This chapter addresses the presence or absence of the Law, the presence or absence of the Book of the Law. In this chapter, Josiah lived for seventeen years without the Book of the Law. In the eighteenth year, he obtained it, reading it with the hunger of a starving man. Then, he tore his clothes, humbling himself in repentance! Today, we have the Bible, written in black and white, clear as day. Many read the stock market reports, and many study economics. But how many truly read the Bible diligently today? And even among those who read it, how many can grasp God's heart?

Points for reflection:

Why did Josiah tear his clothes upon discovering the Book of the Law?

What is the state of a Christian's faith if he does not read the Bible?

In whose lives will the Bible release its truth and power?

Reading the Book of the Law and Emulating Others

This chapter concerns the presence or absence of the Law, the presence or absence of the Book of the Law. In this chapter, Josiah lived for seventeen years without the Book of the Law. In the eighteenth year, he obtained it, reading it with the hunger of a starving man. Then, he tore his clothes, humbling himself in repentance! Today, we have the Bible, written in black and white, clear as day. Many read the stock market reports, and many study economics. But how many truly read the Bible diligently today? And even among those who read it, how many can grasp God's heart?

Having the Book of the Law is certainly better than not having it. Do not think that if you do not have the Book of the Law, and are ignorant of it, that you are absolved. Not so! The Bible describes Josiah as doing what his forefather David did (2 Kings 22:2). Today, when we read the Bible, it is not just the Pentateuch; there are many kings: David, Solomon, the kings of Israel, the kings of Judah, each king, and what became of them, how they were destroyed. These are written very clearly in the Bible.

Therefore, in the previous chapter, I encouraged everyone to read these historical books carefully, to observe the logic by which they lived their lives and the consequences that followed. Jeroboam and those who emulated him met tragic ends. They may have had glorious years and impressive victories, but their endings were tragic.

Brothers and sisters, we must change our perspectives. Do not dissect a person's life and focus on just a few days. If you look at the corrupt officials in history during their tenure, they were quite successful. But once they fell, they were no longer successful, correct? We see many such people in Chinese history. Therefore, when you observe, consider the conclusion of their conduct. Do not focus on a few happy days they may have had; what is the use of that? None! A person without the Book of the Law lives one way; having the Book of the Law is certainly better, because the Book of the Law tells us the truth about how people should live in this world. Having truth and not having truth are entirely different matters. Without truth, one learns to emulate, relying on one’s own observations and understanding to discern the ways of the world.

But I am surprised that many people still do not understand even when they read the Bible. People are strange; they plunge into their work and think that what they are doing is essential, that they must do it. But if you emulate David, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, or Joseph, your way of life will be adjusted. If you carefully observe the affairs of this world, you can also draw conclusions.

Why did I become a believer? Because I had a hard time when I first came to Singapore. I observed that those who believed lived carefree lives. At that time, I did not particularly want money; I just wanted to live carefree, like them. Then I specifically asked them, Do you have no worries? They said, We do, but when we have worries, we pray, and we see God helping us. It sounded mysterious! But after I believed, I personally experienced these things. This change in circumstances requires a detailed observation and understanding. I believe that if people do not understand, care for nothing, and think that what they are doing is right, it is very dangerous.

When I talk to many people, I often get stuck. I cannot continue because they speak within one system, and I speak within another. These two systems are incompatible. But the system I have summarized is based on my reading of the Bible and, more importantly, on my observations and understanding before I read the Bible. In the past, when people invited me to funerals, I went. Ten years ago, I attended the funeral of my first boss at a Singaporean funeral home. Standing next to his coffin, I thought, This is our small boss. He is dead! I felt that this is what life is all about! At that time, I became more aware. When I am busy and plunge into my life, I feel confused. But when I stand next to the dead, I immediately become clear-headed. That is why I prefer to attend funerals.

Be Diligent to Observe All the Words of God

Now that you have the Book of the Law, you do not need so much observation because the Book of the Law clarifies the essence of things. But the Book of the Law tells you, and whether you believe it or not is up to you. The Book of the Law says: You shall diligently observe all the commandments that I command you (Deuteronomy 8:1, 11:8, 12:28, etc.). Is that not what it says? All the commandments that I command you. Someone said that he had kept all the law and then killed someone. What kind of logic is that? Killing someone already violates all the law! But in the Bible, you must diligently observe all the words of God.

The gospel we believe is a complete gospel. You must bring the entire Bible, the entire gospel, into your life. Then you will live out the result that the Bible foretells, speaks of, and expects, which is the abundance of life. If you say, I will obey some of it, but not the rest, you will not see the result. That is why many Christians do not see God's glory or the expected result.

Some among us seek God when they are not busy with work, but when they become busy, they put God aside. Is such faith in accordance with what the Bible says? No. Because the Bible says that you live to worship this God. Our songs say so. But many may not accept that living is to worship Him; they may think life is meaningless that way. But do not say that; living to worship God is meaningful. Living to make money for yourself is meaningless. When a person dies, all that becomes nothing.

Why must we diligently observe all the words of God? Because that is spiritual knowledge. That spiritual knowledge concerns the essence of things, including the essence of human development, which is in the word of God, because the word of God speaks from a spiritual perspective. Even if you have knowledge of economics, business management, or medicine, it is useless. These things cannot save you; these things cannot rise to a higher level.

A higher level is the level of life. Therefore, the Bible says: My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). Not because they lack knowledge of economics, medicine, or other industries, but because they lack the knowledge of the Lord God, the knowledge of the essence of things. Josiah obtained the Book of the Law at this time. Think about it, he had previously worked so hard to observe, understand, and emulate David. What did he rely on? Legends! He did what David did; he repaired the temple as David had built it. He did these things. Today, he suddenly obtained the Book of the Law. Do you think he treasured it immensely? Brothers and sisters, truly know that the Bible in your hand is a treasure! But you must not read it according to human intentions; you must read it according to God's intentions.

After Josiah read these things, he discovered something: Ah, I am far from the standard that the Lord speaks of! Then he began to tear his clothes. Not only was he far from the standard of the Lord, but his ancestors had also offended God. He began to know that he and his ancestors had a profound influence on himself and on his descendants. How many people know these truths today? Few know, and they are almost in a state of ignorance in spiritual matters. Can they live well like this? If you want to give your son the best blessing, it is definitely not taking him for tutoring but bringing him to know the knowledge of the Most High God. That is the most important thing. Because what I do today will affect my son and my grandson. How far-reaching is this influence! If I am a criminal, doing what is evil in the eyes of the Lord, it will affect three to four generations, as the Book of the Law says. If today I am doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord, the Bible says that your blessing will last for a thousand generations (Exodus 20:6). If you can pass this blessing down, think about it, what you are accumulating for your children is not empty money but a blessing!

In fact, many of us do not understand why Josiah suddenly felt indebted to God and tore his clothes when he saw these words. If a person does not know that God is a jealous God, he is almost in a state of ignorance. Because he does not know that the fear of the Lord and the worship of the Lord require dedicated worship. It is not that I worship when I have time, and I do not worship when I do not have time. Never be perfunctory! If you are perfunctory, you will gain nothing.

The Knowledge of the Lord is Key

After Josiah read, he went to the prophet. The prophet told him, Thus says the Lord, Behold, I am bringing 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 works of their hands, therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched... Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, 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 (2 Kings 22:16-20). I think that if people have the wisdom humility that Josiah had, their lives will be like Josiah's: we will not see the disaster that comes upon this place, meaning we do not have to experience these things.

Everyone must know that the knowledge of the Lord is key. Therefore, I want to share with you that worldly knowledge and spiritual knowledge are not on the same level. If you want to truly live out God's dignity and glory, you must have the knowledge of God, and you must know that God's standards are quite high! Although Josiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, walking in all the ways of David his father and did not turn aside to the right or to the left, he still needed to tear his clothes and humble himself before God. How about us? We are still far from what God requires. In this generation we live in, do not think that disasters will become fewer and fewer. Whether you like it or not, disasters will increase. If disasters increase, may you be able to understand through these disasters to fear this God well and humble yourself before Him. Because how disasters come is not something I can control, but if we choose to draw near to God and do all that is written in this Book of the Law, we will be able to escape all these disasters that are about to come. Jesus said, But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man (Luke 21:36). These words could not be clearer.

Today's Christians have a characteristic: they listen to this pastor preach and listen to that pastor preach. They listen to the preaching of many pastors. But I tell you, that is useless! If you are among us, I will definitely object to you listening to these things. Use that time to be diligent to be sober and alert, and pray often. Only prayer can escape the disasters that are about to come. Some people say, “I am too busy. I don’t have time to pray or don’t know how to pray.” That really requires learning, learning from the Bible.

In this era in which we live, whether you have the Bible or not, you can come to this conclusion if you observe: many problems cannot be solved by money. If money cannot solve our problems, then what can? My answer is: draw near to God! Draw near to God well! I will put down everything to draw near to God. That is really the case. I say this, and I do this. Putting down everything means that if this time I need to set it apart, I will set it apart, and I will do the rest of the work later. I can guarantee one thing, if you can do this, you will benefit endlessly in your life.

But today's people like to follow the rules of this world. First, the laws of economics. People like to use the laws of money and economics to judge what I should do. If this business is ten million and that business is one million, I will put down the one million to discuss the ten million; if that business is one hundred million, I will put down the ten million. Because we have a scale in our heart to measure the value of this matter. Therefore, I challenge those people, I want to do that thing at this time. If this time allows you to take one million, would you still do that thing? He said, “I won’t do it. I will take the money.” Why not do it then, isn’t it necessary to do then? If it is necessary to run on the playground, there is a business deal at that time that earns one million, he will not run on the playground! Why can he go to the playground to run at that time but not come to worship God? Because he feels that worshipping God is not worth the money, it doesn't more worth than running.

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7). How you think, that is how the result that you live out of it is, because the values inside you are in trouble. You believe that many things have value, but worshipping God has no value. If you use the wordly knowledge to measure, it is indeed the case, which is just to sing a few hymns, read the Bible, and listen to Pastor Liu say a few words. Is there any sense in this? It is better to do something else. You must know that this is not for me, it is God's request in our lives. I think we are still far from what Josiah did. I encourage everyone to begin to be diligently observing all that is said in this Book of the Law. From the Old Testament to the New Testament, it is all God's word. God's will is very clear among us. We must thoroughly understand this spiritual knowledge.

People ask me, Why is your prayer effective, and my prayer is not effective? Because I know the spiritual principles. One thing must be clear: we humans are living in this world as a spiritual thing. If you can be victorious in the spiritual world, you will surely live a prosperous life in the wordly world; if you cannot be victorious in the spiritual world, even if you spend your life trying to fix things in the world, you may not be able to fix them. I do not want those people to use wordly knowledge to measure. If you use wordly knowledge, those are really vanity and ignorance!

If we observe carefully, it is clear: in this generation, people see things but do not see the essence. For example, a person killed someone else's child because of a parking space. Many people cannot see it clearly, but if you look at it with spiritual principle, this person is controlled by demons. He killed someone else's child, and he went to jail himself. When Taiwanese judges pronounce sentences, they like to use this kind of language: there is a demon inside him, and that demon drove this person to kill that person. After killing the person, I now have to sentence this person, so I have to lightly sentence him. The common people do not understand that they think it is too unfair to lightly sentence him. But it is indeed the case. The prisoner is telling the truth. He has a demon in his heart that drives him to kill that person. He did not control himself at the time, so he killed that person. Now I need to go to jail to pay the price. When you use the spiritual eyes to look at those suicides, murders, rapes, etc., if you understand how the spiritual world operates, behind them are spiritual operations and manipulations. We truly cannot understand if we do not use spiritual eyes to look at them.

These people made offerings to other gods, forsook our God, and provoked God to anger. What is the reason? Because of ignorance! Today, if you use economic eyes to worship God, it is the same as worshipping idols. Worshipping idols will meet your economic needs because idols will listen to you, but it will bring you other disasters; if you use the way of worshipping idols to worship this true God, this jealous God, it will be troublesome for you because you want not this God, but the money, the solution to your problem. If you always want these things, Our God is a jealous God. How can He listen to you! He will not listen to you.

In the end, God does not give the Israelites what they want because He knows that what they want is not God Himself but those things. As a result, these people go to worship idols and find that worshipping idols is effective. They think worshipping idols is better, but they do not know how tragic the disasters are when Israel and Judah are finally destroyed after worshipping idols. Although the problem is solved, he does not understand how the spiritual world operates. It is very sad.

We Live to Worship This God

Today, we must know that we live to worship this God. To worship this God is our life. If you want to live well, you must put God at the center of your life, and consecrate what you need to God, just as Josiah did. Having the law is definitely better than not having it. Don't think that it doesn't matter if you don't read the Bible, and that ignorance is an excuse. I tell you, that's not the case! So, act according to what is said in the Bible, and you will surely see God's grace in your life.

Conclusion

Finally, to summarise: If Josiah had not discovered this book of the law in the eighteenth year of his reign, I dare not guarantee that the disaster would not have fallen on Josiah. Because Josiah saw the book of the law, he humbled himself, tore his clothes, humbled himself before God, prayed, wept, and sought God, knowing that he was still far from God's requirements. Today, we are the same. We must know that we are still far from God's requirements, so we must truly humble ourselves and seek God more. If there are still some areas in your life where you are living for yourself, start learning to let go and turn wholeheartedly to this God. Trust in God, and you will surely live well!

Scripture

2Ki 22:1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath.
2Ki 22:2 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.
2Ki 22:3 In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, the secretary, to the house of the LORD, saying,
2Ki 22:4 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.
2Ki 22:5 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 who are in the house of the LORD to repair the breaches of the house,
2Ki 22:6 that is, to the carpenters and the builders and the masons, and to buy timber and dressed stone to repair the house.
2Ki 22:7 But no accounting shall be asked of them for the money that is delivered into their hand, for they deal honestly.
2Ki 22:8 Then 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.
2Ki 22:9 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.
2Ki 22:10 Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, Hilkiah the priest has given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.
2Ki 22:11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes.
2Ki 22:12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying,
2Ki 22:13 Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this 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.
2Ki 22:14 So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter. And they consulted her.
2Ki 22:15 And she said to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'Tell the man who sent you to me,
2Ki 22:16 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.
2Ki 22:17 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 will not be quenched.
2Ki 22:18 But as to 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 heard,
2Ki 22:19 because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, 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.
2Ki 22:20 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.