Seeking God in 2 CHRONICLES

“And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strowed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them.” 2 CHRONICLES 34:4

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ing Josiah sought and yearned for the Lord. When a man sets his heart for God, sooner or later he will begin to notice all the idols in his surroundings. The high places - his will, his time, his goals- might be occupied by things that are not of God. Just as Josiah, we must break down these strongholds, and destroy them altogether. As long as we remain lukewarm, not fully committed to the Lord, these psychic drags can delay our destiny. Notice that the path of this king began with a humble seeking of the One who can open our eyes with wisdom. A spiritually blind man could never tell the difference between an idol and something holy. Notice also the graves of those who sacrificed unto them, meaning that many died following the images of false gods.

The Lord takes very seriously our obedience to the first commandment. Even for men of wisdom like Solomon, worshiping other gods became the deal breaker in his relationship with God. One imagines Solomon should have known better, yet his challenge was not of an intellectual nature, but of not having a loyal heat. Loving God above all else means that we look neither to the right, nor to the left. We walk steadfastly with Him all the days of our life. When the Spirit encourages you to clean house and get rid of half of your possessions, and to tear down the altars of concealed hate and bitterness, to eliminate the time you devote to greed, delay not. God knows these would only hinder you. When you finally burn the idols in your life, remember the tombs of those who did not.