Josiah or Jehoiakim, Which Will We Be Like?

Josiah or Jehoiakim Which Are We?

 

 In Jeremiah 22 the prophet Jeremiah speaks of judgment against the evil kings of Judah that followed after the “good” king Josiah.  In verses 13-19, a scathing denunciation of King Jehoiakim is recorded.  All verses are from the New International Version of the Bible.

 “Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his countrymen work for nothing, not paying them for their labor.  He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace with spacious upper rooms. So he makes large windows in it, panels it with cedar and decorates it in red.”                                                                                                                                                            Jeremiah 22:13, 14

Obviously God does not think highly of “slave labor” which is what making people work for nothing and not paying them for their labor amounts to.  God lays out in His Word in numerous places the principle that a laborer is worthy of his hire.  God does not expect people to work for someone else and never receive any compensation.  Tyrants and despots force their people to work for only bread and water.  Tyrants and despots do not know or love God.

  “Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar?  Did not your father (Josiah) have food and drink?  He did what was right and just, so all went well with him.  He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well.  Is that not what it means to know me?  Declares the Lord.”                                                                                                                                                            Jeremiah 22:15, 16

 What a brilliant commentary of our current times!  Does it make you “special”, or a “VIP”, or someone who is to be bowed down to and worshipped just because you have a “bigger, better, more and more” house, vehicle or yacht?   Is your church better because it has a bigger, better and newer building?  Josiah was a humble king who refused to put up with evil.  He enjoyed life because he did what was right and just, just like his ancestor David.  He did not seek to impress others with palaces and such.  He simply did what was right and just and all went well with him.

What specifically allowed Josiah to enjoy life and have things go well for him was that he had his priorities in the right order.  Instead of devoting all his energy to pleasing himself by using others to build him elaborate palaces and throne rooms; he defended the cause of the poor and needy.  Any King, President, Prime Minister or other ruler who’s first and foremost concern is not the welfare of the poor and needy is nothing but a hypocrite, egotistical fool and a tyrant.  Time and again in the Old Testament there are records where God makes it perfectly clear that the primary function of those in authority is to care for the needs of those who are poor and needy.  This is one of the primary functions of any government.

Do you want to know the Lord?  Verse 16 states that to know the Lord is to defend the cause of the poor and needy.   It is to advocate, do justice, treat equitably and otherwise HELP those who cannot help themselves.  Anyone who wants to know the Lord HAS to be involved helping those who are sick, homeless, old, disabled and broken.  This is what the true fast of the Lord is about in Isaiah 58.  Jesus speaks of this in Matthew 25 and states that many who think they know the Lord, in reality do not because they won’t help the poor and needy.  You cannot know, understand or love the Lord unless you have a heart of compassion willing to “stand in the gap” and advocate for those who are not able to help themselves.

  “But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion.””                                                                                                                                                Jeremiah 22: 17

There you have the stark comparison between Josiah and Jehoiakim.  Josiah knew, feared and loved the Lord because he took care of those who were afflicted and downtrodden.  His son, Jehoiakim, used the people for self-gain and his only concern was to make himself the most powerful and wealthy man on earth.  When power and wealth are the most important things to a person, they will stop at nothing to get them.  This includes murder, blackmail, extortion and fraud, if that is what it takes.  Human rights and human lives are meaningless to a tyrant who only wants to please himself.

People in high places whose only desire is power and wealth do not care if they hurt people or their families.  People are nothing but a means to an end for these evil people.  They will kill and destroy anyone standing in their way.  From their unbridled love of money and lust for power comes the intense motivation to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals.  These people are especially adept at gaining their power and wealth at the expense of and on the backs of the poor and huddled masses.  Truly their eyes and hearts are set only on dishonest gain through whatever means necessary to get it.

What did Jehoiakim have to look forward to in life?  Did Jeremiah tell him he would end up being richer and more powerful than Solomon?  Was the end result of all his disgusting evil going to be the title of “King of the Universe For Ever and Ever”?  Look at what the Lord says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:

   “He will have the burial of a donkey—dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.”                                                                                                                                                   Jeremiah 22: 19

 Instead of the eternal glory Jehoiakim thought he was gaining through his lust for wealth and power, he ended up being dragged through the streets of Jerusalem and thrown outside the gates, which is how they disposed of all the other dead asses.   Isn’t it interesting how some of the most evil people who ever lived, ended up dying some of the most horrible deaths.  People will all ultimately “reap what they sow” in this life.  If they sow evil, then in due time evil will befall them, no matter important they thought they were or how immune from justice they envisioned themselves.

I pray that we all could have the heart of Josiah.  I pray that we all are willing to give our lives and resources with love and compassion to those who are “poor and needy”.  I pray we never are found guilty of the lust for power and wealth that doomed people like Jehoiakim and countless others who have lived and died on this earth.  I pray we understand that our purpose in living is not to become rich and famous but to lovingly serve others in the shadows of worldly obscurity but in the light of the very glory of God.  Are we going down in the annals of God’s history books as a Josiah or a Jehoiakim; the choice is ours and it is predominantly dictated by our decision to pursue God’s love and compassion or the world’s glory, fame and fortune.

God Bless you and keep you safe.

Preparing for Disasters is Not Just Wise it is Essential

When I was a “wee lad” I belonged to the local Boy Scout troop for a few years.  I remember little about that experience other than their motto: “Be Prepared”.  If I could only shout one non-spiritual message to this nation everyday it would be: “Be Prepared”.  Investing a little time and money to be prepared for what might happen (especially regarding natural disasters) will reap huge returns.  People suffer needlessly in disasters because they were either not prepared for what was coming or ignored warnings to get out of harm’s way when the disaster was at their doorstep.  Ignorance and stubbornness can be fatal attitudes when it comes to surviving a disaster.

I am concerned, on this first day of October, with situations that could happen in the natural realm.  Those of you who follow what I write know I have been very apprehensive about this year’s hurricane season since last May when I attended a Hurricane Summit in Houston, TX.  It was stated then by many experts that the biggest worry this year was “sleeper” storms that would blow up at the last minute and surprise people by their rapid development and strength.Many of the tropical storms this season have done this very thing.  

The only reason the vast majority of people in this country don’t know anything about this is because most of these storms have crashed into Mexico.  If the meteorological steering currents had been slightly different, we would have seen not one, but two category 5 hurricanes hit our Gulf Coast instead of the Mexican coast.  If the storm which hit Texas recently had stayed over water another 8 hours, it could have hit the exact same area as Hurricane Rita hit two years ago at the same strength. These “near misses” should not be laughed at or ignored. 

The month of October could be an exceptionally busy month for hurricanes, especially along the Gulf Coast.A situation is developing currently that could cause huge problems for the Gulf Coast.  The east coast of Florida has been seeing gale force winds and outrageous waves for several days. This has not been caused by a hurricane, but by a developing storm that could turn into a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico later this week.  There are other areas of disturbed weather waiting in the wings that could end up in the Gulf next week.  This is not a good situation for either the people down there trying to rebuild, or the oil industry who have to evacuate their rigs when storms develop in the Gulf.

In the last few days there has been a rash of moderate to severe earthquakes around the world.  What is unusual is the location of some of these quakes.  Undersea earthquakes have hit near Guam, New Zealand and Japan.  There has also been a flurry of activity in the western United States.  Unlike hurricanes, earthquakes cannot be accurately predicted.  There are certainly areas more prone to major earthquakes (like Indonesia), but no one can say a quake is going to hit a particular place at a predetermined time.

I do not wish to be negative, but what if we, in this country, had a major earthquake hit either the west coast or in middle America (New Madrid fault), and at the same general time have a category 5 hurricane slam into either the Gulf Coast or along the eastern seaboard?   Having been involved with disaster relief a little bit, I can assure you a double blow such as this would have a devastating effect on this country.

On September 22, 1989 Hurricane Hugo ripped into Charleston, SC with 140 mph winds.  Until Andrew in 1992 and Katrina in 2005, Hugo was the costliest storm to ever hit the United States.  Many of us can recall the images of destruction not only the night of the storm but even more so the next day.  People who lived through Hugo will never forget it, just as those who lived through Andrew in 1992 and of course Katrina, Rita and Wilma in 2005.

On October 17, 1989 at 5:04 pm a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck near San Francisco, California.  The reason many of us remember that quake so well was because the World Series was being played in San Francisco that year between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics.  In fact, the game was just getting ready to start when the earth moved, power was cut off and the entire nation wondered what was going on out there.

Most of us can vividly recall the images of burning warehouses in San Francisco and collapsed freeways in Oakland.  Although the damage and fatalities could have been far worse, that earthquake, because of the media attention given it, gave America a crash course in how devastating an earthquake can be.  Two huge disasters on opposite sides of the country happened within three weeks of each other. 

A lot has changed in this country since 1989.  The amount of new construction and population growth in both California and along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts is staggering.  If a major earthquake (6.9 is strong but not major) were to hit Los Angeles, San Francisco or Seattle; the amount of devastation, money needed to repair the damage and loss of life is incalculable.  If a category 5 hurricane with a 25 foot storm surge would strike a major eastern city; the physical damage and loss of life would be so great no one would believe it. 

No one in Greensburg, Kansas thought that one of their common springtime severe storms would produce an F-5 tornado that would literally wipe the town off the map.  No one in southeastern Minnesota thought a few days of heavy storms would cause unprecedented flash flooding.  No one in Texas ever thought they would see as much rain and flooding as they have seen this year.  No one in Springfield, Missouri last winter expected an unprecedented ice storm to knock down trees and power lines resulting in no electricity for weeks.  No one ever expects a disaster, and no one can stop a natural disaster from happening.  All you can do is prepare, prepare and prepare some more.

Please, no matter where you live, take some time and prepare for whatever might be coming.  Whether severe storms, hurricanes, floods, tornados, earthquakes, tsunamis, fires or ice; preparation is the key to survival, and survival is not something we in this country think much about.  Prepare for the worst but keep praying and hoping for the best.  Those are the best words I could give you today.  God bless you and keep you safe.