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2 Chronicles 34:27-28

²⁷Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before God when you heard what he spoke against this place and its people, and because you humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the LORD. ²⁸Now I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place and on those who live here.'" So they took her answer back to the king.

The son of Manasseh was evil and soon was assassinated. His son Josiah was put on the throne at the young age of eight. By the time he turned sixteen he began to seek the LORD. He purged the nation of idols and ordered the repair of the Temple. In the process the Book of the Law was found. Things had been so bad for so long that the priests did not even know where a copy of the Law could be found.

When the Book of the Law was read to Josiah, he tore his robes and grieved over the sins of his fathers and the judgment promised in the book. Because the Spirit had not yet been poured out, he sent his staff to ask a prophetess living in Jerusalem if this justice was impending. She told them that God was going to keep his word and send the nation into captivity, but because Josiah humbled himself, tore his robes and wept before God, the judgment would not come in his lifetime. His eyes would not see the destruction of Jerusalem.

God is just and keeps His word, but He is also patient and generous. One man's heart that was tender toward His word postponed the judgment. O that all God's children would have such a tender heart toward the Word of God. When you read Scripture, do you allow it to speak to you personally and take it to heart as Josiah did? He did not think it was for other people or justify the words because he was not involved. He saw the application was for him personally and his nation and humbled himself. If there is one attribute we need more than any other as we read the Word, it is humility.

Remember: Humility helps us to hear God's Word and take it to heart, not shrugging it off or appointing it to someone other than ourselves.