Obedience and Presumption

This morning I felt led to read from 2 Kings:

(NIV)2 Kings 23:1-3, 25
Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. [2] He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets---all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the Lord. [3] The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord---to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.
[25] Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did---with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.

I am always inspired by the heart for the law that Josiah had as King. He followed everything that the law said, and carried it out completely. He was ruthless against the sin of the nation, and literally ground the images and poles to dust, and cleansed the land. He is an awesome example of purity, obedience and passion.

I am also amazed that he died the way he did, presuming the Lord's protection, stepping out of the will of God to attack the King of Egypt, when he had no real quarrel with him - see below:

(NIV)2 Chronicles 35:20-24
After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Necho king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah marched out to meet him in battle. [21] But Necho sent messengers to him, saying, “What quarrel is there, king of Judah, between you and me? It is not you I am attacking at this time, but the house with which I am at war. God has told me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who is with me, or he will destroy you.” [22] Josiah, however, would not turn away from him, but disguised himself to engage him in battle. He would not listen to what Necho had said at God’s command but went to fight him on the plain of Megiddo. [23] Archers shot King Josiah, and he told his officers, “Take me away; I am badly wounded.” [24] So they took him out of his chariot, put him in his other chariot and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried in the tombs of his ancestors, and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him.

I think its so important that we only fight the battles that the Lord directs us to fight. We don't need to go off searching for things to battle in our pursuit of God and His ways. I think so often in our lives we presume to know what the Lord is doing, based on some theme or some unrefined word we hear, or what someone else has heard, and we set off with zeal and passion and end up in a battle or situation the Lord is not in.

I have a good friend who said he had learned to stop and listen and make sure he knew what the Lord was saying, because in his early walk he had just started running as soon as He heard the Lord say something. The problem was the Lord would be warning him abut the cliff in that direction, but because he was already running he never heard that part, and off the cliff he would go.

It is my experience that the Lord will give each of us clear direction, and usually is only working on a couple of issues at a time. We shouldn't be taking on other things, just because someone else is battling in another area and we think its a good idea, or that by doing so we will show God how much we love Him. God is very capable of managing our uniqueness and dealing with each of us independently of each other, and doesn't need us messing ourselves up.

We also can have a tendency to judge others in areas we have been dealt with, thinking that God clearly wants them to get their act together in the same area too. Again this is presumng God's will. Most of the time, in my experience, God will deal directly with the brother or sister about their own life, and He rarely needs my help. That doesn't mean I don't encourage others, or speak the word of the Lord, or even give words of encouragement, but I can't presume to know God's will for someone else because of how He has dealt with me.

Also, the Lord clearly gives us areas of influence ad authority, and presumng His favor or authority in other areas can also get you in trouble. I think in the story of Josiah, his zeal outran his authority and commission. He wanted to capture Egypt for God by defeating the king and armies, but God had given him a clear focus of cleaning up his own kingdom and maintaining the kingdom in a state of pure worship, not expanding the kingdom. God appreciates our zeal for Him, but we must be careful to listen to His warnings. If Josiah would have turned back, he would have lived. As it was his loss to the King of Egypt brought Judah under a terrible tax burden and resulted in his son being carried off to Egypt in chains, where he died.