2 Kings 22:1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years.
Josiah led God’s people from around 640 to 609 BC, and implemented greater reform than any king before or since. Since the previous king was wicked, the nation was apostate. The temple was used for male prostitution (2 Kings 23:7), and children were being sacrificed (2 Kings 23:10). The days were extremely dark, and the time had come for godly leadership.
2 Kings 22:8 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.
The temple was open, and the priests were active, but the word of God had been lost for many years. And no one seemed to notice! Then, while the temple was being repaired, God’s word was rediscovered.
This would be hard to imagine if it wasn’t so common today. Many churches have busy leaders who do everything but teach the Bible. People don’t know the Bible, therefore, and do much that it forbids. But when the apostles were asked to turn their attention elsewhere, they said, we will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word (Acts 6:4). This is the first duty of Christian ministers.
2 Kings 22:11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes.
Josiah was alarmed by the terrible threats of punishment found in God’s word. The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. . . . Because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you . . . you will eat the fruit of the womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters the Lord your God has given you. . . . You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. In the morning you will say, If only it were evening! and in the evening, If only it were morning! (Deuteronomy 28:20-67). Since much of this had already happened to the northern kingdom of Israel, Josiah knew it could happen to them as well.
Jesus Christ was also very threatening. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire (Matthew 7:19), he said. And Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41), he’ll say to many.
An important idea that led to my conversion was the possibility of waking up in hell, and never getting out. Jesus is the most credible person who ever lived, and he threatened me with eternal fire. I could either force the idea out of my mind, or repent of my sins and follow him. The severity of his threat helped me to make the right decision.
2 Kings 22:13 Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.
Josiah sent representatives to the prophet Huldah, to see if there was any hope. But her answer wasn’t encouraging. This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book . . . . Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all the idols their hands have made, my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched (2 Kings 23:16-17), she said.
No matter what we’ve done individually, we can turn to Christ and be saved. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more (Hebrews 8:12), said God. But the collective sins of the nation had reached a point where God’s wrath wouldn’t be turned away. They could still be saved individually, but the nation would suffer disaster.
God deals with individuals, but also with nations. God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne (Psalm 47:8), wrote the Psalmist. When a nation becomes too corrupt, God is free to pour out his wrath (Genesis 15:16). He did this to Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and to many other nations. We ought to be concerned for our own righteousness, but also for the righteousness of our nation.
2 Kings 23:1 Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.
Josiah wasn’t inclined to keep God’s word to himself, so he gathered the nation’s leaders and read it to them as well. After hearing God’s word, they also agreed to serve him. For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12), says Hebrews. God’s word is very powerful and he wants it spread around.
This, in fact, is how the early church grew. [T]he word of God spread (Acts 6:7). . . . [T]he word of God continued to spread (Acts 12:24). . . . The word of the Lord spread through the whole region (Acts 13:49). . . . And the word of the Lord spread widely (Acts 19:20), wrote Luke. The work of the church isn’t to keep God’s word to itself, but to spread it around the world, until everyone knows that Jesus Christ is Lord.
2 Kings 23:29 Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt went up to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah marched out to meet him in battle, but Necho faced him and killed him at Megiddo.
Josiah was under forty years old, and his death seemed premature. Why didn’t God preserve him to continue reforming the nation? God’s ways don’t always make sense to us, but Josiah is remembered as one of the finest kings to lead the nation, and died a servant of God. Who could ask for anything more?
Reflection and Review
Why was Josiah alarmed when the Bible was read to him?
How do we know that God’s threats will be fulfilled?
Why should we care about the sins of our nation?
Josiah led God’s people from around 640 to 609 BC, and implemented greater reform than any king before or since. Since the previous king was wicked, the nation was apostate. The temple was used for male prostitution (2 Kings 23:7), and children were being sacrificed (2 Kings 23:10). The days were extremely dark, and the time had come for godly leadership.
2 Kings 22:8 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.
The temple was open, and the priests were active, but the word of God had been lost for many years. And no one seemed to notice! Then, while the temple was being repaired, God’s word was rediscovered.
This would be hard to imagine if it wasn’t so common today. Many churches have busy leaders who do everything but teach the Bible. People don’t know the Bible, therefore, and do much that it forbids. But when the apostles were asked to turn their attention elsewhere, they said, we will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word (Acts 6:4). This is the first duty of Christian ministers.
2 Kings 22:11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes.
Josiah was alarmed by the terrible threats of punishment found in God’s word. The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. . . . Because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you . . . you will eat the fruit of the womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters the Lord your God has given you. . . . You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. In the morning you will say, If only it were evening! and in the evening, If only it were morning! (Deuteronomy 28:20-67). Since much of this had already happened to the northern kingdom of Israel, Josiah knew it could happen to them as well.
Jesus Christ was also very threatening. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire (Matthew 7:19), he said. And Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41), he’ll say to many.
An important idea that led to my conversion was the possibility of waking up in hell, and never getting out. Jesus is the most credible person who ever lived, and he threatened me with eternal fire. I could either force the idea out of my mind, or repent of my sins and follow him. The severity of his threat helped me to make the right decision.
2 Kings 22:13 Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.
Josiah sent representatives to the prophet Huldah, to see if there was any hope. But her answer wasn’t encouraging. This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book . . . . Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all the idols their hands have made, my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched (2 Kings 23:16-17), she said.
No matter what we’ve done individually, we can turn to Christ and be saved. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more (Hebrews 8:12), said God. But the collective sins of the nation had reached a point where God’s wrath wouldn’t be turned away. They could still be saved individually, but the nation would suffer disaster.
God deals with individuals, but also with nations. God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne (Psalm 47:8), wrote the Psalmist. When a nation becomes too corrupt, God is free to pour out his wrath (Genesis 15:16). He did this to Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and to many other nations. We ought to be concerned for our own righteousness, but also for the righteousness of our nation.
2 Kings 23:1 Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.
Josiah wasn’t inclined to keep God’s word to himself, so he gathered the nation’s leaders and read it to them as well. After hearing God’s word, they also agreed to serve him. For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12), says Hebrews. God’s word is very powerful and he wants it spread around.
This, in fact, is how the early church grew. [T]he word of God spread (Acts 6:7). . . . [T]he word of God continued to spread (Acts 12:24). . . . The word of the Lord spread through the whole region (Acts 13:49). . . . And the word of the Lord spread widely (Acts 19:20), wrote Luke. The work of the church isn’t to keep God’s word to itself, but to spread it around the world, until everyone knows that Jesus Christ is Lord.
2 Kings 23:29 Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt went up to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah marched out to meet him in battle, but Necho faced him and killed him at Megiddo.
Josiah was under forty years old, and his death seemed premature. Why didn’t God preserve him to continue reforming the nation? God’s ways don’t always make sense to us, but Josiah is remembered as one of the finest kings to lead the nation, and died a servant of God. Who could ask for anything more?
Reflection and Review
Why was Josiah alarmed when the Bible was read to him?
How do we know that God’s threats will be fulfilled?
Why should we care about the sins of our nation?