The one and only requirement for revival is the passionate desire for God to do a great work among us. But what exactly is revival and how does it come? There is a portion of scripture in the Old Testament that provides us with insight on the meaning and process of revival. In II Chronicles 34:1 through 35:18, we meet the boy-King Josiah, who became the king of Judah (in 640 BC) at the age of eight. In time, after serving with the aid of a protectorate (that is, trusted officials who advised and in effect protected him from court intrigue and his own innocence until he was old enough to assume full command of Judah), Josiah led his people in a spiritual renaissance that might have saved them from the wrath of God brought on by their sins and the sins of prior generations. Let’s see what happened.
Josiah’s great-grandfather King Hezekiah was a godly king, but then the latter’s son, Mannaseh ruled for 55 years and led Judah down a path of wickedness that could not be reversed even after he repented toward the end of his life and then Josiah’s father Amon was no better. He was assassinated by court officials who apparently were desperate for change or were, themselves, plotting to take over for their own devilish purposes because they were rounded up and executed. What followed, evidently, was a genuine move towards reform led by men of integrity who demonstrated their good faith by installing the next in line to the throne even though he (Josiah) was only eight years old. The next eight years of his life, no doubt, were years of intense preparation. He also seemed to receive sound mentoring in the things of God because by 16, he “began to seek the God of his Father, David.” (The godly King from whom Josiah was descended) From this we have our first prescription for revival, namely, a heartfelt desire to know God, and not just about God, and not being distracted in our pursuit of God. Josiah was not about to veer to “the left or the right;” see 34:2.
By the time he was 20, Josiah began to flex his royal administrative muscles, and inaugurated a series of reforms that laid the groundwork for a genuine spiritual awakening in Judah but alas most of the people followed his lead only half-heartedly. Jeremiah, the prophet, who as a young man was already prophesying in Judah when Josiah instituted his reform movement lamented that Judah was still unrepentant (see Jer. 3:6) even though Josiah had purged all of Judah and even large portions of the land in what had been Northern Israel, of their idols, pagan altars, and false priests as well as eradicating many detestable practices like child sacrifice. So our next principle of revival is purging ourselves of anything and everything that stands between ourselves and our God. We also need to clean up our lives and pursue a holiness that makes us credible and sincere before God. And we do this with all our heart.
Josiah also repaired the house of God which under Manasseh and Amon was desecrated and in disrepair. This is our third principle for revival: we must not neglect the church. Then our fourth principle immediately follows. As we pursue fellowship and transparency with ourselves and our God, we will be recipients of the voice of the Lord who will guide us on our journey towards spiritual renewal. That’s exactly what happened in Judah not so much because of the general population’s sincerity but because of Josiah’s zeal as well as the commitment of those who immediately served him. Josiah was presented with a long lost copy of the law of Moses (at least the book of Dueteronomy and, perhaps, the entire Pentateuch). It was then that the process of soul searching, repentance and celebration (observing Passover) really got off the ground and was of much benefit to those who were true seekers including, of course, Josiah. This brings us to a final observation about Josiah’s reform movement. It did not last very long and Judah as a nation was overwhelmed by the pagan Babylonians soon after Josiah’s untimely death. So our final lesson is that our obligation is not to bring revival, but we are obligated to seek revival. If we do, God will bless us and give us clear direction even if others will fail to enter in. How hungry are you for revival?
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