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Josiah
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Reference |
II Kings 22:1 - 23:30
II Chronicles 34:1 - 35:26 |
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Reign |
31 years (640 - 609 B.C.) |
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Theme |
Serving God wholeheartedly can save multitudes. |
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Lesson |
When you serve God without compromise or turning, you bring blessing to everyone
around you. |
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Key Verse |
"For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the
God of David his father" (II Chronicles 34:3). |
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Remember |
"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house,
and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you
the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room
enought to receive it" (Malachi 3:10). |
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Application |
The Christian should never be dismayed by living a right life before God, but at
times seeing no fruit result. For just as sin spreads and destroys, so
righteousness permeates and saturates those associated with it. |
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Spiritual Epitaph |
"Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself ... and weep before
me; I have even heard thee also"
(II Chronicles 34:27). |
Josiah descending from the loins of Amon is every bit as improbable as Manasseh
descending from the loins of Hezekiah. For as wicked as his father and grandfather were,
Josiah was exceedingly righteous. The monarch who reigned for 31 years was responsible
for tearing down the altars of the Baals; smashing the Asherah poles; purifying and
repairing the Temple; finding the Book of the Law, reading it to the people and
making a covenant to observe it; and removing the idols from all the land over which
he held dominion, far exceeding the borders of Jerusalem and Judah. Josiah also
celebrated the Passover, something not done in Israel since the time of Hezekiah.
More than anything, however, Josiah, like Hezekiah, brought salvation to his
people. After finding the Book of the Law, Josiah sent his officials to consult
with the prophetess Huldah, who delivered this message: "Thus saith the LORD, Behold,
I will bring evil upon this place ... [But] Because thine heart was tender, and thoud
didst humble thyself before God ... Behold I will gather thee to thy fathers, and
thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace" (II Chronicles 34:24,27-28).
The kingdom of Judah would survive almost 23 years following the death of Josiah,
allowing that much more time for repentance to be sought by those who had the heart
to do so. Had it not been for the righteous acts of Josiah, Judah could well have been
judged and sent to captivity much earlier than it was.
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