“Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king. When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes.”
As I was reading scripture this morning I struggled to concentrate. I have lots of things to do today so I was rushing through my quiet time. Then I read this: “When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his clothes…” and it stopped me in my tracks. It dawned on me that putting in time is irrelevant if I don’t put in passion. When King Josiah came across the book of the Lord he was devastated by its reading… It changed his heart and changed his course - and God noticed.
It is embarrassing to contrast my response to scripture this morning with King Josiah’s reaction. We are both reading words from the one and only True God - but he reacted with emotion and commitment… while I, at best, checked a box.
When is the last time we figuratively “tore our clothes” and wept at the reading of God’s word? Do we view the Bible as a powerful treasure and allow its sacred words to penetrate our hearts? Men have been burned at the stake for translating this book allowing us to read its divine revelations and yet we rush through it, viewing it as a discipline instead of a gift. Instead of allowing it to expose our sin and falling on our faces in repentance… We put in our time and go about our day.
That must change. The Word of The Lord should strike like lightening, pierce our core, and change our direction. Each day we should be destroyed by God’s unattainable holiness, and reborn by His unimaginable grace.
This morning, after reading God’s love letter containing its commandments and messages of restoration, spend the rest of the day wondering why an all-powerful, all-knowing God would choose to communicate with us in the first place. Let your unworthiness drive you to figuratively “tear your clothes”. Whenever you read about God’s love, it should hit you as if you’re hearing it for the first time.
“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us … let God do most of the talking.” — D.L. Moody
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