Too Little Too Late?

Passage: 2 Kings 23

The house I’m living in is bordered by flower gardens. Not knowing what had been planted in those gardens in previous years, my wife and I waited to see what perennials would present themselves during our first spring. We were pleasantly surprised to see lilies, crocuses, and even some leftover tulips pop up as the weather got warmer. Then a plant we couldn’t identify started appearing in one of the beds; before we knew it it had taken over. It turned out to be a kind of prolific and very tenacious wild mint. We started pulling the plants, only to see a host of new ones grow in their wake. In one frenzied attempt we pulled out all the plants at once. We heaved a sigh of relief, and forget about it until the following spring. We were shocked and dismayed to see a thick carpet of the plants appear where a clean garden should have been. It seemed there was nothing we could do. The roots of the plants persisted no matter how hard we tried to eliminate them.

During his reign, King Josiah puts forth a valiant effort to weed the roots of idolatry and evil from Judah. He goes far beyond the attempts of any of his forbears, cleansing the temple of idols and pagan priests, and removing the high places that had popped up all over the country. Josiah does this following the discovery of the Books of God’s Law; his endeavor to cleanse Judah of idols is an expression of his desire to lead his people back into right relationship with God.
God’s response to Josiah’s faithfulness comes as a surprise. God spares Josiah the judgment God promised to bring to Judah. But God remains resolute in bringing this judgment. Although Josiah has successfully erased the signs of Judah’s unfaithfulness from the landscape, the roots thereof remain hidden in the hearts of the people. The infidelity that has swept God’s people cannot be weeded out; their separation from God is inexorable.

Here’s the way I see the themes of 2 Kings play out in my own life. I experience a sense of conviction (presumably the voice of the Holy Spirit) around a particular habit, possession or indulgence. I realize that I have begun to find in that habit, possession or indulgence the comfort and security that I should find only in my relationship with God. Without realizing it I’ve substituted God – I’ve created an idol. So I rearrange my life a little. I reduce my participation in the activity; I change the habit; I limit my access to the substance or the possession. I heave a sigh of relief. Problem solved. It’s only months later that I discover that my tendency toward God-substitution has simply found expression in another habit. The process of eliminating our idols is never-ending because our tendency toward idolatry is relentless. How do we escape the judgment that befell Israel and Judah? We cast ourselves on the mercy of Jesus Christ (Romans 7:24-25). And we accept that the work is never done. Weeding out our idols is never a one-time thing. It’s a daily discipline.