Josiah did not sit down in despair because of the serious things which Huldah made known to him. The judgments would not descend just yet; meantime, the energetic young king would do his utmost to lead the people back into “the old paths.” It is never too late to be obedient to the Word of God. Our own position is solemn indeed. The spewing out of Revelation 3:1616So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:16), the cutting off of Romans 11:2222Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. (Romans 11:22), is near, with the total apostasy of all that now calls itself “Christian”; but it is our responsibility to learn and do the whole will of God as long as we remain here. Philadelphian faithfulness will continue alongside Laodicean heartlessness until the last. Let us seek to be Philadelphian in character that the Lord may be able to say to us, “thou hast kept My Word, and hast not denied My name” (Rev. 3:88I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. (Revelation 3:8)).
Josiah convened a great national gathering in Jerusalem. Elders, priests, Levites, prophets, and a multitude of people small and great responded. The plural word prophets should be noted. Evidently other men besides Jeremiah were active in the land for God, yet He chose to speak through Huldah! We are quite unable to interpret all the details of the ways of God but we desire to be subject to His perfect wisdom.
“The King went up into the house of Jehovah.... and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of Jehovah” (2 Kings 23:22And the king went up into the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord. (2 Kings 23:2)). Delightful spectacle for God and the angelic host to behold! What a joyful thrill we should experience if we could read in the public press of kings and presidents calling mass meetings in their respective capitals that they might read to them the sorely neglected Word of God, pointing out with all earnestness and gravity those things wherein the people have gone astray, and appealing to them to return humbly to their God! This would produce incomparably better results than the anxious discussions of statesmen who endeavor to find formulas whereby they may bring about the semblance of peace for a season. The times in which we live are more serious than those of Josiah. Then one Kingdom was tottering to its fall (dragging other Kingdoms down with it), but now the whole world-system is rushing to its doom.
“All the words of the law” suggests a considerable amount of reading. The meeting was thus lengthy. What a contrast to the short sermons that are barely tolerated in the Twentieth Century! This is the more deplorable seeing that we now possess the complete Word of God, containing the revelation of all His wonderful counsels of grace and glory which find their center in Christ. Why are we satisfied with so little of this spiritual wealth that is within our reach?
Josiah not only read to the people the law of Jehovah, but he declared his own intention to be obedient to it. “The King stood in his place, and made a covenant before Jehovah, to walk after Jehovah, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies, and His statutes, with all his heart, and with all His soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book” (2 Chron. 34:3131And the king stood in his place, 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 with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book. (2 Chronicles 34:31)). This is excellent. An ounce of example is worth more than a ton of precept. Joshua, in his final address to Israel, spoke similarly “As for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah” (Josh. 24:1515And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15)). Paul urged Timothy to be “an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in love, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim. 4:1212Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. (1 Timothy 4:12)). When the Lord Jesus was on earth the Jewish people had many teachers—Scribes and Pharisees—whose teaching was good, but their own lives were bad. “All therefore whatsoever they bid you, observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not” (Matt. 23:33All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. (Matthew 23:3)). Mr. Spurgeon once spoke of a minister who was so good in the pulpit, but so questionable in his manner of life, that the people said that when he was in the pulpit it was a pity he should come out of it; and when he was not in the pulpit they said it was a scandal that he should be allowed to enter it! Brethren, let us above all things be real! God forbid that we should proclaim to others truths of which we know not the power in our own souls. Paul could say to one who knew him intimately, “Thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, patience” (2 Tim. 3:1010But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, (2 Timothy 3:10)).
Josiah, in his earnest zeal, went beyond telling the people of his own intentions; “he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it” (2 Chron. 34:3232And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. (2 Chronicles 34:32)). The king meant well, but how feebly he understood the fickleness of the human heart! Other pious kings before him had caused the people to utter good resolutions before God; but how quickly they returned “to their wallowing in the mire” (2 Peter 2:2222But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. (2 Peter 2:22)). Yet Josiah’s subjects expressed no misgivings; “all the people stood to the covenant” (2 Kings 23:33And the king stood by a 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 their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant. (2 Kings 23:3)). It was the old sad story of Sinai repeated. Never having learned the depths of their own evil, nor the holiness of God, at the burning mount “all the people answered together and said, “All that Jehovah hath spoken we will do” (Ex. 19:88And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord. (Exodus 19:8)). Paul learned to have “no confidence in flesh” (Phil. 3:33For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. (Philippians 3:3)), but his nation has not to this day learned the lesson. While Josiah lived the people’s behavior was outwardly correct. “The inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers ... they departed not from following Jehovah, the God of their fathers” (2 Chron. 34:32-3332And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. 33And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the Lord their God. And all his days they departed not from following the Lord, the God of their fathers. (2 Chronicles 34:32‑33)). But outward correctness will not do for God; Jeremiah’s sad pages tell us how little the people’s hearts loved the will of God. Quite a wave of enthusiasm passed over Jerusalem during one of our Lord’s early visits to that city; but He who was able to look beneath the surface and put no confidence in the people’s words. “Many believed in His Name, when they saw the miracles which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself unto them, because He knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man: for He knew what was in man” (John 2:23-2523Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. 24But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, 25And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man. (John 2:23‑25)). The famous Lord Protector of the British Commonwealth, Oliver Cromwell, sought to create a “Christian” nation by statutes and restrictions; but how fearful was the reaction, the plunge into licentiousness, when his powerful hand was removed!
After the return from Babylon, Nehemiah, perceiving that things were very wrong with the remnant, made a great effort to put the people upon a sound footing with God. In the ninth chapter of his book we have a great meeting in Jerusalem similar to that in the days of Josiah. The book of the law of Jehovah was read publicly to the people; they confessed their sins from the beginning of their national history; and they solemnly vowed to do better in future. Their vow is given in seven parts in Nehemiah 10, “We make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites and priests seal it.” Eighty-four persons, as representatives of the people, signed and sealed the solemn deed:
1 Nehemiah himself, 17 Levites
22 Priests, 44 Chiefs of the people
Alas for good Nehemiah’s expectations! Even such a strong body of signatories could not make the covenant sure. We have only to turn over two pages of Nehemiah’s book to find the people as lawless as before. Neither royal decrees nor documents solemnly signed and sealed will make flesh anything different from what it is, “the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:7-87Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:7‑8)).
It is one of the cardinal truths of Christianity that God, in the work of the Lord Jesus, has not only dealt with our sins, but also with the life and nature which produced them. These two points are dealt with separately in Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, which another has described as “the most weighty document which ever was placed in the hands of men.” This description is just, because this Epistle lays down the foundations of our relationships with God. Until this is understood, at least in measure, there will be no settled peace and joy, and the great matters of Divine Councils will not be apprehended. The question of our sins—or personal guilt—is dealt with by the Apostle down to Romans 5:1111And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. (Romans 5:11). This is very properly treated first, because the soul when awakened by the Spirit of God, becomes alarmed about guilt and its righteous judgment. The evil of his nature will be learned later. So perfectly have our sins been expiated by the blood of Jesus (Rom. 3:23-2623For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. (Romans 3:23‑26)), that God is able to say your “sins and iniquities will I remember no more” (Heb. 10:1717And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. (Hebrews 10:17)), and the believer himself is entitled to say (with all his brethren) “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:11Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: (Romans 5:1)). Thus we no longer dread the One against whom we have offended, but we exclaim, “We joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation” (Rom. 5:1111And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. (Romans 5:11)). Blessed climax to the first part of the Apostle’s great subject.
But many souls who are clear as to the question of their sins are sorely troubled concerning the evil life and nature which produced them, never having learned the completeness of the work of God on their behalf through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. Sin is defined in 1 John 3:1010In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. (1 John 3:10) as “lawlessness” (Darby’s translation). Lawlessness is just self-will—the love of having our own way, and the determination to get it, if possible. This wretched principle is inherent in “flesh”; hence the Apostle’s words “sin in the flesh” in Romans 8:33For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: (Romans 8:3). In the sacrifice of Christ God “condemned” this. On the awful day when His blessed Son hung upon Calvary’s tree God took into account all our evil, and disposed of it righteously. Tree and fruit were both judged. The believer in Jesus, accepting this in faith, not only sees his sins gone, but himself — the man born of Adam’s stock—gone also. “I am crucified with Christ” (Gal. 2:2020I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)). This being so, he seeks no more to improve his flesh; its evil is as ineradicable as the leopard’s spots. His confidence in flesh is finished. Although the flesh is within him still, and must remain there until the great transformation at the Lord’s coming. He no longer regards it as an integral part of himself, but as an alien foe to be kept in chains perpetually. Instead of looking at self, and hoping for better things there, the instructed Christian looks away from self to Christ risen and glorified, to whose image he will ere long be conformed. Thus holiness, that is, Christ-likeness, develops. The man described in Romans 7:7-247What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. 8But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. 9For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. 10And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. 11For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. 12Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. 13Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. 14For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 16If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. 17Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 18For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 21I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (Romans 7:7‑24), had not learned this lesson. Until he reaches the end of the chapter he is occupied with self. Personal pronouns, “I,” “Me,” “My,” abound. He longs to do the right thing, but finds himself continually doing the wrong thing. All his efforts, by rules and regulations, to curb the workings of his flesh produce no good result. Instead, the poor distressed soul finds himself, as it were, sinking ever more deeply into the mire. In verse 24 he cries out, “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death?” The pronoun “Who” reveals that he realizes that help must come from outside himself. Soon he is able to say, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” This is not victory over self—of which some pious souls dream, but deliverance from self—a very different matter. Having learned that God dealt with all his evil in the death of Christ, his mind and heart now live in a new world. “To me to live is Christ” says Paul in Philippians 1:2121For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21).
The question is sometimes asked, “Does Romans 7 describe Paul’s experience?” Doubtless in the early days of his spiritual life he learned these great lessons with God; but when he wrote the Epistle to the Romans he was certainly not in the gloom and perplexity of chapter 7; he was in the liberty and joy of the great chapter which follows. The God of all grace has not called us to make us “wretched,” but the rather to “rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:88Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: (1 Peter 1:8)).
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It was not possible for either Josiah or Nehemiah to know the wonderful things which come before us in the New Testament epistles. The Savior had not yet come to earth; His great sacrifice for sin had not been offered; and His mighty triumph over every foe had not been effected. But they should have known enough of poor flesh not to saddle it with fresh restrictive covenants. Nothing but disappointment could be expected. But in the happy day that is not far distant, when Jehovah establishes His new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah He will write His law in their very hearts. This means new birth; then the will of God will be their real delight.