Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years.  2 Chronicles 34:1
 
    Thus Josiah, from his earliest manhood, had endeavored to take advantage of his position as king to exalt the principles of God's holy law.  And now, while Shaphan the scribe was reading to him out of the book of the law, the king discerned in this volume a treasure of knowledge, a powerful ally, in the work of reform he so much desired to see wrought in the land.  He resolved to walk in the light of its counsels, and also to do all in his power to acquaint his people with its teachings and to lead them, if possible, to cultivate reverence and love for the law of heaven.
 
    But was it possible to bring about the needed reform?  Israel had almost reached the limit of divine forbearance; soon God would arise to punish those who had brought dishonor upon His name.  Already the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people.  Overwhelmed with sorrow and dismay, Josiah rent his garments and bowed before God in agony of spirit, seeking pardon for the sins of an impenitent nation. (Prophets and Kings, 398)
 
Reflection:  Because the king humbled his heart before God, and sought mercy and forgiveness, the message was sent to him, "Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord...and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before Me....Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place" (Verses 19, 20). (Prophets and Kings, 399)

And the Lord sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria.  So he returned with shame of face to his own land.  And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword.  2 Chronicles 32:21
 
    "Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.  By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord.  For I will defend this city, to save it, for Mine own sake, and for My servant David's sake" (Verses 29-34).
 
    That very night deliverance came.  "The angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand" (Verse 35)...
 
    Tidings of this terrible judgment upon the army that had been sent to take Jerusalem, soon reached Sennacherib, who was still guarding the approach to Judea from Egypt.  Stricken with fear, the Assyrian king hasted to depart and "returned with shame of face to his own land" (Verse 21).  But he had not long to reign.  In harmony with the prophecy that had been uttered concerning his sudden end, he was assassinated by those of his own home, "and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead" (Isaiah 37:38). (Prophets and Kings, 361)
 
Reflection:  The honor of God was vindicated before the surrounding nations.  The boastful Assyrian king and his army were defeated.

With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles.  And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.  2 Chronicles 32:8
 
    At the time of Hezekiah's accession to the throne of Judah, the Assyrian had already carried captive a large number of the children of Israel from the northern kingdom; and a few years after he had begun to reign, and while he was still strengthening the defenses of Jerusalem, the Assyrian besieged and captured Samaria and scattered the ten tribes among the many provinces of the Assyrian realm.  The borders of Judah were only a few miles distant, with Jerusalem less than fifty miles away; and the rich spoils to be found within the temple would tempt the enemy to return.
 
    But the king of Judah had determined to do his part in preparing to resist the enemy; and, having accomplished all that human ingenuity and energy could do, he had assembled his forces and had exhorted them to be of good courage.  "Great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee" had been the message of the prophet Isaiah to Judah; and the king with unwavering faith now declared, "With us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles" (Isaiah 12:6; 2 Chronicles 32:8). (Prophets and Kings, 351)
 
Reflection:  Active faith inspires more faith.  In preparation for the coming crisis, King Hezekiah encouraged the people to believe in God's Word.

He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.  2 Kings 18:4
 
    In sharp contrast with the reckless rule of Ahaz was the reformation wrought during the prosperous reign of his son.  Hezekiah came to the throne determined to do all in his power to save Judah from the fate that was overtaking the northern kingdom.  The message of the prophets offered no encouragement to halfway measures.  Only by most decided reformation could the threatened judgments be averted.
 
    In the crisis, Hezekiah proved to be a man of opportunity.  No sooner had he ascended the throne than he begun to plan and to execute.  He first turned his attention to the restoration of the temple services, so long neglected; and in this work he earnestly solicited the co-operation of a band of priests and Levites who had remained true to their sacred calling.  Confident of their loyal support, he spoke with them freely concerning his desire to institute immediate and far-reaching reforms.  "Our fathers have trespassed," he confessed, "and done that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord our God, and have forsaken Him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord."  "Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us" (2 Chronicles 29:6, 10). (Prophets and Kings, 331)
 
Reflection:  Let us be like Hezekiah, a man of opportunity.  He did not wait around to do that which needed to be done right away.  Many times waiting only makes it more difficult to carry out the necessary duty.  Today, let us promptly obey the Lord.

And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.  2 Kings 2:11
 
    Elijah was a type of the saints who will be living on the earth at the time of the second advent of Christ and who will be "changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump," without tasting of death (1 Corinthians 15:51, 52).  It was as a representative of those who shall be thus translated that Elijah, near the close of Christ's earthly ministry, was permitted to stand with Moses by the side of the Saviour on the mount of transfiguration.  In these glorified ones, the disciples saw in miniature a representation of the kingdom of the redeemed.  They beheld Jesus clothed with the light of heaven; they heard the "voice out of the cloud" (Luke 9:35), acknowledging Him as the Son of God; they saw Moses, representing those who will be raised from the dead at the time of the second advent; and there also stood Elijah, representing those who at the close of earth's history will be changed from mortal to immortal and be translated to heaven without seeing death. (Prophet and Kings, 227)
 
Reflection:  Whether we live or die before Jesus returns, may we each be found faithful.

Fearless Prophet
 
        And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and hast followed Baalim.  1 Kings 18:18
 
    The king and the prophet stand face to face.  Though Ahab is filled with passionate hatred, yet in the presence of Elijah he seems unmanned, powerless.  In his first faltering words, "Art thou he that troubleth Israel?" he unconsciously reveals the inmost feelings of his heart.  Ahab knew that it was by the word of God that the heavens had become as brass, yet he sought to cast upon the prophet the blame for the heavy judgments resting on the land....
 
    Standing in conscious innocence before Ahab, Elijah makes no attempt to excuse himself or to flatter the king.  Nor does he seek to evade the king's wrath by the good news that the drought is almost over.  He has no apology to offer.  Indignant, and jealous for the honor of God, he casts back the imputation of Ahab, fearlessly declaring to the king that it is his sins, and the sins of his fathers, that have brought upon Israel this terrible calamity.  "I have not troubled Israel," Elijah boldly asserts, "but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim." (Prophets and Kings, 140)
 
Reflection:  Smooth sermons destroy the people.  Today we need voices of stern rebuke for the grievous sins committed by the professed people of God.

Widow at Zarephath
 
        And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.  1 Kings 17:24
 
    The widow of Zarephath shared her morsel with Elijah, and in return her life and that of her son were preserved.  And to all who, in time of trial and want, give sympathy and assistance to others more needy, God has promised great blessing.  He has not changed.  His power is no less now than in the days of Elijah.  No less sure now that when spoken by our Saviour is the promise, "He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward" (Matthew 10:41).
 
    "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares" (Hebrews 13:2).  These words have lost none of their force through the lapse of time.  Our heavenly Father still continues to place in the pathway of His children opportunities that are blessings in disguise; and those who improve these opportunities find great joy.  "If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not" (Isaiah 58:10, 11). (Prophets and Kings, 132)
 
Reflection:  To His faithful servants today Christ says, "He that receiveth you receiveth Me, and he that receiveth Me receiveth Him that sent Me."  Every kindness is recognized by the Lord.

        And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.  1 Kings 27:1
 
    Among the mountains of Gilead, east of the Jordan, there dwell in those days of Ahab a man of faith and prayer whose fearless ministry was destined to check the rapid spread of apostasy in Israel.  Far removed from any city of renown, and occupying no high station in life, Elijah the Tishbite nevertheless entered upon his mission confident in God's purpose to prepare the way before him and to give him abundant success.  The word of faith and power was upon his lips, and his whole life was devoted to the work of reform.  His was the voice of one crying in the wilderness to rebuke sin and press back the tide of evil.  And while he came to the people as a reprover of sin, his message offered the balm of Gilead to the sin-sick souls of all who desired to be healed.
 
    As Elijah saw Israel going deeper and deeper into idolatry, his soul was distressed and his indignation aroused.  God had done great things for His people.  He had delivered them from bondage and given them "the land of the heathen,...that they might observe His statues, and keep His laws" (Psalm 105:44, 45). (Prophets and Kings, 119)
 
Reflection:  Elijah was in great sorrow over the apostasy of Israel.  He knew that if the people did not repent, there would be neither dew nor rain.