I have found the Book

Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. So Shaphan the scribe went to the king, bringing the king word, saying, “Your servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of those who do the work, who oversee the house of the Lord.” Then Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king. – 2 Kings 22.8-10

Josiah started the work of repairing the Temple and its walls as they had fallen into disrepair. These workers were already special guys. They were so trustworthy that the priests did not even make them give an accounting of themselves when they were paid or buying supplies.

But that's for another time. As they were clearing the rubble the came across a scroll. It was dusty and probably musty and worn. It has not been used for ages. As the temple fell into disrepair this book had been forgotten.

What was the book?

The high priest, Hilkiah, realised what they had found. It was the law of God, the Bible as it existed then. Hilkiah took it to Shaphan the scribe and Shaphan took it to King Josiah.

We’ll look more at the response tomorrow. For now though I want to focus on what it meant that the Book was buried away in the ruins of the temple.

It indicates to me that the word of God had been neglected. And as the word of God was neglected the nation fell it to spiritual disarray. Without God’s leadership the kind of sins Manasseh brought in were no surprise. This dusty old Bible was the reason the nation turned from God.

You know, the same thing happens in our lives. When our Bibles, literally or figuratively, get covered with dust our lives fall into ruin just like the temple did. We can’t survive spiritually when God’s Book is neglected. Let's be sure that the Book is on the top shelf and not hidden away in a pile of rubbish.

Unless God’s word is part of our daily life we face ruin as sure as the temple did.