Sermonette: Josiah didn't have to die

Josiah didn’t have to die. For those who don’t know, Josiah was one of the best kings of Judah. Between his cleansing of the temple, his personal faith, and his destruction of idol altars, Josiah did great things for Judah. So great, in fact, that it inspired God to hold off on his plans to, as God put it: “wipe Judah clean as a dishwasher wipes a plate clean.” Even when he discovered that all of Judah was in violation of their covenant with God, Josiah humbled himself and pushed Judah to do the same. Josiah was the kind of God-follower we can all look up to. He also, didn’t have to die.

Josiah continued to lead a revival for over 25 years in Judah, doing great thing for the faith and eternal destination of millions of people, until one day, he became distracted. The Empire of Assyria was being destroyed and supplanted by the brand-new Babylonian empire.However, Egypt was rushing to the aid of the Assyrian forces in an effort to prevent Babylonian dominance. Rushing from Egypt to Assyria took the Pharaoh and his mighty army right through Judah.  

The pharaoh warned Josiah: “don’t fight me. I don’t have time and my fight isn’t with you. Let me go.” But Josiah was head strong, or distracted, or something because he picked a fight that didn’t need to be fought with Pharaoh. Most likely, Josiah was attempting to aid Babylon to curry favor with the new empire; but nonetheless, he didn’t need to fight. Favor with an empire is nothing compared to the favor he already had with God. This mistake would cost Josiah his life.

Without God’s aid, Judah’s army was no match for the Egyptian war machine. Not only did Josiah lose his life, but Judah lost its great spiritual leader. Without Josiah, Judah will flounder until its destruction a mere 20 years later.

Josiah didn’t have to die. Moses’s time to die came. As did Joshua. As did Isaac. As did 99.99 percent of Old Testament heroes. Josiah’s time, however, hadn’t come. He got distracted and it cost him everything, and cost Judah even more.

I find this to be a lesson I need in my life. It’s easy to get distracted from the things that matter. I get focused on something else and I burn energy, I burn frustration, I burn time on things that just don’t matter. Maybe it’s side job. Maybe it’s getting wound up about the Minnesota Twins. Maybe it’s caring too much about how my lawn looks. There are people who need the hope, life and love that Jesus offers. There are teens in this town who wrestle with depression and suicidal thoughts. Allowing other things to stress me is like dying in a combat I could have just let go. 

Josiah didn’t have to die, and neither do you, metaphorically speaking. What are the things that you’re invested in that actually matter? The activities that are building up your account after death. Various ministries are an obvious choice, but also relationships with the younger people or elderly are good too. Teaching, coaching, and investing in people are good activities that will continue to benefit people long after we’re gone.

Now, what are the things you’re invested in that don’t matter? What are the battles we need to just let be fought without our interference? Today, let it go. We all need breaks occasionally, but don’t let distractions sap power from the things that actually matter.