| During the reign of King Josiah, a great reform took place. Josiah, who ascended to the throne at the age of eight, began seeking the Lord when he turned sixteen. He abolished the idol worship which God despised and removed the high places. At the age of twenty-six, while repairing the neglected temple, he discovered the Book of the Law of Moses. Upon reading it, he tore his clothes and repented. He then had the Book of the Law read to all the people, regardless of age, and ensured they followed its teachings. As a result, the entire nation was restored through God’s word (2 Chronicles 34). The Protestant Reformation, ignited by Martin Luther, helped end the medieval tunnel of darkness by rediscovering the truth in the Bible. The Reformation resisted the unbiblical doctrines and teaching of the Roman Catholic Church and called for a return to the Scriptures. The fire of the Reformation spread across Europe, proclaiming, “Sola Scriptura! Let all churches return to the Bible!“ The Reformation, responding to the needs of the time, began in the 16th century in the Holy Roman Empire and spread throughout Europe, excluding the Italian Peninsula. The Reformation movement, led by figures like Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin, led to the Puritan movement in England, Orthodox Theology and Pietism in Europe, and Reformed Theology. This progression continued through the 18th-century Revival Movement, the 19th-century Holiness Movement, and into the 20th-century Evangelicalism. This influence reached Korea, which was an unreached people group at the time, and missionaries such as H.G. Underwood, H.G. Appenzeller, S.A. Moffet, and W.D. Reynolds were sent to Korea under God’s special providence to share the Gospel. |
》 Scripture Focus
Ezra 9:1-9(NIV)
1After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices, like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and Amorites. 2They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled the holy race with the peoples around them. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness.” 3When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled. 4Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me because of this unfaithfulness of the exiles. And I sat there appalled until the evening sacrifice. 5Then, at the evening sacrifice, I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the Lord my God 6 and prayed: “I am too ashamed and disgraced, my God, to lift up my face to you, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens. 7From the days of our ancestors until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been subjected to the sword and captivity, to pillage and humiliation at the hand of foreign kings, as it is today. 8“But now, for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm place in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage. 9Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness in the sight of the kings of Persia: He has granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.
》 Prayer Points
1. Let us give thanks for God’s grace and providence, which have opened our eyes to comprehend the Gospel.
2. Let us pray to God for a heartfelt repentance in our age that will bring us back to the Scriptures. Let us confess that the Bible is the sole foundation of our lives.
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