When Josiah became king in Jerusalem, he assigned workers to repair the temple. There they discovered a copy of God’s law in the ruins. No one had seen it in years! Josiah quickly reasoned that Judah’s idolatry was directly tied to the absence of the reading of God’s Word. So, he gathered all the people of Judah together, personally read to them the law of God, and led them in a rededication to live according to the principles of God’s Word. Don’t miss the connection here! Failure to read God’s Word and live by it led God’s people into idolatry. In the Bible you discover God’s priorities for your life. When you fail to read it, study it, and meditate on its precepts, you end up focusing on your own interests and neglecting God’s priorities. And anything you put ahead of God is an ‘idol’. Sometimes an idol is a sinful practice you know to be wrong. But an idol can also be a legitimate thing like a job, or a relationship, or a particular interest that consumes so much of your time and energy that your relationship with God gets short-changed or totally neglected. The hymn writer William Cowper wrote, ‘The dearest idol I have known, whate’er that idol be, help me to tear it from thy throne, and worship only thee.’ If you’re serious about getting to know God better, drawing closer to Him, and putting Him in first place in your life, make a decision to spend time each day in His Word.

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.