Posts
Because your heart was penitent and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and its inhabitants, and you have humbled yourself before me, and have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, says the Lord (2 Chronicles 34:27)
On pilgrimage in Spain, I kept my wits about me watching
for trail markers. Sometimes, the marker was no more than a smudge of faded
orange paint on a rock or tree or fence post. Twice, I lost my way and turned
back to find the right path.
This is an image for the spiritual life. Sometimes, we
fail to pay attention and lose our way. We don’t stop to ask where our
attitudes and actions are leading.
Whole nations do the same, which is what faced King
Josiah, who inherited a mess from his predecessors. The people of Judah, led by
dissolute kings, imported foreign gods and vile practices into the temple,
polluting people’s faith and morals. One of Josiah’s predecessors ritually
sacrificed his son.
The discovery of the book of God’s law—much of
Deuteronomy—during temple renovations shattered Josiah’s heart. Hearing God’s
word, Josiah humbled himself and led reforms to restore faith and justice to
the nation.
But try as he might, the die was cast. The cancer was too
advanced. Disastrous days and alien powers would soon crush the nation. They’d
lost their way … and without humility … refused to turn around.
Humble our hearts, O Lord, that we may daily seek your
face and walk your way.
No comments:
Post a Comment