The Excellence of Execution (From August 2008)

2 Kings 23:25

Never before had there been a king like Josiah, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses. And there has never been a king like him since.

The best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be. That's putting that verse into more simpler words. I read this verse Saturday morning and I couldn't help but wonder why this was said about him. When you analyze the passages about him in 2 Kings, it is actually less than two chapters. Yet he was given such honor in the end. Why?

Well first of all, he restored the temple. He knew his priorities. he knew that its not strengthening the army or improving education or building more defenses that Judah needs. he saw the truth that the center of Judah's strength and protection is the Lord. With that, he saw the need to bring the people back to God by giving them back a place to worship.

The second impressive thing he did came when Hilkiah, the high priest found the Book of the Law. When it was read to Josiah, he tore his clothes in despair. He saw the situation for what it is, that they have not followed God's law. He showed an amazing fear for God. He didn't end up saying: "Uh oh, we messed up a bit, but oh well, God loves us anyway too much" but rather he saw the severity of their mistakes. He humbled himself for the people knowing what God can do and who God really is

Now this is what really impressed me. After he heard the Law and saw the mistakes of Judah, he immediately made reforms. He started by calling all the people and renewed the covenant. No, he did not single out just the leaders, he wanted everyone to be there, he realized it was a personal commitment not just for leaders or elders but every single Israelite. Then he went on a rampage after this. Starting from the temple he incinerated all worship that does not belong to the Lord  then moving on to all other places of worship as well. He demonstrated such passion it shames me. In our own lives, can we actually do that? Starting from ourselves, can we eliminate all worship that is not for the Lord? Can we remove self-centeredness from our lives? Now in our group of friends or our family, are we zealous enough to share about Christ and keep him in focus so that it will only be Him who is receiving glory in those relationships? In our spheres of influence, have we used it to make sure Christ's name is known? I am guilty of not being able to do so but Josiah sure did a great job with this.

An amazing thing that Josiah did was in the altar at Bethel. He tore down the altar, burned down the shrine and burnt bones on the altar to desecrate it. So what? Well, what he actually did was prophesied during the time of Jeroboam in 1 Kings 13. What I saw in Josiah that he did what God designed him to do. I see that as a great thing. To be able to act according to your design made by the Creator is an honorable thing for me and best place to be and I saw that in Josiah. What a very blessed man to act according to his design. And what's great is he was designed to be good and meaning he actually lived a good life.

The last point I saw was really a good quality of Josiah. After all this elimination of sin, he didn't stop there. He celebrated Passover after so many years and did what the Israelites used to do. This just struck me. Sometimes we end up just taking out sin in our lives but not readying our selves for anymore sin. But what Josiah did is he went back to spiritual disciplines. After all the Passover reminds them of God's faithfulness. It's the same way with our spiritual disciplines. As long as we remind ourselves of our God and who He is, we won't let sin come back. And Josiah, the great king Josiah saw that.

Know who you need. See the sin for what it is. Eliminate the sin. Arm yourselves to combat sin. Simple concepts taught by the life of Josiah. Concepts I want to live by everyday of my life to glorify my Lord, my Father. Then maybe one day this can be said about Andre:

"Never before had there been a mining engineer like Andre, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses. And there has never been a mining engineer like him since."


(2011 edit)


"Never before had there been a lawyer like Andre, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses. And there has never been a lawyer like him since."

or even better:

"Never before had there been a husband like Andre, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses. And there has never been a husband like him since."

Wherever you are, whoever you are, whatever you do, strive to be the best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be in glorifying God.