The user manual for a pair of wellington boots runs to several pages and nobody reads it, everyone knows how to wear wellies. In much the same way a dusty scroll of God’s law lay forgotten in the temple until it turned up during renovations, and the young king Josiah tore his robes when he heard its words (2 Chronicles 34). The sermon shows how one man seeking God’s will plugged the hole through which a nation’s evil was pouring out. Listen and ask whether the Bible has quietly become your manual for wellington boots.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- Josiah became king at eight years old in a land full of idolatry after the reigns of Manasseh and Amon. According to 2 Chronicles 34, what set him apart from his father and grandfather early in his reign?
- Hilkiah the priest and Shaphan the scribe pass on the newly found scroll of the law almost in passing, while Josiah tears his robes. What do these two reactions reveal about how each of them regarded God's Word?
- The people rebuilt the temple with real energy, yet they did not know the law of the Lord. How is it possible to work zealously for God without knowing what He says?
- Mikołaj shared how, without knowing the Bible, he assured a friend that what she had done was not wrong and ended up hurting her. In what ways can ignorance of God's Word harm us and others?
- The Bible has never been as accessible as it is today, yet it can still be like a dusty scroll in the temple or the instruction manual for rubber boots. What excuses most often keep you from reading Scripture?
- After hearing the words of the scroll, Josiah made a covenant and put God's Word first. What one concrete step will you take this week to get involved in discovering the Bible?
