As i finish up my study of the Kings of Israel and Judah, one thing keeps coming back to me. Let me start here in Deuteronomy.
““Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear [and worship] the Lord his God [with awe-filled reverence and profound respect], by carefully obeying (keeping foremost in his thoughts and actively doing) all the words of this law and these statutes,”
Deuteronomy 17:18-19 AMP
https://bible.com/bible/1588/deu.17.18-19.AMP
Right here. Writing the Torah. having the word right by his side all the days of his life. Read it every day. Stay in the word. And as we read 1st and 2nd Kings and 1st and 2nd Chronicles, we can see the disaster of not obeying this. As the kings stepped away from this command, the foreign nations influence, desires for money and prestige, Israel tanked. Judah had some good kings. One that pops out to me is Josiah.
You can find his story in 2 Kings22-23 and also in 2 Chronicles 34-35. When he designed to clean out the Temple, he had no idea what treasure he was going to find. The book of the law was found and read to him. Found. That means it was lost. And as Kay Arthur says, “The Book of the Law was lost in the house of God.”
How far away was the command from Deuteronomy in the Kings?
So, for me personally, what this says to me is the importance of reading the word of God daily. Allowing his word to seep in my soul and change me. Daily. I need the Lord daily. i need the word to preach every day. I need Him. I know when I fall into dark places, of fear and of doubt and of anger, I am not holding his word close to my heart. I am holding my own thoughts and feelings to control. i don’t want that.
Cara, remember the truth of his word. it is far better than gold. far better than any words from any loved one. His word is the best.
Comment
Hi Cara. Yes, I have found this to be true. Each day I read scripture and listen to teaching on WMBI because the days when I lapse are the days when I fail. Thank you for your post.