1 JOHN

1 John 1 The Word that gives life was from the beginning,
and this is the one our message is about.

Our ears have heard, our own eyes have seen,
and our hands touched this Word.
²The one who gives life appeared! We saw it happen, and we are witnesses to what we have seen. Now we are telling you about this eternal life that was with the Father and appeared to us. ³We are telling you what we have seen and heard, so that you may share in this life with us. And we share in it with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. ⁴We are writing to tell you these things, because this makes us truly happy.

God Is Light

⁵Jesus told us that God is light and doesn't have any darkness in him. Now we are telling you.
⁶If we say that we share in life with God and keep on living in the dark, we are lying and are not living by the truth. ⁷But if we live in the light, as God does, we share in life with each other. And the blood of his Son Jesus washes all our sins away. ⁸If we say that we have not sinned, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth isn't in our hearts. ⁹But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away.
¹⁰If we say that we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and his message isn't in our hearts.

King Josiah of Judah
(2 Kings 22.1, 2)

2 Chronicles 34 Josiah was eight years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled thirty-one years from Jerusalem. ²He followed the example of his ancestor David and always obeyed the LORD.

Josiah Stops the Worship of Foreign Gods
(2 Kings 23.4-20)

³When Josiah was only sixteen years old he began worshiping God, just as his ancestor David had done. Then, four years later, he decided to destroy the local shrines in Judah and Jerusalem, as well as the sacred poles for worshiping the goddess Asherah and the idols of foreign gods. ⁴He watched as the altars for the worship of the god Baal were torn down, and as the nearby incense altars were smashed. The Asherah poles, the idols, and the stone images were also smashed, and the pieces were scattered over the graves of their worshipers. ⁵Josiah then had the bones of the pagan priests burned on the altars.
And so Josiah got rid of the worship of foreign gods in Judah and Jerusalem. ⁶He did the same things in the towns and ruined villages in the territories of West Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as the border of Naphtali. ⁷Everywhere in the northern kingdom of Israel, Josiah tore down pagan altars and Asherah poles; he crushed idols to dust and smashed incense altars.
Then Josiah went back to Jerusalem.

Hilkiah Finds
The Book of God's Law
(2 Kings 22.3-20)

⁸In the eighteenth year of Josiah's rule in Judah, after he had gotten rid of all the sinful things from the land and from the LORD's temple, he sent three of his officials to repair the temple. They were Shaphan son of Azaliah, Governor Maaseiah of Jerusalem, and Joah son of Joahaz, who kept the government records.
⁹These three men went to Hilkiah the high priest. They gave him the money that the Levite guards had collected from the people of West Manasseh, Ephraim, and the rest of Israel, as well as those living in Judah, Benjamin, and Jerusalem. ¹⁰Then the money was turned over to the men who supervised the repairs to the temple. They used some of it to pay the workers, ¹¹and they gave the rest of it to the carpenters and builders, who used it to buy the stone and wood they needed to repair the other buildings that Judah's kings had not taken care of.
¹²The workers were honest, and their supervisors were Jahath and Obadiah from the Levite clan of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam from the Levite clan of Kohath. Other Levites, who were all skilled musicians, ¹³were in charge of carrying supplies and supervising the workers. Other Levites were appointed to stand guard around the temple.
¹⁴While the money was being given to these supervisors, Hilkiah found the book that contained the laws that the LORD had given to Moses. ¹⁵Hilkiah handed the book to Shaphan the official and said, "Look what I found here in the temple--The Book of God's Law."
¹⁶Shaphan took the book to Josiah and reported, "Your officials are doing everything you wanted. ¹⁷They have collected the money from the temple and have given it to the men supervising the repairs. ¹⁸But there's something else, Your Majesty. The priest Hilkiah gave me this book." Then Shaphan read it aloud.
¹⁹When Josiah heard what was in The Book of God's Law, he tore his clothes in sorrow. ²⁰At once he called together Hilkiah, Shaphan, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, and his own servant Asaiah. He said, ²¹"The LORD must be furious with me and everyone else in Israel and Judah, because our ancestors did not obey the laws written in this book. Go find out what the LORD wants us to do."
²²Hilkiah and the four other men left right away and went to talk with Huldah the prophet. Her husband was Shallum, who was in charge of the king's clothes. Huldah lived in the northern part of Jerusalem, and when they met in her home, ²³she said:

You were sent here by King Josiah, and this is what the LORD God of Israel says to him: ²⁴"Josiah, I am the LORD! And I intend to punish this country and everyone in it, just as this book says. ²⁵The people of Judah and Israel have rejected me. They have offered sacrifices to foreign gods and have worshiped their own idols. I can't stand it any longer. I am furious.

^26-27"Josiah, listen to what I am going to do. I noticed how sad you were when you heard that this country and its people would be completely wiped out. You even tore your clothes in sorrow, and I heard you cry. ²⁸So before I destroy this place, I will let you die in peace."

The men left and reported to Josiah what Huldah had said.

Josiah Reads
The Book of God's Law
(2 Kings 23.1-3)

²⁹King Josiah called together the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰Then he went to the LORD's temple, together with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, the priests, and the Levites.
Finally, when everybody was there, he read aloud The Book of God's Law that had been found in the temple.
³¹After Josiah had finished reading, he stood in the place reserved for the king. He promised in the LORD's name to faithfully obey the LORD and to follow his laws and teachings that were written in the book. ³²Then he asked the people of Jerusalem and Benjamin to make that same promise and to obey the God their ancestors had worshiped.
³³Josiah destroyed all the idols in the territories of Israel, and he commanded everyone in Israel to worship only the LORD God. The people did not turn away from the LORD God of their ancestors for the rest of Josiah's rule as king.

Psalm 89

¹⁹In a vision, you once said to your faithful followers:
"I have helped a mighty hero.
I chose him from my people and made him famous.
²⁰David, my servant, is the one I chose to be king,
²¹and I will always be there to help and strengthen him.

²²"No enemy will outsmart David,
and he won't be defeated by any hateful people.
²³I will strike down and crush his troublesome enemies.
²⁴He will always be able to depend on my love,
and I will make him strong with my own power.
²⁵I will let him rule the lands across the rivers and seas.
²⁶He will say to me, 'You are my Father and my God,
as well as the mighty rock where I am safe.'

²⁷"I have chosen David as my first-born son,
and he will be the ruler of all kings on earth.
²⁸My love for him will last,
and my agreement with him will never be broken.
²⁹"One of David's descendants will always be king,
and his family will rule until the sky disappears.
³⁰Suppose some of his children should reject my Law
and refuse my instructions.
³¹Or suppose they should disobey all of my teachings.
³²Then I will correct and punish them
because of their sins.
³³But I will always love David
and faithfully keep all of my promises to him.

³⁴"I won't break my agreement or go back on my word.
³⁵I have sworn once and for all by my own holy name,
and I won't lie to David.
³⁶His family will always rule. I will let his kingdom last
as long as the sun ³⁷and moon appear in the sky."