Cleaning House
“Time to clean the house!!!”
Anyone ever say this and have people flocking to come help?
If you do, then you are the exception to the rule, because most people turn and run the other direction. Most people do not enjoy cleaning the house. Like REALLY cleaning the house. You may ENJOY a clean house, but when it comes to grabbing that old toothbrush and scrubbing crusty nasties off your toilet, I feel I can say with confidence that this is not anyone’s Friday night excitement. Nor any other day that ends in “Y” enjoyment.
I personally don’t mind cleaning, but I absolutely can think of a THOUSAND different ways I would enjoy spending my time vs. cleaning the house. I am always grateful when the house is in order and clean.
My morning studies currently have me in the book of 2 Kings in the Old Testament. Kings have been rising into power and falling. Some “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” and others “did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord.” And by evil, I do not mean fictitious evil like in a cartoon, I mean sheer terror evil, like child sacrifice and sawing God’s prophets in half… That kind of evil. They also did what was right in their own eyes, chose their own way of living. Served and bowed down to their own ideas. These kings that did evil in the eyes of the Lord were to their core wicked. They thought only of themselves and did not follow after what God had called them to, especially in the position God had placed them in. And because of that, disaster fell on the kings and on those around them. Because these kings did not seek after God’s Wisdom, but their own, those around them suffered gravely.
But then came Josiah. He became king at the age of eight and he reigned in Jerusalem as king for thirty-one years. In 2 Kings verse 2 it says that “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.”
One day one of the high priests in the temple found a book and brought it to Josiah’s secretary, Shaphan, who read it. Shaphan then took it to King Josiah, who was now 26 years of age, and said in 2 Kings chapter 22 beginning in verse 10:
10Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.
11When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes. 12He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Akbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant: 13“Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.”
When King Josiah heard the Word of God read to him, he realized how corrupt his nation had become and had a true physical reaction to them. He tore his robes and wept before God.
Pause and just think about his reaction for a minute.
He was grieved.
Devastated.
Those who had gone before him had not obeyed the Words of God and the destruction it had brought was because of their own doing.
For decades upon decades upon decades, people had been doing evil in the eyes of the Lord. The government leaders had not chosen to follow God, but their own ways. And those who had been placed in high leadership, these kings of the lands, did such detestable things that would make your stomach cringe to read about them. It was utterly disgusting. This went on for hundreds of years.
After hearing the Word of God, Josiah goes into house cleaning mode. And not the kind where you sweep things under the rug to appear clean, he begins by assembling all of the people of Judah and Jerusalem and renewing their covenant to the Lord. He then begins destroying every - single - thing that resembled an idol in the land. These idols were not just objects people prayed to, but idols they did detestable things for. People slaughtered their children for carvings made of wood and stone. They prostituted themselves for fictitious gods that didn’t exist. And these are just to name two of the things they use to do. Anything that did not bring God glory or did not belong to the worship of the true God was destroyed.
Now listen. I understand we can read these events that took place thousands of years ago and think, “Yeah, but that’s a BIBLE story… that took place a LONG time ago.”
But I want you to shift your focus onto your OWN house.
Look around.
Do it slowly.
What has become an idol in your own home, pulling your attention away from God? Causing you to sin. Causing you to lose sight of the one true God. Pulling your attention away from Truth. Seeping and whispering lies into your heart and home.
And not just you.
But your family.
We may think that “this or that” may not affect our family. What I do is my own business. But let me tell you from the painful place of actually witnessing this, what you choose to allow into your home will absolutely affect those around you.
What you choose to allow into your home, that is not God honoring will absolutely become a stronghold in your life.
What would happen if we began to “clean house?” Sweeping over it with God’s eyes and not our own.
What would happen if we began sweeping over our homes not with our opinions, our ideas, our likes or dislikes, but with the Word of God?
What if we prayed and asked God to show us and help us get rid of the things that were detestable in His sight that lingered in our homes?
When Josiah opened the Word of God that had been hidden for years and began reading it, his heart dropped. He had realized and recognized how far removed his people were from God.
Here is what is awesome about today, GOD’S WORD IS PRESENT. It is AMONG US. If you live in the United States or a country that has not taken your religious freedom yet, you can find the Holy Bible, the only source of Truth, at your fingertips.
Let the Word of God wash over your life. It is not a once and done thing. It is a daily act of following Jesus. A daily act of allowing Him to cleanse our lives of unrighteousness. A daily act of giving Him the reigns of our lives to cleanse and purify.
My ways are corrupt.
They are flawed.
My thoughts are not, by nature, good.
But GOD is GOOD. And He is the housekeeper of my life.
This cleaning house begins AT HOME. It begins individually. It begins with you and me allowing God to clean and remove what is not glorifying and honoring to Him.
And yes, that may mean removing some pretty personal and attached items from your home. Cleaning house is never fun. But the reward on the other side is GLORIOUS.
Let GOD clean your house. Both physically and spiritually.
