This is part five of this series. We are using the account of King Josiah to look at ten things we need to return to in order to experience reformation. You can catch up with the series here:
Community Reformation
“Then the king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. The king went up to the house of the Lord and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord. The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant (2 Kings 23:1-3, NASB).”
Because of Josiah’s personal reformation, the nation of Judah, albeit temporarily, was reformed as well. There are two elements here that Josiah used to reform the people.
1. Exposure to God’s Word
Josiah gathered all the people of Jerusalem together, “both great and small.” That means men, women, and children. Regardless of their age, gender, position, or class, they were all there. Then he read to them all the words of the book of the covenant. He intentionally exposed them to the whole of God’s Word.
The same Word that brought reformation into his own life, he wanted to see in the lives of his people. He didn’t do a song and dance. He didn’t use creative object lessons. He just read the Word to them. He believed in the power of the Word of God to do its work in the lives of the people.
If we want to see reformation in our day, we need to return to the simple reading and expounding of God’s Word taking center stage once again. The people of God need to hear the whole counsel of God without apology, reservation, hesitation, or manipulation.
The pulpit is the single most important thing in any church. It all rises and falls with what happens there. Any pastor worth his salt feels the weight of this. But how does it affect you?
The more you sit under the sound preaching of God’s whole Word, the riper for reformation you will be. The Sunday gathering is not an optional pastime. When you hear the heralding of God’s Word, you are hearing the expounding of the words that came from the very breath that created the universe. They are the only words that can reach into your soul and change every part of you. They are light and life. And in the midst of our dark times, when there are shadows around every corner, why in the world would any of God’s people want to skip out on that?
In our times, we have seen a massive decline in church attendance. I believe there is a twofold reason for this. One reason is the lack of pastors unapologetically preaching the whole counsel of God. Most of what we hear today amounts to pep talks and motivational speeches.
Another reason is the lack of Christians who are hungry for the Word of God. Some of the first questions of prospective church members revolve around what kind of programs a church can offer instead of what kind of doctrine is preached from the pulpit. They simply are not concerned with being fed the pure Word of God. What they really want is another social program with a Christian spin.
We’ve lost our taste for the whole counsel of God. Unless we regain our taste for the Word, we will not experience reformation.
2. Covenant
Josiah himself covenanted before the Lord. Upon reading the words of the book of the covenant, he committed himself to them. He committed wholly, with all his heart and all his soul to walk according to all that God’s Word said. But he did not stop there. He brought the people of Judah into that covenant with him.
The last line of verse 3 says,
“And all the people entered into the covenant.”
This was something a little different than just leadership by example. This was leadership by authority and representation.
The parallel account in 2 Chronicles adds a little more weight to this. In 2 Chronicles 34:31-32, it says that Josiah stood and made a covenant with the Lord and that he “made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand with him.” It wasn’t, “I’m going to follow God so well that you are wooed to follow Him too.” It was, “I have decided, as your king, to obey the Lord and walk after Him. And because I am your king and you are my subjects, you will too.”
As their king, Josiah had the authority to say like Joshua, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” If we want to see reformation, we need to return to the practice of covenantal headship. The Lord has given us covenantal communities in the church and home.
The elders of a church are to function as spiritual leaders of their congregation. Loosely speaking, the local church has been entrusted to them as a house to shepherd, instruct, guide, and guard. All those within the house are under their spiritual jurisdiction. Their attitude ought to be like Josiah’s. They are to walk in covenant with the Lord and bring the people under their care along in that covenant, not lording it over them, but not failing to expect faithfulness to God of themselves and their people.
The same is true of the home. The father is the head of the home. He should walk in covenant with the Lord and obedience to His Word, and should bring along his children with him as well.
We will not see reformation until we are ready, as church and family leaders, to stand up resolutely and say, “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord. If you are a member of my church, you will be expected to walk in faithfulness to God. If you are a member of my household, you will be expected to walk in faithfulness to God.” Of course, this goes back to the first point. If we are going to have covenantal leaders, we must have strong men of righteous character.
As long as we follow the secular business model of leadership in our churches, we will not see reformation. As long as we see lazy, spiritually apathetic fathers, we will not see reformation. We must return to Biblical, covenantal leadership.