Back to the Source - 2 Kings 22:8-20
On October 31st 1517, one of the most famous events in all of history took place. Martin Luther, a young Roman Catholic monk at the time, nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church in Germany sparking what we refer to as the Protestant Reformation.
Naturally, many protestant churches celebrate the last Sunday in October as Reformation Day.
Stacey asked me if I would be willing to preach a Reformation sermon this morning which I was happy and excited to do!
[Due to technical difficulties we were unable to record the sermon]
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In many ways, the Protestant Reformation mirrors the passage of Scripture I just read about the rediscovery of God's law under King Josiah. The Protestant Reformation could be described as a rediscovery of God’s Word and its centrality to the Christian life.
You might even call it the “back to the Bible” movement.
At this particular point in history the Catholic church had drifted away from the Scriptures. They conducted their services in Latin - a language that no one spoke! The gospel was being obscured through the rituals of the Roman Catholic Church.
But eventually folks began to want to know what the source said. After all, the cry this period of time was Ad Fontes, which is Latin for “back to the sources.”
It was no longer enough to get the cliff notes version. Folks didn’t want your interpretation of a book they wanted to interact with the real thing themselves, because they wanted to receive it’s message. And rising literacy rates along with the development of the printing press created the perfect environment for people to do just that.
You see, both Martin Luther and King Josiah impacted the course of human history because they rediscovered God’s word when they weren’t necessarily looking for it.
Often you don’t even realize you’re missing something until you find it. The Word of God will often sneak up on you and force you to humble yourself. It forces you to acknowledge your inferiority to a superior, glorious, holy God.
Let’s look at this passage.
Believers should humble themselves in recognizing God’s Word (vv. 8-10)
Our passage begins with Hilkiah the priest telling Shaphan the secretary that he had, “found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.”
The book of the law that Hilkiah found was likely Deuteronomy. But what is the book of Deuteronomy? It’s God’s Word. You can tell from the passage that he took the discovery of God’s Word very seriously.
In order to really understand the significance of that moment, you have to understand the condition of things. David’s kingdom was divided between Judah and Israel. And the vast majority of the kings after David were very wicked. These men weren’t concerned with God’s Word. They did what was right in their own eyes. They worshipped foreign gods and carried out all sorts of abominable acts.
So God’s Word was an irrelevant part of Israel for years.
So what did Hilkiah the priest and Shaphan the Secretary do when they found it? They read it! But they didn’t read it flippantly. They read it with reverence and concern.
You can see that from the text. Look at verses 8 and 9 with me. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. 9 And Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king,
The secretary read it, recognized it as God’s Word, and took it immediately to the king. He understood the seriousness of these words.
These were the words of our Creator, the one who holds all things in His hand. 2 Timothy reminds us that All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
These words aren’t meant to be treated apathetically.
Often you don’t realize you’re missing something until you find it.
During the medieval ages, literacy was low. So, people relied on those that could read or the church to tell them about God’s Word. But the problem is that the Catholic Church strayed away God’s Word. They developed unbiblical concepts like the temporary hell called purgatory and indulgences.
Indulgences were the main thing that got Martin Luther’s blood boiling. Indulgences were essentially get out of purgatory free cards, except they weren’t free at all. In fact, they were quite expensive and if you were willing to buy an indulgence you could get a family member a lighter or shorter sentence in purgatory.
The truth is men shouldn’t dictate the content of what we believe about God. We should let God dictate to you and me, what we should believe concerning Him.
But this requires you and me to humbly recognize the Scriptures as they really are: the words of God.
You see, if the Scriptures are the Words of God, then it’s a given that they’re authoritative over our lives. That’s what Josiah thought.
As Luther read through the Scriptures he realized many practices of the Catholic Church weren’t grounded in Scriptures. And ultimately, it raised a huge question: Is the Catholic Church authoritative over Christians or is the Word of God authoritative over the life of Christians? In fact, Luther’s 95 theses were an attempt to start an academic conversation concerning the practices of the Catholic Church.
Real change doesn’t occur through the conceptions of men. Real change and real power is in God’s Word.
Haven’t you ever thought, it would be so nice if God just spoke directly to me? If only there was some way that God could tell me what I needed to do? Or if He would show himself to me then I would know exactly what to believe? The truth is, God does speak to you. He has revealed himself to us, and he’s done it through his Word.
The question that we need to ask ourselves is do we care about what God says?
It’s humbling to recognize God’s Word because it’s admitting that we don’t have the answers. We don’t get to make things up (like purgatory and indulgences) - we are bound to the truths of Scripture.
Do we recognize it as truth? And are we willing to lay down our own opinions and humble ourselves to believe and follow what God’s Word says?
Believers should humble themselves in responding to God’s Word (vv. 11-13)
Once the Word of God is read to Josiah he reacted in a profound way. He tore his clothes. It was a symbolic act of humility and distress. He was so upset with what he had heard.
Think about it, the king tore his clothes in response to God’s Word. It wasn’t the priest or his secretary.
Josiah understood the implications. He knew they had ignored God’s Word and all the turmoil they experienced as a nation was a result of their sin.
For years and years the word of God had been tucked away on some bookshelf in the house of God. It had been displaced and forgotten.
They turned away from God.
He realized the people of God had failed to keep the law which displeased the Lord.
Look at what Josiah says in verse 13, “Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”
Josiah wanted to know exactly what the implications were for them since they just rediscovered God’s Word.
It’s easy to read this passage and think, “if we turn back to God’s Word, God will turn our country around. He’ll restore the United States to its glory days if we’re able to get his Word more into the public square.”
That is true to a degree, but there’s an even greater message that lies behind this text.
One of Josiah’s major reforms that came as a result of rediscovering God’s Word was restoring proper worship for the people of God. He purged idolatry from their midst. It was using God’s Word as the foundation for worship.
God’s Word changed their worship.
Too often churches believe that proper worship requires jokes in their preaching, adjustable lighting, and the right style of music. If you can get those things just right, everything will fall into place. But there’s a major problem with this kind of thinking: it indicates that we believe the Word of God can’t change people.
We think we need to assist God’s Word with the jokes, lighting and music. But God’s Word is enough. In fact, it’s the only thing that’s powerful enough to save - faith comes through hearing, and hearing the Word of God.”
Maybe you’ve noticed this, but this is why we begin our worship service with a Call to Worship from God’s Word, read God’s Word, pray from God’s Word, preach from God’s Word, and end our services with a benediction or blessing from God’s Word.
Our prayer each Sunday should be, God I don’t know what you have in store for me today, but I want to hear from you! I want to change! By your Spirit and through your Word convict me of my sin!
True reform and change comes from his Word. And asking God to speak and force a response from you through his Word requires humility.
Believers should humble themselves in receiving God’s Word (vv. 14-20)
After Josiah had heard God’s Word, he inquired further. He wanted to know what they should do so he sent messengers to the prophetess Huldah.
At this time in history remember, the full canon of Scripture had not been handed down as we have it today. Because we have the full body of Scripture in the Old and New Testaments we don’t need to hear from prophets.
But Josiah did! You see, true prophecies were from the very lips of God. Josiah wanted to hear what God was going to do, and since he likely had a relationship with Huldah since her husband worked in the palace maintaining the wardrobe, he sought her out.
She tells his messengers, 16 Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read. 17 Because they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched.
Not particularly encouraging news. In fact, it sounds quite discouraging, especially since these men found God’s Word and are seeking to do His will.
But what does God say to Josiah, “Regarding the words that you have heard, 19 because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the Lord, when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. 20 Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place.’”
In other words, because Josiah humbled himself before the Lord - he will not see any of the coming destruction that the Lord has planned for Israel.
The Scriptures remind us that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. This is an example of God’s grace. Israel had ignored God and His Word. They didn’t care about Him. Their sin and God’s judgment compounded their demise.
But Josiah humbly received God’s Word regardless of the consequences. How do you receive God’s Word? Do you receive it with humility?
Martin Luther humbly submitted himself to God’s Word. Luther’s greatest breakthrough came as he read Romans 1:17 and asked himself, “What does God mean by the righteous shall live by faith?”
It was because he dared ask this question, he realized that the Church cannot absolve the guilt and shame of sin, only God can do that. You see, by asking that question he rediscovered the doctrine of justification which he helped articulate in the Augsburg Confession which we read earlier.
You see, he humbly received God’s Word.
Humbly submitting yourself to God’s Word will take you on an amazing journey. Sometimes God asks us to do things we don’t want to do! Sometimes God asks us to hold culturally unpopular views. That’s a tall order, isn't it? So what do you get if you trust God’s Word?
You get God and He is worth it!
Josiah received God’s Word and took it to heart.
But the really fascinating thing to me is that he read God’s Word and then inquired from Huldah what he should do next. In other words, Josiah read God’s Word and desired to know it’s implications for his life.
That’s what Luther did and rediscovered the truth of the gospel! You’re saved by grace through faith! That’s the essence of justification!
In the same manner, you and I should receive God’s word with humility and ask ourselves, what does this mean? How should I respond?
At the end of the day, God’s Word comes to bear on your life and my life. It changes us. We shouldn’t know God’s word simply to build up a reservoir of information. We need to know how to live in light of what God says.
It’s continual repentance, trusting Christ, and walking in new obedience. That’s the gospel!
The bottom line is that God’s truth transcends time. What was true for King Josiah, Martin Luther, is true for you and me. You see, the absence of God’s Word is the absence of God himself.
If Christians are supposed to live their lives before the presence of God, then it only makes sense that that presence would come through His Word.
That’s what happened to Israel! It’s what happened to the Catholic Church! They lost the Word of God and their kingdoms fell apart.
If we want to hear from God we must seek Him through His Word.
Isn’t that why read the Scriptures? Isn’t that why we gather on Sunday? Because we want to hear from God? We want to receive the message that he has for us. He speaks to us through His Word and then He works. He saves. He heals. He changes.
Martin Luther believed that. At the end of the day, God works and we get a front row seat to what he’s doing. Luther articulated this in an ironic humorous fashion that only he could get away with!
He famously said, "Take me, for example. I opposed indulgences and all papists [Catholics], but never by force. I simply taught, preached, wrote God's Word: otherwise I did nothing. And then, while I slept or drank Wittenberg beer with my Philip of Amsdorf the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that never a prince or emperor did such damage to it. I did nothing: the Word did it all."
God makes himself known to us in and through his Word. It’s his Word that works our hearts and minds. It’s his Word that drives us to love and good works.
You see, we can’t know anything about God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ apart from his Word. You can only know about Jesus Christ and his death, burial, and resurrection through the Scriptures.
All of Scripture points to Jesus. John 1 makes the point that Jesus is the Word made flesh. The Son of God came to earth and spoke the very words because… He is God!
If you submit to Christ and his authority you have to submit to his Word. Ultimately, you should want to read and recognize the Word because you want to know Jesus and worship Him in spirit and TRUTH.
You should receive the Word humbly because you acknowledge Jesus as your King, his law ruling over your life. And you should respond to the Word in faith and obedience because you understand the sacrifice Jesus made on your behalf.
Jesus Christ and the Word are a package deal. They’re inseparable. If you really want to know Jesus Christ - search the Scriptures. And if you search the Scriptures you might end up knowing Jesus Christ.
Josiah didn’t realize something was missing until he found it. Martin Luther didn’t realize something was missing until he found it too. Is the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, missing from your life?