II Chronicles 34 & 35 tells us of the “good” King Josiah of Judah. By my count, here were only 8 kings of Judah considered good because they did what was right in the sight of God. My judgment is that Josiah was not just good, but really good! Here is a sample of what he did.
Removed idols from the temple, some which probably dated back to Solomon. Eliminated idol worship from all of Judah, not just Jerusalem. Eliminated idol worship in Samaria. He went so far as to dig up the bones of the
idolatrous priests and burn them! Reestablished the Passover celebration after 300 years of neglect.
What made Josiah do all this? Consider that Josiah became king when he was only 8. His father and particularly his grandfather were evil kings. However, II Chronicles 34:3 says that when Josiah was 16 he “began to seek God, the God of his father David.” When he was 26 he ordered the renovation and repair of the temple. As this was being done, “the book of the law” was discovered. When Josiah read this book he was devastated to find that Judah was not following God’s law. He read the law to all the people and made a covenant to God to follow His law.
God rewarded Josiah for following Him according to His Word. He revealed to Josiah that although Judah would still go into captivity in spite of the revival, Josiah would not live to see it.
In order for such a young man to do this he had to take good advice. The prophets Jeremiah and Zephaniah were contemporaries with Josiah. It is logicalthey gave Josiah godly guidance that Josiah was willing to follow. We should give credit to Josiah and note his example.
Few reading this will be 16 years old. However it is never too late to seek God through His Word. Study your Bible to learn what God wants of you. Be willing to accept advice from Godfearing and wise Christians who love you and are concerned for your soul.
Remember, God rewards those who diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6).
For the elders, Dave Benner