A New Covenant by Ann E. Broughton

“The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord to follow the Lord and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book (2 Kings 23:3 NIV).

Josiah has just heard the word of God and tore his robes because he finally realized that his people had not followed what God wanted them to and God’s anger had been poured out upon them. He was grieved and wanted to know what he could do to restore the nation’s relationship with God. He tore down all the idols that were being worshipped.
He was such a wonderful spiritual leader that the Bible says that neither before him or after him 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.
How does this apply to our walk with Christ. Before we became Christians we walked in sin. When we accepted Christ as our Savior, we made a covenant with Him, to follow His will for our lives. A covenant should not be taken lightly. It is a promise that is not meant to be ever broken. When Josiah read the Book of Covenant he was so moved that he tore his robes and wept. Does the word of God move you in this way also? The Bible is God’s word and when read should move us to live a life pleasing to God. Just as Josiah chose to dedicate his life to serve the Lord, so we must constantly be measuring our lives to see how they measure up to what God’s will for us is. Josiah tore down all the idols after he read the covenant. So we must lay down at Jesus' feet all of the sinful issues in our lives that keep us from benefiting from a closer relationship with Christ. We must be constantly aware of the weak areas in our lives that could lead us into sin and surrender them to the Lord.
If we love him with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our strength, he will give us the strength we need to handle any temptation that comes our way.
Dear Lord,
Help us to take time every day to read your word and not take the words we read lightly.
Help us to learn from them so that we can grow as Christians. Help us also to be aware of temptations that come our way and give us the strength to call upon you for help. We know you will never fail us.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen