2 Kings 22:8-20
The works undertaken by Josiah in the house of the LORD led to the discovery of the book of the law. It had been lost, even forgotten, by the priests despite the responsibility imposed on them to keep it. (Deuteronomy 31:9; Deuteronomy 31:26). In the course of the history of the Church, the great awakening of the Reformation brought the sacred Scriptures back to a place of honour. After centuries of the darkness of the Middle Ages, God’s Book was brought out of obscurity, translated into popular tongues, printed and spread abroad in every land. Let us not forget to be grateful for this. The reading of the Bible then opened the eyes of many as to the ruined state of Christendom. But, at the same time, the divine light of the Gospel came to enlighten ignorant souls. For this Word of Life shows us not only, as Josiah’s Book of the law did, what God expected from man, and how man had absolutely failed (Old Testament), it also teaches us now what is purposed in Christ, the new Man, and what He has fully accomplished (that is the whole New Testament). If the Bible is a Book which sets before us all our responsibility, it also brings to us the message of the grace of God for poor lost sinners.