Daily Devotional
2 Chronicles 35:22 Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.
If God went as far as speaking to Balaam through a donkey in Numbers 22:30, He may speak to us through whoever or whatever means He chooses. A failure to listen to the voice that God chooses to use will result in us missing His will and falling into unwanted situations. There is probably no better example than that of Josiah, the great King that led the revival of Judah. In 2 Chronicles 35:20-27, when God sent Necho, the King of Egypt to make war with Charchemish by Euphrates, Josiah decided to involve himself in the battle. Out of a respect for him, Necho sent his ambassadors to advise Josiah that God had sent him to carry out the mission that he was on and as such if he chose to interfere, he would be meddling with God. Josiah did not listen, 2 Chronicles 35:22 said that he “hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God”. Instead, he decided to disguise himself and go into the battle and was shot with an arrow and died at the age of 39. Missing the will of God because we fail to listen to the voice that God chooses to use can cause devastating consequences.
What happened to Josiah could have been avoided. it was not the case that he was deliberately rebelling against the will of God. Given that he was a righteous man, that would have been contrary to his character. The most likely reason why He may not have listened to Necho was because he was not renowned as a man of God nor was it traditional for God to use an Egyptian to speak to His people. Whatever the reason it was why he decided not to listen to the voice God chose to use, one thing that we can all agree on is that it resulted in him paying a bitter price. To avoid something similar happening to us, rather than ignore warnings that may come from unexpected sources let us take time out to first seek God on the matter. The life outcome of Josiah would have been different if he had done that.
Life Application: Keep yourself from missing the will of God by responding to rebuke and warnings by seeking God concerning the matter as opposed to ignoring them.
Prayer: Lord, May I remain close to you so that I will know your voice and know when you’re speaking to me through others. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Daily Devotional 
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