Post by lesbrewer on Jul 20, 2022 19:47:14 GMT
What a Find! By: Tom Felten
Click here for the Audio Message
Acts 22
I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.
2 Kings 22:8
Today's Scripture & Insight:
2 Kings 22:8–12
While scuba diving in 2021, Jennifer’s eyes fixed on a small, green bottle at the bottom of a river. She scooped up what she describes as “a once-in-a-lifetime find.” The bottle contained a message written by a young man on his eighteenth birthday in 1926! The words requested that whoever discovered the message return it to him. Jennifer used Facebook to locate a delighted family member of the man. Although he’d died in 1995, his once-hidden note brought joy to Jennifer and the man's family.
In 2 Kings 22:8, we read that Hilkiah made an extraordinary find when he “found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.” The high priest found what was probably the book of Deuteronomy. “When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law,” he was both deeply moved and greatly distressed (v. 11). Like the temple in Judah itself, God and the reading of and obedience to the Scriptures He’d inspired had been neglected by the people. In repentance, the king had the temple swept clean of idols and anything that would displease God as he instituted reforms for his nation (23:1–24).
Today, our Bibles contain sixty-six books that reveal God’s wisdom and instruction—including Deuteronomy. As we read and listen to them, may the Holy Spirit transform our minds and reform our ways. Dive into the life-changing story of Scripture today and find wisdom to explore for a lifetime!
Reflect & Pray
What has God recently revealed to you as you’ve studied the Scriptures? Why is it vital for you to regularly spend time in them?
Heavenly Father, please help me see the things I need to change in my life as I spend time studying the Scriptures.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The reforms of Josiah, Judah’s sixteenth and last good king, are described in 2 Kings 22–23 and 2 Chronicles 34–35. He became king at eight years of age and ruled for thirty-one years (641–609 BC). Josiah’s grandfather Manasseh and father, Amon, were grossly idolatrous and evil in the fifty-seven years they reigned (2 Kings 21). At age sixteen, Josiah began to seek after God. At twenty, he began destroying all the places of idolatry. At twenty-six, he ordered the repair of the temple ( 2 Chronicles 34:3–8). The last time the temple was repaired was ninety-four years earlier during the reign of Hezekiah (29:3). In the process, the Book of the Law was found. Josiah’s devotion to God was exceptional: “Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength” (2 Kings 23:25).
K. T. Sim
2 Kings 22:8-12
King James Version
8 And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.
9 And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, Thy servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of them that do the work, that have the oversight of the house of the Lord.
10 And Shaphan the scribe shewed the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.
11 And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes.
12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asahiah a servant of the king's, saying,
Click here for the Audio Message
Acts 22
I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.
2 Kings 22:8
Today's Scripture & Insight:
2 Kings 22:8–12
While scuba diving in 2021, Jennifer’s eyes fixed on a small, green bottle at the bottom of a river. She scooped up what she describes as “a once-in-a-lifetime find.” The bottle contained a message written by a young man on his eighteenth birthday in 1926! The words requested that whoever discovered the message return it to him. Jennifer used Facebook to locate a delighted family member of the man. Although he’d died in 1995, his once-hidden note brought joy to Jennifer and the man's family.
In 2 Kings 22:8, we read that Hilkiah made an extraordinary find when he “found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.” The high priest found what was probably the book of Deuteronomy. “When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law,” he was both deeply moved and greatly distressed (v. 11). Like the temple in Judah itself, God and the reading of and obedience to the Scriptures He’d inspired had been neglected by the people. In repentance, the king had the temple swept clean of idols and anything that would displease God as he instituted reforms for his nation (23:1–24).
Today, our Bibles contain sixty-six books that reveal God’s wisdom and instruction—including Deuteronomy. As we read and listen to them, may the Holy Spirit transform our minds and reform our ways. Dive into the life-changing story of Scripture today and find wisdom to explore for a lifetime!
Reflect & Pray
What has God recently revealed to you as you’ve studied the Scriptures? Why is it vital for you to regularly spend time in them?
Heavenly Father, please help me see the things I need to change in my life as I spend time studying the Scriptures.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The reforms of Josiah, Judah’s sixteenth and last good king, are described in 2 Kings 22–23 and 2 Chronicles 34–35. He became king at eight years of age and ruled for thirty-one years (641–609 BC). Josiah’s grandfather Manasseh and father, Amon, were grossly idolatrous and evil in the fifty-seven years they reigned (2 Kings 21). At age sixteen, Josiah began to seek after God. At twenty, he began destroying all the places of idolatry. At twenty-six, he ordered the repair of the temple ( 2 Chronicles 34:3–8). The last time the temple was repaired was ninety-four years earlier during the reign of Hezekiah (29:3). In the process, the Book of the Law was found. Josiah’s devotion to God was exceptional: “Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength” (2 Kings 23:25).
K. T. Sim
2 Kings 22:8-12
King James Version
8 And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.
9 And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, Thy servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of them that do the work, that have the oversight of the house of the Lord.
10 And Shaphan the scribe shewed the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.
11 And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes.
12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asahiah a servant of the king's, saying,
