JOSIAH WHO LOVED GOD

 

There is nothing that excites me more than coming across someone in scripture who loved the God of Israel. One such man was King Josiah of the Kingdom of Judah. You might have gathered by now that there weren’t many kings of Israel like him. He stole my heart the year I discovered him in the Old Testament.

Before we can appreciate Josiah, it’s imperative to look at his predecessors. Josiah’s grandfather was Manasseh who ascended the throne of Judah at the age of twelve. He reigned for fifty years and became the most loathed and cursed king in the history of Judah.

Manasseh exceeded the idolatry of his predecessors by adding a third form of worship: devotion to the heavenly bodies and constellations. Remnants of this worship are seen today in astrology (The Old Testament Student Manual Book 2 p 213). If you live by your horoscope, give this some thought…..

Not only did Manasseh exceed the idolatry of his forefathers, he defiled the temple and the whole country out of contempt for God and barbarously slew all the righteous Hebrew men, ‘ till Jerusalem was overflown with blood’ (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, bk 10, chap 3, par 3)

This evil king repented when he was in affliction, after the king of Assyria captured him and took him to Babylon. He pleaded with the Lord who had mercy on him and brought him back to Jerusalem. Upon his return Manasseh cleaned house by putting away all the idols out of the temple and the country but it was too little too late. Idolatry was so engrained in his people by then that they continued to worship in ‘high places’ and when his son Amon succeeded him, he returned the people to full blown idolatry again (2 Chronicles 33:10-22).  This is a perfect example of how much damage one man can do to a whole nation.

Enter Josiah. He was only eight years old when he began his 31 year reign. This was a man who as a child watched babies scarified to the god of fire, Moloch. A man who in adulthood became highly troubled by the spiritual decay of the kingdom he inherited. The  truth had been lost and the covenant between Israel and Jehovah forgotten…..until he set about repairing the temple and ‘the book of the law’ was found (2 Kings 22:8-11). Some historians have suggested this book was Deuteronomy and some have concluded it was the entire Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible written by Moses).

When the book of the law was read to Josiah,  he realized how far Israel had strayed from the one true and living God and in his grief he tore the clothes on his body (2 Kings 22:11). Josiah cleaned the land of idolatry even more scrupulously than Manasseh but he could not bring about a thorough conversion of the people. Chapter 23 of 2 Kings outlines his detailed efforts of cleansing the insidious practice of idol worship but he could not undo the damage his grandfather Manasseh had done. Not even by putting his people under the covenant could he uproot the deep inward apostasy of the people. (2 Kings 23:26)

History records there was no king like Josiah before or after him. That he loved the Lord with all his heart, his soul and with all his might (2 Kings 23:25).

This is the lesson we can learn from Josiah. No matter what family we come from, what our upbringing was like and who raised us, we still have a choice to forge our own path in the world. No habit, false belief, addiction or immoral behaviour of those around us has to have power over us. We are in charge of our own destiny and have the ability to say: ‘this ends with me’.

The God of Israel saw Josiah’s grief when he heard the book of the law and when he tore his clothing. He recognized his sincerely and his desire for obedience and his efforts to turn the tide. He promised him that he will be ‘gathered unto his fathers and into his grave in peace’ so that he will not see all the evil which He would bring upon Jerusalem to punish the people for their disobedience (2 Kings 22,19-20).  Josiah died at age 39 in the Valley of Megiddo at the hands of the king of Egypt (2 Kings 23:29). And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him (2 Chronicles 35:24)

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art by AI)

KINGS OF ISRAEL

How easy it would have been for the Saviour to wash his hands of the children of Israel when they rejected Him and asked for a king to rule and preside over them. How easy it would have been to turn his back on them and to walk away, but the Saviour who is full of 'grace, equity and truth', did not forsake the children of the covenant and sought to still be their king through the best men He could find, that His watchful eye might be over them 'with a stretched out arm; for his mercy endureth forever' (Alma 13:9; Psalm 136:12). 

Because under the kingship of Solomon, they disregarded the power and might of the God who delivered them, and put their trust in the arm of the flesh instead, Israel faltered and stumbled in its prosperity and spiritual welfare. Worst of all, they lost unity as a nation. Following the death of Solomon, under the leadership of his very unwise son Rehoboam, who sought to increase the burdens of his people rather than decrease the oppression with which his extravagant father afflicted the people, the house of Israel became divided, never to be the same again.

Rehoboam refused to heed the counsel of his father’s wise old counselors, 'to serve the people and be their servant, then they will be thy servants forever' (1 Kings 12:6,7). Rather than serve, he sought to elevate himself even further causing the Ten Tribes of Israel to break their alliance with the House of David and appointed Jeroboam as their king. And thus began a new nation referred to as the Northern Kingdom consisting of 10 tribes while the tribes of Judah and Benjamin remained under the reign of the House of David, a house which was preserved by the hand of the Lord to ensure the prophesied lineage of the Messiah.

Jeroboam, an Ephraimite, had been a military leader in the army of Israel under King Solomon. He was an administrator over the territorial districts of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, two of the most powerful tribes in Israel. Ahijah, a prophet of that day, revealed to Jeroboam that he would become the ruler of 10 tribes which would be 'rent' from the house of David. He demonstrated this by rending Jeroboam's robe into 12 pieces and giving him 10, saying: "...thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee" (1 Kings 11:31).

When this prophecy was made known to Solomon, he sought to kill Jeroboam who fled into Egypt and lived there in exile until Rehoboam ascended the throne and the 10 tribes who were dissatisfied with Rehoboam's 'attitude' brought him back and anointed him king. And thus began a history of darkness for the Northern Kingdom of Israel as Jeroboam established a state religion of idolatrous worship. (1 Kings 12:25-33).

And here is an insight into Jeroboam’s insecurity and floundering faith in God. He feared that he would lose the kingdom to Rehoboam if his subjects travelled to the temple in Jerusalem and decided to defect. Instead of securing his position by endearing the people to him, he foolishly used religion to serve his political purposes’ (see Adam Clarke, Commentary, 2:437).

The question begs to be asked, why would his subjects want to go back to Rehoboam and his oppression which they rejected? You cannot help but wonder if Jeroboam at all possessed a logical mind. To keep the 10 tribes away from Jerusalem, he made 2 calves of gold, installed them in cities of Bethel and Dan and told the people: "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt" (1 Kings 12:28).

It blows one’s mind…in one fell swoop, he replaced Jehovah as Israel’s God in the minds of the people and he rationalised it by using the same wording as Aaron back in the wilderness suggesting this form of worship was nothing new and was used by their fathers in the desert (Exodus 32:4). And how did that work out for them???

And so the Northern Kingdom was led into idolatry by their very first king from which they never repented and which contributed to their downfall. Twenty monarchs ruled the Northern Kingdom from its beginning until its destruction by the Assyrians in 724 B.C. and all of them were characterized as evil or wicked by scriptural records (Old Testament Student Manual 1 Kings-Malachi, p. 33).

Of the twenty rulers who reigned over the Southern Kingdom, from the death of Solomon to the fall of Jerusalem and the Jews' captivity at the hands of the Babylonians in 605 B.C., twelve are characterized in the scriptural records as evil or wicked. Only four advanced their nation economically and religiously.

In response to Israel’s wish to have kings, the words of Jehovah to Samuel echo loud and clear: “Hearken unto the voice of the people…for they have not rejected thee but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them” (1 Samuel 8:7).

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

IDOLATRY

 

“Idolatry is among the most serious of sins….modern idols or false gods can take such forms as clothes, homes, businesses, machines, automobiles, pleasure boats, and numerous other material deflectors from the path to godhood…

“Intangible things make just as ready gods. Degrees and letters and titles can become idols…

“Many worship the hunt, the fishing trip, the vacation, the weekend picnics and outings. Others have as their idols the games of sport, baseball, football, the bullfight, or golf….still another image men worship is that of power and prestige….these gods of power, wealth, and influence are most demanding and are quite as real as the golden calves of the children of Israel in the wilderness.”

-          President Spencer W. Kimball, “Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me” , Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, Gospel Library Chapter 14

The other day I happened to see a video clip of a deceased and very famous music artist performing one of his most known songs. I had never before noticed what I saw in this video – a frenzied screaming audience with adult men and women crying as this performer contorted his body in unnatural movements meant to be dancing that reminded me of nothing less than contortions of evil spirits cited in Jesus’ time (Mark 9:17-29)

This video brought to my mind the subject of idolatry……so I would like to add the stark reality of worshiping other human beings to the above list of what we worship…..because I think they are the most dangerous. 

Today our idolatry has moved into another realm, that of influence. We have even invented the legitimate title of ‘influencer’ to people we watch and revere on social media. There are influencers for fashion, home, travel, body and anything that would make us covet what they have and what they tell us to buy. Who and what we idolize, we worship.

And then there are podcasts of people who pass off conspiracies as truth and who persuade others to their way of thinking whilst earning great amounts of money without conscience. Technology has made it ever so easy for many voices of the world to be heard. Many of these voices are under the influence of the adversary who seeks to sow criticism, division and hatred amongst us.

If we are not listening to the voices who promote and inspire us to seek after the paths that strengthen our connection to God, we are listening to one of the voices of the world. If we work on our relationship with God, our relationships with family, friends and the human family will follow. It’s called ‘obeying the two greatest commandments’, loving God and loving our neighbour. Where these two commandments are alive and vibrating in our lives, idolatry has no place. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Artist Unknown)

INDOMITABLE ABRAHAM

 

Imagine being raised in a family where your parents had become entrenched in idolatry and believed in human sacrifice yet in your heart deeply burnt your testimony of the one true and living God. This was the childhood of a young man called Abraham from the land of Ur in the Chaldees (Abraham 1:1), what is now modern-day Iraq.

From the very beginning of his life, Abraham had an acute spiritual sensitivity to the reality of the one true and living God.  Consider these insights from his early life:

"At just three years of age, as one source has it, the boy already 'began to understand the nature of God', so that the next year he resisted when his grandfather tried to teach him to worship idols.  Nor could Abraham's father, despite long and persistent effort, persuade his son to revere the statues." (E. Douglas Clark, The Blessings of Abraham, Becoming A Zion People, p. 40)

"An ancient and widespread legend tells of bold action taken by the young Abraham.  The story is not found in the Bible, but it is the most oft-repeated Abrahamic narrative in the Qur'an, is found in numerous ancient Jewish sources, and was repeated by Brigham Young, John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff.  

“As recounted by Jewish sources, it began when the young Abraham found himself alone in a room full of idols….. The event was a major religious festival called by King Nimrod himself and was centred at Nimrod's pagan temple.  Abraham had been urged to attend by his father but declined to go and was instructed to stay behind to guard the idols.

When Abraham was all alone, he acted boldly and decisively.  Some sources report that 'the Spirit of God came upon him'.  As recounted by the Maaseh Avraham Avinu, 'He took an axe in his hand, and as he saw the idols of the king sitting, he said, 'The Eternal, He is God', and he 'pushed them off their thrones to the ground, and he smote them mightily…..' until 'all of them were broken'.  Then, placing 'the axe in the hand of the largest idol', Abraham left.

When his father and the king returned and discovered the wreckage, they were wroth.  'The king commanded that Abraham be brought before him.  And they brought him.  The king and his ministers said to him, 'Why did you shatter our gods?'  He said to them, 'I didn't break them, no.  Rather, the large one of them smashed them.  Don't you see that the axe is in his hand? And if you won't believe it, ask him and he will tell'.  And as the king heard his words, he became angry to the point of killing him."  (E. Douglas Clark, The Blessings of Abraham, Becoming A Zion People, p. 47)

And so the God of Abraham would not allow Abraham to forget Him and He would not allow him to forget who HE was. He would be with him always through this reminder: “When I organised all the intelligences, I saw there were noble and great ones, and I stood in the midst of them and chose my rulers and Abraham you were one of them. I will whisper it to you every minute of your mortal life so you will never forget me and you will never forget who YOU are.” (see Abraham 2:22,23)

We are likewise noble and great ones possessing the indomitable spirit of our father Abraham, ‘the father of the faithful’. God is whispering and we must never forget…..”The Eternal, He is God”.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Clouds of Glory by Greg Sargent)

 

BATTLE FOR OUR SOULS

 

This is a story for those of us who want to be heroes. There was once a king by the name of Ahab who ruled the northern kingdom of Israel from 885-874 B.C. He was the most wicked king Israel had ever had for he married a Phoenician princess by the name of Jezebel and established the worship of Baal as the religion of state (1 Kings 16:30-33). Ahab and Jezebel killed all the prophets and persecuted Elijah to the point of madness, seeking his life. Ahab teaches us a very profound lesson in the manner of his death. When he led his army against the forces of Syria, he took every precaution to avoid being injured, even disguising himself so that the Syrians would not recognise him and focus on his destruction.  The only thing he didn’t do was wear enough armour so someone drew his bow at random and hit the king between the sections of his armour. By night time he had bled to death (1 Kings 22:30-35). When I read the story of Ahab, I always feel that the manner of his physical protection from danger equalled the negligent spiritual protection he provided for himself. Where did Ahab go wrong spiritually? He eradicated the worship of Jehovah not only in his kingdom but more importantly, in his life. So it is with us…..The degree of protection we have from the adversary is directly proportional to the diligence and heed we give to the Lord's commandments.  The extent and strength of our armour is a good indication of how valiant we are in our testimony of Jesus.  We cannot afford to choose which commandment we will obey and which we will let slide because each commandment provides a section in our armour against sin.  

 

If you ever wanted to be a hero, this is the time and the place.  Examine the cracks in your armour and sharpen your sword of righteousness.  President Ezra Taft Benson said: "You will never have a better opportunity to be a greater hero in a more crucial battle than in the battle you will face today and in the immediate future. Be warned that some of the greatest battles you will face will be fought within the silent chambers of your own soul.  David's battles in the field against the foe were not as critical as David's battles in the palace against a lustful eye.  We will each find our own battlefield". (Ezra Taft Benson, "In His Steps", 1979, Devotional Speeches of the Year, 60).

 

We are engaged in a battle of all battles. The most important battlefield we will ever get to fight is the battle for our souls. The adversary will use every tactic to bring us down. When Joseph lost 116 pages of the Book of Mormon manuscript, the Saviour told him that if he had been faithful and not feared man He would have supported him against all the fiery darts of the adversary (D&C 3:7,8). The foundation of our faith in Christ and our obedience to Him is the strength of our defence. When the war is over and the battle won, whose side will you be found on?

 

He is the Captain of our souls:

 His arms are our shelter,

His heart is our home,

Our only hope

For protection 

from the battle’s storm.

 

 

 - CATHRYNE ALLEN 

A LINK IN THE CHAIN

 

 

When my mother-in-law lay in the hospital bed dying, she repeatedly told her children and grandchildren to stay on ‘the gospel train’. Just prior to her death one conference talk was centered on this life being like a train journey and we think she connected this in her mind to the gospel. She died a dignified death with her testimony on her lips.  

 

In his farewell address, Moses admonished the children of Israel, repeatedly, to worship the one true and living God and that they should have no other gods before Him. This farewell constitutes the entire book of Deuteronomy with strong emphasis on dangers of idol worship. Moses' farewell coincided with the children of Israel's entry into the promised land. Because the inhabitants of Canaan were ripe in iniquity and idol worship (1 Nephi 17:32-35) they presented a very real threat to the covenant people. As they conquered cities before them, lands were appropriated to them for their settlement. Among the first to receive land were the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half of Mannesah. They settled in the land of Gilead which divided them from the rest of Israel by the river Jordan (Numbers 34:14,15; Deuteronomy 3:12,13; Joshua 22:9). After they had assisted in further conquest of the land, Joshua sent them back to Gilead to live peacefully in their newly appointed inheritance. Upon their return home, these tribes built an altar by river Jordan. When the rest of Israel heard of it they were outraged presuming the altar was built for idol worship. They sent Phineas, the son of Eleazor the priest, with the heads of the remaining tribes, to call these two and a half tribes to repentance. In their defense, these tribes explained that the altar was not made for any worship but was meant to stand as a witness to the rest of Israel, for generations to come, that the tribe of Reuben, Gad and Mannesah were united with the rest of Israel in the worship of one true and living God; that they would not be the downfall of Israel. They said the altar was to be "a witness between us that the Lord is God" (Joshua 22:34).  These three tribes recognised that even though they were geographically divided from the rest, they were still a link in the chain. They knew that if they turned to the worship of other gods, the ripple effect would be detrimental to the whole House of Israel.

So it is with us. We of modern Israel are individual links in a great chain which binds the covenant people. How we live our lives and how we worship God has great impact upon not only us personally but upon the body of Christ as a whole because "no one sins in isolation. We cannot say that our actions influence only ourselves for even if we do something sinful that is completely personal, our individual loss of spiritual power means a lessening of power for all mankind and contributes to the withdrawal of the Lord's spirit, and that is damaging to all......". (Old Testament Student Manual Genesis-2 Samuel, p 243). 

 

Today the chain, being the Church of Jesus Christ, spreads across the globe. It unites me, who am an Australian, with you who are an American, European or African. It unites us through our faith in Him who is the Saviour of all, regardless of nationality, colour or culture. Our faith in Christ and our commitment to that faith is our commonality. It creates a spiritual umbilical cord that makes us one and strengthens us even though we are miles apart. I depend on you and you depend on me to keep the chain unbroken because one day this chain will bring us together to live with Him forever. 

In Moses' words:

 

"Hear, O Israel: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might...and these words....shall be in thine heart....forever."  Deut 6:4-6

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Light of the World by Nathan Greene)

THE HUMBLE GOD

 

Through my study of the scriptures I have counted 18 of Christ’s characteristics, the most prominent of which for me, had been ones of power and mercy. I recently came to understand one of His virtues which I had not paid much attention to before, the virtue of humility.

 

This is the scripture which made me reflect on the extraordinary nature of His character as a God: “Therefore, I command you to build a house unto me, for the gathering together of my saints, that they may WORSHIP ME” (D&C 115:8). Can you imagine the amount of humility it would require to say such a thing for a God of perfect attributes and devoid of pride? It would have to be someone who knows perfectly who he is, is confident in that knowledge and most of all, has a purity of spirit and heart. Compare this to Lucifer’s desire to be worshipped (Moses 4:1-4).

 

It amazes me that someone so powerful who calls himself ‘the king of heaven’ (2 N 10:14), who can create worlds and annihilate them by the power of His word (Helaman 12:9-17; D&C 63:4) can be so humble. Until now I have only seen Christ’s power in His self-declarations but have overlooked the humility. 

 

This is why this is important for us: Christ’s humility made it possible for Him to condescend to be born to a lowly life: in a stable, a carpenter, willing to be subjected to ridicule and unacceptance. You might say he experienced mortal life at ‘ground zero’. And in doing so he ‘descended below all things that he might comprehend all things’ (D&C 88:6). What things? Our difficulties, our sorrows, our sins, our imperfections, our sufferings, our inabilities, our mortal weakness. The added bonus was access to our individual lives through the Atonement where He learnt what it was like to be you and me.

 

Imagine a God leaving His exalted throne and all that comes with it, to be rejected, spat upon, scourged, reviled and crucified. Imagine the humility it would take to subject yourself to all that, despite the power within your grasp. Embrace the beating of your cherished heart, you were worth it. 

 

Did your angels miss You

When you left Your glorious throne?

Did their voices echo in the lowly stable

When you were so humbly born?

Did they weep for you

When you had to suffer alone?

Will they rejoice at Your return

And sound their trumps

To herald their joy?

And will they praise You forever

As you reclaim Your exalted throne?

- Cathryne Allen