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“Reforming Too Late”
Categories: Bulletin Articles
In 2 Kings 22, we think we know the script. A good king, Josiah, succeeds a basically wicked king, Amon. Josiah orders a renovation of the temple, and during the renovation, the priest Hilkiah rediscovers the book of the Law. Josiah compares what he is doing to what he ought to be doing, tears his clothes, and repents.
Immediately, a delegation of Judahite higher-ups goes in search of Huldah the prophetess to figure out what happens next. This is where God says, “Now that you’ve repented, everything’s going to be OK.” Right?
Wrong. Instead, Huldah’s oracle is dire indeed. Despite Josiah’s reforms, Judah is still going to be destroyed. God’s people passed the point of no return during the reign of Manasseh. They have become so wicked that He can no longer tolerate them, and their defeat and exile are now inevitable. Josiah’s godliness has merely postponed the disaster until after his death.
This is important. Too much of the time, God’s people harbor a bad case of tomorrow-itis. Tomorrow is when they’re going to get their spiritual houses in order. Tomorrow is when they’re going to start reading their Bibles regularly. Tomorrow is when they’re going to lead their children to put God first in everything. Tomorrow is when they’re going to become plus members of the congregation. Tomorrow is when they’re going to talk to their neighbors about the Lord.
In response to this, gospel preachers like to point out two things. First, none of us are guaranteed tomorrow. Second, for a lot of brethren, “tomorrow” never becomes today. They spend their earthly lives with a head full of good intentions that they never put into practice.
I’ve said both of those things and agree with them. However, as we see from the story of Josiah, there’s a third problem. Tomorrow may come too late. Josiah was the most righteous king that Judah ever had, but even he couldn’t reverse his nation’s spiritual decline. If he had lived 50 or 100 years earlier, he might have been able to change its course, but as Manasseh’s son, there was nothing he could do to make a long-term difference.
So too for us. Even during our lives, there will come a point where we will no longer be able to repair the ravages of spiritual neglect. That point might not be obvious. Our sixteen-year-old son may still be coming to church (because we make him), but he may already have resolved that once he leaves home, he’s never going to darken that doorway again. Two years ago, we might have changed his mind, but not now. Now, we’re just playing out the string. The same can also be true of being a plus member or leading a lost friend to Christ. Those windows can close too.
I don’t know how open the windows are, in my life or anybody else’s. I do know, though, that now is the earliest we can act. We can’t change our yesterdays, but we can change today. Today, we can start doing what we know we always should have done. The sooner we start, the less likely we are to be too late.
