December 5
DECEMBER 5
Morning Reading: 2 KINGS 23:1 – 14
"2 Kings 23:1–14 (ESV)
1 Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. 2 And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. 3 And 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 perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant. 4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 And he deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and the moon and the constellations and all the host of the heavens. 6 And he brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people. 7 And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah. 8 And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from Geba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one’s left at the gate of the city. 9 However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. 10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech. 11 And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts. And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 And the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, he pulled down and broke in pieces and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron. 13 And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 14 And he broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with the bones of men."
No matter how bad and spiritually dark things may seem, don’t ever stop praying for moral and spiritual revival.
Just when you get to the point where you want to stop reading the Old Testament because it has become so dark and discouraging, out of the darkness rises young King Josiah. Rather than reading about more idolatry, infanticide, desecration of the house of the Lord, or consultations with fortune tellers and necromancers, you find real spiritual revival. In the darkness a bright light shines through the moral commitments of a young and godly king. One of the first things this king does is to lead the children of Judah in a revival service. He leads the people in a covenant-renewing cere- mony, in which they again vow their allegiance to the covenant of the Lord. Josiah then leads his people in a wholesale destruction of idol high places and idol practices. Out of utter spiritual darkness comes this moment of spiritual revival. God’s law is observed and his covenant renewed. It had not seemed that this would be the next chapter for the people of Israel; and, yes, God would later raise up Babylon to purge his people and call them back to himself. But
the beauty of this moment of revival should not be diminished.
A rallying cry for the Protestant Reformers was the Latin phrase post tenebras lux: “after darkness, light.” Spiritual darkness had blanketed Europe, and the light and glory of the grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ seemed like a tiny flickering flame. But out of the darkness God raised up Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other gospel lights. The flames of the gospel burned bright in Europe, spread throughout the world, and burn brightly still today.
Between the “already” and the “not yet,” post tenebras lux is and has always been the hope of God’s people. This hope is rooted in the goodness, holiness, power, promises, and grace of God. It is about holding on to the belief that God will not let his grace die, that he will not let his plan fade away, and that he will keep every one of the promises he has made.
The birth of Jesus was a monumental post tenebras lux moment. He came into this dark world as the light shining in darkness (John 1:5). Jesus is the eternal light, the eternal torch that nothing or no one could ever extinguish. He shines into the hearts of all who put their trust in him.
The world might seem dark to you today, but another post tenebras lux moment is coming, when the light will come for his own, ushering them into his final kingdom of light, life, peace, and righteousness forever. Darkness will not ultimately defeat the light, and so, with the same hope as the Reformers, we say post tenebras lux.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I rest in the fact that your grace is everlasting. You are the sovereign King of this universe who will not let his plan fade away, who will always be faithful to his promises. Help me to rest in these truths. May I grow in patience, not in anxiety. Cause me to rest in Jesus, my shepherd and King. In his name I pray, amen.
Morning Reading: 2 KINGS 23:1 – 14
"2 Kings 23:1–14 (ESV)
1 Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. 2 And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. 3 And 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 perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant. 4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 And he deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and the moon and the constellations and all the host of the heavens. 6 And he brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people. 7 And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah. 8 And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from Geba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one’s left at the gate of the city. 9 However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. 10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech. 11 And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts. And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 And the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, he pulled down and broke in pieces and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron. 13 And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 14 And he broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with the bones of men."
No matter how bad and spiritually dark things may seem, don’t ever stop praying for moral and spiritual revival.
Just when you get to the point where you want to stop reading the Old Testament because it has become so dark and discouraging, out of the darkness rises young King Josiah. Rather than reading about more idolatry, infanticide, desecration of the house of the Lord, or consultations with fortune tellers and necromancers, you find real spiritual revival. In the darkness a bright light shines through the moral commitments of a young and godly king. One of the first things this king does is to lead the children of Judah in a revival service. He leads the people in a covenant-renewing cere- mony, in which they again vow their allegiance to the covenant of the Lord. Josiah then leads his people in a wholesale destruction of idol high places and idol practices. Out of utter spiritual darkness comes this moment of spiritual revival. God’s law is observed and his covenant renewed. It had not seemed that this would be the next chapter for the people of Israel; and, yes, God would later raise up Babylon to purge his people and call them back to himself. But
the beauty of this moment of revival should not be diminished.
A rallying cry for the Protestant Reformers was the Latin phrase post tenebras lux: “after darkness, light.” Spiritual darkness had blanketed Europe, and the light and glory of the grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ seemed like a tiny flickering flame. But out of the darkness God raised up Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other gospel lights. The flames of the gospel burned bright in Europe, spread throughout the world, and burn brightly still today.
Between the “already” and the “not yet,” post tenebras lux is and has always been the hope of God’s people. This hope is rooted in the goodness, holiness, power, promises, and grace of God. It is about holding on to the belief that God will not let his grace die, that he will not let his plan fade away, and that he will keep every one of the promises he has made.
The birth of Jesus was a monumental post tenebras lux moment. He came into this dark world as the light shining in darkness (John 1:5). Jesus is the eternal light, the eternal torch that nothing or no one could ever extinguish. He shines into the hearts of all who put their trust in him.
The world might seem dark to you today, but another post tenebras lux moment is coming, when the light will come for his own, ushering them into his final kingdom of light, life, peace, and righteousness forever. Darkness will not ultimately defeat the light, and so, with the same hope as the Reformers, we say post tenebras lux.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I rest in the fact that your grace is everlasting. You are the sovereign King of this universe who will not let his plan fade away, who will always be faithful to his promises. Help me to rest in these truths. May I grow in patience, not in anxiety. Cause me to rest in Jesus, my shepherd and King. In his name I pray, amen.
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