Covenant Renewal 101
Purity of heart is the beginning point for life change. God’s people always find themselves again when they devote their hearts to the Lord. Take the great temple restoration project led by Josiah. If we look at the account in 2 Chronicles 34, the sequence of events is critically important:
- In the eighth year, he began to seek the God of his father David (v. 3)
- In the twelth year, he began to purge idolatry (v. 3-7)
- In the eighteenth year, he began to cleanse the land and temple (v. 8-13)
- On finding the book of the law in the temple, Shapan read it in the presence of the king (14-18)
- He consulted the prophetess Huldah so that he might further inquire of the Lord (v. 19-28)
- Josiah called the leaders of Israel together that they might hear the Law and renew the covenant (v. 29-31)
Importantly, Huldah explains that Josiah’s heart was responsive and he had humbled himself before God (v. 27). The actions of Josiah stemmed from a changed heart, a pure heart. And the good news is that God always responds to a pure heart.
The great Restoration project was not simply an attempt to reclaim ancient forms but the ancient faith of their father David. Had Josiah simply sought to restore ceremony, God would not have been pleased. Instead, in Josiah’s life, faith led to actions—daring ones for a teenage king that were further fueled as he courageously heard from God’s Word.
So may it be with us. May we have pure hearts and full lives of faith.
