Hilkiah was an Old Testament priest who is remembered for finding a lost copy of God's law while renovating the Temple (2 Kgs 22).
This was significant because it led the king at the time, Josiah, to repent for the way Israel had forsaken the law... and this prompted God to withhold the judgement He planned to soon pour out on the land.
Today's church needs its own Hilkiah moment.
For more than a generation, the modern church has forgotten God's law...
...mainly out of a fear of appearing legalistic... and by falsely assuming attention to God's law runs contrary to His grace.
But Jesus made it plain -- He didn't come to abolish God's law (Mt.5:17)...
So there remains an enduring place for it today... in three ways:
First, God's law is a restraint against evil.
Second, the law reveals our need for Jesus.
And third, it's a standard of righteousness, showing us how to live.
When the church ignores God's law, here's what happens...
Evil is let loose, people see no need for Jesus, and standards of right and wrong disappear.
This where we are today.
America is quickly becoming a massive banana republic, where powerful politicians trample the rights and liberties of the people... because we've deserted God's law.
And, though there is much talk of so-called 'social justice,' real justice is on a fast decline... because we've turned away from the only standard of justice, which is God's law.
It all points to the church's need for an Hilkiah-like experience with the law of God.
Without it, the church will most certainly fail in its calling to be the salt of the earth and a light to the world... and we'll likely be trampled under foot by men, as Jesus warned (Mt.5:13-16).
The church needs an Hilkiah moment.
Now.
And let's pray, by God's grace, we have one.