Servias Ministries Blog

During Jeroboam’s reign (B.C. 976-945), Israel had reverted to idol worship.  Jeroboam had established priests in “high places” including Bethel (House of GOD).  What was he thinking?  In 1 Kings 13, we find that Our Heavenly Father sent an undisclosed prophet to notify Jeroboam of his sin:

1 and behold, a man of God went from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD, and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. 2  Then he cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, "O altar, altar! Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be burned on you.’ " 3  And he gave a sign the same day, saying, "This is the sign which the LORD has spoken: Surely the altar shall split apart, and the ashes on it shall be poured out."

4  So it came to pass when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, who cried out against the altar in Bethel, that he stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, "Arrest him!" Then his hand, which he stretched out toward him, withered, so that he could not pull it back to himself. 5  The altar also was split apart, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. 6  Then the king answered and said to the man of God, "Please entreat the favor of the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me."

So the man of God entreated the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored to him, and became as before. 7  Then the king said to the man of God, "Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward."

8  But the man of God said to the king, "If you were to give me half your house, I would not go in with you; nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place. 9  For so it was commanded me by the word of the LORD, saying,’You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came.’ " 10  So he went another way and did not return by the way he came to Bethel.

It took a miracle from Our Heavenly Father to save the prophet from certain death by Jeroboam but soon afterwards was killed by a lion due to his disobedience to the Word of the LORD.  He had just experienced two miracles, the withered hand and the restoration, yet he trusted the word on an old prophet who lied to him versus the direct Word.  Hmmm, make a note of that!

Josiah reigned from 641–609 BC, over 300 years after the prophecy given to Jeroboam and did exactly what was prophesied.  Our Heavenly Father knew Josiah before HE formed Josiah in the womb.  Along with David and Hezekiah he is one of the three kings who alone did not "commit trespass."  His Love for Our Heavenly Father and The Law (which represents the character of Our Heavenly Father) led him to restore the Covenant and tear down and destroy the idols of worship.  It is no wonder that he is listed as the sixteenth (Love) generation from Christ!

When we look at the “begats” however, we see 41 generations:

The next generation after Jesus is “Christ” or the anointed ones hence the 42nd generation.  Accordingly, there are sixteen generations from Josiah to Christ and Josiah is the focus of this writing.  Josiah is specifically tied to Love by the fact the the Christ is the sixteenth generation from Josiah.  The numbers in Scripture are always significant and often are subtle indications of Our Heavenly Father’s character and plan.

Josiah was the son of Amon (skilled craftsman) and Jedidah, succeeded his father B.C. 641, at the age of eight, and reigned 31 years. (2Kings22:1)  His mother’s name was Jedidah (beloved).  Josiah was nurtured in Love and his heart was directed towards Our Heavenly Father thus connected to David, the man after GOD’S own heart:

2Kings22:2 And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

When he was sixteen (Love): 2Ch 34:3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.

The cleansing began when Josiah was 20 years old (redemption).  Once the purging was done, ten years after first seeking Our Heavenly Father, the repair of the House of the Lord began.

2 Ch 34:8   Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan (hidden) the son of Azaliah (Jehovah (Yahweh) has reserved (set apart)), and Maaseiah (the work of Jehovah) the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.

34:9   When they came to Hilkiah (my portion is Jehovah) the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites who kept the doors had gathered from the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, from all the remnant of Israel, from all Judah and Benjamin, and which they had brought back to Jerusalem.

The some interesting things happened:

14  Now when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the LORD given by Moses. 15  Then Hilkiah answered and 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. 16  So Shaphan carried the book to the king, bringing the king word, saying, "All that was committed to your servants they are doing.17  And they have gathered the money that was found in the house of the LORD, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers and the workmen."18  Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read it before the king.

19  Thus it happened, when the king heard the words of the Law, that he tore his clothes. 20  Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of MIcah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, 21  "Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found; for greatis the wrath of the LORD that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do according to all that is written in this book."

The existing money in the Temple was removed and given to the workers.  This money had been received by those people of the Inheritance (Manasseh, Ephraim, the remnant, Judah, and Benjamin).  THE LAW was found and lawfulness was restored to the Kingdom.  The funding of the restoration had come through the inheritors.  Love restored the Kingdom.

In pondering 1/11/11 which happens to be connected to “the anointing”, the binary number 11111 represents 31.  Josiah reigned for 31 years and is also connected to Love by being the 16th generation from Christ (the anointed).  Could we see something noteworthy occur in the spiritual realm on 1/11/11?

A person’s greatness is measured by his outreach, not by his containment.  We see that Jesus exposed the problem of hoarding wealth in Luke 18:

18 Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

19  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.

20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ "

21  And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth."

22  So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."

23  But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.

The young ruler’s behavior was consistent with the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament but he failed to comprehend that Love was behind the Ten Commandments.  As he walked through the streets among the poor and desolate, he failed to view them through the eyes of Love.  His wealth could have ministered to the needs of many but he must have feared the loss of wealth.  Making the transition from “entitled” to “steward” is often difficult.  Many people I have known who gained wealth develop the attitude of “entitlement”.  It is as though they suddenly take on a belief of having been anointed with wealth to live a “blessed” life above the masses.  They begin to put their trust in money rather than Our Heavenly Father.  There are those who are called to be financial stewards but their hearts have been prepared to handle the money has a commodity rather than being more precious than salvation.

The IRS is now focusing on charitable giving in an effort to gain more tax revenue.  Some will use this as a reason to reduce or cease their giving.  Others will simply acknowledge that their giving will be reviewed and will continue to give, knowing that there will be additional paperwork and correspondence to deal with.  The greatest nations are those who give to other nations.  Name me on nation who is poor and constantly receiving aid that you would call “great”.  This is true on the personal level as well.  I suspect that there is not one city in the U.S. without a grade school in need of media supplies.  Moreover, a grade school in the desolate area of town has the greatest needs.  You do not have to look 5,000 miles away to find a good cause.  Grade schools in your own backyard are hurting for assistance.  Servias Ministries can distribute your dollars on your behalf to these grade schools.  Your anonymity can be retained if you desire.

Especially in these times, giving to the poor differentiates the person of greatness from one of regret.

Mom was born 19 days after the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and grew up in the Great Depression.  The family migrated from Gainesville, Texas to Oklahoma in search of a job.  Times were tough to say the least.  Her mother parted ways and Grandpa, Mom, and her three brothers northward.  He married again and a half- brother and sister were added to the family.  She ended up being the babysitter for the younger two.

Fast forward to the 1940’s.  Mom was now in high school and was a “straight A” student, of course.  She applied herself in everything she did. This is her high school picture, “What a Babe!”.  My Dad figured this out and married her where he got the best end of the deal.  Mom was an industrious woman but with one interesting note: she never learned to drive a car.  In those days, a teenager did not automatically get a car on their 16th birthday.  People were broke back then but not “poor”.  Dad had to borrow some money just to get married, $25, I think.

Before I was born, Mom went to clean my dad’s mother’s house for her.  My brother was two and she had no transportation.  Grandma evidently did not have a vacuum cleaner so Mom walked to her house with my brother and a vacuum cleaner in tow.  She would carry my brother a few hundred feet then go back and get the vacuum cleaner left behind.  Mom was enterprising with the “cards she was dealt”.  Eventually she arrived at Grandma’s and cleaned the house.  Yep, the return trip required the same energy.  Her Love Language was “acts of service”.

Mom made the best of the situation we were in.  When I was three, we could not afford turkey at Thanksgiving so we had chicken noodle soup and were told it was turkey.  It tasted fine to me!

Things started improving in the mid 1950’s and we moved to Midwest City where I grew up.  We were the classic “Leave it to Beaver” household.  The TV series was easy to identify with.  Dad worked and Mom stayed at home and managed her two sons,,, who needed managing.  Mom was the moral compass of the family.  More than once would she washed out our mouths with soap when we tried out our wings with “cuss” words.  Though we didn’t know what they meant, we figured out that Mom didn’t like it.  She didn’t curse, smoke, or drink.  She was truly a handmaiden.

As my brother and I participated in most all sports, Mom was always involved.  She was the scorekeeper for my baseball team.  Her black eye from a foul ball was her badge of honor.  After that, she always sat behind the backstop out of harm’s way.  She would walk us down to the local swimming pool 5 blocks from the house for swimming lessons.  She would walk us to school (the same 5 blocks) everyday until each of us was old enough to make the trek on our own.  We walked everywhere during the week.  My brother’s drum lessons?  No problem!  Mom and my brother would take turns carrying the snare drum to the practice.  The drum case was too big for me at the time.  It seemed like it took forever to get to our destination.  Mom generated extra income by baby-sitting.  In the summer, we would have a house full of kids.  It made for a good baseball game everyday in the street.  More than one of these kids knew the Love Mom dished out.  She practically raised a few of them.

     My dad started a new business with an uncle- a drive-in cafe.  At first, the two families alternated weeks of running the drive-in but that did not work out to well.  Dad bought my uncle out and Mom became the chief cook.  Twelve hour days over a hot grill became the norm for Mom.  Every night she laundered and ironed her uniform and our clothes as well.  They worked six days out of the week.  It was a tough life.  She still found time to bake and crochet.  This workload continued through my teenage years.

In the 1970’s, Mom was finally out of the food service industry and the grandkids came.  She loved to quilt and she was a “quilting machine”.  All of her quilts were done by hand.  Although she was an excellent seamstress, machine quilting just didn’t seem to be the thing to do.  She made quilts for each member of the family.  Each quilt was unique and hand stitched.  Baby quilts for the newborns, crocheted towels for the kitchens, and quilts for the beds.  The Love and warmth of Mom was everywhere.  Her reputation for quilting expanded.  Women would bring her material and pay for her handmade quilts.

When Grandpa was no longer able to live alone, Mom moved him into the house.  As a loving daughter, she took care of him in his final years.  She was always finding solutions to problems, many involved her sacrifice but she was happy to oblige.  If a loved one was ill, she would cook a meal, bake a pie, send a card of encouragement, and the list goes on.  Even at the age of 70, she was babysitting her great nephew.

After 29,532 days on this earth, Mom has return to spirit.  She is not gone, just transformed and resides in Heaven with her Lord Jesus Christ.  Our loss is Heaven’s gain.  Her acts of Love would fill several books.  More than one cousin has called her their favorite aunt.  She was a “Mom” to many of our friends.  She was always there for her sons and her husband.

     Mom, I Love You and I will miss You!