READ 2 Chronicles 35.

So as I read chapter 35 of 2 Chronicles this morning, I began picking up on certain phrases…“according to the instruction written by David king of Israel and by his son Solomon…” (v4), “doing what the Lord commanded through Moses…” (v6), “as the king had ordered…” (v10), “as it is written in the book of Moses…” (v12), “…prescribed by David, Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun…” (v15), “the entire service of the Lord was carried out…” (v16).  

Josiah followed the letter of the law (pun intended) as he observed Passover and set things right in the temple.  

“After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, 
Neco king of Egypt came up to wage war at Carchemish 
on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to engage him (35:20)

After doing all the good things that were prescribed by his ancestors, Josiah made a foolish oversight.  He didn’t ask God if he should get involved in the war against the king of Egypt.   Instead, he followed his own reasoning, “leaning to his own understanding”.  In this way, Josiah was very UNLIKE the men who penned the words he was carrying out.  Scripture shows us that Moses and David both consulted God regularly, asking for His direction.  Even if Josiah had forgotten the example of Moses and of David set as they consulted God regularly for guidance, the words of Neco should have jogged his memory, prompting him to consult God.  

Neco began with a common sense appeal, “what quarrel is there between you and me?  It’s not you I’m attacking”. And then Neco continued with, “God has told me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who is with me”.  Wouldn’t you think that Neco’s words would have prompted Josiah to inquire of God?  I think of how David would ask God, “should I go?”, and “how should I go?”  But neither common sense appeals, nor having his memory jogged by hearing the name of his God, got through to Josiah.  

As I sat here with my judgy pants on, looking down on Josiah for his oversight, the Spirit prompted me to take a look at myself.  Do I miss God’s promptings throughout my day, just living my life how it makes sense to me?  Ouch…and changing out of my judgy pants.  

When I read “For your own sake, stop interfering with God who is with me, so that He does not destroy you”, it struck me that Josiah didn’t’ know if Neco was telling the truth about God being at the source of this attack or not, and while he didn’t ask God (bad move), did Josiah actually think a disguise would keep him safe in the event that Neco was telling the truth?  If Neco was telling the truth, did Josiah really think a disguise would hide him from God?  

What I am gleaning this morning is that I can do what the Bible says, like Josiah did in this chapter, but it can’t stop there.  It’s vital that I have BOTH an intimate relationship through His Scriptures, AND a moment-by-moment dialogue with the Lord throughout my day. 

I must read the Bible, know the Bible, let the Bible reveal me to myself, and I must also pray for God’s direction all along the way.  There are times where God may say, “yes”, or He may say, “yes, but wait”, or He may tell me “no”.  But the bottom line is that I can’t do whatever “I” think best and expect God’s blessing and protection.