2 Kings 23:29
“In his days Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria at the river Euphrates. And King Josiah went to meet him, and when Pharaoh Neco saw him he killed him at Megiddo.”
When I read this I was surprised. Josiah was a great king. God praised him as one who turned to Him with his whole heart. Yet, He gets killed by the pharaoh. I expected him to die of a ripe old age. I’m not sure of his age, but it was a violent death.
This reminds me of Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:45, “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous”. God’s general blessings go to all. So also misfortunes will happen to all.
We will all die (except for those going in the rapture). Some will die in accidents, some will die of sickness or disease and so on. We will usually live longer if we don’t do extreme things.
There is a difference between christians and non christians. God protects those submitted to Him and they will not die until He wants to bring them home. Psalm 91:11,12 says, “For He will give His angels orders concerning you, To protect you in all your ways. On their hands they will lift you up, So that you do not strike your foot against a stone.” Jesus quoted this. It certainly applies to Him, but I think God protects all those who follow Him. This is the guardian angel reference. I can’t say we have our own angel. We may, I can’t say we have our own following us around. He does use them to protect His children any He chooses.
Another scripture about God’s protection is in Job 1:10, “Have You not made a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.” Job was certainly special, but I believe He protects all His children.
In another sense, I believe God generally protects all from evil up until the age of accountability. If they choose God, the protection remains. If they ignore Him, they are given up. I wouldn’t say it’s all done at once, but a slight lifting. Romans 1:24 says, “Therefore God gave them up in the desires of their hearts to impurity to dishonor their bodies between themselves.” A few verses earlier, it says that they chose not to honor God or be grateful. I wouldn’t say it was the first time one ignores God. He continues to try to get their attention. But if they keep on ignoring Him, their hearts grow calloused, preventing them from hearing or sensing God. Jesus talks about this in Matthew 13:15. He says they close their eyes. It’s a choice. They don’t want to hear or see, so they get more blind and deaf to God.
God puts roadblocks in peoples way to get their attention. We can’t confidently say this sickness or that accident was from God, but He can use it. Many have turned to God because of misfortunes. We get reminded of our mortality. Sometimes we recognize we are out of His ways and are vulnerable. We cry out to Him for help. Even though we don’t want to follow Him, we also don’t want to go to hell. That’s ok. He knows our hearts, that self preservation is natural.
Some may mock God. They would say that it doesn’t pay to serve God, as it didn’t help Josiah. He was killed, maybe in his prime. True, following God doesn’t guarantee long life and perfect health. However, it does pay to serve God. He knows what’s best for us. For the believer, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Cor 5:8). Yes, our loved ones will miss us, but we would be in paradise with God.
If one rejects God they are vulnerable. Particularly those that have no fear of God. Psalm 73:18 says of them, “Then I perceived their end. You indeed put them on slippery ground; You dropped them into ruin.” It’s an odd mix of God reaching out and slapping His hand away. He removes His protection with each slap. Soon they are very vulnerable and completely unaware. As was stated earlier, when one closes his eyes and ears to the truth, then their spiritual senses are dulled.
That’s why we are to share our testimonies and the good news. It may shake them out of their state. We should pray for those that God brings across our paths, that He will open their eyes. Unfortunately, most don’t listen. But some do. I’ve been told by a few that they came to Christ due to a conversation. Mostly we are unaware of as usually we are just sowing seeds. We are one are many who speak into lives.
Lord, thank You for the reminder of Josiah. Things don’t always go as planned. We do know that You are good to Your children and Your will is done as we follow You. Give us Your words to speak to others.