Heroes Rebuild
In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the Lord. He 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—
2 Kings 22:3-5
When King Josiah was twenty-six, he began to rebuild the temple. He took responsibility for what his father and grandfather had allowed to be destroyed. He cleaned up their mess. It becomes evident throughout Josiah’s story in scripture that this guy was a next level leader and a hero in the faith. In last week’s blog, I talked about the idea that heroes embrace hardship. Well, rebuilding the temple was hard! But, Josiah made it happen.
Here are three things I take away from Josiah’s story:
Accept responsibility for what happens next, even if you weren't responsible for what happened before. Growing up, my family didn’t go to church. I had bad examples set for me. But, my childhood will not be my children's. I’m accepting responsibility for what happens next.
Start spiritually rebuilding before diving in anywhere else. Josiah was king, which means he wore a ton of responsibility. I have no doubt he could have found himself preoccupied with many things. But, I think it’s interesting that the first thing Josiah started working on is rebuilding the house of God. Josiah had his priorities right and that’s because his heart was right.
In just ten years of faithfulness, Josiah was making major moves for the Kingdom. It’s incredible to see how quickly the Lord matured Josiah when he truly surrendered to Him. When Josiah was sixteen years old, he began to serve the Lord faithfully. When he was twenty years old, he purged Judah and Jerusalem of idols. At twenty-six years old, he began to rebuild the temple. What a hero!
What might there be in your life that needs to be spiritually rebuilt? I’ll bet it’s going to require you to embrace difficulties to do it. Maybe it’s spending time in the secret place with God. Family prayer. Church attendance. Daily Bible reading. Generosity. Whatever it is, it can happen in the name of Jesus once you surrender!