I'm glad to be here today with you, with all of you sharing God's Word.
And as you know, as Jared mentioned last week, it's the first time that I preach at church.
And it's the first time that I preach in a language that is not my first language.
So I'm kind of nervous.
But I'm happy to do it.
And I'm happy to be here.
Also, I'm wearing green.
I'm wearing green. Ashley told me that I had to wear green.
Because it's a special day today.
And so I'm doing it.
I'm sad that Brian is not here because I know he was going to mention something about it.
But please open your Bibles in 2 Kings, in chapter 22.
And today we are going to focus our attention on a king that, despite the idolatry of the nation of Israel, he decided to obey the Lord.
2 Kings 22.
And as you probably see in the title of your Bible, in the title of the chapter, we're going to talk about King Josiah.
And today, by studying Josiah's example, we will learn four characteristics of a heart that pleases the Lord.
And I want you to give you a brief summary of what's going on at this moment in the nation of Israel.
We have been studying Judges with Jared for a couple of months now.
And we know that at this point, there was no king in Israel.
So when the time of Judges finishes, Israel requests a king to Samuel.
And they request to have a king like the other nations.
We know that the first king was Saul.
And after him was David.
And after David was Solomon, the son of David.
These three kings reigned over a simple kingdom.
So Israel was one nation.
But do Solomon sin, which was worshiping the idols of his wives.
And also do a power struggle between two of his sons.
Israel is divided into two kingdoms.
The kingdom of the north, that is Israel.
And the kingdom of the south, that is Judah.
And this is important to say it because Josiah belongs to the line of the kings of Judah.
The kingdom of the south.
And at this moment of history, in the history of Israel, he was the only king in the nation.
Because the kingdom of the north was already conquered by the king of Assyria.
And if you have read the books of kings, if not, you can read it later.
Israel and Judah, the two kingdoms, had different kings and many kings.
Most of the kings turned their hearts to the idols and forgot God.
And only a small number of kings did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.
And Josiah was one of them.
His kingdom was blessed because he showed devotion and obedience to God.
And today we are going to learn how he did it.
And remember, we are going to talk about four characteristics of a heart that pleases the Lord.
And we are going to go to the first characteristic.
And it is a righteous heart pleases the Lord.
A righteous heart pleases the Lord.
And we are going to see this in verse 1 and 2 of our chapter.
But to understand this, we are going to see two points in this point.
And we are going to see these two points to how to develop a righteous heart that pleases the Lord.
And the first one is the early instruction produces righteousness.
So let's go to our Bibles.
And let's go to the verse 1.
And let's read it.
And God's word says,
Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign.
And he reigned 31 years in Jerusalem.
His mother's name was Jedida, the daughter of Adia, a boscat.
I was thinking that I chose a really hard passage because I don't even know how to say this name in Spanish.
And it's even hard to say it in English.
I'll do my best today.
So we see that Josiah is placed on the throne after Ammon, his dad, was killed.
You will find that in the chapter before this one.
And as the bird tells us, he started reigning when he was eight years old.
He was way too young to be on the throne.
I think the closest one in our church to this age is Harper.
Harper is eight years old.
Can you imagine that?
Can you imagine being at that age?
He was a little kid.
But he was the son of the previous king.
So he was the heir to the throne.
The nation needed a king.
So they had to place Josiah on the throne at his young age.
And I want you to think a little bit about how royal children were instructed when they were kids.
The Bible doesn't tell us that in this passage.
But for sure, they were thought in the Jewish traditions.
And for sure, they were thought about the Lord.
Because God was the God of their nation.
And this doesn't mean that they were going to obey.
And we see that in the history of the kings.
We see a lot of kings that didn't obey the Lord.
And in fact, we see that in Ammon, his death.
He didn't obey the Lord.
But considering this, Josiah knew about the obedience of his predecessors.
Around 50 years before, his great-grandfather, Hezekiah, implemented reforms in the nation of Judah.
And a few years back, his grandfather, Manasseh, obeyed the Lord and his kingdom was restored.
You can find this in chapters 19 through 21.
We're not going to read it today.
But you can read it at home.
So, Josiah had these examples and heard about them as part of the history of the kings of Judah.
This for sure had an impact in his obedience at his young age.
Another thing that we can consider is that during his reign, there were faithful men and prophets like Jeremiah and Sophaniah.
And faithful servants like Hilkiah and Shaphan.
We're going to talk about them later on.
Shaphan, sorry.
These men could have motivated Josiah to obey the Lord.
And one last thing to think about this.
It says, even though the Bible doesn't say it, his mom probably had something to do with his obedience.
We can't say the same about his father, Amon.
Because if you read in the previous chapter, as I mentioned, he didn't obey the Lord and reign for a short amount of time.
But thinking about his mom, we can see in the life of Josiah her faithfulness.
In raising her son in a godly way.
He was eight years old.
He was still a child being raised by his mother.
She could even have looked for godly men that instructed her son in the traditions of the nation.
But even though all of this had a role in shaping his heart,
we can't ignore the fact that it was God who moved his heart to do what was right.
In 1 Kings chapter 8, we're not going to, you don't have to look at it.
I don't want to read it.
We find Solomon speaking to the nation of Israel regarding his obedience to the Lord.
Solomon speaking to the nation of Israel.
In verse 8, he tells them that he may, talking about God,
incline your hearts to him to walk in all his ways and to keep his commitments,
his statutes and his rules, which he commanded to our fathers.
Solomon knew that only God can incline their hearts or could incline their hearts to his obedience.
Paul tells us something, tells the Philippines something similar in chapter 2, verse 13.
And he says this,
God places people around us as an example for our lives.
But at the end of the day, God does the work in our hearts through his word.
Parents, don't give up teaching your children God's word.
Proverbs says to train up a child in the way he should go,
because even when he is old, he will not depart from it.
God does the work in their hearts,
but we can be an instrument to bring our kids into obedience and salvation.
Now, not only does the early instruction produce righteousness,
but also commitment produces righteousness.
And let's look at the verse 2 in our passage.
And it says,
And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord,
and walked in all the way of David his father.
And he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.
He, Josiah, did what was right and walked in the way of David his father.
How do we know that he did what was right?
Chapter 23, the next one, gives us more details about what he did,
and so does the book of 2 Chronicles.
Both 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles provides us with a summary
of the reforms against idolatry that Josiah implemented.
He cleansed the house of God.
That was one.
He knocked down the altars, destroyed the idols,
knocked down the high places where sacrifice were made or offered to other gods.
And he burned the bones of the priests that worshipped the false gods.
His reform was radical.
He was committed to obey the Lord.
How long does it take us to remove sin in our life?
Are we radical about it?
Last week in the Men Up conference,
one of the preachers was talking about 1 Timothy chapter 6.
And he said that passivity affects believers.
And he said that we cannot deal with sin lightly.
And that we must fight against it.
Josiah cleansed Judah from its sin.
If you read the stories of the other kings,
you will see that some of them didn't cleanse Israel the way that Josiah did.
Some of them didn't destroy the altars of the high places.
And this led the nation back to their idolatry.
Because they were not radical.
But Josiah wiped out the idolatry in the nation.
And he commended everyone to obey and serve the Lord.
And in 2 Chronicles chapter 33, verse 33,
says that all his days,
he's talking about Josiah,
they did not turn away from following the Lord.
That's what he did.
Josiah did that with the help of the Lord.
Josiah reigned with righteousness the rest of his life.
In 2 Kings 23, 25,
says that before him,
there was no king like him
who turned to the Lord with all his heart
and with all his soul
and with all his might.
Nor did any like him arise after him.
Josiah's heart was with the Lord.
His commitment was to please him and to obey him.
The fact that he didn't turn aside to the right or to the left,
it's proof of his righteous heart.
He followed the example of David,
who set the pattern for the rulers of God's people.
He walked in a straight path,
looking towards God,
pursuing obedience to him.
We are looking at four characteristics of a heart that pleases the Lord.
We just saw that a righteous heart pleases the Lord
with early instruction and also commitment.
Now let's see how a diligent heart pleases the Lord.
And we're going to read verses 3 through 8.
And it says,
In the eighteen year of King Josiah,
the king sent Shaphan,
the son of Azaliah,
son of Meshulam,
the secretary,
to the house of the Lord,
saying,
Go up to Hilkiah,
the high priest,
that he may count the money
that has been brought
into the house of the Lord,
which the keepers of the threshold
have collected from the people.
And let it be given into the hand of the workmen
who have the oversight of the house of the Lord.
And let them give it to the workmen
that are of the house of the Lord,
repairing the house,
that is,
to the carpenters,
and to the builders,
and to the masons.
And let them use it for vying timber
and queer storm
to repair the house.
But not a accountant shall be asked
for them for the money
that is delivered into their hand,
for they deal honestly.
And Hilkiah,
the high priest,
said to Shaphan,
the secretary,
I have found the book of the law
in the house of the Lord.
And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan,
and he read it.
After Josiah cleansed Judah
from his idolatry,
he starts with the restoration
of the temple,
the house of the Lord.
The house of the Lord
at this time
represented the presence of God
among the nation.
Taking care of the house of the Lord
must have been a priority
for every king in Israel,
but only a few of them
work in its restoration.
We see in the passage
that Josiah sends Shaphan,
the scribe,
to the temple
to collect the money
that the nation had given,
to give it to those
who were in charge
of the restoration.
It is possible
that this money
was collected,
not at this moment,
but when Josiah started reigning.
And this can show us
the diligence of Josiah
and his government.
He was not only
cleansing the nation
from his idolatry,
but also he was working
towards something important,
the adoration of God.
Now, I want you
to think about this.
As I mentioned,
the books of 2 Kings
and 2 Chronicles
have a similar narrative
of the story of Josiah,
but there is a slight difference
between the both of them,
and it doesn't affect the story,
and they don't contradict each other.
And I hope you can follow me
on this.
The reforms,
we're going to put in the middle
when the book of the law
is found.
So, there are reforms
that Josiah made
in 2 Chronicles
and in 2 Kings.
2 Chronicles placed them
before the discovery
of the book of the law
when Josiah had reign
for 12 years by then.
So, we have the book of the law
that is found.
Chronicles places
these reforms
before this.
Well, I will do this
because you can see it better.
So, this is the founder
of the book of the law.
Chronicles places
the reforms
before the book is found.
But 2 Kings
places them
after the book is found.
This doesn't mean
that they are
contradicting each other.
This means that
2 Chronicles
is placing this story
in a chronological order.
Okay, so...
But 2 Kings
is not doing it.
It doesn't...
Again, it doesn't really matter
to affect the Bible.
It's not that the Bible
is contradicting
to itself.
It's just the way
that the writers
wrote these books.
books.
Now,
on 2 Kings,
we see Josiah
at the beginning
of his reign.
And the next
verse that we see
is Josiah
at the eighth year
of his reign.
So, there is part
of the narrative
that the writer
of 2 Kings
didn't add
until chapter 23.
It's there.
Whatever we find
at the beginning
in Chronicles,
whatever we find
at the beginning,
before they found
the book of the law,
it's there
in 2 Kings
until chapter 23.
So, it's not
that it's missing.
It's just...
It's after it.
And, again,
2 Chronicles
is in a chronological order
in the story.
So,
these reforms
that Josiah
was doing
in the nation
of Israel
are before
they found
the law.
So,
what could
this possible
tell us
in a practical way?
Think about this.
Our hearts
need to be cleansed
before we can
worship the Lord.
We can come
to the Lord
praising Him
for who He is,
but still having
idols in our hearts.
We can't
obey the Lord
if our hearts
are not fully
committed
to Him
and holiness.
And that's what
Josiah did
with the nation.
He set the reforms
in the nation
of Judah.
He wiped out
the idols
of the nation.
And after
he did that,
he starts
the restoration
of the temple
and they find
the book
of the law.
So,
he was thinking
about
God's
adoration
by
restoring
the temple.
But he had
to clean Israel
for their sin
before he can
do that.
And that's,
we need to think
about it.
We need
to cleanse
our hearts
before we can
worship Him.
Josiah had
cleansed the nation
from his idolatry
so that the nation
would be fully
committed to
God's adoration.
Now,
I want to show
you that having
a diligent heart
has an impact
in the people
around us.
Let's read
verse 8 again.
And it says,
Josiah's
diligence
had an impact
on
Shaphan.
He obeyed.
He went
to do
what he was
commanded to do
because he knew
the nature
of the
commandment
and he trusted
his king,
his righteous king.
And we see also
that Josiah's
diligence
had an impact
in Hilkiah.
He found
the book
of the law
and he
didn't hide it.
He gave it
to Shaphan
because he knew
it was going
to be delivered
to the king.
I was reading
that it's possible
that several copies
of the law
were destroyed
by the previous
kings.
And it is
possible
that this
book was
one of the
original copies
remaining in
the nation
that someone
faithful to
the Lord
hid in the
house of the
Lord.
So,
his immediate
reaction,
the immediate
reaction of
Hilkiah,
was to give
it to
Shaphan
so he could
give it to
the king.
He knew
that this
discovery
was going
to contribute
to what
Josiah was
doing in
the nation.
He had a
faithful heart
for the
Lord in
the same
way that
his king
had it.
See the
reaction of
Shaphan
when he gets
the book at
the end of
the verse
eight.
What he did?
He read it.
He couldn't
wait to see
what the
Lord had
written in
it.
He did
it.
He read
it at
that
moment.
And this
is an
incredible
scene.
Two men
influenced by
the king,
by his
obedience to
the Lord,
now inquiring
God's will
with urgency.
And
people around
us can be
influenced by
what we do.
Sometimes we
think that
we wouldn't
do that,
but sometimes
we think that
people are
not going to
be influenced
by what you
do, but
they do.
This could
be our
co-workers,
this could
be our
neighbors,
our friends,
our family.
Remember that
we should
show Christ
in our
lives, so
whenever
someone sees
our lives,
they praise
God.
Not us,
but God.
Paul tells
Timothy
the following
in 1 Timothy
4, 12,
but set
the believers
an example
in speech,
in conduct,
in love,
in faith,
in purity.
Don't give
up
obeying the
Lord,
and don't
be ashamed
to show
people that
you are a
Christian,
that you
belong to
God.
We don't
know the
work that
God can
do in
other people
through our
example.
people.
We're
looking at
four
characteristics
of a
heart that
pleases the
Lord.
We saw
that a
righteous
heart
pleases the
Lord,
a diligent
heart
pleases the
Lord,
and now
we'll see
how a
fearful
heart
pleases the
Lord.
chapter.
Let's
read verses
9-11.
And
Shaphan,
the secretary,
came to
the king,
and reported
to the king,
Your servants
have emptied
out the
money that
was found
in the
house,
and have
delivered it
into the
hand of
the workmen
who have
the oversight
of the
house of
the Lord.
Then Shaphan,
the secretary,
told the
king,
Hilkiah,
the priest,
has given
me a
book,
and Shaphan
read it
before the
king.
When the
king heard
the words
of the
book of
the law,
he tore
his clothes.
We don't
really know
what was
written in
the book.
Some say
that it
was only
the Torah,
which is
the first
five books
in the
Bible,
and some
say that
it could
have been
the
renonomy,
but whatever
was in
the book
created an
urgency
in Shaphan
to read
it to
the king
and created
great sorrow
in Josiah.
The
action of
tearing the
clothes was
an expression
of deep
sorrow.
Sometimes
people did
it when
a relative
died,
like Jacob,
when he
did it when
they told
him that
Joseph,
his son,
had died.
Also,
it was a
reaction that
showed
indignation
for something
and sorrow
for something
bad that
happened.
Think about
Josiah
with this
reaction.
Josiah
didn't know
anything about
the book,
not even
about the
content of
the book
at this
point,
but when
he heard
it,
he didn't
justify
himself
about not
knowing what
was in
the book.
He
showed
deep
sorrow
for the
judgment
that
was
over
him
and
the
nation.
The
law
was
broken
and
forgotten.
They
were
destined
to
receive
God's
wrath.
But also,
Josiah
didn't
show a
superficial
repentance.
Josiah
was deeply
moved
by what
their
disobedience
to God
entailed.
God
gave
them
the
commandment
to
keep
his
love
and
obey
it.
At this
point,
they had
forgotten
it and
followed
all their
gods.
They
didn't
take care
of the
commandment
to teach
their
kids
in
God's
word
and
this
was
the
result
of
this.
Let's
look at
God's
command
in
Deuteronomy
6
chapter
6
4
through
9
and
let's
go
to
look
in
our
Bibles
Deuteronomy
chapter
6
verses
4
through
9
and
it
says
hear
O
Israel
the
Lord
our
God
the
Lord
is
one
you
should
love
Lord
your
God
with
all
your
heart
and
with
all
your
soul
and
with
all
your
might
and
these
words
that I
command
you
today
shall
be
on
your
heart
you
shall
teach
them
diligently
to
your
children
and
shall
talk
to
them
when
you
sit
in
your
house
and
when
you
walk
by
the
way
and
when
you
lie
down
and
when
you
rise
you
shall
blind
them
as
a sign
on
your
hand
and
they
shall
be
as
frontlets
between
your
eyes
you
shall
write
them
on
the
door
spots
of
your
house
and
on
your
gates
this
is
probably
something
of
what
Josiah
heard
when
the
book
was
read
by
Shaphan
they
had
disobeyed
the
Lord
they
didn't
pass
through
every
generation
they
just
decided
not
to
do
it
at
one
point
they
didn't
know
anything
about
this
is
terrible
this
is
so
sad
no
and
sometimes
we
don't
realize
that
we
behave
like
this
we
forget
to
read
the
Bible
we
skip
our
devotional
time
with
our
family
just
because
sometimes
we
are
tired
just
because
sometimes
we
just
forget
it
this
might
seem
like
it
won't
create
any
impact
in
our
lives
but
it
will
if
we
don't
study
God's
word
and
we
don't
teach
our
families
or
kids
there
is
a
huge
risk
of
disobedience
a
huge
risk
to
break
God's
commandments
now
what
makes
Josiah
righteous
was
not
this
superficial
act
of
tearing
his
clothes
we
know
that
it
wasn't
it
was
the
attitude
of
his
heart
he
feared
the
Lord
he
feared
his
command
this
sorrow
happened
inside
of
Josiah
think
about
what
David
recognized
about
God
in
one
of
his
psalms
and
I'm
going
to
read
it
the
sacrifices
of
God
are
a
broken
spirit
a
broken
and
country
heart
oh
God
you
will
not
despite
God
doesn't
want
a
superficial
Christianity
everyone
can behave
like a
good
Christian
in
fact
we
live
in
a
time
where
everyone
thinks
that they
are good
Christians
that they
are good
people
but the
Lord wants
more than
that
he wants
a deep
change
in our
hearts
and this
can only
happen
when we
go to
his
word
when
fear
his
when we
fear
his
word
and his
commandments
the real
change
in our
lives
begins
we
are
looking
at
four
characteristics
of
a
heart
that
places
the
Lord
we
saw
that
a
righteous
heart
places
the
Lord
a
diligent
heart
places
the
Lord
a
fearful
heart
places
the
Lord
now
let's
see
our
last
point
a
heart
that
repents
places
the
Lord
and
let's
read
verses
12
through
17
of
today's
chapter
2nd
Kings
22
verses
12
through
17
and
it
says
and
the
king
commanded
Hilkiah
the
priest
and
Ahicham
the
son
of
Shaphan
and
Achor
the
son
of
Micaiah
and
Shaphan
the
secretary
and
Asiah
the
king's
servant
saying
go
inquire
of
the
Lord
for
me
and
for
the
people
and
for
all
Judah
concerning
the
words
of
his
book
that
has
been
found
for
great
is
the
wrath
of
the
Lord
that
is
kindled
against
us
because
our
fathers
have
not
obeyed
the
words
of
this
book
to
do
according
to
all
that
is
written
concerning
us
so
Hilkiah
the
priest
and
Ahicham
and
Agor
and
Shaphan
and
Isaiah
went to
Huldah
the
prophetess
the wife
of
Shalom
the son
of
Tikvah
son
of
Harhas
keeper
of the
wardrobe
now
she
lived
in
Jerusalem
in
the
second
quarter
and
they
talked
to
her
and
she
said
to
them
thus
says
the
Lord
the
God
of
Israel
tell
the
man
who
sent
you
to
me
thus
says
the
Lord
behold
I
will
bring
disaster
upon
this
place
and
upon
its
inhabitants
all
the
words
of
the
book
that
the
king
of
Judah
has
read
because
they
have
forsaken
me
and
have
made
offerings
to
other
gods
that
they
might
provoke
me
to
anger
with
all
the
work
of
their
hands
therefore
my
wrath
will
be
kindled
against
this
place
and
it
will
not
be
quenched
after
Josiah
hears
the
law
his
reaction
was
also
to
look
for
an
answer
from
God
he
knew
that
he
was
going
to
obtain
an
answer
by
seeking
the
Lord
and
he
sent
this
man
to
look
for
answers
as
I
mentioned
at
the
beginning
there
were
important
prophets
during
Josiah's
reign
but
they
didn't
go
to
them
it
is
possible
that
they
were
not
in
the
region
or
they
were
just
not
available
but
they
waited
until
they
were
available
and
went
to
hold
that
this
is
the
only
time
this
lady
is
mentioned
in
the
Bible
besides
second
chronicles
and
it
is
possible
that
she
was
known
in
the
kingdom
because
of
her
husband
position
in
the
kingdom
and
they
went
to
her
to
obtain
their
answer
and
we
are
going
to
see
two
parts
of
God's
answer
the
first
one
is
the
judgment
for
the
nation
and
the
second
one
is
the
mercy
for
Josiah
let's
see
first
the
judgment
to
the
nation
and
the
verses
that
we
read
and
as
we
see
in
this
passage
God
was
not
going
to
change
his
mind
regarding
his
judgment
at
this
point
there
was
nothing
Judah
could
have
been
made
to
avoid
it
they
provoke
his
anger
by
praising
other
gods
before
they
only
got
last
year
I
got
my
driver's
license
in
Mexico
we
don't
the
system
works
differently
we
don't
do
a
driver
test
we
don't
they
don't
ask
you
any
questions
you
just
need
to
be
18
and
have
your
ID
with
you
and
you
can
get
your
driver's
license
and
I
had
to
story
so
hard
for
this
test
so
hard
and
when
I
was
at
the
DMV
I
was
so
happy
because
I
passed
the
test
and
I
remember
standing
happy
in
front
of
the
desk
waiting
for
the
lady
to
give
me
my
provisional
license
and
I
was
ready
to
be
done
there
until
she
told
me
okay
let's
go
to
your
car
man
I
was
sweating
I
was
so
nervous
I
couldn't
even
understand
her
English
was
so
hard
to
understand
and
I
was
there
the
first
five
minutes
I
did
everything
right
I
drove
at
20
miles
per
hour
I
turned
on
my
blinkers
to
go
to
the
right
I
even
remember
how
to
do
the
three
points
turn
around
I
was
so
proud
of
myself
when
I
did
it
I
fully
stopped
at
every
single
stop
sign
and
finally
when
we
were
on
the
way
back
just
one
more
minute
with
that
lady
in
the
car
with
me
and
it
was
going
to
be
done
but
there
is
always
a
but
at
the
light
when
it
turned
I
was
at
the
light
and
when
it
turned
green
I
forgot
that
to
turn
to
the
left
in
a
two
lane
road
the
cars
in
the
left
have
the
right
of
way
so
I
started
going
not
fast
it
was
slow
and
the
next
thing
that
I
remember
is
this
lady
screaming
so hard
that I
didn't
stop
because I
thought I
did something
wrong
I
stopped
because I
thought
something
was wrong
with her
and
then
I
realized
that I
did
something
wrong
and
we
got
to
the
building
I
knew
she
wasn't
happy
I
remember
feeling
so
guilty
and
disappointed
of
myself
and
I
was
hoping
she
was
going
to
forget
what
I
did
of
course
she
didn't
forget
it
she
told
me
you
have
good
driving
skills
but
only
for
that
mistake
I
can't
give
you
your
license
so
come
back
next
week
I
was
so
embarrassed
I
knew
I
broke
a
law
in
front
of
someone
that
had
the
authority
to
approve
of
denying
my
license
and
I
think
I
said
I'm
sorry
to
her
like
three
times
and
I
even
told
her
that
it
was
because
I
was
so
nervous
hoping
it
was
going
to
work
that
was
going
to
work
for
her
but
she
was
not
going
to
change
her
mind
she
didn't
and
it
was
because
I
broke
a
rule
the
same
happened
with
the
nation
of
Judah
they
broke
God's
commandments
there
was not
going
to be
a
second
chance
this
time
they
had
several
warnings
before
they
didn't
even
have
the
book
of
the
law
with
them
they
forgot
their
God
and
this
wasn't
just
forgetting
something
for
their
bad
memory
it
was
intentional
they
decided
to
forget
it
forget
God
they
decided
to
disobey
him
God
was
not
going
to
change
his
mind
about
their
judgment
this
time
although
there
was
a
judgment
for
the
nation
look
now
the
mercy
that
God
showed
to
Uzziah
in
verses
18
through
20
but
the
king
of
Judah
who
sent
you
to
inquire
of
the
Lord
thus
shall
you
say
to
him
thus
says
the
Lord
the
God
of
Israel
regarding
the
words
that
you
have
read
because
your
heart
was
penitent
and
you
humbled
yourself
before
the
Lord
when
you
heard
how
I
spoke
against
this
place
and
against
this
inhabitance
that
they
should
become
a
desolation
and
a
curse
and
you
have
torn
your
clothes
and
wept
before
me
I
also
have
heard
you
declares
the
Lord
therefore
behold
I
will
gather
you
to
your
fathers
and
you
shall
be
gathered
to
your
grave
in
peace
and
your
eyes
shall
not
see
all
the
disaster
that
I
will
bring
upon
this
place
and
they
brought
back
word
to
the
king
God's
answer
had
blessings
for
Josiah
his reign
was going
to be
peaceful
and
the
judgment
for the
nation
was not
going to
happen
while
he
was
alive
Josiah
humbled
his heart
before
the
Lord
the
King
James
version
says
that
his
heart
was
tender
which
means
that
was
easily
affected
by
a
sense
of
his
guilt
before
the
Lord
a
person
with a
tender
heart
easily
recognizes
the
sin
in his
life
and
this
causes
pain
this
type
of
heart
turns
away
from
sin
in
repentance
and
looks
for
God's
forgiveness
but
a
hard
heart
is
insensitive
to
God's
word
and
doesn't
allow
the
spirit
to
work
in
it
what
kind
of
heart
do
you
have
God
tells
Isaiah
the
following
in
Isaiah
62
verse
2
but
this
is
the
one
to
whom
I
will
look
he
who
is
humble
and
contrite
in
spirit
and
trembles
at
my
word
God
wants
humble
hearts
that
seek
him
and
tremble
at
his
word
he
wants
us
to
grow
in
the
image
of
Christ
and
he
has
given
us
his
Holy
Spirit
because
he
knows
that
we
can
do
it
by
ourselves
he
defeated
sin
on
the
cross
Jesus
said
and
we
have
been
set
free
from
condemnation
we
don't
have
to
look
back
to
our
previous
sins
asking
for
forgiveness
again
because
his
blood
covered
them
all
through
his
sacrifice
what
else
do we
need
to
realize
that
he
has
done
everything
to
set
us
free
from
the
slavery
of
sin
and
that
the
only
thing
that
he
asks
us
is
obedience
to
his
word
Josiah
didn't
see
the
destruction
of
the
nation
because
he
obeyed
the
Lord
and
brought
blessing
to
the
nation
during
his
reign
his
obedience
should
impact
our
lives
to
do
the
same
to
be
faithful
and
to
be
righteous
today
we
learned
four
characteristics
of
a
heart
that
pleases
the
Lord
a
heart
that
is
righteous
a
heart
that
is
diligent
a
heart
that
is
fearful
and
a
heart
that
repents
may
the
Lord
guide
us
in
his
word
and
help
us
to
obey
him
let's
pray