Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

| Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 10-11; Acts 4:1-22

Straight Ahead


READ 2 KINGS 22:1–2, 8–13
________________________________________________________
He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord
. . . , not turning aside to the right or to the left.
2 Kings 22:2
_______________________________________________________
It used to take the steady eye and the firm hand of a farmer to drive a tractor or combine down straight rows. But even the best eyes would overlap rows, and by end of day even the strongest hands would be fatigued. But now there’s autosteer—a GPS-based technology that allows for accuracy to within one inch when planting, cultivating, and spraying. It’s incredibly efficient and hands-free. Just imagine sitting in a mammoth combine and instead of gripping the wheel, you’re gripping a roast beef sandwich. An amazing tool to keep you moving straight ahead.
You may recall the name Josiah. He was crowned king when he was only “eight years old” (2 Kings 22:1). Years later, in his mid-twenties, Hilkiah the high priest found “the Book of the Law” in the temple (v. 8). It was then read to the young king, who tore his robes in sorrow due to his ancestors’ disobedience to God. Josiah set about to do what was “right in the eyes of the Lord” (v. 2). The book became a tool to steer the people so there would be no turning to the right or left. God’s instructions were there to set things straight.
Allowing the Scriptures to guide us day by day keeps our lives in line with knowing God and His will. The Bible is an amazing tool that, if followed, keeps us moving straight ahead.
By John Blase
___________________________________________________________


**REFLECT & PRAY
God, the Scriptures are a gift that brings truth and freedom to
our lives. Help me to hunger and thirst for Your words. Gain a
high-level perspective of what the Bible is about.

~~How is Bible reading a part of your daily routine? What Scriptures
has God been using to keep your life on track?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>SCRIPTURE INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
The young king Josiah isn’t the only one in the Bible who was so internally moved that “he tore his robes” (2 Kings 22:11). This practice, which is foreign to the modern West, was an indication of great anxiety and distress. The first incident in the Bible of tearing one’s clothing is found in Genesis 37:29 where Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn son, tore his clothes when he discovered that his father’s favored son, Joseph, was missing. Not long afterwards, a grief-stricken Jacob “tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days” (v. 34). Arthur Jackson