Could it ever be possible that the church could forget about God’s word? It doesn’t really seem possible does it? Although it doesn’t seem conceivable that the church could ever forget about God’s Word, it HAS happened before!

It happened during the reign of Josiah, King of Judah. While cleaning out the temple in Jerusalem, the priest found a book. The book that was found was “The Book of the Law.” These were the writings of Moses. At the time, that WAS the entire Bible!

The Bible had been misplaced, mislaid, hidden, buried, lost! How long had the Bible been lost? We’re not really sure, but it had been a LONG time. Maybe more than 50 years! How could this have happened? How could the people have misplaced God’s word and lost it?

Quite simply, God’s Word was lost in having the parents of one generation NOT pass along their faith to the next generation! In the course of only a few generations, the Word of God was lost…!

Josiah’s Great-Grandfather, Hezekiah was a faithful king “He did what was right in the Lord.” (1 Kings 18:3) But the next two generations, Josiah’s grandfather (Manasseh) and Father (Amon) “did evil in the eye of the Lord.” (1 Kings 21:20) It took only two generations for the Word of the Lord to be forgotten! The people of Judah were now worshipping false gods and no longer worshipping the Living God! The people had even turned to sacrificing their children in an attempt to please their self-made gods!

When God’s Word was read to Josiah, he tore his robes in repentance! He led the people to turn away from their false God and to turn back again to the promises of the living God!

What will prevent that from happening again today? If faithful parents and grandparents AND great-grandparents continue to encourage the faith of the next generation, by the power of the Holy Spirit working through the Gospel, our children will be able continue to trust in the hope of Jesus Christ! As we remain in God’s Word and are faithful to share that word of hope in Jesus Christ with the next generation, God’s church will continue to grow and flourish!

Trusting in the promise of Jesus!
Pastor Maske