Finding the lost book

New years confession: One of my deep weakness is getting angry when i lose something.

Not if i lose it out side or come home and it fell out my pocket. That i can handle.

What i cannot handle is when i lose something somewhere in my house.

If i lose something out on an outing, its fine. But when i cannot find something that i know is in my house - that i confess, drives me crazy.

Geographically its right there! But practically it may as well be on the moon.

Well, i am convinced that many, many christians have also lost something.

Something that is geographically right there! But practically it may as well be bueried 100m underground.

I want to take you back thousands of years to time King Josiah.

Josiah was one of the good kings:

2 Kings 22:1–2 NASB 2020

1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned for thirty-one years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. 2 He did what was right in the sight of the Lord and walked entirely in the way of his father David, and did not turn aside to the right or to the left.

At this point Israel had been totally evil in Idol worship and Solomons Temple was in ruins.

One day, seeing that the temple was neglected and dilapidated, he decided to gather money and repair the temple.

So he sent in a man Shaphan to head up the project.

2 Kings 22:3–7 NASB 2020

3 Now in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah the son of Meshullam the scribe, to the house of the Lord, saying, 4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, and have him count all the money brought into the house of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. 5 And have them hand it over to the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord, and have them give it to the workmen who are in the house of the Lord to repair the damage to the house: 6 to the carpenters, the builders, the masons, and for buying timber and cut stone to repair the house. 7 However, no accounting shall be made with them for the money handed over to them, because they deal honestly.”

So step one is to take out all the broken stuff, junk and rubble.

The high Priest Hilkiah, going through the rubbish with a black bag no doubt, turned over a pile of junk and noticed something burred underneath.

And here is where things get very interesting.

What he found was right there all along. Geographically it was right there!

But it had been lost to the hearts and minds of the people as they neglected their worship of the one true God.

What did the priest find?

2 Kings 22:8 NASB 2020

8 Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, who read it.

The Pentateuch. The book that contained the truth about blessings and the covenant.

Lets keep reading:

2 Kings 22:9–13 NASB 2020

9 Then Shaphan the scribe came to the king and brought back word to the king and said, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house, and have handed it over to the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord.” 10 Moreover, Shaphan the scribe informed the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it in the presence of the king. 11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes. 12 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Achbor the son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, 13 “Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found, for the wrath of the Lord that burns against us is great, because our fathers did not listen to the words of this book, to act in accordance with everything that is written regarding us.”

This is one of the most fascinating stories in the bible.

The story of the Lost book.

Let me tell you about this book:

God said to Joshua about this book the following:

Joshua 1:8 NASB 2020

8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will achieve success.

Israel, before Josiah became king, has suffered terribly.

The previous king was Amon.

An evil man who outlawed the worship of Jehovah and erected Idol worshipping alters all over.

Before him was Manasseh, a king of evil as well. He practised sorcery and divinations, he killed thousands of innocent people.

in fact look at this statment:

2 Kings 21:9 NASB 2020

9 But they did not listen, and Manasseh encouraged them to do evil, more than the nations whom the Lord eliminated from the presence of the sons of Israel.

The whole land and all the people were suffering, and yes the answer, the solution to all their pain was right there! In the Temple! In the book!

But the book was lost to them.

Many people seems to have lost their bibles today.

Christians can lose their bibles, not necessarily physically, but they lose their bibles spiritually.

If you are not reading, hearing, studying and meditating of your bibles then you have lost the bible.

You can loose your bible by putting this on top of it.

Money, pleasure, worldliness all can pile on the bible and hide it from your sight.

Here is my question: Did you lose the book in 2022?

It may have been right next to your bed but was it in your heart?

It may have been sitting on your lap but was it sitting in your very soul?

It might be on your facebook posts but is it in your own mouth?

King Josiah gives us the best advice and example of what to do:

First He tore his clothes in repentance.

Second he rededicated Israel to be obedient to the words of the book.

Here is an interesting question to think about.

The king said:

2 Kings 22:13 NASB 2020

13 “Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found, for the wrath of the Lord that burns against us is great, because our fathers did not listen to the words of this book, to act in accordance with everything that is written regarding us.”

God’s wrath no longer burns for us because of the work of Jesus Christ.

AMEN!!!

But then what does our neglect of the Word say about our attitude towards Jesus?

I am challenging you on the first day of this year to make the bible the highest priority in your life.

And i challenge you this as well: If after making the bible the highest priority, if you do not see a powerful move of God then I will eat my shoes.

Im not saying that 2023 will be a year where you get what you want and everything always goes smooth and no tragedy befalls you.

Im am saying that no matter what happens Jesus will be with you in the storm in a way that makes you join him on the waters like Peter.

Bible Reading Plan.