DANIEL 1 (PART 3): JOSIAH, THE EVANGELICAL

I woke up with the word
"Evangelical"
on my mind, and thought...
“I wonder why people distinguish
"Evangelical Christians" -
as if there is
another kind?

The definition for evangelical
is Bible-believing;
a human who believes
that the Word of God
is Holy Spirit inspired.

In my mind,
if a person claims to be Christian -
they testify to the Old
and the New Testament.

A Christian believes in Jesus Christ,
as the beloved Son of God.
They believe He is the way, the truth, the life
and that no one comes to the Father
but through the Son.

Christians believe Old Testament prophecy
points to the King of Righteousness.

Christians believe that God is the Father
of all creation;
 and that He has established Christ
as His foundation.

Christians believe His Holy Spirit is our guide,
and He is the One who opens our eyes.

Christians believe that we are redeemed
through both God's mercy and His grace.

Christians believe the words of Jesus,
"Everything must be fulfilled
that is written about Me
in the Law of Moses,
the Prophets, and the Psalms” of David.
Luke 24:44

The whole reason why Jesus came
was not only to redeem just one man,
but to redeem every man from every nation!

 "Therefore go and make disciples
of all nations, 
baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 
and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you.
And surely I am with you always,
to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20

Evangelism is the solemn duty
of every Christian.

Everyone who knows Jesus understands
that we are called to pick up His cross
and follow in His footsteps.
We are to work as one body,
each part working together
to prepare the harvest.

And this brings me to Daniel 3
where I was introduced
to a phenomenal King!
Not Jehoiakim,
whose real name was Eliakim,
until Pharoah Neco exploited him.
But to his father,
King Josiah.

As soon as I saw
the first verse of Daniel,
I knew immediately 
that I had to go back
to learn why Judah was under attack. 

Who is King Jehoiakim,
and what was Judah’s history?
How did this travesty come to be?

Why did God permit Babylon
to enter her gates
605 years before the birth of Christ?

First - Egypt was involved,
as he usually is.

After King Josiah of Judah was slain,
Pharoah Neco, the King of Egypt,
imprisoned Josiah's oldest son,
King Jehoahaz, and held him for ransom.

Then Neco installed Eliakim to be Judah's king.
He was the second son of King Josiah,
and he was King Jehoahaz's brother.
Pharoah Neco changed Eliakim's name
to Jehoiakim, 
so that he could be his puppet
and tax Judah to death.

And during Jehoiakim's reign,
another invader came in,
but this one was more brutal than Egypt.
He too taxed Judah to death,
and then he came and took
the articles from the temple of God
that were dedicated to the Lord. 

His name was Babylon,
and he was sent by the Lord.
He army was comprised
of many bands of tribes;
the Arameans, Moabites and Ammonites -
all joined together as the Babylonians.

Yes!  That is what I said.
Babylon was sent by God
to defeat Jerusalem
for the sins they had committed
​against Him.

The sins of King Manasseh,
who was King Josiah's grandfather,
were far too great and had to be punished.

The reign of Manasseh
can be found in
the 21st Chapter of 2 Kings.
He defiled the land with witchcraft,
sorcery, divination and mediums.
He build an altar to Asherah
on the same temple that was built for God.
He even sacrificed his own son -
and spilled so much innocent blood
over the land.

Scripture says,
"Manasseh shed so much innocent blood
that he filled Jerusalem from end to end,
in addition to the sin
that he had caused Judah to commit,
doing evil in the sight of the LORD."
2 Kings 21:16

So this explains why Judah fell
into the fists of Babylon.

Yet, in between
Manasseh and Eliakim,
was a great king who did what was right
in the sight of the Lord.

His name was Josiah.

"Neither before nor after Josiah
was there any king like him,
who turned to the LORD
with all his heart and with all his soul
and with all his strength,
according to all the Law of Moses."
2 Kings 23:25

King Josiah was the grandson of Manasseh,
and his father’s name was Amon.
He was only 8 years old
when he became king,
the child who became a man
and had a heart like David.

Since He put all of his efforts
into renovating the temple,
the priest Hilkiah,
found the Book of the Law
and brought it to Josiah.
When Josiah read its contents,
he tore his clothes
and mourned for all of Israel.

He asked his priest to return to the temple
to seek the wisdom of God
because his sole desire
was to please the Lord.
 
The priest went to the prophet Huldah,
who was a woman! 
Scripture says she was the wife of Shaluum,
who was the keeper of the temple wardrobe.

She said,
“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says:
Tell the man who sent you to me,
‘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.
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.’
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:
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.
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.”
‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭22:15-20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

After Josiah received the message,
he did all that he could
to reform the people.
He brought everyone to the temple,
and renewed the covenant
in the Lord’s presence.
He removed all the articles of Baal,
and he tore down the Asherah poles. 
He rejected all the powers of the heavens,
and only bowed down to the One True God.
He burned dead bones of evil men,
and he executed priests of pagan shrines;
and believe it or not,
He renewed the Passover
that had not been celebrated
since the time of the Judges!

So we see King Josiah as an evangelical -
who believed everything
that was written by Moses,
through the Voice of God,
into the Torah,
the Book of the Law.

He took God's Word into his heart,
and realigned his thoughts to match up.

Can you imagine
what would have happened
if Josiah had not evangelized the nation?
I wonder what would have happened
if the people did not repent?

And yet,
the prophet Jeremiah called their bluff,
when he said,
"But why not call on these gods you have made?
    When trouble comes, let them save you if they can!
For you have as many gods 
as there are towns in Judah.
Why do you accuse me of doing wrong?
    You are the ones who have rebelled,”
And he continues...
“I have punished your children,
    but they did not respond to my discipline.
You yourselves have killed your prophets
    as a lion kills its prey.
 “O my people, listen to the words of the Lord!
    Have I been like a desert to Israel?
    Have I been to them a land of darkness?
Why then do my people say,
‘At last we are free from God!  
We don’t need him anymore!’
Does a young woman forget her jewelry,
 or a bride her wedding dress?
Yet for years on end
    my people have forgotten me.
“How you plot and scheme to win your lovers.
    Even an experienced prostitute
could learn from you!
Your clothing is stained
with the blood of the innocent and the poor,
    though you didn’t catch them
breaking into your houses!
And yet you say,
‘I have done nothing wrong.
    Surely God isn’t angry with me!’
But now I will punish you severely
    because you claim you have not sinned.
 First here, then there--
    you flit from one ally to another
asking for help.
But your new friends in Egypt will let you down,
    just as Assyria did before.
 In despair, you will be led into exile
    with your hands on your heads,
for the Lord has rejected
the nations you trust.
    They will not help you at all."
Jeremiah 2:28-37

And then he brings it home -

 "If a man divorces a woman
    and she goes and marries someone else,
he will not take her back again,
    for that would surely corrupt the land.
But you have prostituted yourself
with many lovers,
    so why are you trying to come back to me?
Look at the shrines on every hilltop.
    Is there any place you have not been defiled
by your adultery with other gods?
You sit like a prostitute beside the road
waiting for a customer.
    You sit alone like a nomad in the desert.
You have polluted the land
with your prostitution and your wickedness.
That’s why even the spring rains have failed.
    For you are a brazen prostitute
and completely shameless.
Yet you say to me,
    ‘Father, you have been my guide since my youth.
Surely you won’t be angry forever!
    Surely you can forget about it!
So you talk,
    but you keep on doing all the evil you can.”
Jeremiah 3:1-5

So I ask you, what is true?
Can there be a true Christian
who is not evangelical?