Deuteronomy 11:1-32
Love and Obey the LORD
1 Love the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always. 2 Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the Lord your God: his majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm; 3 the signs he performed and the things he did in the heart of Egypt, both to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his whole country; 4 what he did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots, how he overwhelmed them with the waters of the Red Sea as they were pursuing you, and how the Lord brought lasting ruin on them. 5 It was not your children who saw what he did for you in the wilderness until you arrived at this place,6 and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth right in the middle of all Israel and swallowed them up with their households, their tents and every living thing that belonged to them.7 But it was your own eyes that saw all these great things the Lord has done.
8 Observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 9 and so that you may live long in the land the Lord swore to your ancestors to give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden. 11 But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven. 12 It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end.
13 So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul—14 then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil. 15 I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.
16 Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. 17 Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and he will shut up the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the Lord is giving you.18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.
22 If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow—to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him and to hold fast to him—23 then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you. 24 Every place where you set your foot will be yours: Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea. 25 No one will be able to stand against you. The Lord your God, as he promised you, will put the terror and fear of you on the whole land, wherever you go.
26 See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse— 27 the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; 28 the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known. 29 When the Lord your God has brought you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim on Mount Gerizim the blessings, and on Mount Ebal the curses. 30 As you know, these mountains are across the Jordan, westward, toward the setting sun, near the great trees of Moreh, in the territory of those Canaanites living in the Arabah in the vicinity of Gilgal. 31 You are about to cross the Jordan to enter and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you have taken it over and are living there, 32 be sure that you obey all the decrees and laws I am setting before you today.
2 Kings 22:1-20
The Book of the Law Found
1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.
3 In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphanson of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the Lord. He said: 4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. 5 Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the Lord— 6 the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple. 7 But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are honest in their dealings.”
8 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it.9 Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: “Your officials have paid out the money that was in the temple of the Lord and have entrusted it to the workers and supervisors at the temple.” 10 Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.
11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes.12 He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Akbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant: 13 “Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.”
14 Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went to speak to the prophet Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.
15 She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, 16 ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book the king of Judah has read. 17 Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all the idols their hands have made, my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.’ 18 Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: 19 Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people—that they would become a curse and be laid waste—and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. 20 Therefore I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.’”
So they took her answer back to the king.
God was with Moses...Moses tells us that loving the LORD is a key foundation in our life...God's people were close to entering the Promised Land...And God was not to be forgotten...So the parents would have to tell their children, and the future parents of future children would have to tell their children about God...The youngest children are the last generation who know about God...They must hear about Him, if they are to seek Him and know Him and believe in Him...For God to always be remembered, we have to know about Him through our parents or other means...We need to always remember our LORD, each and everyday...
We as men and women tend to forget things...There are certain things in our lives we need to do everyday...Faith is one of them...We can gradually lose faith and what faith is about if we do not constantly get our Bibles out and be around people in fellowship...And if we do not do things related to God, we can forget His Word...
Moses was talking to the parents who were eyewitnesses to His Majesty...Moses tells us that we are to love the Lord your God and keep His requirements, His decrees, His laws and His commands at all times...To love and obey the LORD we must know about Him and His commandments...We are to remember that the children of future generations and even the parents who had been in the desert for now forty years had children now who did not experience God...This current generation of children and future children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline and presence of the LORD your God: His Majesty, His mighty hand, His outstretched arm; the signs that He performed and the things He did in the heart of Egypt, both to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his whole country; or what He did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots, how He overwhelmed them with the waters of the Red Sea as they were pursuing you, and how the LORD brought lasting ruin on them...It was not their children who saw what He did for you in the wilderness and desert until you arrived at this place, and what He did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth right in the middle of all Israel and swallowed them up with their households, their tents and every living thing that belonged to them...But it was with your own eyes that you saw all these great things the LORD has done...The parents knew of God and had seen these experience and His Presence, but the children had not and would need constantly reminding and need constant teaching...
God knew that the experience that the men and women had in the wilderness was a most remembered time, and would never be forgotten by those who had seen and experienced the Presence of God...And maybe this is one of the reasons God allowed them to be in the desert for so long, these times were permanently etched in their lifetime memories...But that could not be said for the future generations to come...At this point in time the people were more aware of God and their faith, maybe than at any other time...The faith of the people would start to decline over the next many years...Or at least their knowledge of Him would decline...
We learn about this decline in faith, through King Josiah...King Josiah is hundreds of years later after Moses...Josiah became a King at the very young age of eight...So Josiah was eight years old when he became King, and he reigned in Jerusalem for thirty-one years...His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath...Josiah did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left...In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphanson of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the Lord...Josiah said: “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the LORD, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people...Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple...And have these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the LORD— the carpenters, the builders and the masons...Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple...But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are honest in their dealings.”...So Josiah knew of the first five Books of the Bible that Moses had written about but there was something missing in his knowledge of the Laws of Moses and the Bible...He must have learned through oral traditions...
Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.”...By saying we have found the Book of the Law, is like saying we have lost our only Bible...Hilkiah, the high priest gave the Books of Moses to Shaphan, who read it...Then Shaphan the secretary went to the King and reported to him: "Your officials have paid out the money that was in the temple of the Lord and have entrusted it to the workers and supervisors at the temple.”...Then Shaphan the secretary informed the King, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.”..And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the King...When the King heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes....Evidently he had never heard these words, or he had forgotten them...Josiah gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Akbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant: "Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found."...The Book of Moses had been lost...The King said, "Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us."...
It appears by what we read here that in the repair of the Temple of God, the lost Book of the Law of Moses had been found...We can assume since the Good Book was lost and by the reaction of King Josiah (in the tearing of his robes), that we had not had a public reading of the Mosaic Law for years...He must have been unaware of this Book of the Law that was in the temple...Did the High Priest even fully know the complete words of the lost book and all the Laws of Moses?...But the Book of the Law is now found, and King Josiah would take care of things...He was a King like his father David and he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord as best he knew, not turning aside to the right or to the left...
Let us remember to regularly to read the Bible...Let us remember to love the LORD our God, and to walk in obedience to Him and to hold fast to Him...Let us teach theses things to the children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up...Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the LORD swore to our ancestors and all over the world, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth...Otherwise as we can see, we as men and women tend to forget, and just do our daily rituals, and things can and do get lost and forgotten...