Josiah King of Judah

2022-11-13

Josiah was one of the most righteous kings of Judah. He became king at eight years old.

Eight years into Josiah’s reign, he was seeking after the Lord. Perhaps this was partially because of Jeremiah’s preaching: “The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot” (Jeremiah 3:6). Zephaniah was another prophet who preached during his day, preaching of a coming judgment (Zephaniah 1:1).

The king began to remove all the pagan influences in the kingdom and surrounding areas. During repairs of the Temple, they recovered a book of the Law, and when Shaphan the scribe read it to Josiah, he was grieved and sought out a prophet of the Lord. He knew that wrath was on the kingdom because of the curses found in the book of the Law. Huldah the prophetess affirmed the kingdom’s destruction, but because Josiah had sought the Lord, it would not happen in his time.

Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again. (2 Kings 22:20)

The king read the Law to the people, and they made a covenant with the Lord, to keep His commandments. He destroyed the pagan altars and high places, defiled Tophet where child sacrifice took place, and destroyed the pagan remnants of Ahaz, Manasseh, and Solomon. He defiled the altar at Bethel and fulfilled the prophecy of the Man of God of Judah. Josiah also restored the Passover, as Hezekiah had done previously.

Josiah went up against Necho king of Egypt when the pharaoh crossed into his land to fight at Carchemish. Necho had no interest to fight the king of Judah, but Josiah insisted to fight and was killed in battle. Josiah did not heed the Lord’s command, so he was wounded and died.

Josiah was a great king. He initiated the last revival before Judah was given over to destruction and exile. He made a clean slate with the Lord by responding to the Word of God. He followed Him by destroying all the wickedness that had lingered even since the days of Solomon.

Having the Word of God made a difference for Josiah. When the Law was missing, lost in the Temple, no one had access to the Word of God except when prophets came. If you cannot find your Bible and have no desire to seek it, how will your life be any difference from Josiah’s predecessors?

This is a part of the Kings of Judah series. To go back to the table of contents, proceed here.