C. Josiah eliminates the influences of evil. 2 Kings 23:19-20 D. Josiah restores worship to God’s people. 2 Kings 23:21-22 II. Jeremiah – The Heartbroken Prophet The prophet Jeremiah is one of the loneliest figures in Scripture. In Jeremiah 16, God tells him that he must never marry; his singleness represents God, abandoned by His Now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord covenant partner, Israel. with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like Judah has forsaken her relationship with God, so Jeremiah is him. 2 Kings 23:25 commanded to preach repentance. Call God’s people back to their first love. Tells them to abandon their wickedness, to Oh, that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in repent. The word “repent” is used over 100 times by My ways! I would soon subdue their enemies, And turn My hand Jeremiah; to turn back. For 40 years, Jeremiah preaches this against their adversaries. message to the people. Psalm 81:13-14 And so we picture Jeremiah, weeping as he sees his own The Last Days of the Kingdom of Judah prophecies coming true. Jeremiah weeps as the Babylonians completely level the temple of the Lord. Jeremiah weeps as they The low point of Judah can feel somewhat devastating. This once burn down their houses. Jeremiah weeps as they cut down the great kingdom has been taken away into captivity and is in utter trees their grandfathers planted, and Jeremiah weeps as God’s chaos. The one-time dwelling place of God has been leveled. It seems people begin their long walk in captivity toward Babylon. that all hope is lost, but that is where God can be seen. God is there in the struggle. He is present when all seems lost. God’s people In the middle of all the defeat and weeping come some of the reject Him and follow other gods yet God is still pursuing them. It is most beloved verses in the Bible. Jeremiah 29:11-14 the same with us. God still longs for us to come to Him and III. Ezekiel – The Vision of a Bright Future Ezekiel 36:26-27 simply rest secure in our relationship with Him. I. Josiah – The Last of the Revival Kings In the midst of destruction God can still inspire His prophet to see the future. Ezekiel sees this vast valley of dry bones just In the darkest of times, God raised up a man to make a difference, scattered around, and God prompts him to speak to the bones to demonstrate the standard for one who truly follows the Lord. and they begin to come to life. Flesh appears where there once was none. (Ezekiel 37:1-14) A. Josiah humbled himself before God and His Word. 2 Kings 22:11 Our response to God’s Word is always critical in what will come We see the prophetic in play about the millennial reign and next into our lives. 2 Kings 22:18-20 the Lordship of the coming Messiah. (Ezekiel 37:14-28) B. Josiah took a stand for God. (Romans 12:21) God is, even during destruction, saving His people. He is being the redeemer. He has a plan and we have the advantage of Then the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the seeing the fulfillment of that plan in the person of Lord, to follow the Lord and to keep His commandments and His Jesus. This is the God we trust. This is the God in whom we 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. hope. A God who is, has always been and will always be, our And all the people took a stand for the covenant. 2 Kings 23:3 Rock and our Redeemer. Core Point: In the most difficult of times, God is still a Core Statement: I serve the God who never gives up on God of faith, hope and love. He cares about His me. I will make my stand for Him in the midst of many people even when they have fully rejected Him, and who reject Him. I have a certain hope of the coming of still has a vision to fulfill His promise for them. King Jesus, and He will rule and reign forever! .