S) "21 But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, 'What have we to do with each other, O King of Judah? I am not coming against you today but against the house with which I am at war, and God has ordered me to hurry. Stop for your own sake from interfering with God who is with me, so that He will not destroy you.'"
2 Chronicles 35:21 (NASB)
O) Josiah had a very good heart, a very good reign as king. In the end, his death was still caused by his inability to hear from God, when the LORD spoke through an unexpected mouth. Like many kings before him, he tried to disguise himself in battle, and he died pretending to be someone he was not. This fight was not his fight, he was not being the man whom God had called him to be, and it cost him dearly. Despite a faithful heart to follow the LORD his God, he died a sorrowful death because his ears could not hear, and his eyes could not see, the will of God.
A) There is no other way to say this, but I must be humble enough to accept that God may use unconventional means to get my attention. Now, there is a careful line between heretical "continued revelation" and the understanding that the LORD still uses people to speak into our lives today. The critical test is the written Word. All the more important, then, that I am constantly studying the Bible, to know God's will, character, and truth.
P) Father, You are sovereign and mighty. You move nations and leaders, orchestrating and executing plans that are far too great for me to comprehend alone. Open my eyes to see, and my ears to hear, so that I am not washed away by Your plans, being caught up in fights that are not my own, trying to be someone that I am not. Humble me, if I refuse to humble myself, to Your sovereignty and might, to preserve my life according to Your will. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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