A Divine Pause

The Hebrew word selah occurs in the Bible only in the Psalms, and we don’t know exactly what it means. By inference, we’ve come to see it as a pause, a musical interlude, perhaps a time to reflect.

God gave Josiah a selah.

The last blog post explored the time in Josiah’s reign when the high priest discovered the Book of the Law. Rejoicing quickly turned to mourning when Shaphan read of the coming judgment.

When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes. – 2 Kings 22:11

It’s generally accepted that the words Josiah heard were from Deuteronomy 28 and 29. Deuteronomy 28 goes into meticulous detail about the blessings associated with obedience–and the curses for disobedience. Then, so there will be no doubt, Moses records exactly what future generations will endure.

Your children who follow you in later generations and foreigners who come from distant lands will see the calamities that have fallen on the land and the diseases with which the Lord has afflicted it.The whole land will be a burning waste of salt and sulfur—nothing planted, nothing sprouting, no vegetation growing on it. It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, which the Lord overthrew in fierce anger.All the nations will ask: “Why has the Lord done this to this land? Why this fierce, burning anger?”

And the answer will be: “It is because this people abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the covenant he made with them when he brought them out of Egypt. They went off and worshiped other gods and bowed down to them, gods they did not know, gods he had not given them. Therefore the Lord’s anger burned against this land, so that he brought on it all the curses written in this book. In furious anger and in great wrath the Lord uprooted them from their land and thrust them into another land, as it is now.”  – Deuteronomy 29:22-28

Josiah knew that destruction was coming, and they deserved it.

But!

The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love. – Psalm 145:8

Slow to anger?

I’ll say. Yahweh had put up with cycles of disobedience for centuries. But the time had come to put an end to His people’s worship of foreign idols. But even then, He gave Josiah a gracious and compassionate promise through the prophetess Huldah.

This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book the king of Judah has read. Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all the idols their hands have made, my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.’Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard:Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people—that they would become a curse and be laid waste—and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. Therefore I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.’” -2 Kings 22:16-20

Yahweh warns and warns and warns. And even when He says, “Enough is enough,” when it comes to the matters of the kingdom, He’s merciful. He allowed Josiah to die before judgment fell.

Why?

For individual offenses, the punishment is often swift.

• Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire – BAM.
• Korah, Dathan, and Abiram rebelled against Moses’ leadership – ZAP.
• Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit – BOOM.

But in this instance, the Lord was going to wipe out all Judea. Wipe Jerusalem as you would wipe out a dish. His people would perish by the sword, famine, and pestilence. He was going to destroy His temple.

But not yet.

Why did He stay His hand?

Josiah learned of the judgment in the 18th year of his reign, and he died in the 31st year of his reign. How did he use those 13 years? He cleaned house. He eradicated idol worship and brought back pure worship of Yahweh. The people were taught truth and given one more chance to be faithful.

Then, in 609 BC, when he was about 39 years old, Josiah died.

And yet, judgment still didn’t come. Why?

For 13 years, from the finding of the Book of the Law until Josiah’s death, the people of Yahweh were taught truth. They were compelled to worship Him only.

But what would they do without King Josiah in charge?

One final test.

Shallum, regnal name Jehoahaz, followed Josiah but was deposed by the Egyptians in a few short months. Then came Eliakim, regnal name Jehoiakim. He was awful. Disgusting. He committed atrocious sins and led the people back into idolatry. The godly king had terrible heirs.

With how quickly the people forsook Josiah’s reforms, I think it shows there had never been a heart change among the people.

Finally, it was time.

In 609 BC, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered Assyria, and in 605, he wrested Judea from Egyptian control. The beginning of the end came with the first deportation to Babylon, when Daniel, Mishael, Hananiah, and Azariah were taken captive.

Sometimes, slow to judgment leads to slow in judgment.

The first deportation took place in 605 BC, but Jerusalem wasn’t destroyed until 586 BC. Another reprieve – 20 years! Why?

Again – grace and mercy.

Yahweh used those 20 years to prepare a place for the remnant. He couldn’t completely wipe out His people – the Messiah would come through David’s line. Before He destroyed Jerusalem, He took exiles to Babylon for safekeeping, and He promised to restore His people. We’ll talk about those promises in another blog post.