Today’s 333 Devotional: “Averting Disaster”
(A follow up to yesterday’s devotional)

After the Manasseh disaster where he seduced Judah into doing more evil than the other nations because of the people’s complacency, “They paid no attention,” the nation of Judah entered into a time of reformation and revival, because of Manasseh’s grandson, King Josiah.

Josiah swept away the sins and idolatry of his grandfather. As they were restoring the temple the Book of the Law was discovered. After hearing the words, Josiah humbled himself and mourned over his and the nation’s sinful condition.

He then violently removed what Manasseh had done. He “brought out,” “removed,” “tore down,” “put away,” “broke down,” “took away,” and “burned” all the idols, temples, and high places throughout the land, and executed the false priests who presided over these places.

And because he humbled himself, wept, and removed the abominations, calamity was averted, and it says that there was no king who proceeded or followed Josiah who had turned so completely to the Lord.

Josiah made a covenant before God to follow and keep His word. But it wasn’t Josiah alone. It took the nation as well.

“Then the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people took a stand for the covenant.” (2 Kings 23:3)

We need to personally and corporately, as the church, make a covenant with God to follow His word and through the power of the Holy Spirit remove the idols and those high places from our lives and the church.

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)