been abandoned during his grandfather’s horrible reign.

Hilkiah, the high priest, discovered a hidden copy of the Law of Moses. He turned it over to the scribe Shaphan, who reported to the king what he had found. The king, a righteous lad, asked that they be read to him. After they were read, the young king came under conviction ... for his nation and for himself. The result was a mighty revival.

What does story of the rediscovery of God’s Word suggest to you and me?

1)      That We Should Go Find the Book! [vv.3-8a] God didn’t ordain the written Word just as a reference work. The Bible is God’s way of revealing who He is, who we are, and that His Word is sure and true!

2)      That We Should Go Read the Book! [vv.8b-10] A dusty Bible says, “I don’t care what God says.” A dusty Bible says, “This book is old fashioned, it’s not relevant.”

3)      That We Should Go Hear the Book! [vv.11-20]. The Bible says, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom.10:17).

4)      That We Should Go Share the Book! [vv.23:1,2]. “…and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant, which was found in the house of the Lord.”

5)      That We Should Go Obey the Book! [23:3]

a)       “And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul...and all the people entered into the covenant.”

b)       When we survey the panorama of contemporary American life we must conclude we’ve failed; we need to read God’s instructions and determine where we’ve gone wrong.

c)        The Bible says, “But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does. [James 1:25]