Josiah

29Jan12

2 Kings 22:1-2 “Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.”

The next character in God’s Word that we want to look at is Josiah. As the verse above tells us, he became king over God’s people, and he was actually one of the few who had a heart after the Lord. But his reign came after several years of neglect. A lot of rebuilding had to happen, starting with the Temple. It was in shambles, so Josiah initiated a program to restore the Temple to its former glory.

As the workmen began to clear away the debris that had collected, they came across a copy of the scriptures that had been disregarded over the years. They dusted it off and started to read it to King Josiah. As God’s Word was being shared, Josiah became aware of how far he and his people had strayed from the Lord’s ways (2 Kings 22).

The king was so convicted by this that he did what so many kings before him failed to do. He made a thorough sweep through the kingdom and ended the practices that were contrary to God’s ways. He cleaned house! And then, he saw to it that the entire kingdom celebrated the Passover Feast. He pulled out all the stops to make sure God was being honored as He deserved to be (2 Chronicles 35).

Everything in the kingdom changed dramatically, and it was all because of the discovery of God’s Word. The scriptures had a radical effect on Josiah, and once they were taken into his heart and mind, he was never the same again.

God’s Word ought to change our lives, as well. It should convict us to the core, cause us to take sin seriously, and “clean house.” It should also inspire us to pull out all the stops as we remember and celebrate who God is and all that He’s done for us.