“And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.” 2 Kings 23:25
A study of the kings is interesting. You start to see patterns, as they gain power, they do this and that as they begin their rule, treat people certain ways, allow certain acts to go on such as continued Baal and Ashtoreth worship. Some got lost in their power, some followed the Lord and His ways. There was no king that served the Lord of the same magnitude as Josiah.
“And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathanmelech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire. And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, did the king beat down, and brake them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron. And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile. And he brake in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men.” 2 Kings 23:11-14
The kings had pressures. They either succumbed to them or ruled with the wisdom and authority of God. Most did a half-baked version of following God. Very few were on fire for the Lord. David was. In Revelation 3:15&16, Jesus said, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” There are probably others I can’t think of now. It seems Saul was dedicated to the Lord at one point.
The kings were given the tools they needed to follow God’s ways. They had the writings of God and often they had prophets who would be sent to them to help correct them and to give them messages from God.
I realized that all of us have the equivalent of kingdoms. Some large, some very small. Some have great influence, some have barely any influence at all, but they all are what the Lord has given us to have power and dominion over. Maybe it’s just ourselves. Let’s just look at our own lives for a minute. Do we cast down all the high places and not allow idolatry to reign in our lives? That which we are responsible for, are we treating all with the dignity and respect to honor the Lord as much as is possible? Then, let us remember that we have a greater influence that affects more people and can be a good example of Christianity or a not-so-good one. Our realms.
Solomon was a good example of what can happen to any of us. Here, the king who was given the wisdom to write the whole book of Proverbs, who had the word of the Lord at his fingertips, allowed himself to be led astray by following lusts that turned his heart away from the Lord God of Israel.
It’s not enough to just be a Christian and offer your life to the Lord once. It’s a daily sacrifice. “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Matthew 16:24 “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10