July 31, 2026; 2 Kings 23 + Going Deeper with Emmy

Daily Dose of Hope July 31, 2026 Scripture: 2 Kings 23 Prayer: Holy and Perfect God, Thank you for your divine plan.  Thank you for not giving up on your people and sending Jesus.  Your love and care for us is hard to comprehend.  Help us be a better reflection of your love in all we do.  Amen. Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan.  We have been on this really incredible journey, reading 1 & 2 Kings.  It's almost over.  I don't know about you, but I have found these books to be challenging but filled with truth.  They've been challenging because we have encountered so much evil, which often feels unnecessary.  But there is truth – God's intolerance for evil and sin but also his mercy.  He gives so many chances.  But he has his limits, and we are getting close to that place with Judah.  But for now, we get to sit with King Josiah, who actually wants to do the right thing.  It's so refreshing! Today's chapter is 2 Kings 23.  It becomes evident just how prevalent and extensive the worship of other gods had become in Judah. There were altars to other gods throughout the land, in people's homes, and even in the temple of the Lord! After generations of sinful kings, idolatry had become a regular part of their culture. Josiah cleans everything up. He destroys the high places, he gets rid of every form of pagan worship, including temple prostitutes, pagan priests, and all those horrible altars. While Josiah was faithful and did all he could to renew the covenant with God, it simply wasn't enough. Despite repeated warnings, the kings and people of Judah had failed to uphold the covenant. They had disobeyed God over and over again. Josiah's best efforts couldn't make up for the hundreds of years of sin. God honored Josiah's faithfulness, however, and ensured that he would not see the destruction to come. We see Josiah killed in this chapter. I don't know about you but I immediately got a sense of foreboding, knowing that things are about to get really bad for Judah. The scene has been set and we are about the watch it play out. With that, let's start our going deeper with Emmy Roberts. Blessings, Pastor Vicki